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In an ERISA case involving employer withdrawal liability under the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1980 (MPPAA), district court’s judgment vacating an arbitrator’s reduced award to a fund and reinstating the fund’s assessment is affirmed where the withdrawal liability was properly based on the contribution histories of two of plaintiff’s former subsidiaries and such contribution histories were assumed by plaintiff in a merger as none of the steps in the reorganization met the MPPAA’s statutory requirements for avoiding withdrawal liability....

Holley v. Cal. Dept. of Corrs., No. 07-15552, concerned a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action by a prisoner claiming that California Department of Corrections grooming regulations requiring short hair imposed a substantial burden on his exercise of religion in violation of section 3 of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). The court of appeals affirmed summary judgment for defendants, holding that the acceptance of federal prison funding by the state of California did not effect a waiver of the state’s sovereign immunity that would allow the RLUIPA claim for damages against state officials in their official capacities to proceed in federal court....

Transcript Panel 1: A thought bubble floats above a green character, who is smiling awkwardly at the purple round character, who is looking skeptically at an ID that doesn’t look like the green character. The thought bubble says, “What if I get caught using a fake ID?” Panel 2: Four small blobs are standing in a line, all holding IDs that we know are fake because there are arrows pointing at them with text that says “FAKE!...

In Jonathan Larson’s Tony-winning musical Rent, we learned that a year is 525,600 minutes. That number was repeated throughout the song “Seasons of Love,” which lasts for approximately 3 minutes, (or 0.00000571 years). And if you illegally download “Seasons of Love,” those 3 minutes could cost you $9,250, (or $51.38 per second). The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that Jammie Thomas-Rasset is on the line for $220,000 for peer-to-peer file sharing....

Editor’s Note: This post was updated on September 22, 2021, with information regarding Fortnite’s removal from the Apple Store. Online “battle royale” survival video game, Fortnite, has captured global attention since its release in 2017 by software developer Epic Games, Inc. Boasting over 350 million registered accounts, Fortnite has a dedicated base of players across multiple gaming platforms. With roughly 116 million of those accounts on mobile devices, companies like Apple and Google have reaped huge benefits, taking 15%-30% commissions on Fortnite transactions made through their respective app stores....

In an antitrust action claiming that defendant-hospital’s refusal to deal with nephrologists other than those in its in-house practice, including plaintiff, amounted to the monopolization, summary judgment for defendant is affirmed where 1) the hospital had no antitrust duty to share its facilities with plaintiff at the expense of its own nephrology practice; and 2) in demanding access to defendant’s facilities, plaintiff sought to share the hospital’s putative monopoly. Read Four Corners Nephrology Assocs....

The Supreme Court let stand a lower court ruling that invalidated Indiana’s ban on abortions, but upheld the law requiring burial of fetal remains. The decision not to review the case divided advocates on both sides of the abortion debate, as each claimed victory and defeat. Some called the decision a compromise that keeps abortion off the court docket. Justice Clarence Thomas stood out, writing separately from the unsigned opinion that denied Indiana’s appeal....

Celebrities: They’re just like us! Despite having the fame and resources to do anything we want (or nothing at all), some of us choose to follow in the footsteps of our famous fathers. Kim Kardashian West, whose late dad, Robert Kardashian assisted in O.J. Simpson’s murder trial defense, has her heart set on becoming a lawyer, according to a recent cover profile in Vogue. But don’t expect Kanye West’s better half to be sitting next to you in law school this fall – she’s apparently taking an alternate route to the bar....

In a dispute involving the revocation of a retirement health plan, district court judgment is affirmed where it properly dismissed plaintiff’s suit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction as defendant is a political subdivision of Pennsylvania, and thus, its benefit plan constitutes a governmental plan exempt from ERISA under 29 U.S.C. sec. 1003(b)(1). Read Koval v. Washington County Redevelopment Authority, No. 08-2492 Appellate InformationAppeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania....

In an action under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claiming that defendants illegally attempted to collect a debt because they were not licensed to do so in New York, the Court of Appeals certifies the following questions to the New York Court of Appeals: 1) whether defendant was a “debt collection agency” under the pre-amendment version of New York City Administrative Code section 20-489(a); and 2) if so, whether defendant violated New York Gen....

For weeks, we’ve talked about the viability of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate. As the most personal element of the ACA appeal, everyone seemed to have an opinion about whether the government should be allowed the require people to purchase health insurance. But today, the Supreme Court reminded us that the ACA Medicaid provisions could also doom the healthcare legislation. For the final day of the ACA appeal, the Supreme Court examined whether the ACA was subject to severability, and the constitutionality of the ACA Medicaid expansion programs....

For a place that played such a pivotal role in the forming of our nation’s democracy, you would think Pennsylvania would uphold the rights of voters, rather than find new ways to disenfranchise them. While we await decision from Pennsylvania courts regarding the constitutionality of its newly enacted voter id laws, a unanimously passed bill permitting online voter registration has now stalled in the House State Government Committee. Unanimously passed by the Pennsylvania Senate by a vote of 49-0 this spring, Senate Bill 37, would permit Pennsylvanians to register to vote online, reports The Patriot-News....

Robin West told police that her husband, Dean West, raped and beat her in 2008. Then she recanted that claim, withdrew the charges, and resumed living with Dean. After the couple divorced, Robin sued Dean for battery and related torts. A district judge tossed Robin’s lawsuit, ruling that it was malicious, and that he refused to be pulled into a “vitriolic tug-of-war.” This week, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision, noting that vitriol, alone, is not cause for dismissal....

In Miller v. Mitchell, No. 09-2144, the Third Circuit faced a challenge to the district court’s grant of plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction in their suit against the district attorney for his decision to require teens, suspected of “sexting” to attend an education program, or be subjected to felony child pornography charges. In affirming the grant of preliminary injunction on plaintiffs’ constitutional retaliation claim, the court held that the plaintiffs have shown a likelihood of success on their claims that any prosecution would not be based on probable cause that they committed a crime, but rather, in retaliation for exercising their constitutional rights not to attend the education program....

It’s a fact that teenagers often have a hard time governing their emotions. To pretend otherwise would be to deny how beautifully messy being a teen is. Sometimes adults - especially those buzzkill teachers, principals, and superintendents - forget this. This week, however, the U.S. Supreme Court, in an 8-1 ruling, smacked down a Pennsylvania high school for punishing a student for a profane social media rant that took place off of school grounds....

Predictably, the Ninth Circuit leads the pack so far in cert. grants with eight, but who’s No. 2? If you guessed the Fifth Circuit, you’d be wrong: It’s the Eighth! That many from North Dakota? Iowa? Arkansas? Yup, the Court will hear five cases from the Eighth Circuit this term (at least so far). Here they are: Larry D. Jesinoski v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. (Oral Argument: November 4) Federal law allows a mortgagor to rescind a mortgage within three business days of consummating the loan or receiving the required Truth in Lending Act disclosures....

Other than the Supreme Court itself, there is one place where we all go to look for the latest news from the nation’s high court: SCOTUSblog. Lawyers, students, reporters, bloggers, and even the judges themselves follow the blog, which provides constant coverage of everything Court-related, from opinion orders, to oral arguments. The blog has become so authoritative, that it is often mistaken for the actual court, especially on Twitter. And yet, despite their authoritative reputation, the blog, which will soon be sporting a “For Sale” sign, lacks a press credential....

In a civil rights action brought against a city, its police chief and two police officers, district court’s final judgment in favor of the defendants on all claims is affirmed where: 1) the district court properly dismissed defendant’s claims for false arrest and malicious prosecution as his arrest was supported by probable cause; and 2) a conspiracy claim was correctly dismissed as defendant’s sole contention was that the police officers conspired to commit the torts of false arrest and malicious prosecution....

Tasers were once again the topic du jour at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday as a three-judge panel decided whether Taser International, in August 2004, was under a duty to warn that repeated exposure to its products could lead to fatal levels of metabolic acidosis. The Ninth Circuit upheld dismissal of a failure to warn lawsuit against the company, concluding that Taser International had no reason to advise police agencies in 2004 that the stun guns could cause the condition, reports the Los Angeles Times....

A Sixth Circuit panel heard arguments from a prominent gun rights group last week regarding changes to the statutory definition of “machine gun.” Gun Owners of America filed for a preliminary injunction this spring to block the rule from being enforced. However, the U.S. District Court judge who heard the case denied the injunction, finding the plaintiffs were unlikely to succeed on the merits. ATF Changes the Rules on Bump Stocks Last year, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) added rapid-fire attachments commonly known as “bump stocks” to the rules prohibiting machine guns....