2nd Circuit Court

SEC Seeks ‘Clawback’ Against Investors in Money Market Fund

Last year, the Reserve Primary Fund made headlines when the money-market fund “broke the buck” on Sept. 16, 2008, after suffering losses on Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. debt. Now it is in the news again as a federal judge in New York mulls a plan by the U.S. Securities and…

Sep 23, 2009 6:34 PM CDT

2nd Circuit Reinstates Global Warming Suits Against Power Companies

A federal appeals court has reinstated lawsuits by eight states and others claiming power companies’ carbon-dioxide emissions are contributing to global warming. The public nuisance suits seek caps on emissions, the New York Times reports. A two-judge panel decided the case after the third judge, Sonia Sotomayor, was confirmed to…

Sep 22, 2009 4:54 PM CDT

Gerard Lynch Confirmed to 2nd Circuit; Vacancies Mean Court Could Tilt Left

The Senate confirmed Gerard Lynch for the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the first federal circuit court nominee by President Obama to win approval. With the elevation of Lynch, the 2nd Circuit now has four Democratic and six Republican appointees, the Associated Press reports. The court has…

Sep 18, 2009 11:40 AM CDT

Verdict Stands, Despite Yankees Talk Between Juror and Witness

A conversation about the Yankees between a juror and a witness didn’t require reversal of an employment discrimination verdict, according to a federal appeals court. The New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the retaliation verdict against the Nassau County Sheriff’s Department, according to the Connecticut Employment…

Sep 17, 2009 2:45 PM CDT

Pfizer Wins Injunction Banning N.Y. Man’s ‘Viva Viagra’ Missile Stunt

A federal judge has sided with Pfizer in an unusual trademark dispute over its erectile disfunction drug Viagra, granting a permanent injunction banning a New York man from towing a 25-foot missile replica emblazoned with “Viva Viagra” in front of the drug manufacturer’s Manhattan world headquarters. In addition to U.S.…

Sep 10, 2009 4:57 PM CDT

Madoff Sentencing Judge to Get Nomination for 2nd Circuit Vacancy

The Manhattan judge who sentenced convicted Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff to 150 years in prison is expected to be nominated to fill a vacancy on the New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. U.S. District Judge Denny Chin would be the only active Asian-American judge on a federal…

Sep 10, 2009 11:31 AM CDT

Why Did the Bank of America Fire Its GC After Merrill Merger Vote?

Four days after the Bank of America’s shareholders approved a merger with Merrill Lynch, the bank’s general counsel, Timothy Mayopoulos, was suddenly fired and escorted from the building without being permitted to return to his desk, reports the New York Times. His firing came on the same day that the…

Sep 9, 2009 6:22 PM CDT

Co. Files Suit over Actual Light Fixture Based on Animated Pixar Lamp Persona

Seeing a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company create an animated desk-lamp character on the silver screen that apparently was based on its own actual lamp design didn’t bother a Norwegian manufacturer. But after learning that there allegedly are plans afoot to sell an actual lamp that is a miniature…

Sep 8, 2009 11:24 PM CDT

Judge Calabresi Describes Banned Salinger ‘Sequel’ as ‘Rather Dismal’

The New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hasn’t yet ruled on the merits of a federal court’s ban on the publication of an unauthorized “sequel” to J.D. Salinger’s famous novel The Catcher in the Rye. But the verdict is in from at least one jurist on the…

Sep 3, 2009 11:56 PM CDT

Accused of $74M Loan Fraud, Nemazee Did it Again—Twice, Prosecutors Say

Accused of duping Citibank into giving him a $74 million loan based on fraudulent documents misrepresenting his assets, a prominent Democratic political fundraiser reportedly had paid the money back by the time he was criminally charged with bank fraud last week. But now prosecutors say Hassan Nemazee, 59, got the…

Sep 3, 2009 9:51 PM CDT

Accused Record ID Theft Mastermind to Plead Guilty in 2 Earlier Cases, Feds Say

A 28-year-old Florida resident accused of masterminding what authorities say is the largest-ever computer hacking and identity theft case is expected to plead guilty in two earlier cyberfraud conspiracy cases, prosecutors say. Paperwork filed in federal court in Boston today states that Albert Gonzalez will plead guilty by Sept. 11…

Aug 28, 2009 8:15 PM CDT

Accused of Acting as ‘De Facto G-Man,’ Lawyer Says Ex-Client Is in Dreamland

Attorney David Blythewood was supposed to be defending Nassau County Legislator Roger Corbin in a criminal tax evasion case. But “Mr. Bythewood’s representation of Roger Corbin throughout the entirety of this case has been so far beneath the standard of effective assistance of counsel as to render Mr. Bythewood a…

Aug 25, 2009 7:14 PM CDT

Alleged Architect of Record Hack Attack is Computer Addict, His Lawyer Says

A defendant in what federal prosecutors describe as a hacking and identity theft case of record-breaking scope was a computer addict who spent much of his free time online since age 8, according to his lawyer. Albert Gonzalez, who is now 28, “didn’t go out in the sandbox or play…

Aug 21, 2009 5:15 PM CDT

EEOC Sues AT&T, Says Policy Banning Rehire of Early Retirees Is Age Bias

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued AT&T, claiming the company’s refusal to consider rehiring early retirees amounts to age discrimination. The suit filed Thursday in Manhattan federal court says the policy against rehiring those who took early retirement has an adverse impact on older workers, according to stories in…

Aug 21, 2009 11:27 AM CDT

US Indicts 43 in Alleged $5.8B Drug Ring

As Mexican officials today announced the apparent assassination of the presiding legislator of the drug-plagued state of Chilpancingo, United States officials, including U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, announced the indictment of 43 individuals here and in Mexico concerning an alleged $5.8 billion cocaine and heroin operation. Those accused in the…

Aug 20, 2009 7:36 PM CDT