Does this week’s highly anticipated ruling by an Ecuadorean appellate court upholding a lower court’s $18 billion judgment against Chevron mean that Chevron and Ecuadorean plaintiffs will finally opt to settle the knock-down, drag-out Lago Agrio litigation?

A Pennsylvania court cannot deny judicial authorization to a minor for an abortion purely because the minor did not receive parental consent for the abortion, the state Supreme Court has ruled, vacating a lower court’s denial of an application for “judicial bypass.”

Deepening a split among the federal appeals courts, the 1st Circuit has ruled that a state’s removal of a claim to federal court waives its sovereign immunity only if the removal gives the state an unfair advantage. The ruling affirms a lower court judgment against claims by a police officers’ union.

Intermediaries that facilitate online sharing got some relief Tuesday from the 9th Circuit, which ruled that Veoh, a site showcasing content from major and independent producers, did not have “actual knowledge” of copyright violations because Universal Music Group did not send a notice asking it to yank specific, copyrighted material. The ruling affirms a lower court opinion that a file-sharing provider isn’t liable for damages caused by users transmitting copyrighted material.

A 2nd Circuit panel has reinstated a lawsuit accusing a former assistant district attorney of misconduct in the prosecution of a domestic violence case, reversing a lower court’s ruling that he was absolutely immune from the suit.