A 2-1 panel of the Federal Circuit yesterday upheld summary judgment of non-infringement as to several patents relating to orthodontic appliances. But the court reversed as to several claims in another patent, holding that they didn’t encompass the same limitations in the patents. Ormco Corp v. Align Technology, Inc., Nos. 06-1240 & 06-1274 (Fed.
Return of the Reaper
After a summer hiatus, the Texas Supreme Court returned to the work of deciding cases today. It issued seven opinions.
The defendants won every one. And, in four of the seven, the court acted without hearing oral argument.
Big deal, right? Maybe the defendants deserved to win.
Barry Barnett
Wholey Guacamoley: Court Dissolves Whole Foods Injunction
At Blawgletter’s house, we call the Whole Foods Market up the street "Wholey Foods" — which sounds like "holy foods". Sometimes we get their mash of avocados and other makings into guacamole. Delicious!
Yesterday, the D.C. Circuit cleared the way for Whole Foods to smuch rival Wild Oats into its organic foods empire. The court’s
Third Circuit Cuts Punitive Award to Seven Times Actuals
The Third Circuit today ordered remittitur of a $30 million punitive damages award to $750,000. The district court had already reduced the punies to $2 million. But the court of appeals held that the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment couldn’t abide more than about a 7:1 ratio between actual damages ($109,000) and punitive
First Circuit Compels Arbitration Despite Class Bar
The First Circuit today vacated an order granting a motion to compel arbitration under a clause that included prohibitions on class arbitration, awards of multiple damages, and a one-year limitations provision. Distinguishing Kristian v. Comcast Corp., 446 F.3d 25 (1st Cir. 2006), the court held that the class arbitration and multiple damages provisions didn’t present
Poll Suggests Lawyers More Cuddly than Corporations
Blawgletter somehow missed the survey that the American Association for Justice — the main trade group for plaintiffs’ trial lawyers — commissioned on attitudes about civil justice from Peter D. Hart Research Associates. It came out last month. And guess what? Most people worry more about corporate irresponsibility than lawsuit abuse.
For example:
- 55 percent
D.C. Circuit Injunction in FTC v. Whole Foods (Update)
Blawgletter’s favorite Whole Foods Market.
Blawgletter alerted you yesterday to the D.C. Circuit’s order staying the acquisition of Wild Oats by Whole Foods. We now have the per curiam order. It says:
Upon consideration of the emergency motion of the Federal Trade Commission for an injunction pending appeal, the opposition thereto, and the reply, it
Pay for Pre-Pay Okay, Seventh Circuit Holds
Today, the Seventh Circuit upheld a lender’s right to require a borrower to pay for the privilege of repaying the loan early. The promissory note barred pre-payment unless the borrower also forked over a "yield maintenance" fee. The borrower paid before the loan matured but balked at ponying up the fee. It later relented but
The Hourly Fee Must Die
Nathan Koppel over at the WSJ has penned a first-rate article about hourly rates — specifically those at or about $1,000. He describes lawyers’ reluctance to go to four figures while noting those who’ve overcome the feeling. And he points to one of Blawgletter’s partners, who told Mr. Koppel that he charges $1,100 an hour
Fifth Circuit Affirms PSLRA Dismissal on Scienter Element
Today, the Fifth Circuit upheld dismissal of a securities fraud complaint for failure to plead facts sufficient to raise a "strong inference of scienter" — that the bad guys intended to defraud purchasers of stock. The court considered an array of allegations but found each of them individually and and all of them collectively too