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Two Colorado residents felt cheated when Bank of America tried to sell their condominium that was in foreclosure. Bringing an appeal to the Tenth Circuit, their primary arguments were based on due process rights and a violation of the Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (CFDCPA). None of the plaintiff’s arguments stuck. Finding that their claims were either off base or speculative, the Tenth agreed with the lower court and dismissed the complaint....

In any given workplace, there are (or should be) a definitive set of rules and policies that guide employee and company behavior. That way, if something goes wrong, the first question can be: “Did we follow our rules?” After that, you can determine if the rules or policies should be updated or changed to avoid future incidents. These rules and policies are also helpful when it comes to potential legal action – both sides will want to know if everyone did everything “by the book” in a given scenario....

It sounds like the kind of bitter battle that you would read about in a comic book. Man versus self. Stan Lee versus … Stan Lee. Except here, Plaintiff Stan Lee is actually Stan Lee Media Inc., (SLMI) the struggling, once-bankrupt company that comic creator extraordinaire Stan Lee founded in the late 1990s. Defendant Stan Lee is the aforementioned creative genius, who has since returned to Marvel. And their battleground is the Second Circuit Court of Appeals....

For employers, the most dreaded legal claims usually involve discrimination. Whether it is employee on employee, or employee on customer, or vice versa, dealing with these claims can truly be a nightmare. In addition to costly legal bills, the potential public relations headache that can ensue from a manager discriminating against 26 people at the same time can hurt any business’s bottom line, not to mention morale. Fortunately, employers can help everyone by providing good training to employees on how to handle themselves and others when discriminatory conduct is observed, or even better, how to keep it from even happening in the first place....

With the coronavirus pandemic not showing any signs of slowing down in many states, many people are taking advantage of expanded opportunities to cast a vote by mail. Still, whether because of fears about the U.S. Postal Service or a desire to have their vote immediately counted on election night, a majority are planning to vote in person. But COVID-19 does not take days off. While authorities are taking action to encourage social distancing at polling places, it is likely that people with the virus will show up to vote....

In an action claiming that provisions of the Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act (the Act) were preempted by federal law, a preliminary injunction in favor of plaintiffs is affirmed in part where: 1) section 7(C) of the Act imposed sanctions “upon those who employ unauthorized aliens,” and was thus preempted by 8 U.S.C. section 1324a(h)(2); and 2) by requiring verification of independent contractors, section 9 of the Act risked exposing contracting entities to liability under federal law, and thus section 9 was preempted as well....

A man didn’t have to show his work was “hellish” to sue for a hostile work environment, a federal appeals court said. In Gates v. Board of Education of the City of Chicago, a black building engineer said his workplace was hostile because a supervisor threatened him racially and called him the “N” word. It’s one thing when a co-worker says something like that, the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals said, but it’s a discrimination lawsuit when a supervisor says it....

As June approaches, and the case year comes to a close, the Supreme Court opinions will start rolling in. It’s only 36 days until the last day of the term, and the Court has yet to release opinions in 22 of the 69 cases argued this year. Monday, the Nine issued three Supreme Court opinions. We already covered the Court’s decision in Astrue v. Capato in this blog; now we’re moving on to the other two cases decided this week, Holder v....

Hein v. Sullivan, No. 07-56277, involved a murder prosecution in which the district court denied petitioners’ habeas petition. The Ninth Circuit affirmed, holding that, in light of the record from the two-month-long jury trial, an undisclosed letter from the state to an eyewitness promising not to prosecute him for his drug dealing activities was not the decisively impeaching evidence petitioners made it out to be, and thus petitioners failed to establish the prejudice required to overturn their convictions....

If you haven’t seen Avengers Endgame, this is almost a spoiler alert: Facebook tracking is inevitable. Facebook is not Thanos, the creature who snapped half of all living things out of existence in the last Avengers’ movie. But like the evil ruler, Facebook has seemingly unlimited power in the cyberverse. Facebook can track people who don’t use the social media platform and even track people who don’t use it. It may be a computer-generated world, but shouldn’t there be a law against that?...

Security cameras, smart locks, and other internet-enabled devices are a great thing. But what about privacy rights? It’s especially an issue in the age of the Internet of Things. When a fish tank thermometer can be used to spy on your company, you know you’re in deep. So if you haven’t reviewed your privacy policy lately, it’s about time to include an IoT privacy check. You can start with the device you are using right now....

Arthrex Inc., a medical device company, requested inter partes review of its patent for a knotless suture by the Patent Trial and Appeals Board. As many anticipated, the Board found several claims in Arthrex’s patent invalid. Arthrex appealed the Board’s decision, arguing that the way the APJs are appointed violates the Appointments Clause. The Federal Circuit agreed and provided a fix that could resolve the problem without upending the entire patent appeals system....

US v. Lee, 09-2698, concerned a challenge to the district court’s conviction of defendant for drug related crimes. In affirmin the conviction, the court held that, assuming arguendo that the district court’s denial of defendant’s motion to suppress his incriminating statements amounted to a violation of his constitutional rights, such an error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Further, the district court did not violate defendant’s constitutional rights. Bauer v. Shepard, 09-2963, involved plaintiffs’ challenge to certain provisions of the Indiana Code of Judicial Conduct, claiming that they refrain from speaking about controversial issues such as abortion or from filling out questionnaires about abortion sent by the Indiana Right to Life, Inc....

Lawyers have always had a mixed reputation. For every popular portrayal of a lawyer as a crusader for justice, there is another willing to lie, cheat, and steal for a buck. Every personal injury attorney will be called an ambulance chaser at least once. Criminal defense attorneys will hear themselves called some variation of crooked. Still, most people who are injured in an accident or find themselves facing criminal charges trust their lawyer to guide them and behave ethically....

In a victory for voters, the U.S. Supreme Court denied an emergency stay concerning secrecy of donors to political nonprofits. Crossroads GPS, a nonprofit Republican group, tried to stop a lower court decision that ordered the disclosures. But the High Court denied the emergency request. In Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington v. Federal Election Commission, a federal judge ordered the elections commission to come up with better disclosure rules....

Sabinsa Corp. v. Creative Compounds, LLC, 08-3255, concerned a challenge to the district court’s judgment in favor of the defendant, finding that there was no likelihood of confusion between plaintiff’s mark, ForsLean, and defendant’s mark, Forsthin, both of which refer to an extract used in weight control products, in plaintiff’s suit for trademark infringement and unfair competition. In reversing the judgment, the court held that the district court erred in its finding on the Lapp factors and its ultimate finding on likelihood of confusion....

While many states are legalizing marijuana, cannabis lawyers are quick to advise that federal laws trump state laws when it comes to controlled substances. Federal prosecutors have come and gone, but one thing is certain. The Internal Revenue Service is not going to leave the marijuana industry alone. In the course of auditing tax filings, the IRS found that a Colorado marijuana business was criminally culpable under federal drug laws. The company, in The Green Solution Retail, Inc....

Now that we’re done saying goodbye to 2019, it’s time to look ahead to the new year and the changes it may bring into our lives. One of the ways that happens, of course, is through new laws. Every year, plenty of them go into effect at every governmental level, affecting our lives in many ways. There can be a dizzying number of them, but every year they reveal a number of broad trends that reflect the changes that we think are important to make....

Many Americans have taken heart that the murder conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin will lead to police reform around the country. Even though prosecutors made it clear that their focus was on one defendant and not police in general, some legal experts said the implication of the verdict is clear. University of Nebraska law professor Samuel Walker, for instance, told USA Today that although the prosecutors’ argument is true, “I think there will be a response and that mayors and governors will demand more policing reforms....

With remote workforces unlikely to return en masse any time soon, it is worth revisiting how corporate counsel are handling this novel work environment. It appears to be going well. Well enough, at least, that many companies are considering shifting permanently to more flexible work arrangements. The Association of Corporate Counsel has been polling members regarding remote work experiences. In June, almost 90% of respondents indicated they are currently working from home....