Citing a recent federal appeals court decision, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said he had lacked jurisdiction when he threw out much of the lawsuit on April 2.
John Keker was granted permission to withdraw from defending attorney Steven Donziger, the lead lawyer who represents Ecuadorean villagers in a lawsuit filed by Chevron in 2011.
The deadline for claims in connection with the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill is 11 months away, but the man responsible for paying them said he is already bracing for a late surge in filings.
UNFAIR COMPETITION ? FieldTurf USA Inc. v. TenCate Thiolon Middle East
OPINION ? Fiber that FieldTurf bought from TenCate degraded prematurely. FieldTurf introduced a competing fiber and sued TenCate. TenCate countersued for false advertising and unfair competition. FieldTurf won partial summary judgment due to TenCate’s lack of evidence of consumer confusion and failure to show financial injuries. (N.D. Ga.)
TRADE SECRETS ? Wellogix Inc. v. Accenture L.L.P.
OPINION ? Wellogix won a jury verdict of $26 million plus $68 million in punitive damages for Accenture’s misappropriation of Wellogix’ oil well construction paperwork software. Wellogix accepted a remittitur of $18 million on the punitive damages. The Fifth Circuit denied Accenture’s motion for a new trial, and found that the punitive damage award was not excessive. (5th Cir.)
CONSTRUCTION ? ProBuilders Specialty Ins. Co. v. Valley Corp.
ORDER ? Valley lost a $2 million lawsuit. ProBuilders does not want to pay on Valley’s insurance policy, claiming Valley made material misrepresentations. In requests for admissions, Valley identified subcontractors, but then tried to retreat from those admissions. The judge denied the amendment, finding it would inject unnecessary ambiguity into the case. (N.D. Cal.)
CONTRACTS ? B&E Gibson Enters. Inc. v. Darngavil Enters. LLC
OPINION ? Part of plaintiff’s case was dismissed under Florida’s contractual privity economic loss rule. When the Florida Supreme Court recently abrogated the rule in the Tiara Condo decision, plaintiff re-pled its case. But despite the change in the law the court found that plaintiff failed to allege a justifiable reliance on a false statement, and dismissed the case again. (M.D. Fla.)
ASSAULT - In re Welfare of P.E.O.
UNPUBLISHED OPINION - Juvenile was convicted of assault in biting the finger of store security guard, who suspected her of shoplifting. Witnesses testified she was not acting in self-defense, as security guard restrained and handcuffed her only after she bit his finger. (Minn.App.)
Additional recently added cases
The Obama administration had claimed the documents were confidential records of internal deliberations over the attack on a U.S.diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya last September.
Steven Arnold joins Manatt, Phelps & Phillips as partner in the firm's Orange County office; Quinn Emanuel and Edwards Wildman Palmer plan to open new offices.
The request from pension and endowment managers came after a firm collecting ballots for the investment bank cut off polling information to the bank's opponents.
The judge said the ban was "more than likely" unconstitutional and ordered that implementation be delayed until a legal challenge to the law can be tried in court.
The ruling in favor of Raymond James Financial could empower arbitrators to cut the time investors have to file a complaint with FINRA from six years to four or even two years. And other states could follow.
A U.S. judge who refused to certify the proposed class in a long-running copyright infringement lawsuit likened its breadth to an unmanageable "Frankenstein monster."
The arbitration system has the strong backing of business groups and the state's legal industry. However, it has been attacked by those who object to the proceedings being conducted in private.
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