The False Claims Act (FCA) saw quite a bit of action at the Supreme Court in its most recent completed term. In this fourth and final installment of PilieroMazza’s blog series “The FCA at the Supreme Court,” we examine active...more
It seems obvious that a named plaintiff must be the correct plaintiff in order for it to have standing to move forward with a lawsuit. But figuring out the identity of the correct plaintiff is not always as easy as it should...more
On June 16, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in U.S. ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources, a closely watched case about the government’s power to dismiss a False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam lawsuit over a...more
In the past twenty or so years, the government (and creative relators) have sharpened and re-designed the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729 et seq. (“FCA”), into a multi-functional tool to redress all sorts of conduct that...more
North Carolina Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a) permits a plaintiff to voluntarily dismiss its claims without prejudice any time before resting its case. This is in contrast to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the rules...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Second Circuit held that FLSA settlements pursuant to Rule 68 Offers of Judgment do not require judicial approval. The Court distinguished such settlements from Rule 41 stipulated dismissals, which...more
The Arizona Court of Appeals recently held that any successful plaintiff in a forcible detainer action (i.e., an eviction action) may recover an award of its attorneys’ fees and costs incurred at trial under A.R.S. §...more
In the midst of reviewing the propriety of derivative representation under New York law, the Second Circuit joined a fray among its sister Circuits by allowing the recovery of attorneys’ fees under FRCP 41(d)....more
One of the most important factors in preserving your appellate rights is knowing when the clock starts running on your deadline to appeal. While the answer may appear simple as a matter of course, that is not always the case....more
Two days after North Korea’s successful long-range ballistic missile test, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia unsealed a memorandum opinion which granted the Department of Justice “damming” warrants to seize...more
Imagine this scenario: after years of litigation in federal court, your client reaches a settlement agreement with the opposing party. The lawsuit is dismissed pursuant to the settlement agreement and Federal Rule of Civil...more
In the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, after Butch and Sundance rob Union Pacific Railroad (“Union Pacific”) the first time, Union Pacific employs a stronger safe. After Butch and Sundance rob Union Pacific a...more
The Supreme Court recently adopted a proposed change to Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure that would allow a federal judge to issue warrants authorizing government agents to access computers located in any...more
Typically, the process for amending the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure is a sleepy affair. Proposed amendments wend their way through a series of judicial committees and, if approved by the Supreme Court, take effect...more
Much attention, including here at Trade Secrets Watch, has been focused in recent weeks on the Defend Trade Secret Act (“DTSA”), which overwhelmingly passed both houses of Congress in April and was signed into law by...more
On April 28, 2016 the United States Supreme Court proposed a modification to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41 that significantly alters the manner in which the government can obtain search warrants to access computer...more
On April 28, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court approved amendments to Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure that would allow federal judges to issue search warrants granting remote access to electronic devices outside...more
On August 7, 2015, in Dorain Cheeks v. Freeport Pancake House, Inc., 796 F.3d 199 (2d Cir. 2015), the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) is an “applicable...more
A panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled that parties may not stipulate to dismiss cases brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act without court approval. This ruling may make it more...more
On August 7, 2015, the Second Circuit ruled that suits brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) cannot be resolved privately and require approval of a federal court or supervision by the U.S. Department of Labor...more