Supreme Court to Decide Right to Damages for HIV-Positive Pilot Who Sued for Privacy Violation

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a person who suffers no financial losses can recover damages under a Watergate-era privacy law. The case could determine the scope of the 1974 Privacy Act, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. James Wood, the lawyer for plaintiff Stanmore Cooper, told the…

Jun 21, 2011 2:55 PM CDT

Defendant Says He Robbed a Bank to Get Prison Health Care

A North Carolina man who robbed a bank proved to be a cooperative criminal. James Verone passed a note to the teller that asked for a dollar. Then he sat down and waited for police to arrive, WCNC.com reports. Verone wanted to get arrested to get prison health care. Verone…

Jun 21, 2011 12:26 PM CDT

Supreme Court Revives Baycol Class Action in West Virginia Courts

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a federal court had no authority to bar a state-court class action claiming injury from the cholesterol drug Baycol. The Supreme Court found that the federal court considering consolidated Baycol claims had exceeded its authority under the Anti-Injunction Act. Justice Elena Kagan wrote…

Jun 16, 2011 4:54 PM CDT

NC Appeals Court Stays Order Taking Primary Custody of Children Away from Mom with Breast Cancer

In the latest development in a controversial case in which a North Carolina mom with advanced breast cancer lost primary custody of her two children, the state Court of Appeals today issued a temporary stay of that ruling. It must now decide whether to extend the stay for the entire…

Jun 15, 2011 9:36 PM CDT

‘Traveling Road Show in Wingtips’ Reaches 11th Circuit in Health-Care Appeal

The third federal appeals court to hear a challenge to the Obama administration’s health care law questioned whether Congress had the constitutional authority for most people to buy health insurance and noted the lack of precedent. USA Today says it’s difficult to predict how the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court…

Jun 9, 2011 12:34 PM CDT

Free Speech, Privacy Rights Clash in Dispute over Billboard Claiming Woman Had an Abortion

A jilted boyfriend’s free speech rights are pitted against his one-time girlfriend’s privacy rights in a court battle over a billboard with an anti-abortion message. Greg Fultz of Alamogordo, N.M., paid for a billboard on his town’s main street that shows him holding the outline of an infant, report the…

Jun 7, 2011 1:07 PM CDT

Supreme Court Rules Against Stanford in HIV Patent Battle

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against Stanford University in a patent battle over a testing procedure that measures the HIV virus in blood samples. The Supreme Court ruled for Roche Molecular Systems Inc. in a 7-2 opinion (PDF) by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. Roberts wrote that Stanford…

Jun 6, 2011 3:56 PM CDT

White House Counsel Bob Bauer Resigns; Top Deputy Will Replace Him

White House counsel Bob Bauer is resigning, but he will still be advising President Obama. Bauer will return to private practice in June at Perkins Coie, where he will serve as general counsel for Obama’s re-election campaign and as the president’s personal lawyer, report the Associated Press and CNN. Bauer…

Jun 2, 2011 3:48 PM CDT

A Second, ‘Arguably’ Less Friendly Appeals Panel Considers Health Care Law

A plaintiff challenging the new health care law could derail a federal appellate ruling on its constitutionality because she bought health insurance from her employer last October. Arguing on Wednesday before the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. Solicitor General Neal Katyal said the case should be dismissed…

Jun 2, 2011 1:15 PM CDT

Doc Who Implanted 12 Embryos in ‘Octomom’ to Lose Medical License

A Beverly Hills fertility doctor who implanted 12 embryos into the woman who became known as “Octomom” after she had octuplets “did not exercise sound judgment” in doing so and will lose his medical license. In addition to Dr. Michael Kamrava’s treatment of Nadya Suleman, the Medical Board of California…

Jun 1, 2011 8:43 PM CDT

Want to Hear 11th Circuit Arguments on the Health-Care Law? It Will Cost $26

A federal appeals court will allow a recording of oral arguments in a challenge to the constitutionality of the health-care law on June 8, but it won’t be posting it online. Instead, the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will sell a limited number of CD copies of the…

Jun 1, 2011 11:30 AM CDT

Killer Buzz: Caffeine Intoxication Is Now Evidence for an Insanity Plea

Jun 1, 2011 7:20 AM CDT

Supreme Court Seeks US Views on Cell Phone Suit, as WHO Sees Possible Cancer Link

The U.S. Supreme Court has asked the United States to weigh in on a pending cert petition in a lawsuit that contends cellphone companies misled consumers about radiation and possible health risks. The name plaintiff in the would-be class action, Francis Farina, says the defendants should have included headsets with…

May 31, 2011 6:58 PM CDT

Polsinelli Opens New Dallas Office with 3-Lawyer M&A Team from K&L Gates

Polsinelli Shughart has opened a new office in Dallas with a three-lawyer mergers and acquisitions team from K&L Gates and plans further growth there down the road. The 530-attorney Kansas City, Mo.-based law firm now has a presence in eight states and 16 cities, notes a press release announcing the…

May 26, 2011 11:19 PM CDT

7 More Lawyers Leap from Epstein Becker, This Time for San Fran Office of Crowell & Moring

After news earlier this week that Epstein Becker & Green is losing its Houston office to Cozen O’Connor comes news today that half the firm’s San Francisco office is exiting for Crowell & Moring. William Helvestine, who served as managing partner of Epstein’s San Francisco office, is heading the seven-attorney…

May 25, 2011 10:55 PM CDT