9th Circuit Court

Heller Creditors Seek $150M from Partners of Failed Law Firm

Contending that Heller Ehrman, in effect, fraudulently conveyed $150 million to partners after the law firm had become insolvent, creditors are seeking full reimbursement from the former partners of the now-defunct firm. In a confidential brief prepared for a mediation hearing tomorrow in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District…

Oct 29, 2009 5:08 PM CDT

Panel Takes No Action Against Judge Kozinski for E-mailing Crude Jokes

Alex Kozinski, the chief judge of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, won’t be sanctioned for e-mailing crude jokes. The Judicial Council of the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said its investigation has concluded, and it is taking no action, the Los Angeles Times reports.…

Oct 28, 2009 12:03 PM CDT

Heller Bankruptcy Judge Offers Grammar Tips, Suggests Legal Fees Slowdown

A federal judge overseeing the Heller Ehrman bankruptcy case offers not only legal and technical suggestions but grammar and typo tips in a seven-page letter to lawyers (PDF) about a draft joint liquidation plan that will be discussed in a November hearing. Judge Dennis Montali also asks for a schedule…

Oct 26, 2009 9:41 PM CDT

Marriage of Ted Olson’s 87-Year-Old Mom Is Grist in Gay Marriage Case

In oral arguments two weeks ago, U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker asked what harms may befall California if gays are allowed to marry there. Charles Cooper, the lawyer for backers of Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriages, had an unusual answer, the New York Times reports. “Your honor, my answer is:…

Oct 26, 2009 3:43 PM CDT

Heller Creditors May Sue Accountant Over Its ‘07 Audit of Law Firm

Creditors of Heller Ehrman may sue its accountant for allegedly failing to note red flags in its audit report on the law firm’s 2007 financials, according to a bankruptcy liquidation plan filed in federal court last week. Creditors contend that Ernst & Young was persuaded to list without qualification $11…

Oct 14, 2009 9:11 PM CDT

Authorities Struggle to Cope With ‘Tsunami of Digital Evidence’

As cybercrime has exploded in recent years and even traditional crimes ranging from harassment to murder routinely involve Internet-related communication, authorities in many jurisdictions increasingly are struggling to keep up with what Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley calls a “tsunami of digital evidence.” Although his office, which handles state…

Oct 7, 2009 10:17 PM CDT

Record ‘Phish Phry’ Bank Cybercrime Bust Nets 100 in US & Egypt

Authorities have announced charges against 100 individuals in the United States and Egypt in what they say is the largest such case ever pursued in the U.S. Operation Phish Phry netted 53 defendants in the U.S. and 47 in Egypt. They are accused of stealing money from thousands of Bank…

Oct 7, 2009 9:46 PM CDT

Suit Claims California Federal Judge Missed Yacht Payments

U.S. District Judge James Ware has been sued by a bank that claims he has stopped making payments on a 1993 Navigator 33 Yacht. Butte Community Bank claims the San Jose, Calif., judge owes more than $58,000, the San Jose Mercury News reports. “Even a federal judge can wind up…

Oct 2, 2009 2:51 PM CDT

Teen Wins $150K Over Amazon’s Kindle Clawback of Orwell E-Book

When Amazon eliminated a George Orwell book from users’ Kindles earlier this year, after discovering the electronic text had been sold without proper authorization, it also eliminated Justin Gawronski’s homework. His notes on the margins remained, but since the text of Nineteen Eighty-Four was gone they were undecipherable, reports the…

Oct 1, 2009 10:40 PM CDT

Broadcom CFO’s Talks With Law Firm re Backdating Probe Weren’t Privileged

A former chief financial officer of Broadcom Corp. says he expected his 2006 conversations with Irell & Manella about stock options grants to be confidential, because the law firm was representing his employer as outside counsel in an internal probe. And a federal district court judge found that Irell &…

Sep 30, 2009 10:32 PM CDT

James Joyce Estate to Pay Scholar’s $240K Legal Bill in Fair Use Battle

In a settlement that may encourage other academics to push for their right to make fair use of excerpts of published material in their scholarly writing, the estate of famed author James Joyce has agreed to pay a $240,000 legal bill racked up by an English professor at Stanford University…

Sep 30, 2009 7:47 PM CDT

NTSB Thinks Lost Rudder Led to Fatal ‘Cemetery Sea’ Fishing Boat Accident

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board think a lost rudder caused a fishing boat to flood and sink in the Bering Sea off the coastline of Alaska last year, killing five of the 47 crew members aboard in an accident that was detailed in an ABA Journal cover story…

Sep 30, 2009 6:03 PM CDT

D.C. Sniper’s Alleged Shoplifting Costs Gun Shop Owner His License

A federal judge in Washington state has agreed that the owners of a gun shop from which a rifle used in 2002’s fatal D.C. sniper shootings allegedly was shoplifted should not get back their licenses to sell firearms. Attorney James Frush of Seattle, who represents Brian Borgelt and his former…

Sep 29, 2009 6:42 PM CDT

Federal Judge Sides with LA City Council in Spat Over Supersize Signs

A federal judge has given Los Angeles some respite in the city’s ongoing battle with billboard companies seeking to put up super-sized signs. U.S. District Judge Audrey Collins today refused to grant an injunction sought by Liberty Media ordering the city’s building department to permit 16 new so-called supergraphics, reports…

Sep 28, 2009 7:54 PM CDT

Wash. Lawyer Sues Suburb Over Planned Salmon Hatchery at His Own Home

Bill Weinstein says officials in the Seattle suburb in which he is building a waterfront home agreed he could have a salmon hatchery there, as part of a settlement of earlier construction litigation. But Bellevue officials say Weinstein is wrong. Now they are in court again, as the Washington state…

Sep 24, 2009 5:20 PM CDT