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The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday that the residents-only hiring policy of New Jersey’s North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue discriminated against African-American candidates. The Third Circuit’s decision upheld the U.S. District Court of New Jersey’s finding that the residency requirement had a disparate impact on African-American applicants. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of three firefighter candidates by the NAACP in 2007. Both North Hudson and six Latino firefighter applicants appealed the lower court’s decision, stating that the residency requirement was essential for several reasons, such as locale familiarity, swift response times and fostering a bilingual firefighter force....

When Apple and Qualcomm went global, they didn’t want that to include litigation. But there they were, suing each other year-after-year across continents for billions of dollars. That’s a lot of cell phones, or at least a dozen iPhone Xs. Their mega patent dispute was coming to a head this week when suddenly the parties settled. Apparently, they decided to make money rather than spend it on continuing litigation. Suddenly Settled The settlement agreement includes a payment from Apple to Qualcomm, and a six-year license agreement for Apple to continue using Qualcomm’s chips....

In a copyright, trademark, and trade dress infringement action, judgment as a matter of law for defendant on copyright and trade dress infringement claims is affirmed where: 1) defendant did not timely move for judgment as a matter of law, but the time limit under Fed. R. Civ. P. 50(b) is not jurisdictional; and 2) plaintiff failed to demonstrate that defendant had access to plaintiff’s copyrighted works or that plaintiff’s trade dress had acquired secondary meaning....

Are doctors protected by First Amendment free speech rights if they provide medical advice that the consensus views as misinformation? That question is at the core of two legal challenges to a new California law that could punish doctors for spreading false information about COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. On Sept. 30, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that designates the spread of “false” or “misleading” information related to the pandemic to patients as “professional misconduct” subject to punishment, including losing their medical license....

Allen v. US Air Force, No. 08-3450, concerned an action against the Air Force and nineteen individuals in the district court for the District of North Dakota, claiming that plaintiff’s Sixth Amendment speedy trial rights were violated in a court-martial. The court of appeals affirmed summary judgment for defendants, holding that: 1) the military court fully and fairly considered the issue of whether the charges preferred against plaintiff on February 18, 2004, were dismissed by the general court-martial convening authority on August 27, 2004; 2) even if plaintiff was correct that the military court should have included the entire period from the first preferral of charge and specifications in February 2004, to the court-martial in March 2006, in its speedy trial analysis, plaintiff still would not be entitled to relief under the Sixth Amendment for violation of his speedy trial rights....

If you, like the vast majority of Americans, are currently ordered to stay at home or shelter in place, you might be struggling to understand exactly how to comply. You might be confused about whether you can send your kids to daycare right now, or if your nanny or babysitter can still come over — and if not, whether you are still legally obligated to pay. We will address each of these issues and more below....

Estate planning is often one of those things you intend to do someday. Or you may be waiting for when you have children or more assets to protect. Generally, young adults who do not have money or kids don’t think about estate planning. However, the global pandemic has changed how young adults view estate planning. Specifically, more of them are making wills, financial powers of attorney, and health care directives....

As COVID-19 continues to expand, many companies are asking their employees to work from home. But many workers don’t have that option. About a quarter of them, in fact, get no sick leave at all. They are left with a tough choice: Get paid or stay home. This is clearly not a healthy situation for those workers or for the broader population. So it’s gratifying that the federal government has recognized that this is an emergency situation....

Scot Peterson was the Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy on duty at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida the day former student Nikolas Cruz killed 17 students with an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle. Peterson never entered the school building or otherwise confronted Cruz during the shooting, which lasted six minutes, and Cruz snuck away from the school by blending in with fleeing students. Peterson has certainly suffered his share of online ridicule and professional criticism – he was suspended immediately, then retired, then fired....

In US v. Wise, No. 08-4033, the court of appeals affirmed defendant’s firearm possession sentence, on the grounds that: 1) defendant’s prior conviction under Utah law for failure to stop at the command of a police officer was a “crime of violence” under the Sentencing Guidelines (the court noted a circuit split); and 2) the district court erred in not assigning criminal history points for one of defendant’s prior convictions, but that error did not invalidate defendant’s sentence....

Petition for review of an order denying adjustment of status is granted where the Board of Immigration Appeals violated plaintiff’s statutory right to a reasonable opportunity to present her evidence of eligibility for adjustment of status by refusing to either remand the case to allow the IJ to consider her additional evidence or rule on the merits of her proposed alternative theory of adjustment eligibility as a matter of law. Read Figueras v....

Unidentified flying objects have once again become the subject of public speculation. While relegated to sci-fi paperback shelves for the last several decades, a growing number of journalists, scientists, and even members of Congress are beginning to wonder: Does the U.S. military have information about UFOs that it hasn’t shared with the public? A recent article in The New Yorker and a piece by 60 minutes has thrown fire on this speculation....

District court’s grant of summary judgment for plaintiff, an ERISA governed, self-funded employee welfare benefit plan, for seeking to enforce the terms of the Plan’s reimbursement provisions against the defendant and his client is affirmed where: 1) the district court correctly granted plaintiff equitable restitution as authorized by section 502(a)(3) of ERISA; 2) defendant’s judicial estoppel argument fails as it is not applicable where a party argues an inconsistent position based on a change in controlling law; 3) district court ruled correctly that plaintiff’s Plan was self-executing and that the Plan language provides for an automatic and valid lien on the settlement funds to the extent of the benefits defendant’s client received from the Plan; and 4) defendant is obligated to reimburse the Plan from the funds he received from liable third parties and his decision to commingle these funds and not maintain them intact does not prevent enforcement of plaintiff’s equitable lien by agreement under the terms of its ERISA plan....

Denial of defendant’s petition for habeas relief from a conviction and life sentence for the first degree murder of a police officer 13 years ago is affirmed as defendant’s trial counsel’s performance was not constitutionally ineffective, and even if deficient performance could be found, defendant cannot show that there is a reasonable probability that the result of the trial would have been different but for counsel’s shortcomings. Read McAfee v. Thurmer, No....

In an unlawful termination suit wherein defendant-employer appealed from an order granting plaintiff’s motion to compel the production of documents that, according to defendant, were protected by the attorney-client privilege, dismissal of the appeal for lack of jurisdiction is affirmed where disclosure orders adverse to the attorney-client privilege do not qualify for immediate appeal under the collateral order doctrine. Postjudgment appeals, together with other review mechanisms, suffice to protect the rights of litigants and preserve the vitality of the attorney-client privilege....

Insurance Claims by Persons Descended from Armenians Persecuted by the Ottoman Empire In Movsesian v. Victoria Versicherung AG, No. 07-56722, claims by persons descended from Armenians persecuted by the Ottoman Empire seeking benefits from defendant insurers, the court affirmed the denial of defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ claims for breach of contract and breach of the covenant of fair dealing, where Cal. Civ. Proc. Code section 354.4 did not conflict with a clear, express federal executive policy, because there was no express federal policy forbidding states to use the term “Armenian Genocide....

Should Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan sit out the Obamacare lawsuit? Judicial Watch Inc. is claiming that she should. According to its May 18, 2011 announcement on its website, the self-proclaimed “conservative, non-partisan educational foundation” had obtained documents, pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act suit, casting doubt on Justice Kagan’s impartiality. Earlier in the year, they filed a claim to compel the DOJ to comply with the FOIA. Judicial Watch claims that given her alleged involvement in crafting a defense for the legislation in her role as Solicitor General, Justice Kagan’s impartiality might become more of an issue as the case proceeds....

Living through an emergency in isolation is stressful. Losing perspective is easy. Exhibit A comes from a Chicago lawyer who filed an emergency temporary restraining order to prevent the unauthorized reproduction of a client’s unicorn and elf portrayals. Surely, that is worth filing for an emergency TRO, then a reconsideration, then yet another emergency motion. There are a lot of important things to worry about, granted. But we can’t forget about the unicorns!...

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the hunting rights of a Native American tribe survived U.S. expansion into the West. In Herrera v. Wyoming, the the High Court voted 5-4 in saying the Crow tribe’s rights did not expire when Wyoming became part of the United States in 1890. It was a closely watched decision by tribes across the country, as well as hunting, ranching, and wildlife groups. The decision also marked the second time that Justice Neil Gorsuch has voted for tribal rights in close decisions....

A federal appeals court has delayed a $10 million settlement for customers whose records were hacked at Target, sending the case back to a judge to consider a separate group of customers who were not affected by the breach. The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals said the trial judge did not adequately consider whether the settlement fairly represents customers who may have problems from the breach in the future. They want out of the class action settlement, and want to proceed as a sub-class....