Today, the Sixth Circuit affirms a district court’s refusal to vacate a judgment after the appellant lost at trial and in an appeal. The case involves claims under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. The court of appeals held that Rule 60(b)(6) allows vacatur of judgments as a result of intervening changes in
The Wall Street Journal’s Faustian Oversight
Harvard’s 28th President.
Blawgletter never tires of tweaking the WSJ — not least for its, um, distinctive editorial point of view. Fresh cause for making the fun comes today, as Harvard (in the Journal’s word) "taps" the first female president in its nearly quadricentennial history.
What prompts Blawgletter to chuckle? The Journal’s failure
Mouse Mulling Options over Options
Will the mouse bite the hand it fed?
The LA Times reports today that Steve Jobs may have benefited from backdating of stock options at animation giant Pixar, of which he owned half before Walt Disney bought the company for $7.4 billion in 2006. The backdating may have inflated the valuation of Pixar, causing Disney
Booyah for Blawgletter!
Justia BlawgSearch ranks 1627 blawgs every day. On this day, Blawgletter earned top 10 honors — less than two months after our launch.
No brag; just a fact.
A big shout out thank you to our readers and — expecially — to our dear, dear subscribers. You rock!
Bad News for Gilligan? Texas Supreme Courts Denies Homestead Status to Boat
Mary Ann Summers and Gilligan.
Keep your eyes on the boat,
please.
In Norris v. Thomas, No. 05-0476 (Tex. Feb. 9, 2007), the Supreme Court of Texas held today that the boat-residence of Thomas Eugene Norris, Sr., and Karen Lynn Norris doesn’t qualify as a homestead under the state constitution. Four justices dissented. The
Fifth Circuit Holds MDL Transferee Judge Omnipresent
The Fifth Circuit denied a petition for writ of mandamus to compel a federal judge in Houston (S.D. Tex.) to rule on motions to intervene and to quash a subpoena. In re Clients and Former Clients of Baron & Budd, P.C., and Occupational Medical Resources, Inc., No. 06-20835 & 06-20835 (5th Cir. Feb. 8
Frosty Bites Nips Dippin’ Dots in Patent Case
The Federal Circuit today upheld a verdict and judgment that Dippin’ Dots couldn’t enforce its novelty ice cream patent against competitor Frosty Bites. Dippin’ Dots, Inc. v. Mosey, Nos. 2005-1330 & 2005-1582 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 9, 2007) (holding patent claims "obvious" and unenforceable due to inequitable conduct in failure to disclose early sale). But
From the Barnett’s Notes Archives: Rock’Em S’Ockham Lawbots
For your enjoyment, Blawgletter reproduces below the all-time most popular item from Barnett’s Notes on Commercial Litigation.
Mattel released Rock’Em Sock’Em Robots in 1966. Red Rocker just knocked Blue Bomber’s block off.
William of Ockham lived in extreme poverty near East Horsley of 14th-century Surrey, England. A Franciscan friar, he thought a lot. He
U.S. Antitrust Law Goes Only So Far
No price-fixing recovery for overseas MSG
buyers.
The Eighth Circuit today joined the D.C. Circuit in holding that foreigner victims of price-fixing may not recover under the Sherman Act unless they show that the the price fixers’ domestic activities proximately caused their overseas injury (overpayments for the relevant product). In re Monosodium Glutamate Antitrust Litig.
First Circuit Says “What Part of Nonrefundable Did You Nonunderstand?”
Nonrefundable = not refundable. Not refundable at all.
Yesterday, the First Circuit held that airline customers who bought nonrefundable tickets can’t sue under state or federal law to recover the nonrefundable fares. The outcome seems obvious, except that the court didn’t rule on the claims’ merits. It instead concluded that federal law didn’t provide a