I’ve written about proving intent before, but a recent session (and subsequent conversation) at a conference reminded me of its importance, as well as a common misconception. Not all laws require intent be proven; some are...more
Reversing and remanding a district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an accused trade dress infringer, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit explained that trade dress does not need to be linked to a...more
SCOTUS Raises the Bar for Proof of Intent Under the Controlled Substances Act - This week, the US Supreme Court issued a ruling in Ruan v. United States requiring subjective intent of wrongdoing in order to convict...more
Ruan v. United States, No. 20-1410: This is a criminal case involving the intent necessary to convict a doctor under the Controlled Substance Act (CSA) for dispensing controlled substances not “as authorized.” The CSA makes...more
On August 25, 2019, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed New York State Senate Bill S6536 which established a six-year statute of limitations for the prosecution of certain crimes related to fraudulent practices in respect...more
On September 18, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued an opinion in Arena v. Riversource Life Insurance Company, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 28052 (3d Cir. Sep. 18, 2019) (non-precedential), affirming the...more
This week New York legislatively circumvented one of the few judicial constraints on New York's Martin Act and Executive Law, restoring a six-year statute of limitations for claims under these broad statutes. On August 25,...more
The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently overturned a longstanding line of cases that allowed disabled employees to prevail in discrimination cases without proving the employer intended to discriminate or was even aware that the...more
On June 12, New York's highest court ruled in a 4-1 decision that Martin Act claims are subject to a three-year statute of limitations, rejecting the New York Attorney General's argument for a six-year limit, and overruling...more
On July 13, 2017, Houston's Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Berkel & Company Contractors, Inc. v. Lee, 2017 WL 2986856, reversed a $43.5 million jury verdict for a superintendent who lost a leg after a crane collapsed at a...more
All generalizations are false, including this one — Mark Twain Proving intent is a difficult task. White collar crimes turn on the issue of intent – what was in the offender’s mind. With most things in life, people have mixed...more
Last week, members of the House Judiciary Committee introduced a package of bills aimed at criminal justice reform. The proposed legislation responds to a groundswell of opposition to a perceived overcriminalization of...more
We have had a number of clients run into issues relating to whether or not an email exchange constituted a binding contract. This issue comes up regularly when informality creeps into negotiations conducted electronically,...more
Building upon a 2011 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court addressing the intent requirement for inducing patent infringement, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently clarified in Commil USA, LLC v. Cisco Systems,...more