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El Dorado Chemical Company (EDCC) makes chemicals. Flat Creek, Haynes Creek, and two unnamed tributaries (UTA and UTB) don’t make anything, but they’re waterways in Arkansas with little fishies in them. The EPA protects the fishies. As part of its operations, EDCC discharges minerals into the water. This is OK – a little bit. Arkansas enforces water standards through a program called the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). A company can’t discharge things into the water without a permit from NPDES, which includes limitations on amount and type of discharge; the EPA must approve these permits....

A recent decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Trump Administration’s plan to withhold certain law enforcement funds from so-called “sanctuary cities” was invalid. Trump officials want local governments to notify immigration agents before releasing non-citizens from jail or give federal officers access to jails. However, several cities (including Los Angeles and San Francisco) argue such practices would negatively impact public safety by discouraging immigrants from reporting crimes....

In Mayer v. Belichick, No. 09-2237, the Third Circuit faced a challenge to the district court’s order dismissing plaintiff’s amended complaint in a suit brought by a New York Jets season ticket-holder against New England Patriots, its head coach, and the NFL, claiming various causes of action related to Patriot’s secret videotaping of their opponent’s signals, known as the “Spygate” scandal. As stated in the decision: “Mayer possessed either a license or, at best, a contractual right to enter Giants Stadium and to have a seat from which to watch a professional football game....

A federal judge in Arizona has upheld a new law in that state which prohibits businesses from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants, and allows the state to suspend or revoke the business licenses of companies that violate the law. A number of business and civil rights groups argued that the law unconstitutionally allowed the state government to enforce immigration, but U.S. District Court Judge Neil Wake ruled that the Legal Arizona Workers Act does not abridge the federal government’s power to control illegal immigration....

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is being sued by some California prison inmates who blame his actions while in office for getting them sick. The inmates are suing Schwarzenegger in his official capacity over his and other officials’ handling of a fatal outbreak of valley fever – an infection caused by tiny spores of fungus, TMZ reports. While prison inmate lawsuits are often dismissed as frivolous, does this one have merit?...

Justice Breyer’s new book The Court and the World comes out today. In it, he argues for one of his longstanding passions – greater engagement between the American judicial system and the rest of the world. He brought that message to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert yesterday – a rare cross-over into pop-culture for one of the Justices. During his appearance, Justice Breyer discussed more than just his book, surveying the advice he was given when first joining the court, arguing against cameras in the High Court, and reminding Colbert that no, watching the Justices is not entertaining....

Energy giant Chevron can breathe a little easier after the Second Circuit overruled a lower court award of $9.5 billion, finding that the judgment was “procured by corrupt means” and attorney fraud. It’s a gigantic win for a gigantic company that has the potential to set the tone for international business litigation strategies. The attorney who is at the center of this reversal-slash-scandal is Steven Donzinger whom Chevron accused of conducting a “shake-down” of the company....

A Florida resident has a valid claim under the Federal Credit Reporting Act if JPMorgan Chase failed to investigate a disputed item and used false pretenses to obtain a credit report, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held. However, JPMorgan Chase’s use of an alternative, but similar, name when reporting the past due amount to TransUnion did not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The decision, which included novel issues in the Eleventh Circuit, establishes the standard under which consumers can bring a claim under the FDCPA when a lender uses an alternative name in reporting a past due debt to credit reporting agencies....

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently vacated a district court’s class certification in a lawsuit against auto-maker BMW. The lawsuit was brought by Jeffrey Marcus, who leased a 2007 BMW 328ci from a New Jersey dealership. He suffered four flat tires during his three-year lease and alleged that the types of tires used (the Run-While-Flat Tires) were defective because they were highly susceptible to punctures. He also claimed that the tires were “exorbitantly priced....

A recent Tenth Circuit decision upholding a contempt sanction issued by the lower district court provides some certainty for organizations that use children for unpaid labor. The basic lesson is that if kids are going to pick nuts on a commercial ranch operation, they need to be paid in money, not peanuts or pecans. The Fundamental Church of Latter-day Saints, perhaps most widely known for their pro-polygamy stance, got mixed up with Paragon Contractors Corporation, which was recently ordered to pay the church’s children $200,000 for unpaid wages again....

The case against hhgregg Inc. alleging that the company failed to pay overtime, and used a method of deducting commission draws from future pay, all in violation of the FLSA, has been revived. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal of the lower federal court, sending the case back to litigation. The appellate court explained that the district court incorrectly found hhgregg’s method of offsetting an employee’s wages based on commission was lawful....

It’s not quite as rare as a solar eclipse, but it is a rare occasion when the U.S. Supreme Court’s most liberal justice speaks to lawyers from the most conservative state in the nation. And it was a moment to applaud, as more than 1,000 attorneys and their families gave a standing ovation to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at a convention of the Utah Bar Association. State Bar president Robert Rice said many lawyers brought their daughters to the event....

The federal government warned that hackers can take control wirelessly of certain implanted heart devices. The Department of Homeland Security said Medtronic’s cardio defibrillators have a serious flaw. Attackers can surreptitiously take over the devices using radio communications. Private researchers discovered the problem and notified the manufacturer two years ago, but now it is official. Hackers can kill people with the implants through radio signals. Cardio Defibrillators Medtronic’s defibrillators are implanted to deliver electrical shocks to treat irregular heart rhythms, which can be fatal....

This post was updated on March 30, 2022 When there’s a death in the family, the last thing anyone wants is a big fight over the deceased’s property and assets. Unfortunately, relatives can quickly turn to bitter enemies when it comes to money and inheritances. However, there are few things you can do to potentially help stop relatives from spending the funeral and grieving period fighting over who gets what. Here are three tips on how to minimize inheritance fights between relatives....

Zalaski v. City of Bridgeport Police Dep’t., No. 08-3671, a civil rights action based on the allegedly unlawful breakup of an animal rights demonstration, summary judgment for defendants is vacated where the district court needed to undertake a comprehensive public forum analysis so the drastic device of summary judgment was not precipitously imposed. Metro. Taxicab Bd. of Trade v. City of N.Y., No. 09-2901, involved an appeal by the Taxicab & Limousine Commission of New York City and several New York City officials from the grant of a preliminary injunction that enjoined the enforcement of the City’s revisions to the maximum lease rates for taxicabs that effectively shifted fuel costs from drivers of fleet taxis to fleet owners to incentivize the use of hybrid-engine and fuel-efficient vehicles....

Energized by the U.S. Supreme Court’s DOMA ruling, two Arkansas attorneys are turning their focus to the state constitution’s same-sex marriage ban, Amendment 83, which defines marriage as between one man and one woman. The first lawsuit was filed by attorney Cheryl Maples and the second by attorney Jack Wagoner III. Though the attorneys have filed two separate lawsuits, the two share a sense of camaraderie and are consulting with one another on the cause....

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals addressed the issue of Medicaid this week in a lawsuit discussing a federal law preventing Pennsylvania from placing liens against the properties of living Medicaid beneficiaries, writes the Pittsburg Tribune Review. The Court of Appeals ruled that the law doesn`t prevent the state from collecting medical costs from the money beneficiaries receive from lawsuits. The putative class action lawsuit was brought on behalf of three plaintiffs....

In an action to recover payment for medical care provided to prisoners, the removal of the action to the district court is affirmed where the suit was against a federally-appointed receiver and the district court thus had clear jurisdiction over the matter. However, the order dismissing the action is vacated where: 1) plaintiff was not required to obtain permission from the district court to sue defendant-receiver because the action fit within the statutory exception to the general rule requiring an appointing court’s permission before suing a receiver in another jurisdiction; and 2) the receiver was not absolutely immune from suit....

Last week, the Illinois Supreme Court declined to invent a new evidentiary privilege called the “self-critical analysis privilege,” suggesting instead that if such a thing were to exist, it would be the state legislature’s job to create it. The case involves the death of a seven-month-old child while the child and her mother were in a state program for reuniting families. The child, seven-month-old Marshana, was initially placed with a relative and then, when she began to improve, placed back with her mother at One Hope, where she drowned when left unattended while her mother was bathing her....

Some federal laws have ambiguous names. How do titles like the American Dream Restoration Act or the Common Sense Legal Reforms Act indicate the goal of the corresponding legislation? The No Social Security Benefits for Prisoners Act isn’t so murky. As the title would indicate, the law denies social security benefits for prisoners. For good measure, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals clarified this week in a published opinion that title of the Act did not conceal a legislative caveat....