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In Betz v. Trainer Wortham & Co., No. 05-15704, a securities fraud action, the court granted defendants’ motion to remand the case to the district court following the Supreme Court’s decision vacating the Ninth Circuit’s earlier opinion, on the grounds that 1) the district court had procedures available to it relating to the scope of the record and the determination of facts which are not available to us; and 2) once the district court made its decision and a final order was presented, the matter could again be appealed to the Ninth Circuit if either party sought further review....

Never has the distinction between employee and contractor been so vital as when the gig economy began booming this decade. By declaring millions of workers as contractors, startups, tech companies, and apps like Uber, Lyft, Door Dash, and Postmates saved millions on salary, benefits, and other protections that would be due to employees. And those companies have fought hard to keep that distinction away from the courts. But the California legislature has stepped in and passed a law requiring gig economy workers to be reclassified as employees, altering the status of millions of workers and, perhaps, the way “disruptors” do business....

Outdoor outfitter L.L. Bean had a pretty legendary lifetime return policy: “100% Satisfaction Guarantee. No Conditions. No End Date.” That was until last year, when the company told customers that some of them had been “interpreting our guarantee well beyond its original intent,” and treating the return policy “as a lifetime product replacement program, expecting refunds for heavily worn products used over many years.” Needless to say, some customers weren’t too pleased with the change, and a few of those were mad enough to sue....

The Third Circuit recently decided a case that now results in a circuit split with two circuits on each side of the issue. With so many circuit splits heading to the Supreme Court, this case has us wondering whether it will be one of them. Stacey Helene and Robert Maxwell Simon (“the Simons”) filed for the protections of Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. One of their creditors, FIA, was represented by Weinstein & Riley, who sent a letter to the Simons through their bankruptcy counsel....

A human rights violation lawsuit brought against the reclusive Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen has been dismissed by U.S. District Judge Robert Mariani in Pennsylvania, following the determination that plaintiffs failed to plead their case with sufficient particularity. Further, the court felt that forum non conveniens applied. Government-Funded Legal Suit The Turkish government-funded suit against Fethullah Gulen was one single part of a crackdown campaign brought against the cleric for his conduct and statements in his native Turkey....

US v. Hawley, No. 08-2992, concerned a civil action by the U.S. against an insurance agent, and his insurance company, alleging that defendants violated the False Claims Act by committing fraud in connection with federal crop insurance. The court reversed summary judgment for defendant on the grounds that 1) the government adequately preserved its argument that the insurer’s reimbursement demands were the “claims” presented to the government; and 2) the evidence created a genuine issue of material fact regarding whether defendant caused his company to present claims for reimbursement to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation....

In Welch v. Workman, No. 07-5061, a capital habeas matter, the court of appeals affirmed the denial of petitioner’s habeas petition, holding that: 1) even assuming an allegedly hearsay statement was testimonial, numerous third-party eyewitnesses testified that defendant repeatedly stabbed and beat the victim; 2) the overwhelming evidence presented in the guilt phase negated any reasonable belief the prosecutor’s minimal questioning and closing comments had a substantial and injurious effect on the jury’s guilty verdict; 3) the jury was instructed on the non-capital crime of first-degree manslaughter, and was not faced with an all-or-nothing choice; and 4) while portions of the victim impact statements went outside constitutional bounds, we this evidence did not so clearly sway the jury as to cause petitioner actual prejudice....

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, immigration officials “shall take into custody any deportable alien who has committed various crimes” when the alien is released from detention for those crimes. Officials hold those aliens without any possibility of release while awaiting their removal proceedings. It’s known as mandatory detention. So what qualifies as a release from detention? And do immigration officials have to wait at the jailhouse door for an alien’s release, or can they take their sweet time taking an offender into custody?...

The coronavirus pandemic may be winding down, but there are still cases pending on the legality of executive mandates requiring vaccination for different types of employees. One of them, Georgia v. Biden, is currently before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, and its resolution will determine the fate of President Joe Biden’s executive order mandating vaccination for federal contractors. Federal Contractor Vaccine Mandate In September 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14042, which mandated the previously created Federal Workforce Task Force to provide guidance about COVID-19 protections for federal contractors and subcontractors....

The National Committee on Pay Equity decided to celebrate Equal Pay Day on a Tuesday for an auspicious reason: that’s how far into the next work week women must work to earn what men earned the previous week. Most employers don’t need to be told that paying male and female employees the same amount for the same work is the right thing to do, both morally and legally. But Equal Pay Day is a good time to remind everyone that while the gender pay gap is narrowing, women still only earned 85 percent of what their male counterparts earned in 2018....

Last week, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held in favor of Haverford Township in a police brutality case. This week, the township is seeking to recoup costs from the plaintiff for expenses incurred by the township while fighting the claim and the appeal. As reported in The Philadelphia Inquirer, James E. Healy claimed that he was assaulted by a Haverford police officer on the evening of July 6, 2007. At the time of the incident, Healy had been pulled over by Officer William Shields....

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not require employers to reassign employees who will lose their current positions due to disability to a vacant position. In the case, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. United Airlines, the circuit denied the EEOC’s request for a change in how the court interprets the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In 2003, United Airlines implemented guidelines for accommodating employees who, because of disability, can no longer do the essential functions of their current jobs, even with reasonable accommodation....

In a prisoner civil rights action, rulings against plaintiff are affirmed in part where: 1) plaintiff did not present evidence to call into question the prison’s explanation for denying him dietary supplements; 2) plaintiff failed to show that prison officials were deliberately indifferent to a risk posed by his diet; 3) the court properly ruled against plaintiff’s claim that the prison provided him with inadequate clothing as the evidence does not rise to the level of objectively serious harm necessary to show an Eighth Amendment violation; and 4) the court did not err in granting judgment as a matter of law on his censorship claim as prisons have great latitude in limiting the reading material of prisoners....

If you have a medical malpractice injury, that is terrible news. However, the good news is that if you live in California, the medical malpractice laws have changed to benefit you. On May 23, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly HB 35, which increases the damages a plaintiff may receive on medical malpractice claims. Additionally, it restructures how an attorney can receive contingency fees. Previously in California, non-economic damages such as pain and suffering were limited to $250,000....

If you ask someone during these pandemic days if they miss air travel, you’re likely to get a mixed response. It will probably be something along the lines of: “I miss travel. But I don’t miss the airlines." Or: “I like to see other parts of the world. But I don’t like having to be treated like an infant in order to get there." We will welcome the return of normal life someday, of course....

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals made it harder for plaintiffs to enforce contracts against countries claiming sovereign immunity this week. In a 2-1 panel decision, the court concluded that Iraq is not liable for the end of two oil-for-food contracts dating from the Saddam Hussein regime, and that the current Iraqi government is insulated from liability under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) because the case did not involve “legally significant” U....

This case reads like the plot to a James Bond movie: a Russian arms dealer caught in an international sting operation for conspiracy to sell arms to Columbian terrorists and drug lords. We can just picture it now, with Daniel Craig chasing villains around in too-tight Tom Ford suits… but we digress. The Sting Former Soviet air force officer Viktor Bout was caught in an international sting orchestrated by the U....

A sheriff’s deputy in South Dakota, accused of using excessive force in shooting and killing a young man, is not summarily protected from suit by qualified immunity, the Eighth Circuit held on Monday. Christopher Capps, a 22-year-old member of the Lakota Sioux tribe, was shot and killed by Deputy David Olson in 2010. When Capps’ parents sued, Olson argued that he was protected by qualified immunity. The facts alleged put that into question, the court found....

Attorney Michael Novara has done a good job in the law, but now has a terrible job to do. He is defending Robert Bowers, who is accused of gunning down 11 people and injuring six others at a Pittsburgh synagogue. Bowers has pleaded not guilty, even as he raged against Jews during and after the massacre. Novara, a public defender, told reporters his client pleaded not guilty because it is “typical at this stage of the proceedings....

In case you’ve been living under a rock, we’re on the road to Wrestlemania 38. But for the WWE, the road just got a bit bumpier, or more Royal Rumblier, if you will. WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon has time and again choke-slammed attempts by his independent contractors (also known as “wrestlers,” “entertainers,” or “fake athletes”) to unionize and dropped the leg on multiple concussion-related lawsuits. But this time, the WWE is facing a federal lawsuit by MLW Media LLC, a smaller wrestling company known to wrestling geeks as Major League Wrestling....