Arbitration good?
The Supreme Court of Texas has made enforcing arbitration clauses super-easy. But what happens if the arbitration produces an outcome that may give the conservative Court pause — a $125 million award in favor of the claimant, for instance?
A case that the Court decided last week poses that lurking question. And regrettably their honors answered the
When can "newly discovered evidence" save you from a bad outcome, even after the time for appeal has expired?
Rarely, the D.C. Circuit ruled on May 13.
Too rarely, Blawgletter thinks.
Wanna Be Startin' Sometin'
The D.C. Circuit's decision came in a case by one of Michael Jackson's last managers, Raymone K. Bain. Bain brought
When Blawgletter last reported a few weeks ago on the Supreme Court of Texas, we didn't think the Court could top its record of ruling against each and every plaintiff unanimously.
We feel dumb today.
The court issued five opinions, with no dissents, in which their honors ruled for the defendants without exception.
In only
Being obnoxious doesn't pay. Or does it?
In one six-month period, Rabbi S. Binyomin Ginsberg griped to Northwest Airline 24 times about "travel problems, including 9 incidents of [his] bag arriving late at the luggage carousel". Northwest, Inc. v. Ginsberg, No. 12-462, slip op. at 2 (U.S. Apr. 2, 2014). Mr. Ginsberg also "continually
Oops.
A panel of the Fifth Circuit held by a 2-1 vote that British Petroleum must pay some business loss claims even if the claimants cannot prove that the blowout at the Deepwater Horizon rig in 2010 actually caused the loss.
The majority ruled that the energy giant agreed to pay claims for losses that
A hedge fund that bought pieces of loans to a Texas corporation sued the borrower's directors. The hedge fund alleged breach of fiduciary duty. But it didn't claim that the firm had ceased operations.
The hedge fund argued in response to the directors' motion to dismiss that the absence of such a charge didn't matter.
The Fourth Circuit reversed a judgment that awarded nothing — zilch — on a winning $50 million False Claims Act claim for civil penalties.
The panel first ruled that FSA relator Kurt Bunk had "standing" to sue under the statute despite his lack of personal injury. The harm to the federal government (from a scheme
May a lawyer compel a client to arbitrate a dispute over the lawyer's services?
In upper right-hand corner of the United States, yes. Bezio v. Draeger, No. 13-1910 (1st Cir. Dec. 16, 2013) (applying Maine law).
In the upper left-hand corner, no. Smith v. JEM Group, Inc., No. 11-35964 (9th Cir. Dec. 12
The Fourth Circuit ruled that Rent-a-Center (RAC) won't have to answer in court for leasing a trundle bed full of bedbugs to Christine and Antwan Seney.
The vermin had bitten the Seneys' son, for whom they'd gotten the trundle, and when RAC retrieved the rental its movers dragged the bed through the Seneys' home, spreading