Electronic Arts, Inc., makes video games, including the NCAA Football series. EA put an avatar of Ryan Hart, an ex-quarterback at Rutgers, in the series. Hart sued EA for "violating his right of publicity as recognized under New Jersey law." Hart v. Electronic Arts, Inc., No. 11-2750, slip op. 5 (3d CIr. May 21
Class Counsel Didn’t Try Hard Enough to Get Settlement Money to Class Members, Third Circuit Rules
Blawgletter has noted concerns about awarding money from class action judgments and settlements to non-class members by way of "cy pres" awards. See "Does Cy Pres Have a Prayer?". These payments aim to do the next best thing to paying the funds to the members of the class.
Such efforts become necessary fairly
One-Gun-a-Month Law Constitutional, Third Circuit Rules
The Third Circuit held today that a New Jersey law barring the sale of more than one "handgun" to any person (other than collectors, target-shooters, and others who claim an exemption) doesn't violate the due process rights of people who want to purchase at least two handguns in a month. Ass'n New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs v.
Third Circuit Okays 7.5-Hour Per Side Limit on Trial
Blawgletter believes trial judges should set a limit on how long each side can take to try a case. Any time a lawyer for Side A has the floor as the jury sits in the box counts against Side A. The same applies to Side B. Our firm in fact includes a pact on trial
Third Circuit Sustains Antitrust Verdict for Exclusive Dealing, Remands for Review of New Damages Model
The Third Circuit handles a lot of antitrust cases. It usually gets them right. It did that again last Friday, in ZF Meritor, LLC v. Eaton Corp., No. 11-3301 (3d Cir. Sept. 28, 2012).
The case involved heavy-duty truck transmissions, the kinds that go in semi-trailer rigs and dump and cement trucks. The biggest
Pay-for-Delay Claim Lives to Fight Another Day, Third Circuit Rules; Circuit Split Widens
K-Dur treats low potassium. We think.
Since 2003, the Federal Trade Commission has fought a losing battle to halt bargains in which a brand-name drug-maker pays a generic competitor to put off entering the market. Pacts like that, the agency urged, result in "reverse payments", which compensate a patent infringer not to do stuff that might infringe the patent. Such arrangements violate antitrust law
Hey Nonny Nonny
For people who lose a claim of confidential lawyer-client communication or work product privilege, the normal rule gives them a scary option if they want to contest the loss in a higher court. They must defy the order, which directs them to produce the documents or furnish the information, and thus stand in contempt of
Third Circuit Okays Side-Step of Stolt-Nielsen; Class Arbitration Order Stands
Blawgletter thinks we can all agree that the U.S. Supreme Court has done few favors in the last decade or two for what the folks at the American Law Institute call "aggregate litigation" — mainly class actions. What with Dukes (no class for women who work at Wal-Mart) and Concepcion (no class for AT&T wireless
When Judges Get Mad: Third Circuit Tosses Mistrial, Sanction over Spoliation That Didn’t Happen
Nightmare on the stand
The trial judge asks your client what happened to the originals of two key documents. Your client admits she has them at home. The UPS lawyer loudly insists that he'd asked for the "originals" over and over again in discovery.
What does the trial judge do? Order a recess until your
Third Circuit Restores Global Diamond Class
Remember the antitrust settlement class that a Third Circuit panel struck down last year? The one that went en banc a few weeks later? The one whose oral argument Blawgletter saw and wrote a post about?
Today, the en banc Third Circuit ruled 7-2 in favor of class certification. Judge Rendell, who wrote the dissent