Lauryn Hill's Tax Evasion a 'Battle for Survival': Lawyer
Effective July 1, 2024, the United States District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York will impose a series of changes to their joint local rules. These changes mark the culmination “of a multi-year...more
I. Introduction - Virginia law provides for monetary and nonmonetary sanctions against litigants and their counsel for signing a pleading that is not well grounded in fact and law or is otherwise brought for an improper...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled last week that the securities-law requirement to plead a “strong inference” of scienter does not apply to claims under § 14(e) of the Securities Exchange Act even where...more
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) can be intricate and confusing, especially when it comes to the interplay between various rules. Few aspects of civil litigation present potential pitfalls such as amending and...more
As the Federal Circuit made clear a few years ago in Nalco Co. v. Chem-Mod, LLC, a plaintiff “need not ‘prove its case at the pleading stage.’” The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure do not require a plaintiff to plead facts...more
On July 13, in Bot M8 LLC v. Sony Corporation of America, the Federal Circuit reaffirmed the pleading standards for patent owners. A complaint does not need to set forth facts proving infringement; instead it is sufficient if...more
The Situation: Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 84, which permitted U.S. patent-infringement lawsuits to proceed on very general allegations, was withdrawn three years ago. Subsequent court decisions have considered how much...more
On Aug. 17, 2018, the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA) published a final rule amending its rules of procedures which will be effective for cases filed with the board on or after Sept. 17, 2018. The CBCA's current...more
Beginning June 1, 2017, the Northern District of Illinois will be participating in a three-year pilot project, known as the "Mandatory Initial Discovery Pilot Project," which will require the parties in civil cases to respond...more
If I asked you if you were familiar with Rule 13(f) of the NC Rules of Civil Procedure, I'm betting that you would respond with a glassy stare and a slack jaw. That Rule deals with a counterclaim that you should have made in...more
It has been a little more than half a year since the amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure abrogated Rule 84 and put an end to the Form 18 bare-bones style patent complaint. The question on the minds of many...more
Patent owners and businesses should be prepared for yet another change to patent infringement litigation. In April 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court adopted Congress’s amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which went...more
If there is a secret to effective business litigation, it is planning early and well – as early as preparing the complaint or, for defendants, their answer and defenses. While a cogent, powerful opening pleading has always...more
On December 1, 2015, changes recommended by the Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and adopted by the Supreme Court will take effect. Among these changes is elimination of the...more
Merus B.V. moved for dismissal, arguing the Federal Circuit created an “off-ramp” for patent cases by holding in K-Tech Telecomms., Inc. v. Time Warner Cable, Inc., 714 F.3d 1277 (Fed. Cir. 2013), that when the principles set...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently rejected the strict approach taken by many federal circuit courts to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b) that requires a qui tam relator bringing a False...more