3rd Circuit Court

Librarian Who Sued Law Firm Over False Fire Alarm Arrest Seeks to Depose Defense Lawyer

Arrested for allegedly setting off a false fire alarm at Parker McKay on June 2, 2009, a former librarian sued the New Jersey Law firm and multiple other defendants last year contending that the incident involved retaliation for her prior complaints about her work schedule and pay. Now Sheila Ciemniecki…

May 31, 2011 5:54 PM CDT

3rd Circuit Says Lawyers’ Involvement in ‘Crude’ Film Wasn’t a Subject-Matter Privilege Waiver

By allowing a filmmaker access to attorney-client meetings for his Crude documentary about a megabucks environmental case in Ecuador, lawyers for the plaintiffs did not create a subject-matter waiver for all privileged communications, a federal appeals court has ruled. Reversing a lower court decision that the attorneys involved would have…

May 27, 2011 12:01 AM CDT

FLDS Member Who Pled to Assault Appealing Today, Arguing Tainted Evidence

A Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints member, who last year pled guilty to sexually assaulting a 16-year old girl, is appealing the conviction. He says that he would not receive a fair trial in the rural Texas county where he was charged, and that the plea…

May 18, 2011 3:51 PM CDT

Lawsuit: Aaron’s Rental Co. Laptops Can Track Users’ Keystrokes and Screenshots, Take Webcam Photos

Updated: A couple who purchased a laptop computer from an Aaron’s Rental Co. store in Casper, Wyo., has filed a federal lawsuit seeking class action status against the 1,500-outlet North American chain. It contends that Aaron’s equipped all of the computers it rented, and sometimes sold, to customers with a…

May 3, 2011 8:34 PM CDT

Woman Sues Target and Law Firm re ‘False Affidavit Factory’ Allegedly Used in Consumer Debt Cases

A Pennsylvania woman has filed a federal suit against Target Corp. and the retailer’s law firm, Patenaude & Felix, alleging that she and other consumers have been harmed by a “false affidavit factory” they allegedly used to obtain robo-signed affidavits supporting debt-collection suits by a banking subsidiary. Vicki Higgins seeks…

Apr 20, 2011 11:21 PM CDT

Wife of Jailed Ex-Judge Appeals Home Forfeiture, Seeks 3rd Circuit Ruling Protecting Her Interest

The wife of a retired Pennsylvania judge serving a federal prison sentence for insurance fraud is appealing a court order requiring that their home be forfeited to help pay restitution for the crime. Joanne Joyce, 58, filed an appeal yesterday of a federal judge’s ruling last month that the interests…

Apr 19, 2011 4:58 PM CDT

When Is a Law Firm Allegedly Part of a RICO Criminal Enterprise? 3rd Circuit Explains

A federal district judge erred in dismissing racketeering counts against a prominent New Jersey defense attorney and former prosecutor accused of using his law offices as part of a criminal enterprise, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday. Although the judge was understandably concerned about the complexity of the case against…

Apr 13, 2011 3:46 PM CDT

Federal Judge Says Middle Schoolers Can Wear ‘Boobies’ Bracelets to Raise Breast-Cancer Awareness

Saying that middle schoolers have a constitutional right to express their views about breast cancer and attempt to reduce the “stigma” associated with discussing breast health, a federal judge in Philadelphia has held that two Pennsylvania students, age 12 and 13, cannot be punished for wearing bracelets that express their…

Apr 13, 2011 11:35 AM CDT

3rd Circuit Says Ex-Prosecutor Accused of Plotting to Murder Witness Must Also Face RICO Charges

Criminal defense lawyer Paul Bergrin must face federal racketeering charges in addition to a lengthy list of other counts, a federal appeals court has ruled. Although a federal judge in Newark last year said the crimes of which he and other defendants are accused are too loosely connected to establish…

Apr 12, 2011 4:29 PM CDT

Scathing Complaint Blames Baker & McKenzie, Ex-Partner for Collapse of Corporate Client

Baker & McKenzie and a former partner have been sued in what the Am Law Daily describes as a scathing complaint (PDF) over their alleged roles in a corporate stock scheme that played a role in the collapse of Industrial Enterprises of America. The Pittsburgh-based IEAM is now in bankruptcy…

Apr 12, 2011 12:38 PM CDT

Middleman Pleads Guilty in $34M Insider-Trading Case, Says Lawyer Stole Info from 4th BigLaw Firm

A man accused of being a middleman in an alleged insider-trading operation that prosecutors say reaped some $34 million in illegal profits over a 17-year period pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Newark, N.J., to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and two counts of securities fraud.…

Apr 12, 2011 10:33 AM CDT

Accused Middleman ID’d, Expected to Plead in Alleged Insider Info Theft By BigLaw Attorney

A middleman who allegedly passed confidential merger and acquisition information from a BigLaw attorney to a trader involved in a $109 million insider-trading scheme is expected to plead guilty as early as today to charges of conspiracy and securities fraud, reports the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.), relying on unidentified…

Apr 11, 2011 10:02 AM CDT

Judge Partially Convicted in Kids-for-Cash Case Seeks Acquittal or New Trial

Convicted by a federal jury in Scranton of 12 of the 39 counts that he faced in a bribery case, a former president judge of Luzerne County is now trying for zero. Mark Ciavarella is seeking to negate the remaining convictions, asking for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in…

Mar 4, 2011 8:33 PM CST

Former Manatt Phelps Partner Is Sued by DOJ in Tax-Shelter Case

Updated: A Southern California lawyer who formerly was a partner at Manatt Phelps & Phillips has been named as a defendant in a civil suit over allegedly abusive “intermediary transaction” tax shelters. It was filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in federal court in Camden, N.J. Charles Klink and…

Feb 24, 2011 12:46 AM CST

Reports: Convicted Judge Proclaims Victory, Turns His Back on Mom Blaming Him for Her Son’s Suicide

Convicted on only 12 of the 39 federal criminal counts he faced, a former Pennsylvania judge and his lawyers stepped outside a Scranton courthouse on Friday and proclaimed victory in the “kids for cash” case because he hadn’t been convicted of bribery. “He never took a kickback,” attorney Al Flora…

Feb 22, 2011 11:49 PM CST