Administrative Law › Constitutional Law › Civil Procedure

New FTC Commissioner Prioritizes Transparency in Enforcement

New Federal Trade Commission Commissioner Joshua D. Wright explained at a recent ABA Antitrust Meeting that his top priorities were to develop a more transparent and evidence-based approach to FTC Section 5 enforcement and to...more

Court Grants Unexpected Victory to Providers on Medicare DSH Adjustment

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania’s opinion in Nazareth Hosp. v. Sebelius, slip op. no. 10-3513 furnished a surprising victory to two providers that challenged the calculation of the...more

Recent Administrative Law Notes

The Fourth District Court of Appeal recently held that the due process rights of a party are not violated in the circumstance where the administrative law judge who issued the recommended order was not the same administrative...more

Forum Selection Bylaws And The California Constitution

Last December, I briefly discussed whether a forum selection bylaw with respect to officers and directors would pass muster as a contractual choice of law. See A Forum Selection Clause Issue That You May Not Have Heard About...more

California Supreme Court Permits Picketing on Private Property

In a split decision, the California Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of two statutes that restrict state court injunctions against picketing by labor unions on private property. Ralphs Grocery Co. v. United Food...more

Employer Alleges “Inherently Conflicted and Irreparably Unfair Proceedings” at CHRO; Seeks Injunction

A new lawsuit filed last Thursday in Connecticut state court by an employer alleges that the employer’s due process rights are being violated by “inherently conflicted and irreparably unfair proceedings” at the Commission on...more

Eminent Domain Opinions Focus On 'Just Compensation'

Originally Published in Daily Journal, January 4, 2013 It has been quite a busy year for takings cases, and the state Court of Appeal provided one last published eminent domain opinion just before 2012 came to a close....more

Legal Alert: California Supreme Court Reverses Court Of Appeal; Declares State Labor Picketing Laws Constitutional In 6-1 Decision...

In a case that will significantly strengthen labor's hand regarding picketing activities in the state, the California Supreme Court reversed a Court of Appeals decision that had declared unconstitutional two state laws...more

The Cross-Fire Continues Over the Judge's Role in Limiting Appraisal Opinions in Eminent Domain Cases

It has been quite a busy year for takings cases. While our readers can soon expect our annual "Year in Review E-Alert," the California Court of Appeal decided to grace us with one more published eminent domain opinion just...more

Illinois Supreme Court to Issue Final Four Civil Opinions on Friday Morning

This morning, the Illinois Supreme Court announced that it will issue four more civil opinions on Friday morning to close out 2012. The upcoming decisions deal with issues as diverse as res judicata and absolute immunity,...more

Illinois Supreme Court to Tackle Public Employees' Right to Strike

Our previews of the new civil cases granted review at the end of the Illinois Supreme Court’s November term continue with The Board of Education of Peoria School District No. 150 v. The Peoria Federation of Support Staff,...more

Repeated Seasonal Flooding Of Forest Land Authorized By Government May Qualify As A Taking of Property

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authorized repeated seasonal flooding that damaged trees on forest land owned by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. The question before the United States Supreme Court was “whether a...more

Court of Appeals Rules Employee Efforts To Take Over Editorial Control At Newspaper Unprotected By NLRA

An issue we have discussed previously is whether all employee action that is “concerted” is also protected by the NLRA. We have seen that maliciously false statements made to third parties are unprotected. But what about when...more

Patent Watch: Brooks v. Dunlop Mfg. Inc.

Given Congress' legitimate concerns with respect to the cost and constitutionality of pending qui tam actions, we conclude that the retroactive application of amended § 292 to pending actions was a rational means of pursuing...more

U.S. Supreme Court Oral Arguments Set In Koontz v St John's River Water Management District for January 15, 2013

One month from now, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Case No. 11-1447, styled Coy A. Koontz, Jr., Petitioner v. St. Johns River Water Management District, Respondent (read the docket here). We've...more

Can CalPERS Be Sued In Federal Court Or Perhaps Even New York State Court?

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System began lending securities in the early 1980s. Since the early 1990s, CalPERS has used the Master Securities Loan Agreement (MSLA) originally developed by the former Bond...more

A Motion in Limine Strikes Again

A couple of weeks ago, the California Court of Appeal issued a decision that discussed an attorney malpractice lawsuit known as a “settle and sue” case, where the client settles whatever litigation in which they are...more

DOJ files amicus brief supporting plaintiff in Eighth Circuit standing case

Earlier this week, we wrote about Charvat v. First National Bank of Wahoo, a case pending before the Eighth Circuit that raises the question whether a plaintiff has Article III standing to sue for an alleged statutory...more

Eminent Domain: The Continuing Battle Over the Roles of Judge and Jury

Eminent domain cases are unique in that the roles of the judge and the jury do not match the typical civil jury trial experience where the jury is the arbiter of fact and the judge decides the law. In eminent domain, the...more

Important standing case before Eighth Circuit

Among the more interesting developments discussed in our webinar last week on the CFPB’s amicus program was the appeal currently pending before the Eighth Circuit in Charvat v. First National Bank of Wahoo, a case that raises...more

Legal Challenges to ACA Not Quite Finished

If you thought that the legal battle over the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("ACA") was put to rest in NFIB v. Sebelius, you may want to pay attention to Liberty University v. Geithner. ...more

District Court Denies Equitable Tolling, Fifth Amendment Taking in Novartis Patent Term Adjustment Case

In another significant Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) case decided last week (Novartis AG v. Kappos, Civ. Action No. 10-cv-1138 (Nov. 15, 2012)), the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found that Novartis could...more

Gabelli v. SEC,

Brief Of The CATO Institute As Amicus Curiae In Support Of Petitioners

Statutes of limitations exist for good reason: Over time, evidence can be corrupted or disappear, memories fade, and companies dispose of records. Moreover, people want to get on with their lives and not have legal battles...more

The Benefits of Crossing Your T's and Dotting Your I's

When I was a child, a long long time ago, I learned the importance of paying attention to detail. While I will not bore you with the details of my adolescence and the shenanigans that forced my parents to drive home this...more

Section 8 Housing: Safety Net or Tangled Web? An Overview of Section 8 Tenancy Termination and Related Due Process Issues

There is no question that the federal government’s Section 8 housing assistance rent subsidy provides an invaluable safety net to impoverished, elderly, and disabled members of our community. The Department of Housing and...more