In Tverberg v. Fillner Construction, Inc., the Supreme Court resolved a conflict in the lower courts by holding that the peculiar risk doctrine does not make a hiring party liable for workplace injuries of an independent contractor or subcontractor. In doing so, the Court departed from the rationale in Privette, holding instead that an independent … Continue Reading
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 created the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, an agency with broad authority to regulate accounting firms that perform audits of publicly-traded corporations. The Board is formally placed under the Security and Exchange Commission, but the Commission may only remove Board members pursuant to a stringent good cause requirement. In Free … Continue Reading
Supreme Court confirmation hearings have come in for a lot of criticism in recent years. They’ve been called a “Kabuki Dance” and a process which has “take[n] on an air of vacuity and farce.” Amid all the discussion of whether or not nominees have become more evasive recently – a subject we’ll address later in the … Continue Reading
Yesterday, a divided U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the University of California, Hastings College of the Law’s right to condition official recognition of a Christian student group on the organization’s agreement to open eligibility for membership and leadership to all students – including homosexual students. In an opinion on behalf of a narrow 5-4 majority, Justice Ginsburg concluded … Continue Reading
It’s been a busy summer at the Circuits for decisions applying the antitrust state action immunity. First up, as we reported three weeks ago, was the Ninth Circuit’s affirmance of the dismissal in Shames v. California Travel and Tourism Commission, [pdf] in which the plaintiffs alleged the California Travel and Tourism Commission had colluded with the rental … Continue Reading
In Kleffman v. Vonage Holdings Corp., the Court addressed a legal question from the Ninth Circuit regarding the application of Business and Professions Code §17529.5(a)(2) to spam e-mails that were being sent from multiple domain names to avoid spam filters. While this statute bars spam which “contains or is accompanied by falsified, misrepresented, or forged … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court of Florida, answering a question certified by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, recently held that posting defamatory material on a website about a Florida resident does constitute the commission of a tortious act within Florida for purposes of the State’s long-arm statute, section 48.193(1)(b), Florida Statutes, if the material on the … Continue Reading
Naturally, the rules for amicus briefing vary widely from state to state – sometimes even within a single state. Today, we summarize the rules for amicus participation in states having intermediate appellate courts. Everyone is welcome Three jurisdictions – Georgia, Pennsylvania and part of Missouri (the Eastern District of the Missouri Court of Appeals) – are … Continue Reading
The Eleventh Circuit, in Pretka v. Kolter City Plaza II, Inc. recently reexamined and rejected as dicta broad statements in Lowery v. Alabama Power Co., 483 F.3d 1184 (11th Cir. 2007), that limit the type of evidence used to establish the amount in controversy for removal. The plaintiffs in Pretka, buyers of units in a new … Continue Reading
Last week the Supreme Court granted review in six civil cases, covering a wide variety of issues: Coito v. Superior Court, which addresses when witness statements are protected from discovery as work product. See Civil Procedure/Evidence/Discovery update. Professional Engineers in California Government v. Schwarzenegger, which the Supreme Court transferred on its own motion before … Continue Reading
It’s no secret to those of us who’ve been defending antitrust cases for a number of years that economic expert witnesses are a more important part of the defense team than ever before. Triers of fact often must evaluate complex economic analyses of the competitive effect of sophisticated business strategies. According to Judge Richard Posner of the … Continue Reading
Most litigators, whether trial lawyers or appellate specialists, are regularly asked to estimate the chances of a particular case result. So you can imagine the reaction in the legal blog world when four professors — Jane Goodman-Delahunty, Maria Hartwig, Par Anders Granhag and Elizabeth F. Loftus — published a study concluding that many lawyers may not … Continue Reading
Can a government agency conspire to fix prices? When it comes to the California Travel and Tourism Commission, the Ninth Circuit says the answer is "no." Shames v. California Travel and Tourism Commission [pdf]. The CTTC consists of a dozen commissioners appointed by the Governor, and two dozen selected by the tourism industry. In 2006, the passenger rental … Continue Reading
On May 28, 2010, the Texas Supreme Court granted petitions for review in the following cases: Anglo-Dutch Petroleum Int’l v. Greenberg Peden P.C.—This case concerns the construction of a contingency fee agreement and the circumstances under which a court can conclude that an agreement is ambiguous. Hyde Park Baptist Church v. Turner—This case concerns the … Continue Reading
Last week, the Illinois Supreme Court allowed petitions for leave to appeal in eight new civil cases. They are: Uldrych v. VHS of Illinois, Inc., Williams v. Board of Review, 2010 WL 743894 (1st Dist., 2010), which involves the question of whether implied indemnity actions are subject to the four-year statute of repose governing actions … Continue Reading
