Law, Strategy, and Risk in Commercial Disputes
The Sixth Circuit today booted a case because it couldn't tell if it belonged in federal court or not.
The lawsuit pitted a Keystone State corporation (with a Pennsylvania principal place of business, which as Blawgletter knows from yesterday coincides with the firm's "nerve center") against a limited partnership. The complaint alleged diversity of…
The U.S. Supreme Court today resolved a debate over where a "corporation" has its "principal place of business". The ruling will add certainty to whether federal courts have jurisdiction over many cases invoking "diversity of citizenship".
The relevant statute, 28 U.S.C. 1332, empowers federal courts to decide cases that pit citizens of different states against each other. Section…
Lawyers may share fees with other lawyers. But may an attorney take part of a fee just for referring a case?
No, the Second Circuit confirmed in Wagner & Wagner, LLP v. Atkinson, Haskins, Nellis, Brittingham, Gladd & Carwile, P.C., No. 08-4966-cv (2d Cir. Feb. 18, 2010).
The panel cited New York Disciplinary Rule…
Blawgletter's tag-line says "Contingent business law".
Look at the words just below the big Blawgletter® thingy at the top of this page. See?
We recalled that this evening when a Google Alert tipped us off to a new 10-K report. This one disclosed how much the reporting company paid contingent fee lawyers in…
The ABA Journal this month includes a piece on the "enormous differences" in how federal judges "interpret the facts" of cases involving claims of bias on grounds of race or gender.
What accounts for the juridical variability?
The race or sex of the judge.
The ABA Journal item links to a couple of studies. …
The Communications Act of 1934 bars carriers from charging unjust or unreasonable rates. 47 U.S.C. 201(b).
It also provides that "[a]ny person claiming to be damaged by any common carrier . . . may either make complaint to the Commission . . . or may bring suit for the recovery of the damages for which…
The Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management has come out with "Proposed Model Jury Instructions" on "The Use of Electronic Technology to Conduct Research on or Communicate about a Case". They follow:
Before Trial:
You, as jurors, must decide this case based solely on the evidence presented here within the four
…
Blawgletter laments that most cases involving the worst instances of fraud suffer from a sad but inexorable fact: the victims' money has vanished.
Just ask the people who trusted their savings to Bernie Madoff, for instance.
Judges (and, occasionally, juries) struggle with competing urges in such cases. On the one hand, they want to find a way to right the wrong. …
Blawgletter often handles business cases on a contingent fee basis. We earn a percentage of the client's recovery. No recovery, no fee.
But guess what? The client may owe tax on the recovery. Which could of course affect the client's net. And the Internal Revenue Service may regard the entire recovery — including the contingent…
The U.S. Supreme Court today held that the free speech rights of corporations, unions, and other artificial entities trump the limits Congress placed on campaign spending. Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, No. 08-205 (U.S. Jan. 21, 2010).
The Washington Post here, WSJ here, NYT here, SCOTUSBLOG here.