What is an AFI? How is it used in my case?
A version of this article was previously published in the Michigan Defense Quarterly, Vol. 40, No. 3 (2024). There may be times when a party facing an adverse summary disposition decision (whether it be the grant or denial...more
In Castello v. Ex’r of the Est. of Castello, the decedent died leaving a will that left his property to his wife “for life” and then to his three children by a prior marriage. No 03-22-00012-CV 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 4454 (Tex....more
We previously wrote about the requirements many jurisdictions impose for affidavits or declarations submitted in conjunction with motions for summary judgment, including that they must be based on personal knowledge, show the...more
In British Columbia, cross-examination on affidavits in the context of pre-trial applications is not as of right, as is the case in many other Canadian jurisdictions. Absent agreement, a party seeking to do so in B.C....more
In Part I of this two-part series, we covered the basic procedure for attacking a negative net-worth affidavit filed to supersede a money judgment. This post offers a case study for successfully applying that procedure and...more
You’ve obtained a money judgment, and your client is anxious to get paid. The judgment debtor files a notice of appeal and an affidavit claiming it has a negative net worth. The judgment debtor argues it is entitled to...more
In a recent decision, Flatwork Technologies LLC v Brierley (2020 FC 997), the Federal Court granted summary judgment in favour of the Plaintiff, Flatwork Technologies, LLC (Flatwork), in respect of its patent impeachment...more
On August 5, 2020, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed a new law, Senate Bill 315, changing Georgia’s lien law statute, O.C.G.A. 44-14-366. The new statute, effective January 1, 2021, makes clear that lien waivers only waive...more
On August 4, 2020, the Court of Appeals of Texas (First District) reversed a trial court’s denial of an engineering firm’s motion to dismiss finding that the plaintiff’s failure to attach the required certificate of merit...more
Shareholder Derivative Lawsuit Aungst v. Light, 9th Dist. Summit No. 29349, 2020-Ohio-3347 In this appeal, the Ninth Appellate District affirmed the trial court’s decision, finding that when a shareholder’s derivative...more
In cases allegedly involving an interest in real property, the Massachusetts lis pendens statute, G.L. c. 184, § 15, allows the defendant to file a special motion to dismiss frivolous claims. If the trial court allows the...more
On May 4, 2020, in Linda Cowley v. Virtua Health System, the Supreme Court of New Jersey reversed the judgement of the Appellate Division and held that when a patient removes a nasogastric tube herself and refuses its...more
QWR Responses - Kavanagh v. Specialized Loan Servicing, LLC, N.D.Ohio No. 3:17CV892, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 46255 (Mar. 17, 2020) - In this case, the Northern District of Ohio granted in part and denied in part the loan...more
Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal recently issued a decision that serves as a reminder not to take for granted a proposition that most practicing attorneys regularly encounter: a motion for summary judgment must be...more
“Dead Men Tell No Tales” – Captain Jack Sparrow, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” [Not True: Actually from a poem by the same name by Heniel Long (1888-1956) as found in Modern American Poetry, Untermeyer,...more
MBlock Investors, LLC v. Bovis Lend Lease, Inc., etc., et al., 44 Fla. L. Weekly d1432 (3d DCA 2019) - A Florida Appellate Court recently reversed a trial court’s decision granting summary judgment finding an issue of fact...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court finding that three patent claims were invalid under the on-sale bar but remanded two other patent claims for trial, explaining that the district court...more
Servidone, Inc./B. Anthony Constr. Corp., J.V. v. State of New York, No. 2016-05238, 2019 BL 7232 (App. Div., 2d Dept. Jan. 09, 2019) - Servidone, Inc./B. Anthony Construction Corp., J.V. (the “Contractor”) and the New...more
In September 2018, in Baumgartner v. Timmins, 245 Ariz. 334, 429 P.3d 567, the Arizona Court of Appeals provided further clarification on what constitutes an “encumbrance” on a property for purposes of Arizona’s statutory...more
SM Architects, PLLC v. AMX Veteran Specialty Servs., LLC, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 9203 (November 8, 2018) - AMX Veteran Specialty Services, LLC (“AMX”) filed a demand for arbitration alleging professional negligence against...more
Federal Circuit Summary - Before O’Malley, Reyna, and Hughes. Appeal from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Summary: Courts should not give too much weight to evidence purporting to show a lack of actual confusion...more
Starwood Management, LLC by and through Norma Gonzalez v. Don Swaim and Rose Walker, LLP, Texas Supreme Court Number 16-0431 (September 29, 2017) - Brief Summary - The Texas Supreme Court overturned the trial court and...more
What is seemingly a growing divide between circuits has developed on the appropriate standard for assessing ascertainability in federal class actions, including Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class actions....more
As many employers know, the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) broadened the scope of who may be considered disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Indeed, through the ADAAA, Congress sought to make it...more
An Illinois appellate court has vacated a trial court’s order compelling the forensic imaging of several personal computers used by plaintiff, applying a balancing test that takes into account both the proportionality rule...more