2nd Circuit Court

Airlines and World Trade Center leaseholder don’t have to pay cleanup costs for 9/11 attacks

An appellate court has upheld a decision shielding American Airlines, United Airlines and the World Trade Center leaseholder from paying environmental cleanup costs relating to the 9/11 attacks in New York City. According to Reuters, a unanimous three-judge panel for the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held…

May 2, 2014 9:36 PM CDT

2nd Circuit revives racketeer suit against tobacco company, says RICO law covers conduct outside US

A trial judge should not have dismissed a racketeering lawsuit in which 26 foreign countries accuse a major U.S. tobacco company of involvement in an international money-laundering scheme linked to organized crime groups, a federal appeals court has ruled. Also disagreeing with the trial judge’s finding of a diversity problem,…

Apr 24, 2014 4:45 PM CDT

Did hacker help FBI get overseas intelligence? Court docs suggest answer may be yes, NY Times says

While prosecuting computer hackers, the federal government also may itself have been utilizing hackers to help gather overseas intelligence information, court documents suggest. Hector Xavier Monsegur, a cooperating witness known as Sabu in a federal case over Anonymous-related hacking, acted in 2012 to coordinate hundreds of intrusions on foreign websites,…

Apr 24, 2014 1:30 PM CDT

Supreme Court dubious about Aereo’s low-cost TV, but wary that ruling could curtail cloud technology

Those who envision a sea change in television viewing options if an Internet start-up prevails against major broadcasters in a U.S. Supreme Court case over low-cost access to network shows should perhaps prepare themselves for a disappointment. While impressed with the ingenuity of Aereo’s legal arguments and use of technology,…

Apr 23, 2014 12:35 PM CDT

2nd Circuit backs NY Times, orders DOJ to turn over legal rationale for targeted US killings

Reversing a federal district court ruling that allowed the Department of Justice to keep secret the legal reasoning behind targeted U.S. killings of certain individuals linked to terrorism cases, a federal appeals court has ruled that the feds must provide information requested by two New York Times reporters. The decision…

Apr 22, 2014 5:30 PM CDT

GM seeks bankruptcy court ban on class actions alleging lost value due to car ignition-switch issues

In a Monday filing, General Motors asked a federal bankruptcy court in New York to put the kibosh on nearly 50 class actions. They allege that owners of small cars manufactured by the automaker have seen their vehicles’ value diminish recently because of news about a massive recall over ignition-switch…

Apr 22, 2014 4:55 PM CDT

Feds used ‘big fish’ to ‘testify down’; risky strategy led to acquittals of 2 lawyers

A rare and risky trial practice has been front and center in two recent federal trials in New York City, resulting in the acquittals of two lawyers and another defendant who had faced 35 counts in one of the two cases. Using cooperating “big fish” as witnesses to “testify down”…

Apr 21, 2014 2:00 PM CDT

Federal jury awards $18M each to 2 men in wrongful conviction case

It took less than two hours of deliberation Thursday for a federal jury in New York to decide to award $18 million, each, to two men in a wrongful conviction case. The jury had already decided last week that a now-deceased Nassau County detective violated the civil rights of Dennis…

Apr 17, 2014 9:40 PM CDT

GM seeks court ruling it is protected from ignition-switch suits under bankruptcy law

Amidst a recall of at least 2.6 million vehicles over ignition-switch issues and a growing number of would-be class actions claiming that company officials knew of defects for years, General Motors is seeking a freeze on the litigation and a court ruling that it is protected from liability by bankruptcy…

Apr 16, 2014 6:15 PM CDT

2nd Circuit asks top NY court to explain minimum needed to satisfy in-state law office requirement

In the latest development in a New Jersey attorney’s challenge to a New York law requiring the state’s practitioners to maintain law offices there, a federal appeals court has asked New York state’s top court for input. Specifically, the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is asking the…

Apr 10, 2014 9:30 PM CDT

Attorney accused of stealing nearly $30M before his suicide; law firm bankruptcy has recovered $85K

Before he apparently jumped to his death from the roof of his Long Island, N.Y., office in 2010, attorney Jay Korn stole nearly $30 million from clients and other would-be real estate investors in a Ponzi scheme, investigators say. So far, $85,000 has been collected on their behalf in the…

Apr 9, 2014 6:25 PM CDT

Civil rights suit by outside counsel over city’s unpaid legal bill is OK’d by federal judge

A Connecticut lawyer known for her litigation against the city of Bridgeport and its school district is pursuing a new claim on her own behalf. Josephine Miller says in a federal lawsuit that the city attorney violated her civil rights by paying a white attorney who served as outside counsel…

Apr 9, 2014 5:20 PM CDT

‘Rothko’ painting bought for $7.2M was a fake painted in a garage, purchaser says in lawsuit

A Las Vegas casino operator who says he paid $7.2 million for a work of art he was assured had been painted by famed abstract expressionist Mark Rothko is now suing to try to get his money back. Frank J. Fertitta III contends in his Tuesday filing that the untitled…

Apr 2, 2014 11:10 PM CDT

Jury acquits 2 lawyers and developer in federal housing kickback case

A real estate developer and two lawyers who served as his partners were acquitted Tuesday by a federal jury in Brooklyn on charges that they had participated in a kickback scheme that involved a top New York City housing official. The former housing official testified he had received about $2.5…

Apr 2, 2014 5:25 PM CDT

Law student suit says NYC cops handcuffed him when he questioned them during a lunch break

A law student got some life lessons from two New York City police officers when he questioned them during a lunch break about why they had parked illegally while noshing at a Brooklyn food truck. Tzvi Richt says the two at first tried to discourage him from continuing to ask…

Mar 31, 2014 11:35 PM CDT