Legal Book » the-federal

Woman Mistakenly Put on ‘No-Fly’ List Can Sue, Appellate Panel Rules

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:37:45 +0000

The 9th Circuit has revived a suit by a Stanford Ph.D.

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.

3rd Circuit Upholds State Law Favoring American Steel

Master — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:15:24 +0000

Rejecting a Delaware corporation’s arguments, the 3rd Circuit ruled last week that a Pennsylvania state law that mandates that steel used in public works projects be made in the United States is not unconstitutional or pre-empted by the federal Buy American Act.

‘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.

DEA Agent Involved In Self-Shooting Loses Appeal In D.C. Circuit

Master — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 07:07:09 +0000

Lee Paige, the federal drug agent who accidentally shot himself in the leg during a videotaped talk with children, has lost his appeal in a suit that alleged the government illegally released personal information. The D.C.

Toyota blames driver for fatal accident, signaling MDL defense

Master — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:56:50 +0000

In a court document that provided a glimpse into Toyota’s potential defense in the first bellwether case in the federal multidistrict litigation over sudden acceleration, the company blamed a deceased driver for a crash involving a 2008 Camry that allegedly lurched forward while on an exit ramp.

Court says credit repair groups can force consumers into arbitration

Master — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:26:16 +0000

Credit repair organizations can require consumers to arbitrate their claims, the Supreme Court has ruled, rejecting arguments by consumer and senior citizen groups that the federal Credit Repair Organizations Act gives consumers a non-waivable right to go to court with claims of unfair or deceptive practices.

In medical leave case, questions of self-care and sovereign immunity

Master — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:26:07 +0000

The lawyer for a fired employee of the Maryland judiciary urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to find that states can be sued when they refuse to give their employees leave for serious illnesses under a key provision of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act.

In medical leave case, questions of self-care and sovereign immunity

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:26:07 +0000

In Annual Report, Roberts Defends Supreme Court Ethics Procedures

Master — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:15:24 +0000

Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., in his year-end report on the state of the federal judiciary, offered a vigorous defense of the Supreme Court’s handling of ethical issues. He also said he has “complete confidence in the capability of my colleagues to determine when recusal is warranted.”

A Plum Role for MoFo Associate

admin — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 10:31:32 +0000

It’s the kind of case, and career opportunity, that plenty of associates can only dream of. And it fell right in Rita Lin’s lap.

Federal, State Claims May Be Split In Takings Case, 3rd Circuit Rules

admin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 10:03:12 +0000

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has decided a plaintiff’s federal claims are not precluded when the plaintiff puts the defendants in a state action on notice that the federal claims are being split off and the defense never objects.

State’s removal of case does not automatically waive sovereign immunity, 1st Circuit rules

admin — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 02:48:47 +0000

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.

Winston & Strawn Secures $276 Million for Investors (and $24 Million in Contingency Fees) in 18-Year-Old Suit Against the FDIC

Master — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 04:12:28 +0000

Ending an epic 18-year fight with the federal government over the FDIC’s seizure of Meritor Savings Bank, a judge in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims has issued a final order awarding Meritor’s shareholders $276 million in damages and a nearly $24 million contingency fee to Winston & Strawn.

When Computer Misuse Becomes a Crime

Master — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 07:06:53 +0000

What started as a routine prosecution stemming from an employment dispute has turned into a heated battle over civil liberties in the digital age. At oral argument on Thursday, an en banc panel of the 9th Circuit will sort out whether the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act allows for the federal prosecution of employees who so much as check a ballgame score on a work computer or fib on Facebook in violation of a terms of use agreement.

In privacy case, justices home in on the meaning of ‘actual damages’

Master — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 07:37:08 +0000

In a case watched closely by privacy and whistleblower advocates, lawyers for an HIV-positive pilot and the federal government clashed in the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday over whether damages for mental and emotional distress can be recovered for violations of the Privacy Act.

For the justices, the weirder side of consumer protection

admin — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 08:48:52 +0000

The Supreme Court struggled Monday with whether Congress, in creating a private right of action for consumers under a statute that prohibits robocalls and unsolicited faxes, limited them to suits in state courts. The case was one of two argued Monday in which consumers sought access to the federal courts.

TD Bank executive takes Fifth in Rothstein-related trial

admin — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 05:07:22 +0000

Frank Spinosa, a former regional vice president for TD Bank who is accused of being Scott Rothstein’s yes man, refused to answer any questions Thursday on the witness stand in the federal lawsuit brought by investors in the former lawyer’s $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme.

Rule sought for unsealing grand jury records

admin — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 06:32:52 +0000

U.S.

Jenner’s Andrew Weissmann Tapped as New FBI GC

admin — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 20:18:01 +0000

Andrew Weissmann, the former director of the federal government’s Enron task force, has left his post as co-chair of Jenner & Block’s white-collar defense and investigations practice to become the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s new general counsel.

3rd Circuit Applies ‘Later-Served’ Rule to Removal Petitions

Master — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 07:03:02 +0000

In an issue that has split the federal circuits, the 3rd Circuit has ruled that, in cases where multiple defendants are served on different days, the defendants each have 30 days from the time they’re served to file a notice of removal from state court to federal court.

Feds Say Charges are Constitutional in Facebook Threat Case

admin — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 04:48:57 +0000

Just days before a Pennsylvania man is scheduled to go on trial for making violent threats on Facebook, federal prosecutors are urging a judge to reject the man’s challenge to the constitutionality of the federal cyberstalking statute.

Constitutionality of Facebook Threat Charges Challenged

admin — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 22:04:04 +0000

A Pennsylvania man who was indicted for making violent threats on Facebook is now challenging the constitutionality of the federal cyberstalking statute, arguing that the law criminalizes “pure speech” and is vague and overbroad.

T. John Ward Leaves East Texas "Rocket Docket" Court to Join Son’s Law Firm

Master — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 04:59:28 +0000

T. John Ward Sr., the federal district court judge credited with turning Marshall, Texas, into an unlikely hot spot for patent litigation, stepped down from the bench on Friday

Battle over Medicaid launches new Supreme Court term

Master — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 04:42:59 +0000

California urged the high court Monday to bar private individuals from challenging state decisions to reduce Medicaid reimbursement rates for health care providers. Justices gave no hint of what they might do with the case in which California has drawn support from 31 states and the federal government.