The Supreme Court heard oral arguments this morning in Stoneridge Inv. LLC v. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc., No. 06-43. The case has people all atwitter.
From reading the WSJ, for example, you might think that Stoneridge threatens a securities law Armageddon. Only coch-roaches (and possibly class action lawyers) will survive.
Blawgletter doesn’t see the case
With the ferment in private equity deals going flat lately, Blawgletter notes with approval the pending marriage between SABMiller and MolsonCoors. The two brewing behemoths will combine U.S. operations to compete better with beer brute Anheuser-Busch. The deal hops their joint production to 69 million barrels of the frothy, yeasty, and barley-malty beverage per
Private equiteers took a blow yesterday, when student lender SLM Corporation sued to force them to close a $25 billion buy-out deal. WSJ report here; NYT version here.
The lawsuit, in Delaware Chancery Court, turns on whether a "Material Adverse Effect" occurred after the parties signed their agreement. Blawgletter quoted the definition of
Christopher Columbus at Wooster Square in New Haven.
Blawgletter realized late this morning why production of new court of appeals decisions seemed so sluggish. America’s annual celebration of its discovery, we remembered at last, gave the federal judiciary an official holiday.
We can claim little excuse for the tardy epiphany. Tip-offs included:
Vonage Holdings Corp. today announced an $80 million deal that includes a $35 million settlement of a patent dispute with Sprint Communications LP. A Kansas jury awarded Sprint $69.5 million after finding Vonage infringed six Sprint patents.
The balance of the $80 million represents a $40 million payment "for a fully paid future license" to
Blawgletter appreciates that judges must use logic to decide cases, including cases that would stir any human’s emotions. But we expect even objective magistrates to show compassion for those whose arguments they reject.
Consider a recent ruling against a mother and father who lost their son to suicide less than a week before his wedding
The NYT reports today that the Supreme Court of Washington struck down a state law against political lying. Four of nine justices concluded that the electorate alone may judge the truth or falsity of candidates’ statements about each other. A fifth justice concurred on the ground that political speech crosses the line only when the
The WSJ editors put the issue in Stoneridge Investment Partners, LLC v. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc., No. 06-43 (U.S.) as whether to allow "investors to sue a company simply because it did business with someone else who broke the law". Note the "simply because it did business" with a lawbreaker — specifically, a perpetrator of securities fraud.
Kang and Kodos hitchhiking.
Do you like to make people laugh? Do you enjoy early Woody Allen movies, especially Sleeper? Have you often heard people praising your wit? And do you like everything about practicing law except for the clients, the judges, and your colleagues, particularly that partner who never fails
Thirty-two former partners at a big law firm will split $27.5 million on account of the firm’s age discrimination against them, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced today.
We mention the case not to vex friends at an excellent firm but because the news item quotes Judge Posner’s treatment of an interlocutory decision. In