The Third Circuit today dissolved an injunction that enjoined defendants from entering into a class action settlement. The district court issued the injunction after it learned that the defendants might try to settle the case out from under it. They would do so through settlement of other class litigation involving similar claims against some of
This Just In: NY Times Applauds Gonzales Departure; Salon Blames Rove
Kang and Kodos hitch-hiking. Alberto Gonzales plans to go the opposite direction.
Blawgletter gets the impression that the editors at the NY Times penned today’s piece — on the resignation of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales a few hours after he announced it — between rounds of high fives. The swiftness, detail, and tone
Second Circuit Bars Retrial of Securities Fraud Case
Today, the Second Circuit held that the double-jeopardy clause prohibited a second trial of Michael DeGennaro and Frank Borghese on charges that they committed securities, wire, and mail fraud as executives of Symbol Technologies, Inc. United States v. DeGennaro, No. 06-4195 (2d Cir. Aug. 27, 2007).
The decision stemmed from a jury note that
Sarbanes-Oxley Didn’t Revive Old Securities Claims, Third Circuit Holds
The Third Circuit today upheld dismissal of securities claims against Exxon Mobil as too late under the three-year statute of repose. The court ruled that the 2002 enactment of Sarbanes-Oxley didn’t lengthen the repose (or limitations) period for false-proxy claims under section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act. Because the statute of repose period for
Fredo Concedes Death, Resigns as AG
Blawgletter saw the cashiering of U.S. attorneys last December as an instance of reverse Darwinism — the weak, firing the strong. A little later, we noted the poetic truth behind the President’s nickname for U.S. Attorney General Gonzales — Fredo, the weak and pitiful Corleone brother in the Godfather movies. Then we advised
Hydraulic Pressure to Settle Class Actions
From the July-August 2007 issue of Barnett’s Notes on Commercial Litigation:
Just after the dawn of the 20th century, a dissenting Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., famously said that "great cases, like hard cases, make bad law". He explained that a case’s greatness will "exert a kind of hydraulic pressure which makes what previously
Quote of the Day: Barbara Jordan
Barbara Jordan (1936-96).
Deep in the hot summer of 1974, on July 25, a junior member of the House Judiciary Committee spoke for articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon. Barbara Jordan said (with our emphasis):
Earlier today, we heard the beginning of the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States: "We, the people."
Federal Grand Jury Indicts Lawyers for “Straw” Donations to 2004 Edwards Campaign
The Justice Department announced yesterday a federal indictment in Detroit of two Michigan lawyers for conspiring to contribute more than $125,000 to the 2004 presidential campaign of John Edwards through dozens of "straw donors". The 10-count indictment alleges that Geoffrey Fieger and Ven Johnson reimbursed people for contributions through their law firm. Also that
They Will Be Killed by Us
From the May 2006 issue of Barnett’s Notes on Commercial Litigation:
A dear client in a hard case once took to assuring our trial team of victory by telling us that "we will kill them." An Italian by birth, upbringing, and temperament, the client rendered "kill" as "keel", which made his assurance more, well
Federal Circuit Reaffirms Primacy of Right to Jury Trial
An optoelectronic package allows transmission of light carrying data at high speeds over fiber optic networks. In the 1990s, engineers Frank T. Shum and Jean-Marc Verdiell worked together on optoelectronic packaging. After they split up, each separately applied for and received U.S. patents in the optoelectronic packaging field. Mr. Verdiell later sold his company to