Leland Edwards signed a Dispute Resolution Agreement before going to work in a Virgin Islands factory. The DRA entitled his employer to bring claims against him in court but required him to arbitrate any claims for personal injury. The district court held the one-way arbitration clause unconscionable under Virgin Islands law. The Third Circuit reversed:
Katrina Victims Can’t Recover Under Insurance, Says Fifth Circuit
The Fifth Circuit held today that insurance policies excluding "flood" damage barred claims for destruction of homes by Hurricane Katrina — even if the flooding resulted from faulty construction or maintence of the New Orleans canal system. In re Katrina Canal Breaches Litig., No. 07-31119 (5th Cir. Aug. 2, 2007).
Barry Barnett
Quote of the Day: John Locke
John Locke (1632-1704). Grim. And pompous?
The end of law is not to abolish or restrain but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For, in all the states of created beings capable of law, where there is no law, there is no freedom.
Barry Barnett
Fourth Circuit Clairifies ERISA Stock Fund Liability
Yesterday, the Fourth Circuit affirmed a judgment that exonerated ERISA retirement plan fiduciaries for offering company stock as an investment option. The bankruptcy of U.S. Airways wiped out the value of the stock. The district court found after a bench trial that fiduciaries acted prudently in the face of turmoil and uncertainty during the post-9/11
We Won the Law, but the Law Fought
The American Lawyer’s 2007 survey of associates ranks Blawgletter’s firm in the top 100? Top 50? 10? Five?
Two.
We won’t stop of course until we win first place. But, on this day, the report raises the question of whether the happiness of associates mirrors client satisfaction. We vote yes.
Confusion v. Deception
Confuser — or deceiver?
The Lanham Act entitles a trademark owner to prevent others from causing "confusion" about the source of goods. Think of a fake Gucci handbag featuring an emblem right similar to the real thing. The Gucci people don’t like that.
Today, according to the Associated Press, U.S. Attorney Alberto Gonzales wrote
Chicken Farmers’ Monopsony Claim Survives S.J., Tenth Circuit Rules
The Tenth Circuit yesterday reversed a summary judgment in favor of defendant poultry producers under the Packers and Stockyards Act. The court held that Oklahoma and Arkansas chicken farmers raised a fact question on the issue of competitive injury. The record included enough evidence to suggest that the producers injured competition by paying the farmers
Comcast Cable Class Defeats Post-Twombly Motion
Today, the court in Behrend v. Comcast Corp., No. 03-6604 (E.D. Pa.), held that Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 127 S. Ct. 1955 (2007) (post), didn’t alter its conclusion that the cable-subscriber plaintiffs stated claims for monopolization and conspiracy under the Sherman Act.
Before Twombly came out on May 21, 2007
Third Circuit Upholds Ex-Employee Standing Under ERISA, Joining Seventh
The Third Circuit today agreed with its Seventh sibling on an important ERISA issue. Both courts held that cashing out of an employer’s retirement plan doesn’t kill the right to sue under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to recover benefits for the plan. The casher-outer still can bring action to get what he should
Murdoch Acquiring WSJ, Names New Editor
C. Montgomery Burns (Yale ’14).
Rupert Murdoch appears close to nabbing Dow Jones and, with it, The Wall Street Journal.
To celebrate, Blawgletter has totally made up a rumor that Mr. Murdoch will replace the current WSJ editor with nuclear power plant owner, C. Montgomery Burns, from The Simpsons.
If you don’t believe