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In 2015, millions of “brute force” online attacks against customers of the popular Dunkin’ Donuts coffee chain resulted in tens of thousands of accounts being compromised. Brute force attacks occur when an automated program uses customer login and password combinations to hack accounts. New York Attorney General Letitia James recently filed a lawsuit against Dunkin’ Brands for their handling of the aftermath of one such attack. Complaint Alleges Fraud, Misrepresentation According to the complaint, filed on September 26, Dunkin’ Brands failed to take any corrective action to protect customer accounts....

The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld what is quickly becoming doctrine in all the federal courts: neutral-timekeeping is lawful under the FLSA. The decision comes as a blow to Andre Corbin and other hourly wage-earners like him who allege lost wages due to unfavorable rounding to the nearest quarter. But it’s really no surprise given other courts’ views on the matter. Almost every wage earner is guilty of this common sin: waiting to eight minutes after the scheduled clock-out time in order to gain a quarter hour’s pay after rounding up....

The Tenth Circuit has upheld a district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the New Mexico Environment Department’s Farmington office, finding no violation under Title VII. Michael Lobato was a probationary employee at NMED as an inspector of food service providers, liquid waste systems, and public swimming pools. NMED served Lobato with a notice of dismissal listing several grounds for his termination, including the fact that Lobato was dishonest in his employment application and about staying at a hotel in order to receive a per diem reimbursement....

US v. Faulkenberry, 08-4233, concerned a challenge to a conviction of defendant for securities fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracies to commit these crimes. In affirming in part, the court held that sufficient proof supported defendant’s wire fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud convictions. However, the court reversed the judgment with respect to defendant’s money laundering conviction as, to prove a violation of money laundering pursuant to section 1956(a)(1)(B)(i), it is not enough for the government to prove merely that a transaction had a concealing effect or that the transaction was structured to conceal the nature of illicit funds, but rather, what is required is that concealment be an animating purpose of the transaction....

When the Supreme Court removed the federal ban on sports betting a little over a year ago, there were already plenty of states on the sidelines, ready for their big moment. One, of course, was New Jersey, who led the lawsuit against the prohibition and last month outpaced even Nevada when it came the amount wagered in-state. Others, like Indiana, West Virginia, and Iowa, are gearing up for the most heavily gambled time of the year – football season – by rolling out online sports betting apps....

Clayton Prince Tanksley, a struggling actor and producer, thought he had hit. He pitched a story idea in a contest, and then saw a similar show make it to the screen. “Empire,” a Fox Television production, was a hit. Unfortunately for the aspiring producer in Tanksley v. Daniels, it was not based on his idea. Not even close, said the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals. “Not Substantially Similar” Tanksley sued in 2016, claiming producer and director Lee Daniels stole his story for “Empire....

Judicial confirmations are a priority for Senate Republicans. Filling lower federal courts with nominees thought to embody traditional conservative judicial philosophy is a particular focus of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Judicial nominations are also becoming hotly contested and partisan. In 2013, the Democratic-controlled Senate eliminated the 60-vote rule for judicial appointments to avoid long delays. In 2017, the Republican-controlled Senate extended that rule to Supreme Court nominations. The upshot is that judicial nominations are now largely passed on party votes....

Chances are, you already have lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, or transgender employees. And whether you’re aware of that or not, you should at least be aware of the federal and state laws prohibiting employment discrimination based on someone’s gender or sexual orientation. But knowing the law and adhering to it can be two different things, and having the right anti-discrimination policies in place is just the start. Here are five things you need to know about LGBT discrimination in the workplace:...

In defendant-Amtrak’s appeal from an order setting aside an award issued by a special adjustment board constituted pursuant to the Railway Labor Act (RLA), the order is reversed where the board did not exceed its jurisdiction under the RLA when it held that Amtrak was permitted to discipline an employee for conduct that occurred while that employee was functioning as a union representative. Read United Transp. Union v. Nat’l. R.R. Passenger Corp....

District court’s denial of defendant’s motion to suppress his confession and other incriminating statements resulting in his conviction for bank robberies is affirmed where: 1) defendant’s question was not a clear and unambiguous request for counsel under the circumstances; and 2) district court did not err in denying defendant’s motion to suppress his post-conviction statements where the magistrate judge made a credibility determination that despite defendant’s failure to sign the waiver form, he was advised of his Miranda rights and voluntarily agreed to waive them....

In US v. Strickland, No. 09-1527, police’s search of defendant revealed a firearm and methamphetamine. Defendant was charged with, and pled guilty to, being a felon in possession of a firearm. The district court enhanced defendant’s sentence under the Sentencing Guidelines on the ground that he possessed the firearm in connection with the commission of felony drug possession. According to the court’s opinion, “[w]hile [the defendant] was being fingerprinted at the jail, a loaded Ruger ....

Does Judge Jed Rakoff have a Prop 8 problem? In November, Judge Rakoff blocked a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) settlement with Citigroup over a mortgage-bond deal because the SEC didn’t provide the court with facts “upon which to exercise even a modest degree of independent judgment.” Rakoff criticized the $285 million settlement as “pocket change” and claimed that there should have been a Citigroup admission of facts in the case because “there is an overriding public interest in knowing the truth....

The past year was really something else. 2016 saw the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, the end of Merrick Garland’s Supreme Court dreams, the death of David Bowie. Not even Mariah Carey made it out unscathed. But, before we bid the year a final adieu (or good riddance), it’s worth looking back at the Supreme Court’s most important decisions. For, throughout all of 2016’s ups and downs, the Court continued to shape American law, government, and politics, with important rulings in the areas of criminal law, civil rights, immigration, and more....

In US v. Adams, No. 08-3920, the court of appeals affirmed defendant’s firearm possession conviction, holding that 1) how defendant used and controlled the weapon under similar circumstances was directly relevant to the charged offense; 2) because defendant argued that the testimony at trial changed the date of the offense, not the offense charged, no constructive amendment to the indictment occurred; 3) the properly admitted evidence established both defendant’s dominion and control over the location where the firearm was found out in the open as well as his dominion and control over the weapon itself; and 4) the district court did not clearly err in finding that the prosecution’s explanations for its peremptory strikes were race-neutral....

How accurate must a broken translation be in order for actual consent to be granted for a vehicle search? This question was the very center of a recent ruling by the Seventh Circuit which decided that the iPhone’s iTranslate app can be used to obtain consent in lieu of warrant for an automobile search. It does raise a very interesting question, though. What are the limitations on broken speech and consent and what implications will they have on broader civil rights?...

Until the coronavirus came along, employers were prohibited from ordering employees to undergo a medical examination unless it was directly related to their work. The specter of COVID-19, however, has changed all that. In April, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission revised its guidelines so that employers may now require employees to test for the infection as a requirement for work even if they’re not showing any symptoms. In allowing employers to test for COVID-19, the EEOC also reminded them that all medical information, including results from temperature checks, must be confidential....

Lawsuits, like bicycles and skydiving harnesses, occasionally occur in tandem. Like tandem sporting activities, tandem litigation requires considerable coordination and communication between the courts to ensure a fair outcome for foreign judgment holders.Otos Tech originally brought suit in New Jersey in 2003, asserting claims for breach of contract, conversion, and embezzlement arising out of defendant Yale Kim’s retention of three checks worth $587,775.05. Kim answered and asserted counterclaims for breach of contract, breach of a settlement agreement, and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing....

Despite the fact that the judiciary basically redesigned itself to be the ultimate check and balance on governmental authority, when it comes to civil rights, the High Court apparently has not been particularly friendly. Constitutional scholars, including a federal district court judge, have been shouting from a lonely mountain top for some time now about the hostility of SCOTUS to sec. 1983 claims, but sadly, it seems that no one can hear them, or seems to care that the High Court keeps ruling in favor of the government in these claims....

Gerrymandering in America is almost as old as U.S. democracy itself. In 1788, Patrick Henry drew congressional boundaries in Virginia in order to keep James Madison out of the first U.S. congress. (It didn’t work.) But despite gerrymandering’s long history, it’s widely acknowledged as a threat to democracy, as a way to manipulate America’s political processes for unearned advantage. Now, the issue of gerrymandering will be back before the Supreme Court this December, as the Court hears oral arguments in two gerrymandering cases, Bethune-Hill v....

Last Updated: December 20, 2019 Could you be found liable for a winter car accident even while driving the speed limit? To quote our Midwestern neighbors who know something about driving in snow: “You betcha.” Wherever there are slippery roads, accidents lurk around the corner. So even if you are driving at or below the speed limit, you can still be on the hook for a car accident. In December, a huge winter storm caused at least 12 traffic fatalities and hundreds of accidents, including jackknifed tractor-trailers that shut down interstates, as it moved from the Midwest into the Northeast....