Legal Book » supreme-court

Solicitor General Backs Pharma Sales Reps on Overtime Pay

Master — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:37:49 +0000

Two months before the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether pharmaceutical sales representatives are entitled to overtime pay, sales reps seeking overtime from GlaxoSmithKline have gained a powerful ally in the case, with an amicus filing this week by U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli.

With April calendar, high court clears the decks

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:37:46 +0000

The Supreme Court’s argument calendar for April, the final argument cycle of the term, lists only six hours’ worth of argument instead of the usual 12 cases. It’s an unusual move likely aimed at giving the justices more time to write their opinions on the Affordable Care Act challenges and other cases.

Dukes Doesn’t Bar Class Action over Bayer Vitamin Sales, Judge Rules

Master — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:45:58 +0000

A California federal judge has certified a statewide consumer class action against Bayer over health claims the company made for its men’s multivitamins, rejecting arguments by Bayer’s lawyers that the class claims couldn’t survive the U.S. Supreme Court’s Wal-Mart v. Dukes decision.

Generic Drugmakers Settle Class Action Over Antidepressants

admin — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:43:00 +0000

Less than a year after the U.S.

State Justices Overturn Another Death Sentence

Master — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:22:51 +0000

For the fourth time in a little more than two months, the California Supreme Court has overturned a death sentence. Because the jury couldn’t reach a verdict on a second special circumstances charge of torture, the high court said it was forced to reverse the sentence.

Wolf Block Asks Justices to Review Ex-Partner’s Lawsuit

Master — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:40:45 +0000

Wolf Block has asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to decide if a case by a former partner seeking severance payments can be removed to confidential arbitration. An appellate panel found ex-partner Michael Budin never signed a partnership agreement mandating arbitration and can therefore have his day in court.

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.

Will alien tort case be next Citizens United?

Master — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:40:41 +0000

The next Citizens United may have nothing to do with campaign finance or the First Amendment.

Citing Morrison (and Surprising No One), N.Y. Judge Tosses Securities Claims by Individual Vivendi Shareholders

admin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 07:40:25 +0000

A federal judge has dismissed individual investors’ securities claims against Vivendi related to ordinary shares they purchased on the Paris Bourse, finding that the claims are barred by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Morrison decision

Supreme Court Fails to Communicate Effectively to Public, Law Scholar Argues

Master — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:15:11 +0000

The Supreme Court is guilty of a broad “failure to communicate” to the public it serves, constitutional scholar and law dean Erwin Chemerinsky said at a symposium Friday. And this failure extends beyond the Court’s stubborn resistance to allowing camera coverage of its oral arguments, he said.

ADAs’ Salaries Can’t Be Charged to Convicted Body-Part Sellers

admin — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:59:54 +0000

While a convicted defendant can be sentenced to pay the costs of a prosecution and trial, those costs do not include the salaries of the assistant district attorneys and county detectives for the hours they worked the case, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled in a case involving two funeral directors who illegally sold body parts.

Foes of ‘Pay for Delay’ Drug Settlements Turn to State’s High Court

admin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:57:26 +0000

A class of consumers challenging “pay for delay” drug settlements is asking California’s Supreme Court to find that pharmaceutical patent holders violate antitrust laws when they pay competitors to put off the potential release of generic medicines — a practice estimated to cost consumers $3.5 billion a year in inflated prices.

Court trims California slaughterhouse law

Master — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:57:21 +0000

In a major victory for the meat industry, a unanimous Supreme Court decided Monday that the federal law governing the operation of slaughterhouses pre-empts efforts by California and other states to require humane treatment of “downer” or nonambulatory pigs.

Company must defend claims that it illegally sought customers’ ZIP codes

Master — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 09:40:27 +0000

A California appeal court has reinstated a suit by a woman who claimed that a Brookstone store illegally asked for her ZIP code during a credit card transaction. The ruling is the first to retrospectively apply a state Supreme Court decision that found ZIP codes were “personal identification information.”

‘Occupy the Courts’ Protests Hit Supreme Court and Federal Courthouses Nationwide

Master — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 09:40:23 +0000

The Occupy movement took its campaign against corporate domination to the federal judiciary Friday. Demonstrators pushed through a police barricade and stormed the U.S. Supreme Court building, while others massed at federal courthouses nationwide to protest the Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision.

Small-Business Owners Wary of Citizens United’s Impact

Master — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 06:02:19 +0000

Numerous small- and medium-size business owners have joined a growing chorus of activists and lawmakers who oppose the Citizens United ruling, showing that the business community does not uniformly support the Supreme Court decision, say advocates for campaign finance reform.

High Court to Revisit Medical Marijuana Cases

admin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:10:01 +0000

The California Supreme Court has waded into a legal morass over medical marijuana, granting review of two rulings addressing cities’ efforts to regulate pot dispensaries. In a separate marijuana case, the court agreed to review a decision over whether a skunky smell is enough to warrant a search.

Carlyle Groups Attempts To Ban Shareholder Class Actions, According to IPO Documents

admin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:33:51 +0000

It’s not clear how the Supreme Court’s landmark Concepcion arbitration ruling might apply to shareholder litigation. But the Carlyle Group and its lawyers at Simpson Thacher are ready to test whether a public company can ban shareholder class actions.

Judge Sticks to Ruling Refusing to Order Arbitration in Wage Suit

Master — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:33:48 +0000

A New York federal judge has rejected Ernst & Young’s claims that an individual plaintiff is required to arbitrate her overtime claims individually instead of through a class action in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s holding in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion.

Court approves act extending copyrights to foreign works previously in public domain

Master — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:33:46 +0000

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the Constitution did not bar Congress from extending copyright protection to previously free foreign works, rejecting arguments by musicians, conductors, publishers and others who enjoyed free access before Congress acted in 1994.

Citing law firm’s errors, high court rules for death row inmate

Master — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:33:45 +0000

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that an Alabama death row inmate should not be penalized for missing a crucial appeal deadline when the error was caused by his pro bono lawyers from New York’s Sullivan & Cromwell. The 7-2 ruling in Maples v

Justices take a pass on First Amendment cases

Master — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 07:07:08 +0000

The Supreme Court on Tuesday decided to stay out of two hot First Amendment debates, one testing the limits of student speech on the Internet, and the other on prayer at public government meetings.

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.

Citizens United Lawyer Retained by Groups in Montana Campaign Finance Case For High Court Appeal

Master — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 06:47:32 +0000

James Bopp Jr., the lawyer who brought Citizens United v. FEC to the U.S.

Supreme Court: Juvenile Suspect Who Asked for Mom Didn’t Invoke Miranda Rights

admin — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 06:47:31 +0000

A 15-year-old who repeatedly asked to speak to his mother during a police interrogation didn’t invoke his Miranda right, the California Supreme Court has ruled. The defendant argued the interrogation should have been stopped, but the high court said he had to be clear he wanted a lawyer.