Civil Procedure

2nd Circuit nixes Apple campaign to boot BigLaw partner as court-appointed monitor in e-book case

A federal appeals court has nixed a campaign by Apple Inc. to replace a monitor appointed by a federal judge to oversee the company’s compliance with her orders in e-book antitrust litigation. “This appeal touches upon the scope of a district court’s power under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 53…

May 28, 2015 2:20 PM CDT

Law firm asks 3rd Circuit to block court-ordered interviews of over 30 clients

Facing sanctions over thalidomide birth-defect litigation that was determined to be either baseless or time-barred, did the plaintiffs’ law firm dismiss 27 cases for its own benefit? That is the question a federal judge in Philadelphia is asking and seeking to answer by having special master William Hangley interview more…

May 20, 2015 1:05 PM CDT

Does full settlement offer moot plaintiff’s claim? Supreme Court to decide in texting case

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a case is moot when the plaintiff receives an offer of complete relief on his claim. At issue in the would-be class action is whether a complete settlement offer, made before the class is certified, moots individual as well as class…

May 19, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Permanent ban on law firm’s nursing home ad is overturned

The Georgia Supreme Court is giving a law firm another chance to contest a nursing home’s bid to stop it from publishing an ad that criticizes the facility. In a decision on Monday, the court said the Mississippi-based McHugh Fuller Law Group did not have sufficient notice before a judge…

May 12, 2015 6:55 AM CDT

6th Circuit: Federal judge abused discretion by refusing to let law firm withdraw in civil case

A federal district court abused its discretion by refusing to allow a Michigan law firm to withdraw from representing the defendant in a civil battery case, a federal appeals court has ruled. At issue was a lawsuit filed by former Lakewood High School students seeking damages for alleged sexual assaults…

May 8, 2015 9:45 AM CDT

Bankruptcy judge threatens to send 2 lawyers to the slammer for 30 days for ignoring $49K sanction

Almost a year ago, Bankruptcy Judge Charles E. Rendlen III entered an order that imposed a $49,720 sanction on two attorneys and a law firm of one of them. As James Robinson, his Critique Services firm and then-counsel Elbert Walton Jr. appealed the penalties in federal district court, they didn’t…

May 1, 2015 1:45 PM CDT

Airline crash occurred in Europe, but attorneys are pondering possible US lawsuit

A co-pilot’s intentional crash of a Germanwings flight last month, killing all 150 aboard, occurred in the French Alps. However, attorneys are considering bring a lawsuit seeking damages in the United States, because American law, unlike German law, provides for compensation for loss of future earnings and the emotional impact…

Apr 28, 2015 3:30 PM CDT

Blown deadline doesn’t necessarily bar tort claims against US; SCOTUS allows equitable tolling

A blown deadline doesn’t necessarily doom a tort claim against the federal government. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision (PDF) on Wednesday that courts may use equitable tolling to extend federal deadlines for bringing tort claims against the federal government because Congress had not indicated otherwise with…

Apr 22, 2015 9:36 AM CDT

3rd Circuit says feds missed forfeiture deadline, awards gold coins worth $80M to dealer’s heirs

Saying that the federal government cannot seize property without filing a civil forfeiture action, a federal appeals court in Philadelphia on Friday reversed a jury verdict awarding vintage gold coins worth perhaps $80 million to the U.S. Treasury. Instead, because the feds missed a 90-day filing deadline under the Civil…

Apr 20, 2015 12:50 PM CDT

Business can’t get access to identities of Yelp reviewers in Virginia suit, state high court says

The Virginia Supreme Court has thwarted a business owner’s attempt to force Yelp to turn over the names or seven people who posted negative reviews. The state supreme court ruled on Thursday that Virginia courts did not have the power to hold Yelp in contempt for failing to turn over…

Apr 17, 2015 7:35 AM CDT

8th Circuit lets Larry Flynt intervene to seek access to court records in death-penalty cases

Hustler Magazine publisher Larry Flynt said he had a special interest in sealed records in federal death-penalty litigation in Missouri–the man who admittedly shot Flynt outside a state courthouse in 1978 was on Missouri’s death row. But that fact apparently wasn’t key to a federal appeals court panel ruling in…

Apr 8, 2015 9:30 AM CDT

Lawyer can use client’s Facebook account to serve husband with divorce summons, judge says

A New York lawyer can use a client’s Facebook account to serve her elusive husband with a divorce summons, a judge has ruled. “This transmittal shall be repeated by plaintiff’s attorney to defendant once a week for three consecutive weeks or until acknowledged,” wrote Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Matthew Cooper.…

Apr 6, 2015 8:40 AM CDT

Process server buys 2 pairs of sneakers at Tyga signing event, then hands him a summons

Whatever the outcome of a pending lawsuit against Tyga may be, it appears unlikely that he will be able to challenge the validity of service. After waiting two hours in line at a Los Angeles signing event with two boxes of the rapper’s new L.A. Gear sneakers, a process server…

Apr 2, 2015 9:30 AM CDT

Is time on homeowners’ side? Foreclosure case tossed without prejudice may not pause clock

Lawyers for homeowners in several states are arguing banks can’t foreclose on their clients’ homes because the statute of limitations has expired. An issue in the cases is when the clock begins to run and whether a tossed foreclosure case pauses the clock, the New York Times reports. Lawyers for…

Mar 30, 2015 7:21 AM CDT

Ellen Pao loses discrimination case against Kleiner Perkins, then judge revives one claim

Developing: The jury has reached a verdict in a much-watched Silicon Valley employment discrimination case. Ellen Pao, a former BigLaw associate with star credentials who currently is at the helm of Reddit, had sought millions from storied venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. She got zip. “The jury…

Mar 27, 2015 4:25 PM CDT