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Top News
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May 24, 2012
Dish Faces Off Against Big 4 Networks In DVR Copyright Row
Dish Network Corp. on Thursday faced two lawsuits and launched one of its own over its new AutoHop feature, which allows users to record the four major networks' programming without commercials and which the satellite broadcaster's network opponents say runs contrary to copyright laws.
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May 23, 2012
BP To Spend $400M On Pollution Controls To Settle CAA Suit
BP North America Inc. agreed Wednesday to spend $400 million to reduce emissions from its Whiting, Ind., petroleum refinery and to pay an $8 million fine to resolve allegations that its flaring-related emissions violated Clean Air Act requirements.
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May 23, 2012
JPMorgan, Goldman, Others Targeted In $1.8B MBS Suit
Six investment banks, including JPMorgan Securities LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co., were hit with a $1.8 billion suit in New York state court Tuesday for alleged misrepresentations in the sale of mortgage-backed securities, the latest development in an avalanche of litigation over the assets.
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May 23, 2012
NFL Players Accuse League Of Collusion On Salaries
The National Football League Players Association on Wednesday hit the league with a $3 billion suit claiming the owners conspired to set secret salary caps in the 2010 season, when team payrolls were supposed to be uncapped.
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May 23, 2012
Nebraskans Mount Constitutional Challenge To Keystone Route
Three landowners in Nebraska sued state officials on Wednesday over a state law aimed at quickening the approval process for a new route for the Keystone XL pipeline, claiming the statute violates various constitutional provisions, including the separation of powers.
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May 22, 2012
Kleiner Perkins Partner Launches Sex Bias, Retaliation Suit
A partner with the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers LLC has filed a discrimination suit in California state court, alleging the firm retaliated against her after she complained about repeated instances of sexual harassment in the workplace.
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May 22, 2012
JPMorgan Sued By Employees Over $2B Trading Loss
JPMorgan Chase & Co. was hit with a proposed class action Monday in New York federal court by employees enrolled in the bank's retirement plan who lost money on company stock after the shocking announcement that the bank had sustained $2 billion in trading losses earlier this month.
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May 21, 2012
FDIC Seeks $77M From Big Banks In 2 RMBS Suits
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., acting as receiver for two failed banks, launched two suits in New York federal court on Friday that seek a combined $77 million from several banking giants over the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities.
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May 21, 2012
Notre Dame, Others Join Fight Over Birth Control Mandate
A contingent of Catholic dioceses and institutions, including the University of Notre Dame, filed lawsuits Monday challenging a controversial component of the Obama administration's health care overhaul that requires most employers to provide birth control coverage to their workers.
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May 17, 2012
Prof. Punished Over Anti-Muslim Facebook Posts Sues Purdue
A Purdue University political science professor has sued the university in Indiana court, claiming it violated his free speech and privacy rights by subjecting him to a disciplinary investigation after he posted comments criticizing Muslims to his Facebook page.
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May 17, 2012
Boeing, Honeywell Sued Over Deadly 2010 Plane Crash
The estates of 27 people who were onboard a 2010 Pamir Airways flight that crashed into a mountain in Afghanistan have sued The Boeing Co., Honeywell International Inc. and others, alleging negligence and product liability, according to Illinois court complaints released Wednesday.
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May 16, 2012
Suits Over JPMorgan's $2B Loss Could Haunt Bank
JPMorgan Chase & Co. investors hit the bank with securities fraud class actions this week over its $2 billion loss in a botched hedging strategy, and legal experts say the potential damages to both the bank’s bottom line and reputation could be significant.
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May 16, 2012
Oxfam Sues To Force SEC's Hand On Dodd-Frank Provision
Nonprofit Oxfam America Inc. asked a Massachusetts federal court Wednesday to compel the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to issue a rule implementing a Dodd-Frank Act provision that requires companies to disclose payments to foreign governments where they extract resources.
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May 15, 2012
PBGC Sues Dewey For Control Of 'Underfunded' Pension Plans
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. sued Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP in New York federal court Monday in an attempt to gain control of the ailing law firm's three pension funds, claiming the plans are underfunded by more than $80 million.
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May 14, 2012
LightSquared Seeks Ch. 11 As Lenders Tighten $1.7B Noose
LightSquared Inc., the struggling wireless startup backed by hedge fund billionaire Philip Falcone, filed for bankruptcy protection in New York federal court Monday, just hours before time ran out to renegotiate terms of its $1.7 billion debt.
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May 14, 2012
Ally Puts ResCap Rumors To Rest With Prepack Ch. 11
Ally Financial Inc. on Monday ended months of speculation about the fate of Residential Capital LLC by placing the star-crossed mortgage unit into a prepackaged bankruptcy and selling most of its assets to Fortress Investment Group LLC.
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May 11, 2012
Ace Stripped Reinsurance Unit Before $1B Sale, Suit Says
Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings PLC on Thursday accused insurance giant Ace Group and subsidiaries of stripping a reinsurance unit of key assets and loading it with concealed liabilities before selling it to R&Q in a $1 billion deal, breaching their purchase agreement.
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May 11, 2012
Allstate Alleges $30M Insurance Fraud, Demands NY Reform
Allstate Insurance Co. said Friday it has filed a $30 million fraud lawsuit against numerous New York doctors, attorneys and medical clinics it accuses of using the state's no-fault automobile insurance law to orchestrate a "massive and sophisticated scheme."
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May 10, 2012
CBS Says People In 'Glass Houses' Shouldn't Steal Shows
CBS Broadcasting Inc. slammed ABC Inc. and The Walt Disney Co. with a copyright infringement and trade secret theft lawsuit on Thursday, saying the planned ABC series "Life in a Glass House" brazenly rips off CBS’s popular "Big Brother" reality television show.
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May 10, 2012
Dewey Faces Suit Over Layoffs As US Absorbs Pension Plan
Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP faced more setbacks Thursday when an employee accused the embattled law firm of failing to give at least 450 employees enough notice for planned layoffs, amid a move by federal regulators to take over the firm’s pension plan.
Expert Analysis
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Coming Soon: The IP Exchange International
A typical means to “monetize” a company's otherwise intangible IP asset — such as a patent — is by way of licensing. The introduction of a new IP-related exchange, which aims to eliminate licensing inefficiencies while facilitating investment in and risk management of IP-related assets, undoubtedly will shake up this landscape, say attorneys with Gibbons PC.
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The Sackett Decision: What It Means For Fracking
While the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may have restricted the EPA’s enforcement reach under the Clean Water Act, it may have provided the EPA with a procedural tool in its attempt to regulate hydraulic fracturing under the Safe Drinking Water Act, says Earl Hagstrom of Sedgwick LLP.
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Crowdfunding — Who In Their Right Mind Would ...
The unnecessarily complex crowdfunding provisions of the JOBS Act stand in stark contrast to the relaxed public solicitation/advertising rules now permitted for Rule 506 private offerings to accredited investors, the new relaxed filing/governance standards for "emerging growth companies" with miniscule $1 billion in annual revenues, and the increase in the "of record" shareholders before registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is required, says Thomas Sherman of Locke Lord LLP.
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The Mayo Test: Impact On Personalized Medicine And Beyond
In the life science community particularly, claims directed to inventions in diagnostics and personalized medicine will likely face serious challenges under the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories Inc., say Ling Zhong and Paul Prestia of RatnerPrestia.
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The Latest On The Carried Interest Fairness Act
While H.R. 4016 is more evidence that some in the House and the Obama administration are serious about taxing income from carried interests as services income, the bill makes no attempt to carve out half the gain from assets held for more than five years that was included in the Senate version as an accommodation to the venture capital industry, which made a late game play during the last go around on this topic, say Steven Bortnick and Timothy Leska of Pepper Hamilton LLP.
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No More Redevelopment Agencies In Calif.
The most immediate consequence of the California Supreme Court’s ruling on redevelopment agencies is that each of the more than 400 RDAs will cease to exist as of Feb. 1, 2012, as will their special powers to receive property taxes, subsidize economic development projects, assemble land for redevelopment, address environmental liabilities and adopt land use regulations, say attorneys with Paul Hastings LLP.
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Volcker Rule In Flux
The Volcker Rule has already elicited substantial comment and concern from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, certain Democratic members of the House of Representatives, and industry groups like the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, which has called for an extended comment period. Delayed implementation of the rule certainly seems possible, says Benjamin Coulter of Burr & Forman LLP.
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Case Study: GPX International Tire V. US
Barring intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court or Congress, the Federal Circuit's landmark decision in GPX International Tire Corp. v. U.S. will halt or overturn scores of countervailing duty proceedings involving China, profoundly impacting the administration of trade remedies in the U.S., say Jill Caiazzo and Brenda Jacobs of Sidley Austin LLP.
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Top 10 Trademark Events Of 2011
As we enter 2012, we wanted to look back on the top 10 trademark events of 2011 — some decisions that drew considerable news coverage but were not all that influential, some impressive judgments, a massive shakedown of trademark owners and one high-stakes litigation that is likely to be one of the biggest decisions of 2012, say Scott Johnston and Gregory Golla of Merchant & Gould.
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Enhancing Economic Espionage And Trade Secret Sentences
The U.S. Senate will soon consider the enhancement of sentences in economic espionage and trade secret cases. While leaving the merits of the proposed amendments to policymakers, we seek to provide a fuller understanding of the sentencing process in both types of cases, including a discussion of the unique challenges presented and a review of some of the sentences imposed, say Mark Krotoski and Richard Scott of the U.S. Department of Justice.