Federal common law governs federal question case privilege issues. Federal courts sitting in diversity should look to their host jurisdiction’s choice of law rules when deciding which state’s privilege law applies. But what...more
Although newly released data from the Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals (OMHA) suggests that the Medicare claim appeals backlog might be decreasing, OMHA's case processing time and recent litigation challenging the...more
Over the past decade or more, plaintiffs have sought to “hold companies accountable” for their supposed contributions to climate change. Having been rebuffed from bringing claims in federal court under federal common law,...more
The past three years have seen a wave of tort lawsuits brought by local governments and one state seeking to hold fossil fuel companies liable for costs resulting from climate change. Whether the cases can be removed to...more
State Sovereignty Principles Do Not Allow a State to Bring a Patent Infringement Suit in an Improper Venue - In Board of Regents v. Boston Scientific Corp., Appeal No. 2018-1700, the Federal Circuit ruled that the patent...more
INSPIRED DEVELOPMENT GROUP v. INSPIRED PRODUCTS GROUP, LLC - Before Prost, Newman, and Stoll. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Summary: Alleging that a contract issue...more
In Garcia v Aerovias de Mexico, S. A., the district court remanded all but two actions among 14 that had been removed to federal court on diversity of jurisdiction and federal question grounds. The cases arose from the failed...more
In Xitronix Corp. v. KLA-Tencor Corp., No. 2016-2746 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 9, 2018), the Federal Circuit considered whether it or a regional circuit had jurisdiction over an appeal of a case raising only Walker Process antitrust...more
In most countries, it is uncontroversial that a court sitting at the situs of an arbitration has jurisdiction to adjudicate a petition to confirm or vacate or modify an award issued in that arbitration. In the United States...more
Few class actions tug at the heart, but Blevins v. Aksut does. Elizabeth Blevins and 180 others brought a class action in Alabama state court against Seydi V. Aksut, M.D., alleging that “after an examination, Doctor...more
The background of this matter could be found here. In sum, Plaintiffs Dr. Luis Ortiz-Espinosa and his wife Maritza Soto-Garcia, the conjugal partnership they formed, Espinosa-Soto, and Luis Ortiz-Espinosa, as trustee of...more
The question of federal court jurisdiction over arbitration proceedings has historically led to different conclusions. A few years ago, the United States Supreme Court clarified in Vaden v. Discover Bank that Section 4 of...more
This case involved an underlying arbitration before an arbitration panel operating under the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) rules, which was brought by Judith and Kenneth Goldman against their financial...more
Ever since Alabama’s new economic nexus regulation went into effect, litigation over its constitutionality has been expected given that Alabama Commissioner Julie Magee and Governor Bentley said as much when announcing it...more
On December 8, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Shapiro v. McManus, No. 14-990, holding that a three-judge district court must be convened to decide a First Amendment challenge to Maryland's 2011 redrawing...more
Increasingly in courts around the country, borrowers have attempted to transform the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), along with its implementing regulation (Reg. X), into a “Gotcha!” device through which...more
The Seventh Circuit issued an important opinion by Judge Easterbrook today, Lu Junhong v. Boeing Co., No. 14-1825, a clump of cases that arose after an Asiana Airlines jet manufactured by Boeing struck a seawall while landing...more
Action Item: Until there is appellate resolution of the preemptive effect of the Montreal Convention, airlines sued in state court over damages allegedly arising during the course of international transportation should...more
What is or what is not a federal question under Grable & Sons Metal Products, Inc. v. Darue Engineering & Manufacturing, 545 U.S. 308 (2005), is an issue that continues to perplex lawyers, judges, and law students alike. In...more
Judge Totenberg remanded the case brought by TransCardiac Therapeutics, Inc. (“TransCardiac”), against Ajit Yoganathan, Ph.D, Jorge H. Jiminez, Ph.D., Vinod H. Thourani, M.D., Emory University, Georgia Tech Research...more
As originally discussed in a recent post on Striding the Quarterdeck (December 9, 2013), amendments to 28 U.S.C. §1441 have effected a sea-change in admiralty procedure by ostensibly allowing removal of general maritime law...more
Courts have recently rendered two say-on-pay decisions. ...more
On January 4, 2013, Judge Irene M. Keeley of the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order that partially granted the Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment...more
The Supreme Court of the United States, in Gunn v. Minton, determined that a Texas state court had jurisdiction over a legal malpractice claim, even though resolving the claim required the state court to address an issue of...more
In the course of deciding that malpractice cases against patent lawyers belong in state courts (when there is no diversity of citizenship), the United States Supreme Court has issued an important ruling on the scope of...more