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It’s another busy Monday on First Street, with opinions handed down in cases involving securities class actions (“fraud on the market”), EPA greenhouse gas regulation (can they do that?) and the mental state of mind required to be convicted of a federal bank fraud statute. It’s a weird assortment of cases, and probably not the ones you were hoping for, but if environmentalism, holding corporations accountable, or making a federal case out of passing bad checks is your thing, read on for the roundup:...

For small businesses, pets can often be both a blessing and a burden. Apart from being loved by customers, clients and employees, there are a number of legal drawbacks that business owners should be mindful of when crafting their pet policies. Below, you can read some common issues and get a few tips about keeping your pet-friendly business out of legal trouble. Pets at Work For jobs that aren’t pet friendly, like food service, or jobs that could be downright dangerous, like construction, it makes sense to have policies banning workers from bringing pets to work....

State regulators didn’t violate the First Amendment rights of a Nebraska financial adviser when they looked into his regulatory compliance, in part because of his participation in the Tea Party movement and public criticisms of President Barack Obama, the Eighth Circuit ruled today. Robert Bennie, Jr., had been a vocal critic of the president’s, calling him a communist and an “evil man” in an interview with the Lincoln Journal Star. He’d also been playing loose with state disclosure requirements, regulators believed....

Stephen Young is getting a legal education the hard way. After failing his torts class, Young sued his law school for access to the other students’ exams to determine whether he fell below the curve. He also wants externship credit for filing the lawsuit and a letter of recommendation. Not to prejudge the case, but something says Young has a long road ahead him. As a first-year law student, he has just begun....

Is professionalism in depositions capable of returning? Or is a cooperative and professional bar – even in depositions - what California Appellate Justice William Bedsworth lamented as “the Marie Celeste . . . a ghost ship reported by a few hardy souls but doubted by most people familiar with the area in which it’s been reported"? Recognizing Incivility as a Problem The federal rules of civil procedure were amended to attempt to prevent unprofessional and discourteous behavior in depositions....

District court’s sentence of a defendant to a mandatory life imprisonment for drug and firearm offenses is affirmed where, although the government’s enhancement notice may not be in compliance with 21 U.S.C. section 851(a)(1), as long as the defendant has actual notice of the intended use of a prior conviction to enhance his sentence, the statute has been substantially complied with. Read US v. Williams, No. 09-1924 Appeals from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division...

Are you at a loss with what you’re going to do on Labor Day? If your office isn’t closed, it’ll certainly be quiet. And if you’re trying to avoid labor on Labor Day, here’s one potentially relaxing idea: Watch a documentary. And if you’re looking for a documentary to watch, CNN has a supreme one for you. The Ruth Bader Ginsburg documentary, creatively named “RBG,” will make its television premier on CNN Monday September 3....

“To train you to think like a lawyer.” That’s probably the most common answer you would receive if you polled professors, administrators, and perhaps some recent graduates about what law school is designed to do. Two answers you probably won’t get? “To help you pass the bar.” (That’s why after three years of school you need a whole other mini school to study for it.) And, “To train you to actually practice in the real world....

Rapper YNW Melly’s murder case just had the stakes raised quite a bit higher. Now, the rising rap artist could be facing the death penalty for the double murder that he is alleged to have committed with a fellow crewmember, YNW Bortlen. According to prosecutors, Melly and Bortlen shot and killed their own crewmembers Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr. while sitting in their car, then staged the crime to look like a drive-by shooting....

A power of attorney (POA) is one of the most powerful (and potentially risky) documents one can sign: It gives a third party “agent” the ability to control the assets of the “principal” as if the agent were the principal. Depending on how broad the POA is, that could mean anything from controlling one’s financial accounts to controlling everything: healthcare decisions, investments, property, and accounts. With that much power comes a duty to act in the principal’s best interest....

US v. Lazar, No. 08-5653, concerned a challenge to the district court’s grant of a motion to suppress evidence seized from two medical offices, in a prosecution of the defendant-pediatric doctor for health care fraud and related crimes. First, the court held that the magistrate judge erred in concluding that an attachment did not suffice to incorporate a patient list into the affidavit and warrants as a lack of formal incorporation by reference into the warrants does not justify a finding of facial insufficiency....

An order conditionally granting habeas relief to a defendant convicted of rape and related crimes and sentenced to an indeterminate sentence with a minimum term of thirty years and a maximum term of life is reversed as the sentence does not violate Blakely because the judicial fact-finding at issue merely increased his minimum sentence without affecting his maximum term of imprisonment, and thus, defendant’s sentence does not violate the Sixth Amendment....

Groupon is big right now. As a business owner, you might be thinking, “I’d like to get some of that sweet Groupon action. But can I get sued over a Groupon coupon?” A Groupon lawsuit, like anything, is possible. But if you use reasonable precautions, your exposure shouldn’t be significant. Plus, if you were served with papers, your attorney would have the option of pointing the finger at Groupon if there were ever such a Groupon lawsuit against your business....

Price v. Pierce, 08-1401, concerned a challenge to the district court’s dismissal of defendant’s petition for habeas relief from his conviction for aggravated sexual assault for beating and raping an inmate. In affirming the dismissal, the court held that a review of the plain language of section 116-3 and the Illinois state court decisions discussing that provision leads to the conclusion that a motion under section 116-3 is not a collateral review of the underlying judgment and therefore does not toll the statute of limitations for bringing a federal habeas corpus petition under 28 U....

In an ERISA action for health benefits, judgment for defendant is affirmed where plaintiff’s stay at a residential treatment center that had no contract with defendant-insurer was not covered under plaintiff’s health plan. Read Dupree v. Holman Prof’l. Counseling Ctrs., No. 07-55617 Appellate Information Argued and Submitted October 22, 2008 Filed July 29, 2009 Judges Opinion by Judge Hall Dissent by Judge Pregerson Counsel For Appellants: Lisa S. Kantor, Kantor & Kantor, Northridge, CA...

Waiting for action on the Colorado gay marriage battle front? We have good news and bad news. The good news is this: There have been three major court decisions in the last month addressing Colorado’s ban. However, the bad news is that nothing is finalized just yet – pretty much everything is on hold pending review from higher courts. A federal court ruled against the state ban earlier this week, as did a state court earlier this month, but both decisions are on hold pending appeal....

California gun owners have made a last ditch effort to block the enforcement of a Sunnyvale law that is one of the strictest gun-laws in the country. The new law, known as Measure C, was passed in November, and bans ammunition magazines that are capable of holding more than 10 rounds, requires sellers of ammunition to record sales, requires the reporting of lost or stolen guns, and requires the disabling or locked storage of guns not in the owner’s immediate possession....

In an action challenging the Forest Service’s failure to close a road through a recreation area to motorized vehicle travel, summary judgment for defendant is affirmed where: 1) as to their claim that the Forest Service lost a map of the wilderness area, plaintiffs did not suffer a cognizable Article III injury, because the loss of the map was not redressable; 2) the Forest Service’s publication of a boundary description started the statute of limitations on plaintiffs’ boundary claim, and their claim was thus untimely; and 3) plaintiffs failed to identify “an ongoing failure to act” by defendant, and thus failed to state a claim under section 706(1) of the Administrative Procedure Act....

In a trade secret misappropriation action, partial judgment for plaintiffs and defendants is affirmed in part where plaintiff failed to present adequate claims of tortious interference with contract and prospective business advantage. The ruling is reversed in part, however, where the question of whether defendant’s manufacturing process was a trade secret was a question of fact that could not be resolved on the current record. Read Hertz v. Luzenac Group, No....

In a timely tie-in to this week’s Supreme Court hearings in Lafler v. Cooper and Missouri v. Frye, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion last week in a plea bargain/ineffective counsel appeal. Richard Newland claimed that his trial lawyer, Gary Tyack, provided ineffective assistance because he failed to explain “blow by blow” the difference between Newland’s Guidelines range sentence if he pleaded guilty and his range after conviction on all counts after trial....