9th Circuit Court

Bank’s Suit Over E-Mail Data Breach Can’t Be Sealed, Judge Says

When a customer of Rocky Mountain Bank needed information, an employee promptly sent it by e-mail. Unfortunately, the Gmail address to which the material was delivered apparently belonged to someone else–and an attachment that should not have been sent contained confidential information about more than 1,300 individual and business accounts,…

Sep 21, 2009 10:16 PM CDT

US EPA Must Address Discriminatory Use of Funds, 9th Circuit Says

Reversing a trial judge’s dismissal of a community group’s civil rights lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on mootness grounds, a federal appeals court panel has ruled that the agency needs to address what the plaintiff describes as an unfair practice of spending money in well-to-do areas. Additionally, the…

Sep 19, 2009 12:06 AM CDT

Fired US Attorney for Nevada Is Rehired

Fired two years ago in a political purge of federal prosecutors during the Bush administration, a former U.S. attorney for Nevada has now been rehired. President Barack Obama’s nomination of Daniel Bogden to serve again in the post was confirmed today by the U.S. Senate, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal.…

Sep 15, 2009 10:23 PM CDT

DOJ May Revise Electronic Discovery Procedures After 9th Cir. Ruling

A recent federal appeals court ruling provides an unusually detailed roadmap to prosecutors about appropriate electronic discovery parameters and procedures and could create a sea change in the way the U.S. Department of Justice handles such evidence, a law firm newsletter predicts. The en banc ruling late last month by…

Sep 14, 2009 10:41 PM CDT

UC Irvine to Pay Another $4.23M in Fertility Cases, Total Now Tops $24M

Two doctors at the center of a medical malpractice case have reportedly fled the country to avoid prosecution for allegedly stealing eggs and embryos from some female patients of a California fertility clinic and giving them to other patients. But the University of California at Irvine continues to settle claims…

Sep 11, 2009 9:10 PM CDT

Court: Judge Wrongly Barred Asperger’s Evidence in Eco-Terrorism Trial

A federal appeals court has overturned the arson convictions of a Caltech grad student accused of torching and vandalizing 125 SUVs, ruling the trial judge wrongly barred evidence of the defendant’s Asperger’s syndrome. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said William Cottrell, once a promising physics student,…

Sep 11, 2009 11:49 AM CDT

Former AG John Ashcroft Can Be Sued By Material Witness Detainee, 9th Circuit Says

An individual allegedly unconstitutionally detained as a material witness under a post-Sept. 11, 2001 anti-terrorism policy implemented by ex-U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft can sue the nation’s former top law enforcement official for damages, a three-judge appeals court panel ruled today. Deciding an interlocutory appeal in a case brought by…

Sep 4, 2009 11:49 PM CDT

Ex-Toyota Lawyer Alleges Destruction of Evidence in Rollover Suits

The former managing counsel for Toyota Motor Sales USA has filed a lawsuit against his former employer alleging the automaker destroyed evidence in hundreds of rollover suits, leading to his mental breakdown and firing. The racketeering suit by Dimitrios Biller claims Toyota destroyed evidence in a “ruthless conspiracy” to keep…

Aug 31, 2009 1:43 PM CDT

Feds Intentionally Overreached Seizing 100 MLB Steroids Tests, 9th Cir. Rules

Federal authorities had warrants authorizing the seizure of steroid-test results for less than a dozen Major League Baseball players. But, in “an obvious case of deliberate overreaching by the government in an effort to seize data as to which it lacked probable cause,” they seized positive test results for 100…

Aug 26, 2009 11:59 PM CDT

Dozens of Judges Are Getting LinkedIn, Blogger Notes

Dozens of judges have posted profiles on the professional networking site LinkedIn, including six federal appeals judges. Blogger Robert Ambrogi found the judges through his own search, and wrote about them on Legal Blog Watch. Among the federal appeals judges with public profiles are Richard Clifton of the 9th Circuit,…

Aug 20, 2009 5:50 PM CDT

UPS Worker Sues for Overtime; Case Seeks Up to $100M in Damages

A United Parcel Service Inc. account manager has sued the package delivery service in federal court in San Diego, Calif., for alleged unpaid overtime. If the class action status that Laura Meza is seeking is OK’d by the trial judge, the suit could involve as much as $100 million in…

Aug 20, 2009 4:08 PM CDT

9th Circuit Tosses Conviction of Brocade Ex-CEO, Cites Prosecutor Misconduct

A federal appeals court has overturned the backdating conviction of the former CEO of Brocade Communications, saying the trial of Gregory Reyes was tainted by a prosecutor’s untrue statement to the jury. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today, tossing Reyes’ 21-month sentence for backdating stock…

Aug 18, 2009 6:16 PM CDT

Heller Creditors Seek $24M in Pension, Argue Firm was in Red As Early As ‘07

Hoping to show that Heller Ehrman was insolvent as early as 2007, creditors of the dissolving law firm are arguing that some $24 million in pension contributions were fraudulent transfers they are entitled to claw back from the pension fund and/or firm partners. The firm’s dissolution committee has agreed to…

Aug 17, 2009 5:24 PM CDT

Manager Gave Herself $30K Raise, Stole $1.3M from Law Firm, Feds Say

Unbeknownst to her California law firm, a longtime office administrator gave herself a $30,000 annual pay raise and better benefits by altering records on its computer, stealing some $1.3 million from Sacramento’s Diepenbrock Harrison by this and other methods between 2003 and 2008, according to a federal prosecutor. Regina Schenck,…

Aug 14, 2009 5:20 PM CDT

Two Fired In-House Lawyers Allowed to Pursue SOX Retaliation Claim

Two fired in-house lawyers who claim they were fired for raising questions about possible securities fraud at their employer may pursue their lawsuit as a result of a federal appeals court ruling. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that under the Sarbanes-Oxley law, the two lawyers do not…

Aug 14, 2009 12:51 PM CDT