You convince the trial judge that your side will likely win on the merits and that in the time between now and trial your client will suffer harm that money can't fix. The judge enjoins the other side — under Rule 65 — from doing the hurtful stuff pending trial. But the court of appeals vacates
Seventh Circuit
Frank Easterbrook, Regular Guy
By Barry Barnett on
What image pops into your head when you think of Seventh Circuit Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook? A man sitting at a dark wood bench, wearing a beard and black robe, hurling harsh questions at a lawyer, possibly you? Nothing?
Blawgletter bets you didn't just say to yourself that you see a guy munching a KFC…
Class Fee Fight Nets Bigger Pay for Renegade
By Barry Barnett on
The Seventh Circuit last week settled a battle over a fee award to class counsel by lifting a cap that, the court held, the district court set for no good reason. But only one lawyer got the benefit of the rising tide. In re Trans Union Corp. Privacy Litig., No. 10-1154 (7th Cir. Jan.
Abusing Right to Sue or Defend Justifies Fee-Shifting Under Lanham Act, Seventh Circuit Holds
By Barry Barnett on
Blawgletter enjoys the writings of Richard Posner, he of the Seventh Circuit. Last week he pounded out another work that caught our notice. And in it he came back to a common theme — the badness, whether as plaintiff or defendant, of using a lawsuit as a tool to raise your rival's costs.
The case involved the question…
Seventh Circuit Aims to Void Fifth Circuit’s “License” to Make Class Certification Too Hard
By Barry Barnett on
The Seventh Circuit struck a blow last month for certifying securities fraud cases as class actions — and against the Fifth Circuit's attempt, the panel believed, "to 'tighten the requirements' for class certification" in such cases.
The court held the district court did right by rejecting the defendants' "arguments that if accepted would end the use…
Quote of the Day: Frank Easterbrook
By Barry Barnett on
Fusion was not deceived, hornswoggled, misled, duped, hoodwinked, bamboozled, or snookered.
Fusion Capital Fund II, LLC v. Ham, No. 09-3723, slip op. at 5 (7th Cir. Aug. 2, 2010) (Easterbrook, C.J.) (applying Nevada law and explaining that Fusion couldn't recover attorneys' fees owing by a corporate "husk without any corn inside" from the husk's…
Seventh Circuit Mandates Daubert Ruling Before Class Certification
By Barry Barnett on
A panel of the Seventh Circuit extended the court's status as the circuit that puts the most hurdles in the way of class certification under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. It held that district courts "must conclusively rule on any challenge to the expert's qualifications or submissions prior to ruling on…
Seventh Circuit Denies Mandamus to Protect Claim of Privilege
By Barry Barnett on
The Seventh Circuit today turned back Whirlpool's effort to stop the hand-over of documents it claimed fell within its attorney-client privilege. The panel noted that, in Mohawk Indus., Inc. v. Carpenter, 130 S. Ct. 599 (2009) (post here), the Court barred appeals from pretrial orders that breached a claim of privilege. The panel also…