The Federal Aviation Act pre-empts state laws that "relate[] to a price, route, or service of an air carrier." The statute thus bars state law price-fixing claims against your American Airlineses, your U.S. Airwayses, your Virgin Americas, and — yes — even your Air Gumbos and your go!s.
But what about our foreign flying friends at
The Second Circuit today upheld a district court's order barring class members in a federal class action from suing class counsel in a new state court action for botching the class case by settling for too little. The panel ruled that the "relitigation exception" to the federal Anti-Injunction Act (which, by the way, played a
Um.
Settling a class action case means you don't have to try it. But does making peace also mean you don't have to turn all the square corners of the class action rule, the one we call 23?
It does. Kind of. At least to the extent it avoids trial problems. The kind that could
The Second Circuit today came out with rulings in two big commercial cases.
The first involved a "collateralized debt obligation", the second a cartel that the plaintiffs alleged fixed prices for "publication paper". Plaintiffs won both times.
The CDO case stemmed from a $60 million purchase in December 2006 by a German bank, Bayerische
Say you bought a share of Enron stock before it belly-flopped into chapter 11. You paid too much for it, right? $90 or so. And when the belly-flopping took place, the market price for your share in the Greatest Company Ever fell to, oh, about $1. You lost around $89 bucks, right?
Maybe. In your
Did high-flyer Winstar co-opt its auditing firm?
Defendants facing securities fraud claims have won more than their share of cases in the last half a decade or so. Decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court have helped.
In 2011, for instance, the Court ruled that you must have "ultimate authority" to make a false statement
Way back in March 2012, the Supreme Court dealt with a New Deal-era law (section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act) that bars "short-swing profits" on a purchase and sale (or sale and purchase) (a) of a public company's equity security, (b) within a six-month period, (c) by an "insider" of the company. The Court held, 8-0, that the two-year limit on how
Have you heard people — okay, lawyers — talk about "the Southern District"? As if you MUST know what they mean? Surely not the Southern District of West Virginia — one of the coolest names in the entire U.S. court system.
No. Not that. This:
S.
D.
N.
Y.
Where Learned Hand sat before Calvin
Last September, a panel of the Second Circuit tossed a preliminary injunction that barred any action, anywhere, to collect on an Ecuardoran court's $17.2 billion judgment against Chevron for polluting part of the Amazon. Last week, the court got around to saying why.
[Blawgletter describes some of the dispute's facts, claims, and decades-long history here.]
The
Caveat emptor, buyers of auction rate securities! The issuer's giving of notice that it might create the illusion of liquidity in an ARS auction defeats your claim that the issuer "manipulated" the auction market. Wilson v. Merrill Lynch & Co, Inc., No. 10-1528-cv (2d Cir. Nov. 14, 2011).