9th Circuit Court

Ex-Client Seeks $10M Legal Fees Clawback Over Ill-Fated Patent Litigation

A former client is suing two law firms in an effort to recapture some $10 million in legal fees and costs from ill-fated patent infringement litigation. E-Pass Technologies is asserting negligent misrepresentation claims against the company’s former counsel in its California lawsuit, reports the Recorder. The defendants are New York…

Mar 24, 2009 6:36 PM CDT

Big Bank Files Mortgage Racketeering Suit Against Individual Borrowers

A major international bank has filed an unusual federal civil racketeering lawsuit in Seattle against a mortgage broker, an escrow agent–and 10 couples. It contends that they conspired to defraud ING Bank of $6 million by falsifying mortgage applications, reports the Seattle Times. However, the couples say that they, too,…

Mar 16, 2009 7:11 PM CDT

Liberal 9th Circuit Judges Rebel over ‘Cert Petition’ Dissents in En Banc Denials

Judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals are engaging in a war of pointed concurrences and sometimes snarky dissents to decisions denying en banc review. Conservative judges on the San Francisco-based court have long used dissents to denials of en banc review to frame the issues and urge…

Mar 12, 2009 1:43 PM CDT

Federal Judge’s Unusual Story: My Grandfather Was a Slave

As chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Audrey Collins is often called upon to speak at public events. But as she contemplated what to say at a luncheon with a group of female judges and attorneys visiting from Afghanistan, she realized she needed to take a…

Mar 2, 2009 10:25 PM CST

New AG Eric Holder Puts Rare Federal Death Penalty Case on Ice

Months ago, federal prosecutors in San Francisco had recommended a plea deal for alleged gang member and accused triple-murderer Emile Fort that would have included a 40-year prison term. After then-U.S. attorney general, Michael Mukasey, rejected the proposal, the rare federal death-penalty case proceeded to trial. Opening statements were made…

Mar 2, 2009 7:38 PM CST

9th Circuit Rejects ‘State Secrets’ Stay in Warrantless Wiretap Suit

A federal appeals court in San Francisco has rejected an argument by the Obama administration that a lawsuit by a Muslim charity is blocked by the state secrets privilege. The U.S. Department of Justice had invoked the privilege, under both the Obama and Bush administrations, saying that the lawsuit by…

Feb 27, 2009 9:32 PM CST

9th Circuit is 0 for 6 Before the Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court’s rejection yesterday of an antitrust “price squeeze” claim is the sixth decision this term overturning or vacating decisions by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court has yet to affirm a decision by the San Francisco-based appeals court this term, the Daily Journal…

Feb 26, 2009 12:34 PM CST

U.S. Lies Fueled Laos-Overthrow Case, Veteran Defense Lawyer Says

A veteran defense lawyer’s allegations that a federal case against 11 defendants accused of plotting the overthrow of the government of Laos is permeated with lies should be taken “right to the top” of the U.S. Department of Justice, a judge overseeing the case said today in a hearing in…

Feb 24, 2009 2:15 AM CST

W.R. Grace, 5 Ex-Execs on Trial in Landmark Asbestos Prosecution

Five former executives and the company that employed them, W.R. Grace & Co., went on trial today in federal court in Missoula, Mont., in what observers say is the most significant criminal case ever pursued over corporate pollution. “There’s never been a prosecution in the United States where so many…

Feb 24, 2009 1:36 AM CST

Law Firms, Other Employers Battle New Enforcement of WARN Layoff Rules

For years, because of a stronger economy and a lack of enforcement, the Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification Act wasn’t on some employers’ radar screens. But now laid-off workers are seeking to enforce their right to severance pay, and state and federal lawmakers are eyeing changes that would strengthen the…

Feb 24, 2009 12:20 AM CST

Supreme Court Accepts Case of a Transferred Cross

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide an establishment clause case involving a cross honoring service members who died and a congressional attempt to transfer the religious symbol to a private party. The Veterans of Foreign Wars erected the cross on land that became part of a federal forest…

Feb 23, 2009 5:23 PM CST

Ore. Lawyer Gets Payday in Calif. Federal Case; 9th Cir. Nixes Birbrower Ban

A prominent Oregon lawyer who helped his son litigate a federal insurance coverage case in California is entitled to attorney fees, a divided federal appeals court panel has ruled, even though he wasn’t temporarily admitted to practice there. The well-known “Birbrower” ban on attorney fees being paid to an unadmitted…

Feb 18, 2009 6:39 PM CST

Mukasey Delayed Report Criticizing Authors of Torture Memos

Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey delayed a report last fall by the Justice Department’s ethics unit that criticizes three lawyers who wrote the so-called torture memos approving harsh interrogation tactics for terrorism suspects. The report by the Office of Professional Responsibility “sharply criticizes” three former Justice Department officials, according to…

Feb 17, 2009 12:14 PM CST

Kozinski ‘Blows a Gasket’ in Prosecution Thwarted by Indian Definition

A federal appeals court has overturned the assault conviction of a Montana man, saying he doesn’t qualify as an Indian under a statute giving jurisdiction to the federal courts. The 2-1 ruling (PDF) by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in United States v. Cruz could raise jurisdictional problems…

Feb 11, 2009 7:17 PM CST

Another Star MLB Player is Charged in Steroids-Related Case: Miguel Tejada

In a week already packed with news about alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball during the past decade, another player has taken center stage. All-star shortstop Miguel Tejada of the Houston Astros (and formerly of the Baltimore Orioles) has been charged in a criminal information with lying…

Feb 11, 2009 1:20 AM CST