2nd Circuit Court

Sprinter Marion Jones Seeks Pardon; US Track Program Head Objects

A disgraced Olympic champion sprinter who lost her five gold medals due to her eventually admitted use of performance-enhancing steroids is seeking a pardon or a commutation of her six-month federal conviction for obstruction of justice from President George W. Bush. However, the head of USA Track & Field has…

Jul 22, 2008 8:58 PM CDT

Class Action Firm Hit for ‘Calculated Attempt at Judge Shopping’

A federal judge has criticized class action law firm Labaton Sucharow for seeking to add new and unrelated claims to a lawsuit against American International Group. U.S. District Judge John Sprizzo of Manhattan refused to allow Labaton to add claims related to AIG’s recent write-downs to its older class-action suit…

Jul 22, 2008 1:22 PM CDT

Judge Rejects Lead Plaintiff as ‘Willing Pawn’ in Backdating Suit

A federal judge in Manhattan has rejected a pension fund as the lead plaintiff in a securities class action because it appeared to be “simply the willing pawn of counsel.” U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said representatives of the Steamship Trade Association International Longshoremen’s Pension Fund had no genuine knowledge…

Jul 17, 2008 12:56 PM CDT

No Gold for Tiffany in Suit Against eBay for Knockoff Sales

A federal judge in New York has ruled against Tiffany in its suit claiming eBay failed to prevent sales of counterfeit jewelry. “What a difference 3,600 miles can make,” Am Law Daily writes. It points out that two weeks ago a Paris court fined eBay more than $60 million for…

Jul 15, 2008 2:05 PM CDT

9/11 Rubble Can Stay in Landfill, Federal Judge Says

A federal judge in Manhattan has dismissed a lawsuit brought by families of victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City. It had sought a court order requiring more than a million tons of rubble that may contain some human remains to be moved from a garbage dump…

Jul 8, 2008 2:37 PM CDT

Google Ordered to Turn Over User Names of YouTube Viewers

A federal judge in New York has ordered Google to turn over to Viacom records of customers’ user names and IP addresses, along with records of videos they watched on YouTube. U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton of Manhattan ruled in a lawsuit filed by Viacom, which seeks to prove that…

Jul 3, 2008 2:46 PM CDT

Is ‘Cosmopolitan’ Resort Too Much Like ‘Cosmopolitan’ Magazine?

Cosmopolitan is a well-known women’s magazine. But is its brand strong enough to ban a developer from using the Cosmopolitan name for a new $3.9 billion Las Vegas Strip mega-resort? That will be for the court to decide in a federal trademark infringement lawsuit filed in the Southern District of…

Jul 2, 2008 10:56 PM CDT

Lawyer’s Fake Letter Complaining About Boss Puts Her in Hot Water

Attorney Maureen Duggan wasn’t happy with her boss at a state agency in Connecticut. But she was afraid that openly complaining about him could put her job at risk. So she drafted a letter in 2004 that was written to appear as if the sender were a parking lot attendant…

Jun 30, 2008 7:09 PM CDT

Judge Sides With Naked Cowboy in Candy Co. Claim re Trademark Role

The Naked Cowboy clearly is unconventional. But Robert Burck is enough of a mainstream businessman to have successfully pursued an intellectual property claim over a candy company’s alleged misuse of his trademark persona past the motion-to-dismiss stage. It wasn’t a complete victory for Burck, whose seemingly naked guitar-playing character in…

Jun 23, 2008 7:45 PM CDT

Bear Stearns Case Means Higher Profile for Young Prosecutor

A federal prosecutor nicknamed “Dangerous Opie” is likely to have a higher profile now that he is handling the case of two Bear Stearns hedge fund managers considered to be the first executives prosecuted in connection with the subprime mortgage meltdown. An extensive Slate profile of Benton Campbell says the…

Jun 20, 2008 7:22 PM CDT

Tables Turned: Defendant Demands Trial, Prosecutors Seek to Avoid It

A defendant accused of being an agent for Saddam Hussein avoided a trial two years ago because of a ruling made by a judge who is now U.S. attorney general. Now the accused woman is demanding a trial while prosecutors argue she is unfit because of mental illness. Michael Mukasey,…

Jun 18, 2008 4:46 PM CDT

Dispute Over Red Cross Symbol Settled

The cross symbol will continue to be used by a health-products company and a charity under a settlement reached yesterday. Johnson & Johnson had sued the American Red Cross last August, claiming the charity infringed its trademark by licensing the cross for commercial purposes. The Red Cross countersued. The litigants…

Jun 18, 2008 2:13 PM CDT

Convicted Milberg Partners Accused in Lawsuit of Draining Firm’s Assets

Two former partners at Milberg contend in a lawsuit that partners who pleaded guilty to paying kickbacks to lead plaintiffs harmed the law firm and drained its assets. The suit could be just the beginning of litigation against founder Melvyn Weiss and former partners William Lerach, Douglas Bershad and Steven…

Jun 18, 2008 11:31 AM CDT

Lawyer’s Libel Suit Against Appeals Judge Gets Tossed

A lawyer’s libel suit against a federal appeals judge has been tossed out of court. U.S. District Judge Dora Irizarry of Brooklyn dismissed the suit against Judge Robert Katzmann of the New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the New York Law Journal reports. Irizarry said Katzmann was…

Jun 17, 2008 3:48 PM CDT

Tattoos Could Ring Up Punitives in Arrestee’s Civil Rights Case

Despite his extensive tattoos, Christopher Russo was arrested and jailed for the better part of a year after he was mistaken for a Connecticut gas station armed robbery suspect who had none. Eventually, prosecutors reviewed surveillance tape of the 2002 crime, as Russo had pleaded with them to do, and…

Jun 10, 2008 7:46 PM CDT