Legal Book » circuit

Courthouse Supervisor Faces Individual Liability Under FMLA

admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:51:49 +0000

In a case of first impression, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a court system supervisor may be liable as an individual under the federal law that allows employees to take 12 weeks of job-protected leave for medical reasons. The issue has split the circuit courts.

Renegade Toyota lawyer loses bid to overturn arbitration loss

admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:42:15 +0000

Dimitrios Biller, the former in-house attorney for Toyota Motor Sales USA who accused the automaker of discovery violations in products liability cases, has lost a 9th Circuit appeal to overturn a $2.5 million arbitration award against him.

9th Circuit Sides With Gay Couples in 2-1 Ruling on Prop 8

Master — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:29:59 +0000

Taking a narrow approach in deciding the blockbuster challenge to California’s ban on gay marriage, a split 9th Circuit panel on Tuesday found Proposition 8 unconstitutional. Plaintiffs lawyers acknowledged that the scope of the holding may make the opinion somewhat less likely to be reviewed by the Supreme Court.

9th Circuit: Calif. Gay Marriage Ban Is Unconstitutional

admin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:39:39 +0000

The 9th Circuit today declared California’s same-sex marriage ban to be unconstitutional, putting the bitterly contested, voter-approved law on track for likely consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Ninth Circuit Rejects Fair Housing Act Discrimination Claims Against Roommates.com

admin — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:22:50 +0000

Roommates.com has scored a big victory with a 9th Circuit ruling that it can collect personal information from users and match potential roommates according to traits like gender and sexual preference. The panel held that roommate selection is covered by a constitutional right to association.

Panel Affirms Sanctions Against Attorneys in 9/11 Conspiracy Claim

Master — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:01:19 +0000

Sanctions against two attorneys who insist that former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld caused the Sept.

Amex Again Loses Bid to Enforce Waiver

admin — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:40:44 +0000

In a case that has returned twice in three years because of fresh case law from the U.S. Supreme Court, the 2nd Circuit keeps coming up with the same answer: A class action waiver provision in American Express contracts with merchants is unenforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act.

Senators at Odds With Obama Over Some Ga. Federal Judge Picks

admin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:21:09 +0000

The White House and Georgia’s U.S. senators may agree that Atlanta lawyers Jill Pryor and Mark Cohen should be federal judges — but they apparently differ on which lawyer should fill an opening at the 11th Circuit and which should serve on Atlanta’s U.S. District Court.

Circuit Reverses Alsup in Joint Defense Privilege Fight

Master — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:21:02 +0000

In an obscure insurance fraud case that grew into a federal courthouse spectacle, the 9th Circuit has held that a party to a joint-defense agreement doesn’t unilaterally waive privilege for the other person by lodging an ineffective-assistance of counsel claim.

Ecuador Update: Another Door Shuts, Another Door Opens, and Chevron Lists Its Law Firms

Master — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:05:03 +0000

Chevron failed to persuade the 2nd Circuit to reconsider the court’s refusal to enjoin Ecuadorian plaintiffs from enforcing an $18 billion judgment.

Judges open to idea bananas may be racist

admin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 06:02:26 +0000

Two 11th Circuit judges sounded open to the idea that bananas could be a tool of racial harassment in a case where a black plaintiff claims harassment drove him from his job at UPS Ground Freight, but the judges had other questions about the plaintiff’s case.

Seventh Circuit Boosts Antitrust Class Actions by Reversing Dismissal of Chicago Hospital Suit

admin — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 07:07:11 +0000

A 7th Circuit panel has reversed the dismissal of an antitrust class action against Northshore University Health System. The ruling, which allows the plaintiffs to pursue their claim that Northshore illegally inflated its rates after a merger, should help other class actions get past the certification stage.

Court ponders immunity for private lawyers who take on public jobs

Master — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 07:07:06 +0000

The Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a case in which an employment lawyer was denied qualified immunity in a civil rights suit stemming from his assistance in a city’s internal affairs probe. The 9th Circuit held that everyone else — the city and its officers — was entitled to immunity.

Mayer Brown Convinces Ninth Circuit to Decertify Class in False Advertising Suit Against Honda

admin — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:47:00 +0000

A split 9th Circuit panel has decertified a nationwide false advertising class action against Honda’s U.S. subsidiary, ruling that California’s consumer protection law is too different from those in other states to permit class litigation.

10th Circuit finds Sharia ban is ‘likely unconstitutional’

admin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 07:03:33 +0000

The 10th Circuit has upheld a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of an Oklahoma ballot initiative that banned the practice of Sharia law, the religious law of Islam. A trial judge granted the injunction in a constitutional challenge brought two days after the state’s voters approved the initiative last November.

10th Circuit finds Sharia ban is ‘likely unconstitutional’

admin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 07:03:33 +0000

10th Circuit finds Sharia ban is ‘likely unconstitutional’

Master — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 07:03:32 +0000

The 10th Circuit has upheld a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of an Oklahoma ballot initiative that banned the practice of Sharia law, the religious law of Islam.

3rd Circuit Denies Nortel’s U.K. Pension Creditors Stay Exemption

admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 08:03:58 +0000

The 3rd Circuit has ruled that two United Kingdom entities seeking to pursue debt claims against Nortel Networks in their home country are not governmental units and, therefore, cannot invoke the police protection exemption found in the U.S.

A prescription for law schools: Go back to the basics, return to ‘terra firma’

Master — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 08:03:57 +0000

At the Association of American Law Schools annual meeting, 2nd Circuit Judge Jose Cabranes offered a three-part remedy for what ails the U.S. legal academy, including a shift of law school curricula back to core courses and increased transparency regarding costs, job prospects and financial aid.

Circuit Upsets Conviction of Ex-Mayer Brown Partner

admin — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:43:41 +0000

The conviction of former Mayer Brown partner Joseph P. Collins for helping Refco executives defraud investors of more than $2 billion was overturned today by the 2nd Circuit, which cited the trial judge’s handling of a jury note indicating that a juror was attempting to barter his vote.

Circuit Upsets Conviction of Ex-Mayer Brown Partner

admin — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:43:41 +0000

No Bad Faith, No Spoliation, 3rd Circuit Rules

Master — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:08:39 +0000

In a case that highlights how fact-intensive rulings on discovery disputes can be, the 3rd Circuit has ruled that producing copies of documents instead of originals can be sanctionable spoliation, though a finding of bad faith is “pivotal” to a spoliation determination.

2nd Circuit Stresses Limited Power of Courts to Review Extradition

admin — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 10:31:39 +0000

A man can be extradited to Greece to face murder charges, the 2nd Circuit has ruled in concluding that a district judge erred by exceeding her “power to review” alleged flaws in the Greek indictment. The circuit has stressed that courts may only inquire to “ensure that the requirements of the applicable extradition treaty have been satisfied.”Visit International News

Phila. Sign-Posting Ordinance Upheld

Master — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 07:52:01 +0000

A Philadelphia ordinance banning the posting of signs on city utility poles, traffic signals and trees is not unconstitutional, the 3rd Circuit has decided. The panel ruled that the ordinance was content-neutral and narrowly tailored to serve a government interest.

After Reconsideration, Circuit Reinstates Murder Conviction

admin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 10:03:11 +0000

Four months after ordering the release of a man who killed his wife, the 2nd Circuit has reversed itself “after much reflection” and yielded to the “double deference” the U.S. Supreme Court says is owed the state courts on habeas petitions.