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There was a guy, a guy we’ll keep anonymous (this case does involve Alcoholics Anonymous, after all) who was an insider at the Philadelphia Consolidated Holding Corporation (“PHLY”). In mid-2008, he had a few relapses, and when he returned to AA, his long-time AA confidant, Timothy McGee, asked about the absences. The insider blurted out that he was stressed about work because PHLY was about to sell at three times its book value: $61....

Today, the Second Circuit decided cases concerning attorney discipline, an attorney’s fee award, criminal sentencing and government benefits. In US v. Walker, No. 08-3874, defendant appealed his sentence for firearm possession, which the district court enhanced based on a prior state conviction. The court of appeals affirmed, holding that 1) the modified categorical approach applicable in the Second Circuit to prior convictions for statutory offenses also applied to prior convictions for state common law crimes; and 2) defendant’s prior South Carolina “strong arm robbery” conviction was a crime of violence under U....

FedEx Ground (FedEx) provides small package pick-up and delivery services through a network of pick-up and delivery drivers. The drivers claim that they are employees, entitled to the perks – like overtime pay and reimbursement of costs – that the employer-employee relationship offers. FedEx claims that the drivers are contractors. Last week, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals declined to resolve that question, instead certifying the independent contractor question to the Kansas Supreme Court, reports Bloomberg BNA....

In plaintiff-insurance company’s declaratory-judgment action to establish that it was not obligated to cover the costs that defendant incurred in repairing water damage to several houses that defendant had built as a general contractor, grant of ’s judgment on the pleadings is affirmed where: 1) collateral estoppel is not applicable to the case and plaintiff is free to contest whether the policies cover the costs that defendant incurred; 2) a general contractor cannot claim CGL insurance coverage for the costs it incurs in repairing houses that are subsequently damaged due to the faulty workmanship of its own subcontractors; and 3) the district court’s consideration of an alleged fungus exclusion was harmless....

In a dispute involving hotel taxes, district court judgment is vacated and remanded for a further jurisidictional determination as there are substantial questions as to whether the complaint meets the requirements for class certification under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23. Read County of Nassau, NY v. Hotels.com, LP, No. 07-3919 Appellate InformationAppeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Argued: January 22, 2009 Decided: August 11, 2009...

In US v. DeAndrade, No. 08-4815, the court affirmed defendant’s drug conspiracy conviction and sentence, holding that 1) a brief and fleeting comment on the defendant’s incarceration during trial, without more, did not impair the presumption of innocence to such an extent that a mistrial is required; 2) the government never relied upon certain challenged testimony, and a curative instruction could easily have done more harm than good by focusing the jurors on two allusive references that they otherwise might have missed or construed as innocuous; and 3) defendant’s sentence was unaffected by his juvenile drug offense....

Also Ruling in Habeas Petition from Conviction for Assaulting Federal Official In Bierenbaum v. Graham, No. 08-1375, the court of appeals affirmed the denial of petitioner’s habeas petition in a murder prosecution, holding that 1) it was not unreasonable for the Appellate Division to conclude that the reliability of the victim’s statements was “amply supported” for hearsay purposes; and 2) there was no reasonable probability that the outcome of the trial would have been different absent defense counsel’s alleged errors....

It’s not easy to write a short headline for a legal decision that takes judges 91 pages to explain. So it’s understandable when major news agencies miss the point, like reports of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Jennings v. Rodriguez. The New York Times said “No Bail Hearings for Detained Immigrants,” but the High Court technically said they do not have a right to periodic bond hearings. A poet might say, “What’s in a word?...

Few faces are more familiar in the Supreme Court than Donald Verrilli’s. As solicitor general, he’s argued more cases before the Court over the last five years than any other attorney. And those included a large amount of landmark victories, from defending Obamacare to winning constitutional protections for same-sex couples. But yesterday, Verrilli announced that he’s stepping down at the end of this month. What’s next for the future former Solicitor General?...

Expedia, and other online travel agencies, won a major victory in the fight over local hotel taxation. Thirteen cities in the state of Illinois filed a lawsuit attempting to hold the online booking sites liable for failing to withhold local hotel taxes. After the district court dismissed the cities’ claims, an appeal was made to the Seventh Circuit. Essentially, cities were trying to get the tax revenue on the difference between the actual booking price of a hotel room online and the price the hotels charge to those online travel agencies making the bookings, like Expedia, Orbitz and others....

In the never-ending wake of the contested presidential election of 2020, the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th attack on the capitol subpoenaed self-described “activist law professor” John Eastman, who represented President Trump in litigation following the election. Eastman filed a complaint in response, arguing that the Committee was improperly acting in a law enforcement capacity rather than a legislative one. He also claimed that attorney-client privilege protected the documents at issue—a favorite argument among those connected to Trump....

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, like many federal courts, thinks grand jury proceedings are serious, and will not save witnesses who don’t share that view from themselves. In a cautionary tale, the Tenth Circuit upheld a criminal contempt conviction against a witness who appeared before the grand jury, but refused to answer even basic biographical questions. A grand jury in the District of Utah subpoenaed Jordan Halliday, founder of the Animal Defense League of Salt Lake City, as part of an investigation into attacks on three mink farms....

In plaintiff’s 42 U.S.C. section 1983 lawsuit alleging various constitutional violations of his rights while being booked at the city jail, district court’s denial of defendants’ motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity is affirmed where: 1) facts are sufficient to establish a violation of plaintiff’s constitutional rights with respect to his excessive force claims; 2) plaintiff submitted sufficient evidence for a jury to conclude that the officers acted with deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs; 3) plaintiff submitted sufficient evidence from which a reasonable jury could conclude that defendants used excessive force and delayed medical treatment because of plaintiff’s race in violation of his equal protection rights; and 4) a reasonable jury could conclude that defendant acted with a malicious purpose or in a wanton or reckless manner with respect to plaintiff’s assault and battery claim....

Harvard and Yale’s law schools announced this week that they will no longer submit themselves for ranking by U.S. News & World Report. Educators have criticized the methodology behind the magazine’s Best Law School rankings for years but seemed reluctant to take concrete action against them. Until now. Not a Great View From the Top Yale Law has nabbed the top spot in U.S. News rankings every year for the last three decades, but according to Dean Heather K....

Being a law enforcement officer isn’t easy. There are bad guys out there, using every trick in the book to avoid detection. Cops need to know all the dirty tricks criminals will use to conceal their crimes, and keeping up with the latest and greatest in drug-smuggling deception is hard work. Is it illegal pot or legal hemp? Not so obvious. Is that candy or crystal meth or ecstasy? Even harder to tell....

The Supreme Court hosted a Sixth Amendment extravaganza Monday. The day started with Alleyne v. U.S., reconsidering the Court’s 2002 Harris v. U.S. ruling that the Constitution does not require facts which increase a mandatory minimum sentence to be determined by a jury, and ended with a speedy trial debate in Boyer v. Louisiana. Oh yeah. And Justice Clarence Thomas finally spoke. No big deal. Let’s discuss the long-term constitutional implications before we get to the four words that shook the world....

There’s “Polo by Ralph Lauren” – everyone knows that. But there’s also the “United States Polo Association” (USPA), which uses a similar trademark utilizing the word “Polo” and an outline of a polo player on a horse. Perhaps you or a loved one has become confused in a department store, as you – a reasonable consumer – can’t discern the difference between “Polo by Ralph Lauren” and “U.S. Polo Association.” Are they the same?...

Speaking at Stanford University last night, Justice Ginsburg discussed what makes a meaningful life, her desire to change the Electoral College, and the importance of kale. There’s been, you see, some worry that Justice Ginsburg, 83 years old, might not stay on the bench through a full Trump administration, thereby allowing one of her less-favorite political leaders to pick her replacement. There’s even been talk that she should eat more kale, apparently for greater health and longevity....

In an action claiming that Plaintiff police officer was discharged without adequate procedural safeguards after he suffered from a psychiatric episode that caused him to take administrative leave, the denial of qualified immunity is reversed, where the city’s three-step appeals process provided adequate pretermination due process for Plaintiff to challenge the decision. Read Riggins v. Goodman, No. 08-1034 Appellate Information Filed July 10, 2009 Judges Opinion by Judge Tymkovich Counsel...

In Miles Farm Supply, LLC v. Helena Chem. Co., No. 08-6093, the Sixth Circuit dealt with the issue of whether defendant aided and abetted plaintiff’s employees to breach their fiduciary duties, and was thus liable for tortious interference with plaintiff’s prospective contractual relations. Unlike the reasoning the district court used in reaching its decision to grant summary judgment in favor of the defendants, the court clarified that the more appropriate ground was whether defendant knew about the employees’ alleged breach, not whether the employees breached a fiduciary duty....