Opening Statements: The Prohibition Against Argument
Effective December 1, 2023, the amendment to the United States Federal Rule of Evidence 702 clarifies and emphasizes existing requirements for the admissibility of expert witness testimony. Overall, the amendment to Rule 702...more
In this episode of his "The Trial Lawyer's Handbook" podcast series, litigation attorney Dan Small discusses the frequently stated rule that an opening statement is intended to be only a summary of the facts, not an argument....more
Jesse Shaver alleges that a founder and CEO of Raleigh-based defense contractor Vadum, Inc., “tricked him into losing his right to equity” in the company. In Shaver v. Walker, 2023 NCBC 27, he claimed that Aaron Walker and...more
On July 1, 2022, Administrative Order 141/22 (“AO 141/22”) became effective, revising many of the previous changes to New York’s Uniform Civil Rules (“Uniform Rules”) made by Administrative Order 270/20 (“AO 270/20”),...more
As discussed in detail in our March 2021 article regarding the changes made to the Uniform Rules of the New York Supreme and County Courts earlier this year, new Rule 202.8-g requires that a Statement of Material Facts be...more
Practitioners often choose to practice in the Commercial Division because of its well-documented efficiencies. Thus, many were happy to hear that Chief Administrative Judge Larry Marks issued Administrative Order 270/2020...more
The long-awaited Walmart Inc. (Walmart) Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement action was announced last week. This massive case came in with multiple documents, a long list of instances of bribery and corruption, a...more
Appellate advocates should write briefs that make life easier for law clerks and judges. That will increase their chances of prevailing on appeal. With that in mind, we recently conducted an informal survey of our firm’s...more
Prebriefing Statements, which are sometimes referred to as Rule 12A Statements, are often viewed and treated as preliminary statements of the issues that will be later briefed on appeal. A recent Rhode Island Supreme Court...more
EEOC has implemented nationwide procedures that provide for the release of Respondent position statements and non-confidential attachments to a Charging Party or her representative upon request during the investigation of her...more
Last week's Privilege Point discussed Lance Armstrong's unsuccessful attempt to discover witness interview memoranda government agents prepared during their civil investigation of Armstrong's misdeeds. United States ex rel....more
The Supreme Court, in Omnicare, Inc. v. Laborers District Council Construction Industry Pension Fund, 575 U.S. ___ (March 24, 2015), expanded the scope of liability for expressions of opinions under Section 11 of the...more
Overview - On March 24, 2015, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Omnicare, Inc. v. Laborers District Council Construction Industry Pension Fund, a highly anticipated case concerning the circumstances under which...more
On March 24, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a pure statement of opinion in a securities registration statement is not an “untrue statement of a material fact” under Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933 just...more
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that a statement of opinion in a registration statement cannot be actionable as a misstatement of fact under § 11 of the Securities Act of 1933 if the issuer actually believed the opinion...more
Today, SCOTUS issued its opinion in Omnicare, Inc. v. Laborers District Council Construction Industry Pension Fund. In the case, SCOTUS answers these questions: First, when can a statement of opinion be considered a “false...more
The Supreme Court defined the circumstances under which liability can be imposed for opinion statements under Securities Act Section 11. Specifically, the Court held that such liability could be imposed on two theories: One...more
Determining admitted facts can be one of the more difficult aspects of preparing a pretrial stipulation. Parties often propose factual statements that are advantageous to their position, while resisting facts that may favor...more
The D.C. Circuit court of Appeals has granted the petitions of the SEC and Amnesty International for panel rehearing (and the motion of Amnesty to file a supplemental brief) in connection with the conflict minerals case,...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has granted the petition for a panel rehearing (as opposed to an en banc rehearing) in the conflict minerals case. The court asked the parties to file briefs...more