Personal Injury › Constitutional Law

International Litigation Update: Developments Concerning the Alien Tort Statute and Personal Jurisdiction

In the span of less than a week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., a decision concerning the reach of the Alien Tort Statute, and granted certiorari in Bauman v....more

Let Them Eat Cake! (And Then Write an Online Review about It)

Arizona's restaurant scene is buzzing these days with last Friday's season finale of "Kitchen Nightmares". Just Google "Amy's Baking Company" and a proliferation of stories about the featured business appears, including a...more

Fifth Circuit Knocks Out Climate Change Liability Lawsuit Again

Res judicata is one of those phrases learned in law school that seemed of limited utility. How often is someone going to bring the same claim twice?...more

No Warrant Exception For Slow Pursuit Into Home Of A $14.99 Phone Charger Robber

Two police officers are being sued because they entered Charles Smith's home after he stole a $14.99 (presumably, before tax) phone charger from Walgreens. As the Sixth Circuit acknowledged: "But for the want of $14.99 or a...more

Weekly Law Resume - May 2, 2013: Torts – Public Entity – Qualified Immunity for Police Officers

A.D., et al. v. California Highway Patrol, et al. - United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit (April 3, 2013) - The concept of qualified immunity involves shielding a police officer from a lawsuit where the...more

Ninth Circuit Raises the Stakes in California Anti-SLAPP Motions

On April 17, 2013, the Ninth Circuit issued an important anti-SLAPP decision in Makaeff v. Trump University, LLC, No. 11-55016 that raises the bar for parties seeking to defeat a California anti-SLAPP motion in District...more

The Supreme Court Again Revisits (And May Rein In) Personal Jurisdiction: Two Cases Now Up Next Term

On April 22, 2013, the Supreme Court granted review in another personal jurisdiction case: DaimlerChrysler AG v. Bauman, No. 11-965 (cert. granted Apr. 22, 2013). The question presented in DaimlerChrysler is “whether it...more

City May Not Use “Anti-SLAPP” Motion to Dismiss Claim That City Employee Falsely Told Potential Tenants That Property Owner Was...

Property owners often bristle at statements that local government staff make to prospective tenants or purchasers of their property, concerned that they will be scared away by overly harsh or inaccurate speech. When those...more

Counties in California Can Learn a Few Lessons from State on Inmate Health Care - BB&K Health Care Attorney Shares Tips on...

Inmates in the Riverside County jails served a federal class-action lawsuit last month, claiming the county is subjecting them to cruel and unusual punishment by depriving them of basic medical and mental health care. A...more

Inmates Claim County is Depriving Them of Basic Medical and Mental Health Care - Similar Lawsuits Expected to be Filed as Counties...

Inmates in the Riverside County jails served a federal class-action lawsuit last week, claiming the county is subjecting them to cruel and unusual punishment by depriving them of basic medical and mental health care. Among...more

CWP 4964/2013 - Punjab Haryana High Court Suo-Moto Litigation

Representation for filing an appeal to the Supreme Court

Representation by Hemant Goswami to Chandigarh Administration to file an appeal to the Supreme Court of India ----------------------------------------------------- The issue in brief: Asserting that law does not bestow...more

Escalating Penalties: Alberta OHS Convictions For 2012 – What Can Employers Expect For The Year Ahead?

A person who contravenes Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, Regulations or Code is liable, for a first offence, to a fine of not more than $500,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months and, for a...more

Officers Can Be Held Liable For Preventing An Ambulance That Contained A Shooting Victim From Leaving The Scene And For...

The federal court of appeals recently rejected certain public officials’ attempt to avoid liability by claiming qualified immunity. In that case, the parents and children of a shooting victim sued a county and individual...more

7th Circuit Extends Bivens Civil Rights Actions to Brady Violations

This week we examine the hugely important 7th Circuit case Engel v. Buchan that found that the violations of the Brady v. Maryland right requiring a prosecutor to disclose potentially exculpatory evidence to a criminal...more

Social Media Law (Part 3: Defamation)

The use of social means to engage in defamation is nothing new. Indeed, defamation requires the very social element of publication. Social media - Facebook pages or posts, tweets, blogs and online comments - merely make...more

Re-Publishing a Third-Party’s Unbiased Endorsement Can be Perilous

It should come as no surprise that making a false statement about a competitor’s product or service is actionable. Similarly, albeit slightly less obvious, repeating a false statement that someone else makes about a...more

Donald Trump Sues Bill Maher for Monkeying Around on Late-Night Talk Show

Here at Law Law Land, there are a few pearls of wisdom we like to repeat — perhaps to a fault — just because they are so helpful and right. Copyright law doesn’t protect ideas, only the expressions of ideas. Being legally...more

Magistrate Recommends Dismissal with Prejudice of Claims Against Global Payments

Global Payments, which processes credit card transactions, announced on March 30, 2012 that an unauthorized person gained access to a portion of its processing system. Global Payments later disclosed that Track 2 data (card...more

Sexual Harassment Complaints Are Subject To Anti-SLAPP Motions To Strike

Plaintiff Lisa Aber sued her employer and two of its employees, alleging that the employees had sexually assaulted her. Michael Comstock, one of the employee defendants, filed a cross-complaint against Aber, alleging claims...more

Wrongful Death Act and Fraudulent Concealment

This week we examine the landmark Indiana Court of Appeals decision in Alldredge v. The Good Samaritan Home, Inc. which applied the fraudulent concealment doctrine from medical malpractice cases to the Indiana Wrongful Death...more

Why Would I Sue the Government?

Certain situations exist where you can file some kind of legal action against the government, either administrative or a lawsuit. Examples are special education due process hearings and Section 1983 claims for violation of...more

When Do Social Media Comments Become Defamation On The Internet?

It was reported that a 14-year-old Georgia middle school student is suing two of her classmates for libel after they created a phony Facebook page for her. The page had her name and information, with her profile picture...more

No Disability Discrimination Where Employee Cannot Competently Perform Job, Ninth Circuit Holds

In Lawler v. Montblac North American LLC, the plaintiff, Cynthia Lawler, a store manager at a boutique retail store, was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. Lawler initiated the action after Defendant employer terminated her...more

Rights of Publicity: Contradictions in the Courts

The legal controversies over athletes' rights-of-publicity rage on. Two pending appellate decisions offer some hope that a rational conclusion might be in sight. The head of Manatt's Sports Law Practice Group, Ron Katz, had...more

Miss Universe Pageant Scores Big Against Former Contestant

The Quaker State can be proud of many things. The Liberty Bell. Andy Warhol. Tastykake. Trading Places. The Immaculate Reception. But one part of its history that Pennsylvania may wish to forget (besides dog killer...more