9th Circuit Court

Set to Move Ahead on Possible MERS Suit, Texas County Instead Looks to State AG to Take Lead Role

Seemingly on the verge of retaining counsel to follow the lead of another Texas county and file suit against a national electronic mortgage recording entity, officials in Harris County, which includes Houston, instead decided to look to the state attorney general to take a potential leading role. “If this is…

Oct 26, 2011 1:07 AM CDT

GOP Contenders Campaign Against the Federal Judiciary; One Candidate Wants to Ax the 9th Circuit

Six out of eight candidates for the Republican presidential nomination are backing limits on the federal judiciary, ranging from an end to lifetime tenure to impeachment to curbs on jurisdiction. The candidates are criticizing the judiciary even though a majority of judges, including those on the Supreme Court, have been…

Oct 24, 2011 4:58 PM CDT

Latham’s Work Defending 9th Circuit Judge on ‘Torture Memo’ Allegations Valued at $3.2M

Latham & Watkins has performed $3.2 million in free legal work for a federal appeals judge, according to his financial disclosure forms. Appellate litigator Maureen Mahoney of Latham took on the defense of Jay Bybee as the U.S. Justice Department considered ethics allegations stemming from his work on so-called “torture…

Oct 24, 2011 1:30 PM CDT

Poker Players File Clawback Claim Against Cozen O’Connor, Seek $2M in Legal Fees

Some 200,000 poker players are seeking $2 million that Cozen O’Connor allegedly earned in legal fees from clients related to an online company now said by the feds to have been involved in a Ponzi scheme. The plaintiffs contend the law firm should disgorge the money because it knew or…

Oct 20, 2011 10:50 PM CDT

Convicted of Money Laundering, Lawyer Victimized in $300K Bad Check Scam Is Now Disbarred

Things have apparently gone from bad to worse for a Saipan lawyer who reportedly fell victim to an international fraud scheme operated from Hong Kong that targeted lawyers. Charged with money-laundering in U.S. District Court in Guam after he withdrew nearly $185,000 credited to his account from what turned out…

Oct 18, 2011 7:10 PM CDT

Lawyer Sued Over Shooting by Elderly Client; Complaint Alleges He Should Have Warned Authorities

A Florida lawyer has been named as a defendant in a personal injury lawsuit seeking damages over a shooting in another state by an elderly client. Attorney David Gilmore should have anticipated that his client, Thomas Kyros, 81, posed a danger to Georgia Smith and her young adult daughter, Promethea…

Oct 18, 2011 6:21 PM CDT

Help Wanted: Case Delays Likely to Grow with Deaths of Five 9th Circuit Judges This Year

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals takes more time to issue opinions than any other appeals court. Some fear the pace will slow even more with the deaths of five appeals judges this year. The average length of time to issue an opinion after an appeal is…

Oct 17, 2011 11:32 AM CDT

Gingrich’s Plan to Chastise Judges: Subpoena Them, Ignore Their Decisions, Slash Their Budgets

Corrected: Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is elaborating on his plans for taming the federal judiciary. On national security issues, Gingrich said at a Values Voters Summit on Friday, he saw no reason to obey some U.S. Supreme Court rulings, report CBS News and the Atlantic. “I would instruct the…

Oct 12, 2011 10:30 AM CDT

Md. Surrogacy Lawyer in Baby-Sale Ring Disbarred, Awaits Sentencing in Federal Wire Fraud Conspiracy

A Rockville, Md., lawyer who reportedly collaborated with a California attorney to flout adoption and surrogacy laws in a baby-selling scheme has been disbarred. Hilary Neiman was disbarred by consent yesterday in Maryland, reports the Gazette. She and a California lawyer, Theresa Erickson, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit…

Oct 7, 2011 10:08 PM CDT

Lawyer Sues Facebook, Says Tracking Cookie Violates Wiretap Laws, Seeks Class Action Status

A lawyer and Facebook user has sued the social networking site in federal court in Kansas, contending that a tracking cookie violates wiretap laws. Lead plaintiff John Graham, a 42-year-old attorney in Leawood, Kan., also alleges in the suit that the cookie violates state consumer-protection law, reports the Associated Press.…

Oct 6, 2011 10:44 PM CDT

9th Circuit Cases Make Up ‘Staggering’ Percentage of Supreme Court Docket

The U.S. Supreme Court has 48 cases on the docket so far this term, and 20 of them hail from the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. SCOTUSblog says the number amounts to a “staggering” 42 percent of the court’s docket. The 9th Circuit has always supplied a…

Oct 5, 2011 1:51 PM CDT

BigLaw Firms Say Anna Nicole Smith Ruling Nixes Bankruptcy Jurisdiction in Heller Clawback Case

Unlikely though it might seem, a deceased celebrity and former stripper known for her marriage to a very elderly, and very wealthy, Texas oil tycoon is at the center of an ongoing dispute concerning the dissolution of Heller Ehrman. Lawyers for the major law firms at which Heller Ehrman’s former…

Oct 3, 2011 11:55 PM CDT

Appeals Court Delays Release of Proposition 8 Trial Tapes

A federal appeals court has delayed the release of video recordings of last year’s trial on the constitutionality of Proposition 8, California’s ban on same-sex marriage. A panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Monday it would stay a lower court order to make the…

Sep 29, 2011 10:57 PM CDT

Supreme Court to Decide Immunity for Private Lawyer Aiding City Internal Probe

A private lawyer seeking immunity from a suit over his work for a California town will have his appeal heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. The court granted cert to lawyer Steve Filarsky on Tuesday, SCOTUSblog reports. Filarsky had been retained by the city of Rialto, Calif., to work on…

Sep 28, 2011 11:00 AM CDT

‘Sleeper’ Supreme Court Case Asks Whether Constitution Bars Suits by Uninjured Consumers

A case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether consumers who suffer no financial injuries have standing to sue for statutory violations under Article III of the Constitution. The case before the court involves “the mundane business of title insurance,” Forbes reports. “But companies from Facebook to the automobile…

Sep 28, 2011 10:30 AM CDT