Civil Procedure

2nd Circuit Knocks Settlement Plan to Remove Sanction from Databases

A federal appeals court has refused to vacate a trial judge’s sanctions against three lawyers found to have filed a meritless lawsuit. The court also criticized their attempt to remove the ruling from online databases. The three lawyers had agreed to settle with the defendant—but only if the New York…

Oct 22, 2008 12:28 PM CDT

Neb. Lawmaker’s Suit Against God is Dismissed; Almighty Couldn’t Be Served

A Nebraska lawmaker has failed in his attempt to hold God accountable for worldwide natural disasters and alleged terroristic threats made in his name. Because God couldn’t be served with the lawsuit, it was dismissed yesterday by Douglas County District Court Judge Marlon Polk, reports the Associated Press. The plaintiff,…

Oct 15, 2008 6:54 PM CDT

Federal Juror Names No Longer Secret in Western District of Pennsylvania

A rule that required the names of federal jurors to be kept secret in the Western District of Pennsylvania has been revoked by the chief judge there. The move by U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose followed a media protest over a decision by another judge there to keep juror names…

Oct 14, 2008 11:14 PM CDT

5th Circuit Ruling Likely to Nix IP Rocket Docket in Texas

An en banc ruling by a federal appeals court in a case involving a car crash is likely to put a crimp in the intellectual property “rocket docket” in the Eastern District of Texas. The ruling by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Volkswagen was entitled…

Oct 14, 2008 11:51 AM CDT

Jailed Over Brown Lawn, 66-Year-Old Returns Home to Beautiful Yard

As a struggling 66-year-old Florida homeowner went off to begin serving an open-ended contempt sentence for having a brown lawn last week, the president of his condominium association said Joseph Prudente brought the situation on himself. But strangers showed more compassion for Prudente’s plight—even though he had indeed ignored the…

Oct 13, 2008 11:48 PM CDT

Court Asked to Rule in 3 Disputes over Fairness of W. Va. Justice System

The U.S. Supreme Court is likely to decide this week whether the Constitution required the recusal of a West Virginia Supreme Court justice who received more than $3 million in campaign contributions from the chief executive officer of a corporate litigant. The case is one of three before the court…

Oct 13, 2008 12:39 PM CDT

Judge Rules Trustee Lacks Authority to Sue Countrywide for Abuses

A federal bankruptcy judge in Miami has tossed a suit by the U.S. Trustee against Countrywide, ruling the agency has no authority to sanction companies for alleged bad faith conduct. Judge A. Jay Cristol said the trustee had “noble intentions” but the authority to seek punishment rests with federal prosecutors,…

Oct 6, 2008 1:55 PM CDT

Judge Holds Weekend Court at Home Over Wachovia Buyout Tussle

Updated: Citigroup lawyers made a weekend trip to a judge’s home in Connecticut in an attempt to block a Wachovia buyout by Wells Fargo, but the judge had no authority to delay the deal in part because he issued his order from another state, a state appeals court judge later…

Oct 6, 2008 12:26 PM CDT

Judge Tosses Doomsday Lawsuit for Lack of Jurisdiction

A federal judge in Honolulu has tossed a lawsuit that had contended a Swiss particle accelerator could produce a black hole and swallow the Earth. U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor ruled the court had no jurisdiction in the case, the New York Times reports. The first test of the device…

Oct 2, 2008 3:53 PM CDT

Ike Sewage Woes Chronicled in Lawyer’s Angry Letter

A sarcastic letter being passed along by e-mail chronicles the woes of a Houston lawyer who couldn’t make a deposition after Hurricane Ike. The letter (PDF) by Jeff Murphrey of Tekell, Book, Matthews & Limmer takes issue with his opponent’s request that he pay travel expenses for a rescheduled deposition.…

Oct 2, 2008 3:11 PM CDT

Judge Lifts FDIC’s Oct. 14 Deadline for IndyMac Borrowers to File Claims

A California federal judge has temporarily lifted a federal deadline for borrowers to file federal claims against IndyMac Bank in a lawsuit that claims the plaintiffs were lured into deceptive loans. The Daily Journal (sub. req.) reports on the reasons for the temporary restraining order by U.S. District Judge Alicemarie…

Oct 1, 2008 11:29 AM CDT

Judge Says Raisinets, Not Damages, Are Option for Popcorn Plaintiff

Fat and calories aren’t the only hidden risks of movie theater popcorn. The unpopped kernels also post dental dangers, but that doesn’t mean the cinema has to pay for broken teeth, a Manhattan judge has ruled. Judge Matthew Cooper dismissed the suit by an insurance broker who sought more than…

Sep 30, 2008 1:54 PM CDT

Crime Victim’s Suit Dismissed; Clock Ticked While Teen Was Captive

A runaway at age 14, a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit who is now 26 says she was held captive for a decade by a security guard at her middle school. But, by the time she was 16, she should have known she was sitting on a civil rights lawsuit,…

Sep 15, 2008 6:57 PM CDT

OK, Discovery’s a Problem, But What Can Be Done About It?

An interim report (reg. req.) on a recent survey of trial lawyers about the American civil justice system has confirmed what many feared: Out-of-control discovery, among other issues, is making it difficult or impossible to pursue many cases that traditionally would have been brought, as parties settle or even decide…

Sep 11, 2008 6:30 PM CDT

Litigation Too Costly, E-Discovery a ‘Morass,’ Trial Lawyers Say

Updated: The civil justice system in the United States is so bogged down in a “morass” of e-discovery that it is often too expensive for litigants to take their cases to trial, according to a survey of trial lawyers. Now the next step is to fix this increasingly dysfunctional system,…

Sep 9, 2008 3:00 PM CDT