Civil Procedure

Ex-fiancee must return $70K ring after failed engagement, court says

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on Friday ruled that, from now on, an engagement ring must be returned to the buyer if the wedding falls through, regardless of who’s at fault.

Nov 11, 2024 9:30 AM CST

Sanction against Northwestern law prof affirmed by 10th Circuit

A federal appeals court has affirmed a $5,000 sanction against a professor at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law for seeking to remove a state court motion to federal court, finding no abuse of discretion by a federal judge who imposed it.

Oct 31, 2024 2:45 PM CDT

Kirkland partner can’t present argument or evidence because he ‘crossed the lines’ of court orders, judge says

A Missouri judge has sanctioned a Kirkland & Ellis partner after finding the lawyer “acted in bad faith on several occasions” and tried to inflame the jury during a civil trial targeting the makers of baby formula.

Oct 31, 2024 8:45 AM CDT

Judge reassigned after he orders defendant to wear condom and jokes ‘probation’s gonna check’

A Florida judge has been reassigned to civil court after he told a defendant to always wear a condom and repeated gay double entendres from a 1990s comedy show in a different case.

Sep 30, 2024 3:51 PM CDT

Canadian courts are definitely different than American ones

How do Canadian court systems and protocols differ from American ones? Let me count some of the ways.

Sep 26, 2024 8:55 AM CDT

St. Thomas College of Law reinstates fired tenured professor, will start termination hearings

Updated: After firing a tenured professor in July, the St. Thomas University Benjamin L. Crump College of Law has reinstated her for the purpose of formally terminating her via the due process rights spelled out in the faculty handbook.

Aug 29, 2024 10:22 AM CDT

Family sues judge who ordered teen to be handcuffed after she fell asleep

The mother of a teenage girl sued the Detroit judge who detained and handcuffed her daughter after she fell asleep during a field trip to his courtroom.

Aug 22, 2024 10:03 AM CDT

Tenured professor sues St. Thomas College of Law after firing

Updated: A tenured professor filed a civil lawsuit against the St. Thomas University Benjamin L. Crump College of Law in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in Miami-Dade County after being fired, claiming she did not receive due process in violation of her contract.

Aug 21, 2024 11:20 AM CDT

8th Circuit allows Iowa book ban to take effect but rules for challengers on First Amendment issue

A federal appeals court on Friday allowed an Iowa law to take effect that polices books in school libraries, saying a federal judge who blocked the law erred in his analysis.

Aug 14, 2024 3:32 PM CDT

Illinois jail must pay $880K to family members of inmate who died by suicide, judge rules

A federal judge in Illinois has awarded more than $880,000 to the estate of a 22-year-old man who died by suicide in the Cook County Jail.

Jul 19, 2024 2:45 PM CDT

Retired NFL player’s lead counsel removed for attempting to ‘manufacture discord,’ judge says

A Mississippi judge on Thursday removed one of retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre’s lawyers in a state civil lawsuit involving misspent welfare funds.

Jul 16, 2024 3:15 PM CDT

After lawyers exceed status-letter limit by ‘whopping’ 70 pages, judge sees echoes of fictional Jarndyce case

The handiwork of lawyers who crafted a joint 73-page monthly status letter won’t appear on the federal docket after a magistrate judge noted last week that it was a “whopping” 70 pages over the limit.

Jul 11, 2024 10:36 AM CDT

5th Circuit rejects nationwide injunction in challenge to task force’s insurer mandates

A task force that issued preventive care mandates for insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act had “unreviewable power” that violated the Constitution, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Jun 25, 2024 1:02 PM CDT

Justice Thomas questions associational standing; would his view end diversity challenges?

Justice Clarence Thomas took a dim view of associational standing in a concurrence last week to the U.S. Supreme Court’s abortion drug mifepristone decision, a stance that could interfere with diversity challenges.

Jun 18, 2024 12:14 PM CDT

Expanded access to abortion drug remains intact after Supreme Court says challengers lack standing

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously ruled that anti-abortion medical groups and doctors who challenged expanded access to the abortion drug mifepristone lacked standing to sue.

Jun 13, 2024 9:32 AM CDT