Cryptocurrency can certainly be cryptic. It has its own lingo and set of concepts, and many who operate in the space do so with the anonymity of their meme profile pics and pseudonyms. The legal nature of crypto is also cryptic. Does it fit into our existing financial regulation frameworks? Or is it something new entirely? What does that mean for those who take advantage of the murkiness at the expense of others?...
Fraudulent Transfer Action in Bankruptcy In In re: Schwarzkopf, No. 08-56974, an adversary proceeding seeking to recover for bankrupt estates’ benefit approximately $4 million in assets, the court affirmed and reversed in part partial judgment for defendants where 1) the district court did not err in finding that a trust to which defendants transferred certain assets was fraudulent; and 2) the California courts had not extended the prohibition on “reverse-piercing” the corporate veil to the trust context....
In an action challenging provisions of the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness Act, district court judgment is vacated for lack of jurisdiction where plaintiff is a public agency established under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act, and thus cannot sue another state agency in federal court as it is outside the scope of 42 U.S.C. 1983 and blocked by the Eleventh Amendment. Read Indiana Protection and Advocacy Serv....
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that practical possibilities trump their theoretical counterparts. In a 7-2 decision, the Court found that a floating home didn’t qualify as a “vessel” because “a reasonable observer … would not consider it to be designed to any practical degree for carrying people or things on water.” (Sidebar: We basically reached the same result when we previewed this case in September.) The city eventually bought and destroyed the home when it was being auctioned off to satisfy a judgment against Lozman....
A month or two ago, the prospects for law students and newly minted lawyers were among the best in decades. According to the National Association of Law Placement, for example, the offer rate for summer internships was an astonishing 98%. Meanwhile, law school applications have been up, with a higher quality of applicants compared to previous years. Unfortunately, the novel coronavirus has dramatically altered the landscape for law student prospects. Summer associate programs have been delayed....
Time heals all injuries, except perhaps damages from contaminated water in Bethpage, Long Island. It’s a legal reality because the statute of limitations has ended claims in Bethpage Water District v. Northrup Grumman Corporation. A federal appeals court said the plaintiffs waited too long to sue for groundwater contamination caused by the company’s industrial work. The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals said Bethpage waited until 2013 to sue, despite learning about groundwater contamination there between 2007 and 2009....
Feeling lucky? Online betting operators probably are after a First Circuit opinion rejected the Justice Department’s interpretation that online state lotteries violate federal law. In 2018, the Department of Justice issued an opinion concluding that the Wire Act prohibited all forms of online betting or wagering, including state lotteries. Anyone wanting to take their long-shot odds for millions had to go to a convenience store. Shortly after the opinion letter, the New Hampshire Lottery Commission challenged this interpretation....
In a case brought by protesters against the City of York alleging that a ramp in front of the Planned Parenthood Facility was a public forum, district court’s decision denying plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction is affirmed where: 1) plaintiffs had no chance of success on the merits as the handicap ramp was a nonpublic forum; 2) there was no irreparable harm because plaintiffs were allowed to protest on the public sidewalk next to the ramp and had access to every person entering the clinic through the ramp; 3) allowing the protesters on the ramp could have led to violence between protesters and the patrons of Planned Parenthood Facility, posing likelihood of harm to the defendants; and 4) public interest favors ensuring unrestricted handicapped access to facilities....
District court order granting defendant summary judgment and dismissing plaintiff’s motion to compel arbitration is reversed and remanded where: 1) the kind of extraordinary circumstances warranting abstention by a federal court under the Colorado River doctrine are not present; and 2) the previous state court ruling does not collaterally estopp plaintiff from seeking to enforce the arbitration provision of its agreement with defendant, as plaintiff was a nonparty and did not otherwise have its interests represented before the state court, and the record does not show that the other party in the state action intended to or did adequately represent plaintiff’s interests such that the two can be said to be in privity....
What do you get when you combine an investigator with more suspicions than facts and a judge who happily issues a warrant that lacks probable cause? A 30-page suppression opinion. Tydel John, a teacher in the U.S. Virgin Islands, was under investigation for sexually assaulting several of the children at the school where he taught. Children told police that John maintained two, spiral-bound notebooks in which he made notes about his students, including inappropriate notes about past and present female students....
As the patchwork of pot laws continues to evolve nationwide, that can leave law enforcement in some sticky situations. Perhaps none more so than differentiating between legal hemp and illegal marijuana. “That’s because the only way to distinguish hemp and marijuana,” according to the AP, “is by measuring their tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, and officers don’t have the testing technology to do so on the spot.” Of course, this trouble could all be avoided if the federal government just legalized it....
In Richardson v. Superintendent of Mid-Orange Corr. Facility, No. 09-3655, the state’s appeal from the grant of petitioner’s habeas petition, the court reversed the order where the district court erred because petitioner failed to exhaust state remedies with respect to one of the identifications at issue, and the determination of the New York courts that the other identification was not unnecessarily suggestive was not contrary to, nor an unreasonable application of, clearly established federal law as determined by the U....
FLSA Attorney’s Fees Case In Scott v. City of N.Y., No. 09-5232, an appeal from the district court’s order awarding plaintiff’s counsel attorney’s fees pursuant to section 216(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the court vacated the order where, because the district court did not explain the basis on which counsel was excepted from the requirement that attorneys submit contemporaneous time records with their fee applications, the court was unable to divine whether the district court abused its discretion in granting such an exception....
Today the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for the case of Luis v. United States, a case of first impression for SCOTUS that asks probing questions about the role of government forfeiture of personal assets. The legal issue at the core of Luis is this: Can prosecutors freeze all of the defendant’s assets even if they are unrelated to any criminal activity and even if freezing them would hinder the defendant’s ability to hire counsel?...
You have the right to an attorney of your choosing, if you can afford one. Unfortunately, you can’t, because your assets were just seized. Want to challenge the seizure? Not happening. You also have the right to refuse to allow the police to search your home. Unfortunately, they may drag you away in cuffs and pressure your cohabitant into overriding your refusal. So, there’s that. Just make sure you don’t give them an “objectively reasonable” reason to slap on the iron bracelets....
Anthony Davila pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. by obtaining false tax refunds. But he didn’t really want to plead guilty. He actually wanted a new lawyer. Davila asked a magistrate judge to discharge his court-appointed attorney because that counsel had not discussed any strategies except a guilty plea. The judge told Davila that sometimes, pleading was the best option. So Davila admitted fessed up. After getting a 115-month sentence, he reconsidered and appealed....
Appeal From Order Compelling Compliance in Criminal Appeal In US v. Krane, No. 10-30247, intervenor’s appeal from the district court’s order compelling intervenor’s former counsel to comply with a pretrial subpoena duces tecum issued in anticipation of the criminal trial of two former executives of intervenor, the court dismissed the appeal as moot where to fashion “effectual relief” in this case, the court would have to assess the effectiveness of a Fed....
Defendant’s firearm possession conviction and sentence are affirmed where: 1) neither defendant nor his counsel clearly expressed an intention to preserve a suppression of evidence issue on appeal; and 2) defendant’s conviction for fleeing and eluding law enforcement involved conduct that presented a serious potential risk of physical injury to another and was thus a violent felony under the Armed Career Criminal Act. Read US v. Young, No. 08-1394 Appellate Information...
Since Valentine’s Day is near, (and we’re in the middle of the Supreme Court recess), we’re shifting our focus today from Supreme Court arguments to Supreme Court weddings. Last summer, we told you that Justice Stephen Breyer officiated at former Congressman Patrick Kennedy’s wedding to school teacher Amy Petitgout. Now, David Lat at Above the Law reports that Justice Elena Kagan has jumped on the wedding-officiant bandwagon – or is a horse-drawn carriage in these situations?...
It appears that former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura’s recent $1.8 million victory against the estate of Chris Kyle of American Sniper fame will be reduced following a ruling by the Eighth Circuit. The overturned award related to disputes over Ventura’s defamation win, which the circuit found had been tainted with improper testimony of insurance. Obviously, the MPAA and other producers reacted warmly to the Eighth Circuit’s ruling. “Scruff Face” Debacle Ventura’s suit found its nexus when U....
