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California
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May 7, 2013
Sara Lee Defeats Distributors' Price-Fixing Claims
A California judge on Monday threw out antitrust class action claims alleging Sara Lee Corp. engaged in price-fixing, finding that its agreements with distributors gave it the right to negotiate the prices of its baked goods with retailers.
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May 7, 2013
Caltech Scientists' Emails Protected, NLRB Says
The National Labor Relations Board ruled Monday that the California Institute of Technology violated federal labor law by reprimanding scientists at one of its labs for sending mass emails from work computers criticizing the institute’s required background checks.
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May 7, 2013
Calif. To Shelve Coordinated Care Program Until 2014
California's health department said Monday that it will delay a large-scale pilot program to test care coordination among patients who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, and will start in January 2014 at the earliest.
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May 7, 2013
Calif. Gov. Throws Weight Behind Prop. 65 Reform
Citing abuse by "unscrupulous lawyers," California Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday proposed wide-ranging reforms to litigation brought under Proposition 65, the state's list of dangerous chemicals, including a cap on attorneys' fees.
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May 7, 2013
Apple Wants Google Doc Sources Revealed In Samsung IP War
Apple Inc. urged a California federal judge Tuesday to force Google Inc. to divulge how it produced documents related to Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. smartphones and tablets that allegedly infringe Apple's patents, despite Google's objection that it doesn't have to comply because it isn't a party in the case.
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May 7, 2013
9th Circ. Grants Smuggling Retrial Over Destroyed Evidence
Criminal defendants who are prejudiced by the government's destruction of evidence are entitled to a remedial jury instruction but not necessarily an outright dismissal of their case, the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday, ordering a retrial for a convicted Mexican man accused of drug smuggling.
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May 7, 2013
T-Mobile Drops LCD Price-Fixing Suit Against Chunghwa
A California federal judge on Friday signed off on a stipulated dismissal of T-Mobile USA Inc.’s antitrust claims against Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. in multidistrict litigation over alleged price-fixing of liquid crystal display panels.
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May 7, 2013
Madonna Co-Writer Says Ex-Lover Spurred 'Vogue' IP Suit
A Madonna producer told a California federal judge on Monday that a lawsuit claiming he copied portions of a copyrighted track for her 1990 hit “Vogue” was baseless because he co-authored the track, and that a disgruntled ex-lover prompted the meritless complaint.
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May 7, 2013
Starboard Vows To Keep Up Proxy Fight Despite Tessera Offer
In its first communication with Tessera Technologies Inc. shareholders since the company offered to cede a pair of board seats to avoid a proxy contest, activist hedge fund Starboard Value LP on Tuesday slammed the company's board as "desperate" and vowed to keep up its fight.
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May 7, 2013
Disney Can't Dodge Groundwater Pollution Claims
A California judge on Tuesday refused to toss two health code claims in a lawsuit alleging that The Walt Disney Co. contaminated groundwater near its Burbank, Calif., production lot, ruling that an environmental group complied with a state law requiring that Disney be given notice before filing suit.
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May 7, 2013
Chevron Class Can Seek New Judge In Suit Over Refinery Fire
Thousands of California residents suing Chevron Corp. over hazardous chemicals allegedly released during an August refinery explosion can seek a different judge to preside over their putative class action, a state appeals court said Monday, overturning a lower court's rejection of their challenge as untimely.
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May 7, 2013
BofA Can't Shake AIG's $10.5B Countrywide RMBS Suit
A California federal judge on Monday said American International Group Inc. can move forward with its $10.5 billion lawsuit accusing Bank of America Corp.'s Countrywide Financial Corp. of lying about the quality of residential mortgage-backed securities it sold to the insurer, tossing Bank of America's jurisdictional challenge.
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May 7, 2013
Viacom Must Pay Rapper's Perkins Coie Bills: Appeals Court
A California appeals court on Monday reinstated a $115,000 default judgment that Perkins Coie LLP had won against Viacom Inc. over an unpaid legal debt owed by the rap pioneer Master P, finding Viacom was not reasonably diligent in challenging it.
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May 7, 2013
Judge Calls Porn Troll A Fraud, Possible RICO Violator
A California federal judge handed down a scathing decision Tuesday against Prenda Law, a firm notorious for its porn-copyright trolling, blasting the organization's litigation operation as a fraud that deserved criminal prosecution under federal racketeering laws.
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May 7, 2013
Cochran Firm Wants Ex-Partner's Countersuit Axed In IP Row
The Cochran Firm PC on Monday urged a California federal judge to dismiss a countersuit brought by a former partner seeking to use attorney Johnnie Cochran's name to promote his own Los Angeles firm, saying he doesn't have the right to market his firm under the Cochran banner.
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May 7, 2013
Venable Tries To Ax Suit Over $11M Facebook IPO Fraud
Venable LLP moved in California federal court Monday to dismiss a securities legal malpractice suit by investment manager ESG Capital Partners LP over an alleged $11.2 million fraud related to Facebook Inc.'s initial public offering, claiming ESG's claims are time-barred and short on facts.
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May 7, 2013
9th Circ. Urged To Revive BofA Debit Card Fee Suit
A putative class of Bank of America NA customers urged the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday to revive their lawsuit alleging the bank hid service fees for payroll debit cards, arguing that a lower court erroneously ruled that the National Bank Act blocked state law fraud and unfair competition claims.
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May 7, 2013
PE Keeps Caffeine Buzz Going With Java Detour Takeover
Java Detour Inc. on Tuesday became the latest gourmet coffee and tea company to attract investors, following takeovers for Caribou Coffee Co., Peets Coffee & Tea Inc., Teavana Holdings Inc. and others as private equity places a big bet on America's caffeine addiction.
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May 6, 2013
DirecTV Fraud Case Should Avoid Arbitration, 9th Circ. Hears
Consumers who allege DirecTV Inc. deceived them into leasing satellite television equipment told the Ninth Circuit on Monday that their class action should not be forced into arbitration, saying language in DirecTV's contract makes its arbitration clause unenforceable despite the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Concepcion decision.
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May 6, 2013
Judge Tosses Derivative Claim Over Ex-HP CEO Hurd's Exit
A California federal judge on Monday threw out a derivative lawsuit over the allegedly excessive severance award ex-Hewlett Packard Co. CEO Mark Hurd took home, ruling the investor could not pursue his claim after HP’s board of directors refused to look into his accusations.
Expert Analysis
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The Broad Reach Of New 'Failure-To-Warn-FDA' Claims
Recently, in Stengel v. Medtronic Inc., the Ninth Circuit created a new state-law cause of action against medical device manufacturers: failure to warn the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This new cause of action opens the door, at least in the Ninth Circuit, to claims against all medical device and drug manufacturers, say attorneys with Morrison & Foerster LLP.
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Harsh Lessons From The Rule 26 Trenches
In Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., the district court’s decision to exclude Samsung's CEO from testifying represents a likely outcome for a failure to comply with the disclosure requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26. To avoid sanctions, attorneys should pay close attention to the witnesses and documentary evidence important to their cases and ensure that such information has been provided to opposing parties as soon as it is known, say attorneys with Troutman Sanders LLP.
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Calif. Call-Recording Cases: What To Watch For In 2013
Because of the availability of statutory damages and the possibility of multiple violations, an increasing number of California Invasion of Privacy Act class actions are being filed, particularly under Sections 632 and 632.7. This year, it is anticipated that appellate courts will clarify just how much the content or subject matter of a communication is relevant for determining whether the plaintiff had an objectively reasonable expectation of privacy in a call, say attorneys with DLA Piper.
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Putting The Stockton Bankruptcy In Perspective
In addition to illustrating the limitations on a bankruptcy court’s jurisdiction in municipal bankruptcy cases, the In re City of Stockton, Calif., decision potentially opens the door in other Chapter 9 cases to the impairment of vested contractual rights under retiree benefit plans without complying with the protections for retirees applicable in Chapter 11 cases under section 1114 of the Bankruptcy Code, say Jeffrey Ellman and Mark Douglas of Jones Day.
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Beginning Of Calif.'s Road To Finalized Fracking Rules
Recently, the California Department of Environmental Conservation issued a discussion draft of proposed regulations requiring operators of fracking wells to report the types of chemicals used and the location of wells that utilize fracking. This draft represents a starting point for discussion between regulatory agencies and other interested parties that is anticipated to provide a basis for formal rulemaking, says Julia Stein of Bingham McCutchen LLP.
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Importance Of Individual Questions In Class Certification
While a California appeals court's recent decision in White v. Hollister Co. confirms that a uniform misrepresentation leads to inference of reliance as to an entire class and can therefore make certification appropriate, plaintiffs will still need to identify class members without individual questions predominating over common questions, thereby presenting significant hurdles to certifying any class, say attorneys with Venable LLP.
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Inside The 9th Circ. Stance On In Re Century Aluminum
The Ninth Circuit's decision in In re Century Aluminum Company Securities Litigation is notable for its strict application of the pleading requirements set forth in Twombly and Iqbal. Yet it is not universally accepted — for example, in decisions from district courts in New York and Maryland, says Jeffrey Cook of Akerman Senterfitt LLP.
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Where Calif. Stands On A New Product Liability Trend
Recent cases presented to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Miller v. Ghirardelli Chocolate Co. and Colucci v. ZonePerfect Nutrition Co., involved the emerging trend in product liability lawsuits: consumers seeking to bring claims based on items they never bought. Taken together, the decisions of these cases help define the dimensions of at least one court’s standing analysis on the issue, says Natalie Blazer of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP.
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DOJ Merger Challenge Highlights Danger Of Bad Documents
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed an antitrust lawsuit challenging a June 2012 transaction combining two providers of product rating and review platforms used to collect and display consumer-generated online product feedback. The DOJ’s reliance on internal company documents should remind parties of the need for caution and restraint in what they say about a target or potential transaction. “Hot” documents can be crucial to the outcome of any antitrust matter, say attorneys with Jones Day.
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Calif.'s Take On Discharging An Employee From Leave
In general, the California Family Rights Act requires employers to reinstate employees to their job positions upon return from family leaves of absence. But when the employer develops an honest belief during the leave that the employee is not qualified to take family leave, can he discharge the employee? California’s Court of Appeal recently addressed this question in Richey v. AutoNation Inc., say attorneys with Crowell & Moring LLP.