You’ve just gotten into a car crash. You were entirely innocent, and the other driver was 100 percent at fault. Your insurance paid your medical bills and your car repair bills. You think everything is all done. But, the insurer is contacting you and asking questions about what happened and who is at fault. They keep throwing around the words subrogation and lawsuit. What is subrogation? Should you be worried?...
It’s sad when family members turn against each other over financial matters. Sad, but not rare - especially when it comes to bickering over the fortunes of celebrity super-stars. Luckily for Whitney Houston, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that her father wasn’t “saving all [his money]” for his widow’s house. Houston’s trip to the Third Circuit began when her step-mother, Barbara Houston, sued her in 2008 for the cool million the late John Houston left Whitney as the beneficiary of his life insurance policy....
Halloween might be our favorite holiday, due in no small part to the fact that it’s the only time of year when mellowcreme pumpkins are readily available. (You may think mellowcreme pumpkins are disgusting. You’re wrong.) Despite the Mean Girls declaration that “Halloween is the one night a year when a girl can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it,” there are plenty of respectable Halloween costumes....
Is it considered employment discrimination, under California employment law, to require strict drug tests in the pre-employment phase? The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals says no, in Lopez v. Pacific Maritime Association. While strict drug screenings could possibly eliminate former drug addicts from potential employment, this doesn’t rise to the level of employment discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act or the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. A noteworthy point for those who practice in areas other than California employment law (and as such, might not be wholly familiar with California employment discrimination law): under both the FEHA and the ADA, employers are prohibited from discriminating against recovering drug addicts, assuming that the recovering addicts have been successfully rehabilitated from their addiction....
“If it’s measured in terms of readiness to overturn legislation, this is one of the most activist courts in history … This court has overturned more legislation, I think, than any other.” Sorry, Justice Ginsburg, but you, ma’am, are incorrect. What’s the popular perception of the Roberts Court? It’s conservative, dominated by four conservative justices and one semi-conservative swing vote. It’s activist, striking down decades-old anti-discrimination voting rights legislation. It’s pro-business, ruling for corporate interests consistently....
In a dispute involving the interpretation of contract language, district court’s grant of summary judgment for defendant is reversed where the contract language defining the Prepayment Premium was ambiguous and thus resolving the meaning of the contract on summary judgment was inappropriate. Read BKCAP, LLC v. CAPTEC Franchise Trust 2000-1, No. 08-3239 Appellate InformationAppeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division.ARGUED APRIL 6, 2009DECIDED JULY 13, 2009AMENDED AUGUST 5, 2009...
A federal appeals court said a family-owned zoo violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to care properly for its tigers and lemurs. In Kuehl v. Sellner, the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a decision to send several exotic animals at the zoo to a better facility. It was a victory for animal rights activists, who said the decision means endangered species living in captivity deserve the same care as animals in the wild....
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that lack of education and the language barrier can’t trump a waiver of appeal. Hipolito Alcala was charged with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and heroin. Though he initially pleaded not guilty, Alcala decided to change his plea after the trial began. Alcala and prosecutors agreed that he would plead to a reduced charge of unlawful use of a communication facility to further a drug trafficking offense....
Earlier this month, the Second Circuit ruled that a woman who was attacked by rowdy drunken customers at a Denny’s restaurant in New York could bring a negligence claim against the restaurant. In 2008, Kelly Gray sued the Denny’s Corp and the attackers in connection with the late-night incident at a Denny’s seeking compensatory, exemplary, and punitive damages. Gray was dining at the restaurant when a group of other visibly drunk patrons began acting rowdy and aggressive....
In plaintiff’s claim for insurance policy coverage of its directors and officers for fraudulent conveyance in Reliance-defendant’s liquidation and against Hartford, who had taken over claims administration for defendant and assumed some of its liabilities, district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Hartford is affirmed where: 1) the Hartford policy period does not include the amended Reliance policy period, and there is no basis to conclude that plaintiff could have reasonably expected its policy with Hartford to cover the Reliance policy; 2) the interrelated wrongful acts provision applies to bar coverage for the CCR and Claimants Committee actions under the Hartford policy; 3) other agreements do not make Hartford directly liable for the fraudulent conveyance actions; and 4) judicial estoppel does not apply to Hartford’s invoking of the interrelated wrongful acts provision Read G-I Holdings v....
In a dispute arising from a transaction between a co-op, insurer and a surety involving a leveraged lease of a power station over a 63-year period, district court’s grant of temporary injunction is affirmed as it did not err in concluding that co-op’s claim was sufficient for the limited purpose of the temporary injunction. Read Hoosier Energy Rural Elec. Coop., Inc. v. John Hancock Life Ins. Co., No. 08-4030 Appellate Information...
Denial of Attorney’s Fees in Securities Class Action Affirmed In In re: Adelphia Communications Corp. Sec. & Deriv. Litig., No. 08-4904, a securities and derivative litigation, the court affirmed the denial of non-lead class counsel’s petition for increased attorneys’ fees following a settlement, on the ground that a standard counseling consideration of lead counsels’ allocation of fees did not in any way limit the district court’s ability to engage in a meaningful review of the fairness of the allocation and the overall reasonableness of fees, and such a review occurred here....
As the story goes, many of America’s first immigrants were fleeing persecution in their home countries. The United States didn’t pass its first immigration restrictions until almost 300 years later, after which some 50 million people had come into the country. Many of those first immigrants were refugees. However, restrictions on refugee immigration under the Trump administration have been increasing, and the number of refugees that are legally allowed to enter the U....
Really, we wish we could be tourists every day of the year. Travelling to a new place, whether near or far, is one of life’s simple pleasures and one of the greatest eye-opening experiences we can have. Thus, we kick off National Travel and Tourism Week with a National Tourism Day today. And whether you’re hitting the road or flying the friendly skies this summer, whether you’re travelling for business or for pleasure, and whether it’s a staycation or you’re heading to the other side of the world, it’s always good to know what your legal rights are, as a traveler....
A federal appeals court ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to ban a pesticide once used as a nerve gas that can cause brain disorders. According to studies presented to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, low doses of chlorpyrifos can cause children to suffer attention deficit disorders, delayed motor development, and lower IQs. A divided panel of the court blasted the government for dragging its feet in protecting consumers....
Gambling has come a long way in Pennsylvania, once known more for Amish settlements than for casinos. Today, Pennsylvania takes in more tax dollars from casinos than any other state in the country. It’s a multi-billion dollar business. Lawmakers got a little nervous about potential corruption and banned political donations from the gambling industry. A judge said they can’t do that – at least not that much. Attenuated Connection Judge Sylvia Rambo struck the donations ban, but left the door open for the Legislature to revise the law....
In a challenge to a Forest Service rule repealing the nationwide protections of its Roadless Rule and inviting states to pursue varying rules for roadless area management, judgment for plaintiffs is affirmed where it was unreasonable for the Forest Service to assert that the environment, listed species, and their critical habitats would be unaffected by this regulatory change. Read People of the State of Cal. v. U.S. Dep’t of Agriculture, No....
You may spend a significant amount of time on lawn maintenance, particularly if you live in a nice suburban neighborhood. You may assiduously water, trim bushes, and weed. You may rightly be proud of the results. No matter how much you care, though, it’s likely not as much as Rene Boucher, who was so concerned about a neighbor’s yard trash that he was willing to commit assault. It was, at a minimum, a failure of perspective, priorities and common sense....
In an arbitration before the National Railroad Adjustment Board (NRAB) between a railroad and a union regarding disciplinary action against certain employees, a circuit court’s order reversing the NRAB’s dismissal of the arbitration for failure to conduct a pre-arbitration conference is affirmed where, by refusing to adjudicate the cases on the false premise that it lacked jurisdiction to hear them, the NRAB panel failed to conform, or confine itself, to matters Congress placed within the scope of NRAB jurisdiction....
The Munger, Tolles, and Olson Twins, John Owens of Los Angeles and Michelle Friedland of San Francisco, both BigLaw partners, Stanford alums, and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals nominees, are back in the spotlight. We covered their initial nomination back in August, but now that they are getting closer to confirmation, the candidates’ disclosures are being made public. And while Owens was set for a confirmation hearing today, he has since been bumped to next week, along with a handful of other nominees....
