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TOP NEWS Kavanaugh Will Meet With Top Senate Opponent
U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will come face-to-face with his opposition Monday as he sits down with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the lawmaker leading the fight against his confirmation.
Feature 3rd Circ. Oral Argument Dip Troubling, Chief Judge Says
The Third Circuit appellate bar is trying to reverse a troubling decline in oral arguments before its panels, which its Chief Judge D. Brooks Smith in an exclusive interview with Law360 says could have been brought on by a "stunning" increase in pro se filings he traces to the Great Recession of the late aughts.
DC Circ. Vacates EPA Delay Of Chemical Safety Rule
The D.C. Circuit on Friday threw out the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 20-month delay of the effective date of an Obama-era chemical disaster rule written in the aftermath of fatal industrial accidents, saying the federal government’s actions “make a mockery of the statute.”
Legal Waiver Doesn't Bar Pregnancy Bias Suit, 6th Circ. Says
The Sixth Circuit on Thursday revived a sales worker’s pregnancy and pay bias suit that was filed despite her having agreed to waive legal claims on her last day of work, ruling Title VII and Equal Pay Act claims are not subject to a common law doctrine governing whether contracts signed under duress can be revoked.
Nationwide Ban OK For Trump Birth Control Rules, States Say
Five states challenging Trump administration rules exempting employers from providing health care coverage for birth control due to moral or religious objections said the Ninth Circuit could uphold a nationwide injunction on the policy, arguing a recent ruling ending a national bar on the president's sanctuary city policy didn't mean all broad injunctions must be scrapped.
US Gov't Tells High Court Wash. Tribe Must Pay Fuel Tax
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to find that a Native American tribe should be subject to the state of Washington's fuel tax when importing that product onto its reservation.
Tribes Tell Justices HUD Must Pay Back Housing Funds
A group of Native American housing authorities and tribes urged the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a Tenth Circuit decision saying the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development doesn't have to repay them despite finding that HUD illegally recouped $19.5 million in affordable housing grants from tribes, claiming the appellate court misapplied high court precedent.
Promega Gets Damages Appeal All Wrong, Life Tech Says
Promega Corp.’s cert petition seeking additional damages from patent litigation it won over genetic-testing kits focuses on a question that has nothing to do with the actual case, Life Technologies Corp. said in urging the justices to reject it.
Fed. Circ. Rejects Tribe's $200M Water Suit Against Gov't
The Federal Circuit on Friday upheld a decision to toss the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe’s suit seeking $200 million from the federal government for allegedly mismanaging the tribe’s water, saying the tribe hadn’t shown that the government had hurt the tribe’s ability to get the water needed for its South Dakota reservation.
Split Fed. Circ. Says Family Can't Get Vaccine Act Relief
A split Federal Circuit on Friday said a U.S. Court of Federal Claims special master rightly denied National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act relief to a family whose son developed a seizure syndrome after getting his six-month vaccines, finding they didn’t prove the shots and the condition were directly related.
2nd Circ. Won't Revive Madoff 'Feeder Fund' Class Action
A three-judge panel of the Second Circuit rejected an effort by investors in two so-called feeder funds that were linked to Bernie Madoff’s fraudulent investment scheme to revive their class action against the funds’ managers, auditors, consultant and administrator, ruling Friday that a lower judge was right to dismiss the case.
2nd Circ. Finds No Bias In Erie Project Contractor Termination
The Second Circuit on Friday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit over the termination of a female contractor’s involvement in a harbor construction project in Buffalo, saying she failed to prove the decision to pull the contract was part of a gender-based conspiracy orchestrated by Empire State Development Corp. and others associated with the project, including a law firm.
DOL Urges 2nd Circ. To Revive PwC Retirees' ERISA Fight
The U.S. Department of Labor threw its support behind a class of former PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP employees attempting to revive their Employee Retirement Income Security Act claims against the company at the Second Circuit, arguing that there were remedies for the retirees under the statute.
5th Circ. Asks Texas High Court To Decide On Dealers Act
The Fifth Circuit has asked the Texas Supreme Court to determine whether a Texas law governing contracts for wholesale equipment sales applies to agreements signed before the law took effect, and if so, whether the law, known as the Dealers Act, violates the state constitution.
6th Circ. Revives Kyocera's Challenge To Supply Contract
A Sixth Circuit panel on Thursday resurrected Kyocera Corp.'s attempt to nix what it says is a coercive provision in its supply contract for material used in solar panels that requires it to pay for the material even if it chooses not to buy any.
6th Circ. Revives Compressor Co.'s TCPA Class Action
The Sixth Circuit revived a Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action brought over spam faxes sent to a car compressor company by a finance company that targeted manufacturers, ruling that a reasonable juror could find that the ads were sent "on behalf of" the financial firm.
7th Circ. Backs Officers Of Defunct Bank Co. On $76M Refund
The Seventh Circuit on Friday upheld the dismissal of a bankruptcy trustee's suit against the officers of a defunct bank holding company for keeping a $76 million tax refund instead of disbursing it to the company’s failing banks.
7th Circ. Won't Give Smart Meter Privacy Suit A Second Shot
The Seventh Circuit on Thursday refused to revive a lawsuit accusing the city of Naperville, Illinois, of violating its residents’ Fourth Amendment rights by requiring the use of electrical meters that record data about usage, saying the government’s use of the data isn’t an unreasonable search.
Dollar General Must Face Afghanistan Vet's Suit: 8th Circ.
The Eighth Circuit ruled Friday that Dollar General must face claims that it improperly failed to rehire a veteran of the war in Afghanistan who had been let go after he wasn’t able to return from leave because of injuries he sustained on military duty.
9th Circ Tells FWS To Revisit Fish ESA Listing Decision
The Ninth Circuit on Friday overturned a lower court and said there were problems with the population analysis and other components of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision not to list the arctic grayling — a fish with a body similar to a trout — under the Endangered Species Act.
Courts Can Hear Bias Suits Sans EEOC Complaint: 10th Circ.
Courts in the Tenth Circuit can hear employment bias cases even if the workers bringing them did not file a timely complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission before suing, an appeals panel said Friday in a sprawling order that narrowly revived a disability discrimination suit against BNSF Railway Co.
Feds Can't Recoup From $33M Award If Child Dies: 11th Circ.
The Eleventh Circuit on Friday largely affirmed a trial judge’s post-verdict decisions in a suit accusing a federally funded health clinic doctor of causing a newborn’s brain damage, saying the federal government can’t recover portions of a $33 million verdict if the child dies earlier than expected.
Disney May Not Be Magical For Autistic Guests: 11th Circ.
The Eleventh Circuit revived 30 consolidated lawsuits alleging Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S. Inc. fails to properly accommodate guests with autism by making them wait for rides, ruling Friday that a bench trial should decide whether those visitors have access to the same experience as nonautistic patrons.
11th Circ. Affirms Sentence For Disability Group's Ex-CEO
An Eleventh Circuit panel on Friday backed a five-year prison sentence given to the former chief executive of a Florida organization that operated programs for the developmentally disabled who had been convicted of scheming to divert clients' Social Security benefits.
Parents' Role In Calif. Immigration Custody Rows Clarified
A parent does not need to be joined as a party in a civil custody action that includes a bid for certain immigration findings for the case to proceed in California, as long as the individual received adequate notice of the proceedings, the state's highest court ruled on Thursday.
Gay Parent's Partner Is Deceased Child's Family: NJ Court
The New Jersey Appellate Division ruled Friday that the bond between a child and his gay parent’s partner constitutes the familial relationship needed to support an emotional distress claim stemming from a death, issuing a published decision that revived a case against the city of Trenton over a toddler who was fatally struck by a truck.
NJ Appeals Court Won’t Revive Grocery Sales Tax Challenge
The Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court largely upheld a trial court decision Friday rejecting a class action that accused two grocery stores of illegally charging higher sales tax than permitted under state law.
Mining Error Not A Covered Accident, Ky. Justices Rule
A split Kentucky Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that American Mining Insurance Co. does not have to cover damages that resulted when a now-insolvent mining company wrongly extracted coal from a farmer’s property, reversing a state appeals panel and holding that the incident did not constitute an accidental occurrence for coverage purposes.
Amid Assault Case, Maine DA Candidate Loses Bar Suit
A candidate for district attorney in Maine lost a wide-ranging suit on Thursday in the state’s high court against bar officials and others over the suspension of his license, even as he faced possible disbarment and an ex-client who says he assaulted her.
Mass. Court Says Wells Fargo Can't Sue To Shield Foreclosure
The Massachusetts Appeals Court on Friday affirmed that Wells Fargo Financial Massachusetts Inc. could not use its own contract concerns and an uptick in litigation challenging dispossessions to get the court's hypothetical blessing to foreclose on homeowners before actually attempting to evict them.
US Takes Ex-HSBC Trader's Extradition Win To Top UK Court
The U.S. is appealing the denial of extradition of a former HSBC foreign exchange trader to the U.K.'s highest court, prosecutors said Thursday, to face charges in New York alleging he and a colleague defrauded bank client Cairn Energy PLC by trading ahead of a $3.5 billion forex deal for the Scottish oil and gas developer.
Wrongful Termination Claims And NLRB's Burden Of Proof
In Tschiggfrie Properties v. National Labor Relations Board, a three-member panel of the Eighth Circuit vacated the NLRB's decision involving an employee who was fired for abusing his employer's Wi-Fi and sleeping on the job. The ruling is a helpful reminder of the NLRB's burden of proof in a mixed-motive wrongful termination case, say Douglas Darch and Jenna Neumann of Baker McKenzie.
Series Judging A Book: Lipez Reviews 'Last Great Colonial Lawyer'
In his new book, "The Last Great Colonial Lawyer: The Life and Legacy of Jeremiah Gridley," Charles McKirdy argues that Gridley — someone I had never heard of — was the last great colonial lawyer, and that his cases illuminate his times. The author largely substantiates both claims, says First Circuit Judge Kermit Lipez.
Feature Lawyers Need To Disrupt Themselves To Succeed
Even if their business models don’t seem broken, lawyers in the 21st century must fight against complacency, push themselves to adopt unfamiliar skills and maintain an open mind, according to a new book published by a University of Miami professor of law, who contends that embracing innovation is the way for attorneys to keep up with clients’ ever-evolving needs. Interview 15 Minutes With Plated's General Counsel
Tina Mohanty didn't envision making an in-house transition until the co-founders of meal kit maker Plated approached her with an opportunity she couldn't refuse. Here, the company's first general counsel shares how her plan to remain in private practice transformed into an almost four-year career — and which is her go-to recipe. The 'Post-Fact' Jury In The 'Fake News' Era
The "fake news" phenomenon is ever more prominent in the political arena — but not in the jury box. At a trial, jurors don’t have to rely on the media or any other source to tell them the facts and issues, since they have a front-row seat to the action, says Ross Laguzza, a consultant at R&D Strategic Solutions LLC.
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