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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
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
During this morning’s special session at the American Law Institute’s Annual Meeting, Director Lance Liebman has announced that work is resuming on the Restatement (Third) of Torts: Economic Torts and Related Wrongs with Reporter Professor Ward Farnsworth. A few more details about the Institute’s new project on insurance law have also become available. Principles of … Continue Reading
Last night, former Solicitor General Seth Waxman addressed the American Law Institute. He strongly endorsed the nomination of current Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, stating that "It is and should be a foregone conclusion that she will be confirmed." Waxman told the members of having worked with Kagan in the weeks leading up to … Continue Reading
Justice Stephen Breyer of the Supreme Court spoke this afternoon before a standing-room-only crowd at the Annual Meeting of the ALI. At Justice Breyer’s suggestion, rather than making an address, he responded to questions from several ALI members. ALI Director Lance Liebman asked how the Court’s role as the final arbiter of so many crucial questions … Continue Reading
The 87th Annual Meeting of the American Law Institute was called to order this morning by President Roberta Cooper Ramo. After the traditional opening remarks by the President of the American Bar Association, Carolyn B. Lamm, ALI Director Lance Liebman announced two new projects on which the ALI will soon begin work, on Election Law and … Continue Reading
Be sure to check back with Appellate Strategist beginning on Monday, when I’ll be live-blogging the Annual Meeting of the American Law Institute from Washington D.C. In addition to posts here, I’ll be one of a group of ALI members blogging the meeting on the ALI’s blog. The ALI was founded in 1923. Membership is by election … Continue Reading
This morning, President Obama announced that Solicitor General Elena Kagan is his nominee to succeed retiring Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court. The President had this to say about his nominee: Elena is widely regarded as one of the nation’s foremost legal minds. She’s an acclaimed legal scholar with a rich understanding of constitutional law. She is … Continue Reading
CBS News is reporting that President Obama will announce his nominee to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens on Monday morning. In the weeks since Justice Stevens announced his retirement, the Appellate Strategist has profiled each of the short list candidates: Solicitor General Elena Kagan Judge Diane Wood of the U.S. Circuit Court of … Continue Reading
Since the days of Robert Bork, it has happened, sooner or later, to every Supreme Court nominee: the uncomfortable moment when a Senator quotes one of the nominee’s writings back to him or her, smiles across the Committee table, and says: “Explain that.” If Solicitor General Elena Kagan is nominated to replace Justice John Paul Stevens … Continue Reading
California’s Unfair Competition Act has generated an enormous amount of litigation, and has long been a target of tort reform groups. Those reform efforts met with an important success in 2004, when the voters approved Proposition 64, finding that the statute had been “misused by some private attorneys” to file “frivolous lawsuits as a means of … Continue Reading
This afternoon, the Illinois Supreme Court published its May docket for oral arguments, and the Court’s docket includes nine civil cases. The cases, with the issue or issues presented in each, are: May 13: Hurlbert v. Charles, No. 109041: “Under the Supreme Court’s decision in People v. Moore, 138 Ill.2d 162 (1990), does a finding of … Continue Reading
As Appellate Strategist reported a week ago, when Justice John Paul Stevens announced his retirement, most Supreme Court observers believed that the "short list" contained three names: Solicitor General Elena Kagan, Judge Diane Wood and Judge Merrick Garland. But even as the White House is suggesting that a nominee will be named in early May, it … Continue Reading
Many states have enacted statutes automatically invalidating, under one set of circumstances or another, contracts which seem to require mandatory arbitration of disputes. In a 5-0 decision today (with two justices not participating), the Illinois Supreme Court cast such statutes in doubt, holding that two clauses of the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act were preempted by … Continue Reading
The Illinois Supreme Court announced this afternoon that it will release seven opinions [pdf] on the morning of Thursday, April 15th, including two civil cases: No. 106511, Carter v. SSC Odin Operating Company, LLC, which presents the issue of whether the clauses of the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act invalidating any contractual provision limiting a resident’s … Continue Reading
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, two new candidates have emerged as possible Supreme Court nominees to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. Justice Carlos Moreno of the California Supreme Court began his career as a deputy city attorney in Los Angeles. Justice Moreno received his first two judicial nominations from Republican Governors George Deukmejian and Pete … Continue Reading
President Obama made a statement this afternoon, suggesting that he would nominate a replacement for retiring Justice John Paul Stevens within "weeks." In describing his ideal nominee, the President suggested that he would be looking for someone who agreed with Stevens’ spirited dissent in Citizens United v. FEC: I will seek someone in the coming weeks … Continue Reading
The New York Times and CNN are reporting that Justice John Paul Stevens will retire when the Court reaches the end of its term in June. The Appellate Strategist will post further information on the story as President Obama’s search for a successor shifts into high gear. UPDATE: The Supreme Court has posted a copy of Justice … Continue Reading
Within the past several weeks, Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has dropped several hints that he might be about to announce his retirement. Even though nothing’s definite yet, the news media and the legal blogs are busy speculating about possible replacements. Here’s the roundup – both the “short list” and some of the long shots: … Continue Reading
In law school, it seemed simple enough: business relationships were generally governed by contract and warranty, and tort was reserved for conduct that hurt people or damaged property. But in practice, the line is constantly shifting: the plaintiffs’ bar – often aided by state legislatures – tries to turn routine business disputes into torts, while the … Continue Reading
This afternoon, the Illinois Supreme Court allowed petitions for review in eight new civil cases. They are: Williams v. Board of Review, 395 Ill.App.3d 337 (1st Dist., 2009), which involves review of a decision by the Board of Review of the Department of Employment Security to deny a terminated employee’s application for a Federally-funded trade readjustment … Continue Reading
If a business evicts a patron on the grounds that he’s intoxicated, puts him in his car and requires him to drive away, does the business have a tort duty to persons the patron injures? According to the Illinois Supreme Court, the answer is "yes." Simmons v. Homatas, No. 108108(.pdf). Defendant Homatas visited a strip … Continue Reading
Can a California trial court reduce a personal injury plaintiff’s recovery for medical expenses to reflect the amount actually paid by his health insurer? That question matters a lot to attorneys, parties and insurers, trying to value claims and where appropriate, seek settlements in thousands of cases every day. For twenty years, the answer under California … Continue Reading
