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In Jones v. ABN Ambro Mortgage Group, Inc., No. 08-2353, the Third Circuit dealt with a plaintiffs’ suit against mortgage loan companies asserting claims for a declaratory judgment, negligence, and violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), arising from a mortgage loan-servicing Ponzi scheme. First, the court held that the plaintiffs’ negligence claim was properly dismissed as the duty imposed on the defendants in this case was by contract rather than by “law as a matter of social policy....

For certain jobs, getting dressed for work is compensable. In such jobs, employers should place time clocks where employees can access them before changing into their work clothes. Time clock placement, like real estate, is controlled by location, location, location. Over the last five years, Kevin Kasten’s Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit about time clock placement was also controlled by location: It bounced like a pinball between the district court, Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court....

People might enjoy reading bankruptcy cases if more of those cases included money buried on a golf course. In what the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals characterizes as “a fact pattern befitting a John Grisham novel,” FBI agents found $250,000 of “fraudster” A. William Erpenbeck, Jr.’s cash stashed in a cooler on a golf course outside Cincinnati while Erpenbeck was serving a 300-month sentence in federal prison. Thursday, the Sixth Circuit ruled that the feds couldn’t keep the cash because they didn’t give proper notice of their intent to seize the money for restitution....

There’s going to be some moving and shaking in the Third Circuit, with one judge retiring and two new district court judges recently confirmed. Let’s take a look who will be leaving, and who will be joining, the Third Circuit. Judge Ruggero J. Aldisert Retiring A native of Pennsylvania, Judge Ruggero J. Aldisert’s judicial career began in 1961 as a judge in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania....

An expedited appeal isn’t going to stop third-parties from adding their two cents to the Kansas and Arizona Voter ID case. Last month, the Tenth Circuit extended a stay against the states and granted an expedited appeal. At issue is whether the two states can pass voter identification laws that not only require voters to present an ID to vote, but require the federal Election Assistance Commission to add language reflecting the requirement to the bare minimum federal form (which only requires the registrant to attest to citizenship)....

In a case that’s proving eerily spooky to the tech community, the claims of Caldera International, now Santa Cruz Operation Inc. (a.k.a. SCO) against IBM over a 2001 software release have been brought back to life thanks to an order of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals issued on October 30, 2017. The nearly fifteen year old case has just been revived and sent back down to the federal district court to proceed as to one rather big claim against the industry titan: misappropriation....

Famous right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones got tagged with a nearly $50 million verdict in a Texas defamation case that arose out of lies he told about the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. This is just one of his many legal troubles. We have some thoughts about what Mr. Jones and his lawyers get to look forward to. Let’s focus in this post specifically on Jones. Then, we will talk about his lawyer’s problems in another post....

As the nation is rocked by a new surge of COVID-19 cases, employers are taking extra steps to keep the virus out of the workplace. A number of big companies and state employers are requiring unvaccinated employees to get tested regularly. That has workers asking questions. Is it legal for a company to require employees to get tested for COVID-19 and share their results? It may feel intrusive for your boss to require COVID-19 testing, but it is perfectly legal in most cases....

The judges who host courtroom reality TV shows have usually been real judges. Judge Judy (Judy Sheindlin) was a Manhattan family court judge. Judge Joe Brown presided in Shelby County, Tennessee, Criminal Court. Judge Marilyn Milian (“The People’s Court”) was a Florida circuit court judge. The list of people who have presided over TV courts has grown long and includes a few former lawyers (like Jerry Springer and Faith Jenkins) who made the switch....

Kate Steinle was a victim of murder and circumstance. She was walking near Pier 41 in San Francisco when an undocumented alien with a criminal record shot and killed her. President Trump tweeted it out in his campaign against sanctuary cities. In Steinle v. City & County of San Francisco, Steinle’s parents sued the sheriff for negligently releasing the man before he killed their daughter. The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said they didn’t have a case....

While lawyer dads may not be so easy to please, picking out the right Father’s Day gift, even at the last minute, should usually be a breeze. After all, if you’re really pressed for time, a quick stop at any department store should be sufficient to find that perennially disappointing tie or handkerchief. However, if you’re hoping to score some points with the old man, you’ll want to avoid the boring same-old same-old....

A recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling could pave the way for political propaganda during your Downton Abbey viewing party. Last week, the Ninth Circuit overturned a federal ban on political advertising on public television stations. In a 2-1 decision, the court found that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) violated the First Amendment’s free speech clause by prohibiting public broadcasters from running political and public issue ads, Reuters reports....

In an action challenging the Forest Service’s effort to fund fire prevention activities by awarding logging contracts, the denial of a preliminary injunction is reversed where the district court failed to assess the factors of irreparable harm, balancing of equities and the public interest, in the context of the narrow relief sought by plaintiffs. Read Sierra Forest Legacy v. Rey, No. 07-16892 Appellate Information Argued and Submitted March 1, 2008...

Make no mistake about it: this judge, much like the Pampers at issue, is pissed. Pampers made a special line of diapers called DryMax. Consumers alleged that the ultra-absorbent product caused frequent diaper rashes. Government agencies investigated and found no proof of the defect. Nonetheless, twelve class-action lawsuits were filed. After “hard-fought” negotiations, and “strenuous” litigation (which included no depositions, no discovery, and no response to Proctor & Gamble’s motion to dismiss), a settlement was reached: the named plaintiffs would get $1,000 per affected child, the lawyers would get $2....

Sentence for transporting a minor in interstate commerce with intent that the minor engage in prostitution is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant’s motion to withdraw his plea without an evidentiary hearing; 2) defendant’s plea agreement cannot be voided because of mutual mistake with regard to the sentence imposed as the defendant’s actual sentence was not an essential term of the agreement; 3) the court did not err in determining that defendant was a career offender as his conviction for transporting a minor in interstate commerce for the purpose of prostitution is similar in kind to the enumerated crimes in U....

In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action against a county Medical Examiner for depriving plaintiff of her right to dispose of her deceased mother’s brain (removed in an autopsy and later incinerated as medical waste), denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity is reversed where plaintiff had no clearly established property right in the brain because it was removed and retained for study in furtherance of a lawful criminal investigation....

The trial of disbarred former South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh began last week. Murdaugh is accused of shooting his wife, Maggie, and 22-year-old son, Paul, at a family property in June 2021. While Murdaugh denies the allegations and says he discovered the bodies after returning from a visit with his father. A Prominent South Carolina Family The Murdaugh family is a prominent legal family from the Lowcountry region of South Carolina....

Buying a firearm from a pawnshop can be a cost-effective way to purchase a gun for hunting, home protection, or to add to your personal collection. But there are some things that you should know before you purchase from a pawnbroker. Below, you will find everything that you will need to know before you decide to buy a gun from a pawnshop. The Dealer Must Be Federally Licensed First, every gun dealer, including pawnshops, must be federally licensed....

The Department of Justice is investigating Ticketmaster once again. After approving the 2010 Ticketmaster and Live Nation merger that formed Live Nation Entertainment, the DOJ is now probing whether the merged company that owns Ticketmaster and major venues and also manages artists, holds a monopoly and is engaging in practices that are unfair to consumers. The ongoing DOJ investigation gained public attention after Ticketmaster’s Taylor Swift presale ticket meltdown that resulted in hours-long virtual lines and left thousands of disappointed fans without tickets....

The most surprising thing the Supreme Court did Monday was bury summary denials of certiorari to five pending same-sex marriage cases in the 80-page first order of the term. But the second most surprising thing the Court did was to update its website. A new carousel of images greets visitors to the Court’s main page, along with a more conspicuous calendar, a list of recent decisions, and a table of recent arguments with accompanying transcripts and audio recordings....