The Eleventh Circuit today vacated a preliminary injunction because it deemed a presumption of irreparable injury arguably insufficient to establish the irreparable injury element. The court found the reasoning in a patent case, eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C., 547 U.S. 388 (2006), "applicable" to trademark claims but declined to rule on whether a presumption
CLE on Current Developments in Business Litigation
At 1:00 p.m. Eastern on April 16, 2008, the American Bar Association will present a teleconference on "Current Developments in Business Litigation". Subjects will range from e-discovery and case evaluation to electronic exhibits and streamlining litigation. ABA members can participate for $9.75 and get an hour of CLE credit.
The ABA Journal previews the CLE
“Spent Mushroom Substrate” Remediator Loses Case
Blawgletter doesn’t much care for mushrooms. Or other kinds of fungi for that matter. A Federal Circuit decision two days ago confirms us in our bias.
Growing mushrooms, we learned as we read the opinion, produces a nasty byproduct — something by the name of "spent mushroom substrate". SMS’s nitrogen-richness creates problems, we also discovered
$109 Million for Clintons Since 2000
Two lawyers, one facing and later suffering disbarment, earned $109 million in seven years, per The Washington Post. About $51 million came from the ex-President’s speaking honoraria. Another $30 represented book royalties for him and the former First Lady.
Blawgletter’s question? Where did the other $28 million come from?
Quote of the Day: E. Grady Jolly
This case was birthed in Louisiana state court by Barry and Sheryle Bernhard. It was adopted by the Middle District of Louisiana when the defendants, Capital One and Whitney National Bank, removed it on the basis of a federal question. Whitney appeals a split-the-baby decision of the district court, granting summary judgment in Whitney’s favor
Enron Day at the Fifth Circuit
Today the Fifth Circuit heard arguments in the appeal of former Enron CEO Jeffrey K. Skilling from his criminal conviction for fraud. But by the time that session rolled around, in the East Courtroom of the magnificent John Minor Wisdom Court of Appeals Building in New Orleans, the same panel heard three other Enron cases.
Perhaps This Helps Explain the Decline in the Texas Supreme Court’s Influence
Blawgletter wrote recently about a survey that puts the Supreme Court of Texas way below the "influence" one would expect from the second most populous — and therefore smartest — state in the Union. The survey’s ranking methodology also indicates that the Court’s influence declined even further since the "Justice for Sale" days in the
Paulson Plan: Ruse — or Sham?
Treasury Secretary Henry J. "Hank" Paulson, Jr., leaned forward across the lecturn as he described his year-in-the-making "Blueprint for a Modernized Financial Regulatory Structure". NYT article here; WSJ here.
The Blueprint arrives with passing strange timing. In the midst of market turmoil and calls for stiffer regulation, Mr. Paulson urges .
BAP Tosses Lawyer Sanctions
The Eighth Circuit’s Bankruptcy Appellate Panel today overturned the bankruptcy equivalent of Rule 11 sanctions against a lawyer for taking "inconsistent" positions on behalf of his clients. The BAP noted:
Advancing different legal theories that might result in an inequitable result should not subject an attorney to sanctions when one of those arguments fails to
Murky Prospects Clear Some for Clear Channel Deal
A Bexar County, Texas, district judge issued a temporary restraining order putting a two-by-four across the head of banks that committed to finance Bain Capital’s and Thomas E. Lee Partners’ purchase of Clear Channel Communications. WSJ story here. Clear Channel press release here.
The judge, John D. Gabriel, didn’t rule on the merits.