The Supreme Court today reversed an order compelling arbitration because, the 5-4 Court held, the district court lacked jurisdiction to make the order. The federal Arbitration Act, the majority reminded us, provides no independent basis for federal court jurisdiction; the underlying controversy must furnish the jurisdictional basis. Since the original claim — a state court
Quote of the Day: John Kenneth Galbraith
John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006).
During Blawgletter's college years, a Harvard economics professor visited as a Chubb Fellow for a few days, and we got to join other students with him over lunch. We'd read one of Professor Galbraith's books, The Affluent Society (1953), and found a particular concept in it unpersuasive — his notion of
“Manifest Disregard” Manifestly Dead, Per Fifth Circuit
The Fifth Circuit concluded yesterday that Hall Street Assocs., L.L.C. v. Mattel, Inc., 128 S. Ct. 1396 (2008), killed off whatever remained of "manifest disregard of law" as a non-statutory basis for vacating an arbitration award under the federal Arbitration Act. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. v. Bacon, No. 07-20670 (5th Cir. Mar. 5
Quote of the Day: Philander C. Knox
Philander Chase Knox (1853-1921).
There is no stock ticker in the Department of Justice.
Philander C. Knox, 1902, replying to a financier's complaint to Knox, then the Attorney General, that bringing an antitrust suit to block a railroad merger would provoke a Wall Street panic.
[Hat tip to David Ignatius's column in The Washington Post
Supremes Reject Drug Labeling Pre-emption Defense
The U.S. Supreme Court today upheld a verdict and judgment for a Vermont woman who lost her forearm to amputation after injection of Wyeth's anti-nausea drug, Phenergan. Wyeth argued that approval of its Phenergan labeling by the Food and Drug Administration pre-empted any state law claim for injuries resulting from failure to warn of the
Quote of the Day: Roland Darby
The Tattler, SEMI bizarre? We resent the "semi".
Roland Darby, Mar. 2, 2009, commenting on mention of The Tattler blawg in Blawg Review #201.
Blawg Review #201
The first flag of the Republic of Texas (1836-45).
Welcome, y'all, to the 201st Blawg Review.
March 2 marks the 173rd anniversary of Texas Independence from Mexico. Four days before the Alamo fell, and all its defenders perished, 59 Texian delegates adopted the Texas Declaration of Independence at Washington-on-the-Brazos. The document included this charge against the Mexican government:
It
Blawgletter Hosting Blawg Review #201
Blawgletter won the honor to host Blawg Review #201, which debuts March 2. How did the laurel fall to us? Three words: Texas Independence Day.
The Lone Star state declared itself free of Mexican hegemony 173 years ago come Monday at Washington-on-the Brazos. (Yes, such a place does exist.) The Texas Revolution had started
5-4 Tenth Circuit Reinstates Nacchio Conviction; Majority Nixes Tardy Expert
Joseph P. Nacchio, ex-CEO of Qwest Communications, caught a break last year when a Tenth Circuit panel tossed his conviction on charges he traded on inside information. The panel voted 2-1 to send the case back for a new trial on the ground that the trial judge improperly excluded testimony about Nacchio's trading patterns. The
Fortune (Magazine) Favors the Bold (Litigant)
The online version of Fortune has an article about an unusual continuing legal education class – "Madoff 101: Total Immersion for Lawyers".
Senior Editor Roger Parloff includes this bit:
Those who sustained particularly heavy losses and who can afford to bring their own individual cases usually prefer to do so, rather than joining class actions.