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Court of federal claims’ dismissal of plaintiffs-taxpayers’ complaint that the IRS unlawfully denied their claim for a tax refund, involving an issuance of a Notice of Final Partnership Administrative Adjustment to each of plaintiffs’ partnership, is affirmed as: 1) a 1997 settlement agreement did not change the FPAA’s findings that the activities of the partnerships were sham transactions, the sham-transaction issue was not converted into a non-partnership item, and taxpayers’ refund claims necessarily involve resolution of “partnership items”; and 2) thus, taxpayers lacked standing to seek adjudication, and the trial court correctly determined that it lacked jurisdiction over their refund claims....

A high school water polo player who broke an opponent’s nose was charged with felony assault in California this month. The incident took place during a game in September and was captured on camera, according to the San Francisco Chronicle and SF Gate. The accused, 15, never even got a foul during the game but now he is facing prison for felony assault and battery stemming from the incident that happened during a tournament....

As a rule, law students know less than they think they do. If you are a really smart student – “Type A” for straight A’s in college – you are already in trouble. That’s because no matter what you studied before, law is an entirely different subject. And if nobody told you, it’s not about about what you know. That’s right, it’s about who you know. So get to know your teachers and you might impress them....

In a time of governmental uncertainty, the D.C. Circuit isn’t among the government institutions paralyzed by the federal government shutdown. Like a Mr. Magoo wandering through a wildly dangerous construction site without his glasses, the court seems content to ignore the political squabbles that are giving furloughed employees and cable news pundits such great anxiety. Here are just three ways in which the D.C. Circuit is ignoring the shutdown: If you had just turned your attention to the D....

Are you really ready for your 1L year of law school? Otherwise known as “1-Hell,” the first year of law school is usually… an experience, to say the least. Being prepared always makes a world of difference. The more you know, the less you’ll be unpleasantly surprised, and maybe the smoother the ride. Maybe. While it’s true that everyone handles certain situations differently, the first year of law school tends to bring some of the same experiences and feelings for most....

Like you, the law is always changing. Sure, some things may stay the same. But every year, without fail, rules are tweaked, new precedent is set, and what you thought you knew no longer applies. Luckily for California lawyers, The Rutter Group has a spate of seminars coming up to help get you up to speed with the recent developments. The Rutter Group’s 2018 Update Programs: Family Law, Civil Procedure, Personal Injury and Insurance Litigation will provide instruction on what has changed in these areas of law over the past year, and what changes are right around the corner....

California Superior Court Judge Mark W. Snauffer has ruled against recent amendments that eased up on heightened diesel regulations in favor of industry little guys, causing controversy in a county that is highly reliant on transport of goods and the diesel engines used to get them to and fro. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has responded negatively to the ruling, describing it as “deal[ing] a profound blow to … smaller fleets, small farmers and independent owners....

Courts and the law have long held sympathy for a man who finds his wife or girlfriend cheating on him. There were once exceptions to murder statutes and lesser penalties for a man who discovered his wife “in flagrante delicto” and lashed out violently. While those laws have either been formally removed or are no frowned upon by courts, some states still allow a jilted husband to sue a home-wrecking party....

An engineer is reportedly saying he had “limited involvement” in the building of the Dallas Cowboys training facility that collapsed in a storm over the past weekend, injuring a number of individuals including scouting assistant Rich Behm who was left paralyzed from the waist down. The AP reports that, despite being listed as being responsible for the design of the facility, engineer Enrique Tabak insists, “‘I was there just a few months … They brought me in to build little farm buildings - sheds, agricultural applications....

Fifteen years as a lunch lady can be rough. The orthopedic shoes, hairnet, and plastic gloves; after a while, the reheated Salisbury steak doesn’t get the same slice of love. But for a pair of sisters working at a pair of Connecticut public schools, the financial “perks” may have made up for all the abuse they were getting from the pepperoni pizza, liver and onions, chocolate pudding, chop suey, garlic bread, and green beans, not to mention the shouting kids....

The U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California just dismissed the 2013 class action lawsuit brought by a group of employees who claimed the tech giant owed them money for time spent waiting to have their bags searched for stolen contraband. However, the ruling’s language leaves open gaping holes that lawyers love to see. Will an appeal be coming soon? The original lawsuit was brought by five employees on behalf of themselves and more than 12,000 other workers in more than 50 locations across the nation....

Most people feel sorry for lab rats but no one should feel sorry for lab monkeys who get to roam free like the ones in Coley Mitchell’s lab. The Georgia lab tech was allegedly found on Monday night having a grand old time in the lab in the midst of what appeared to be a pants-off dance-off with the labs inhabitants, a family of monkeys. Mitchell reportedly had his pants off and the monkeys were having a good time out of their cages....

A Georgia man has been charged with theft after charging his electric car at his son’s middle school – and sucking up 5 cents’ worth of electricity. Kaveh Kamooneh, 50, had parked his Nissan Leaf outside Chamblee Middle School and began charging the car using an exterior outlet at the school while his 11-year-old played tennis, Atlanta’s WXIA-TV reports. Moments later, a police officer appeared and informed Kamooneh that he would be charged with theft....

DUI checkpoints are generally legal to check if drivers are drunk. But what if police use a fake drug checkpoint sign to catch drivers with illegal drugs? In Mayfield Heights, Ohio, police have set up yellow signs that say “Drug Checkpoint Ahead.” But really, there’s no such thing. Instead, officers are observing drivers’ reactions and then pulling over the ones who “react suspiciously” upon seeing the fake warning, reports The Plain Dealer of Cleveland....

US Ex Rel. Miller v. Bill Harbert Int’l. Const., Inc., 08-5390, involved a False Claims Act (FCA) action claiming that five companies and one individual rigged the bidding on three contracts in Egypt funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. The court of appeals affirmed judgment for plaintiff in part, holding that 1) the government’s claims concerning one contract were not barred by the statute of limitations because they related back to plaintiff’s original timely complaint; 2) although the false claims provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act and the FCA did overlap, the two statutes were fully capable of coexisting....

We’re on record as supporting creative ticket protests. But we really love Lexington, Kentucky’s food drive, which allows people to pay part of their parking citations in canned food rather than cash. And to be clear, the city wants patrons to pay tickets by donating non-perishable food items; and not by smearing raw bacon and sausage all over the police station. The Lexington Parking Authority’s “Food for Fines” program lets customers put cans of food towards their parking tickets, receiving $15 credit for 10 cans....

In Rogers v. Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc., No. C061943, the Third District faced a challenge to the trial court’s grant of defendant’s motion in limine to exclude certain evidence and a subsequent grant of defendant’s motion for a nonsuit in plaintiff’s suit against a manufacturer of the helicopter she was piloting at the time of her crash. In reversing the decision, the court held that the grant of defendant’s motion in limine to exclude evidence that the maintenance manual was defective and caused the accident was in error as the maintenance manual here was not a part of the helicopter for purposes of the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994....

As we mentioned in this blog last week, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals is reviewing Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. The case is the first federal appeal of a military commission conviction by a Guantanamo Bay detainee in the U.S. civilian court. Last week, the D.C. Circuit heard oral arguments and we discussed the issues presented in the government’s case brief. Now, we’re bringing you a quick recap of some of the arguments made and the lowdown on what went down at the hearing before Chief Judge Sentelle, Judge Ginsberg and Judge Kavanaugh....

While the Framers of the Constitution probably didn’t envision granting legal rights to non-human animals, they probably also didn’t foresee canine birthday parties and pet resorts. And let’s be honest, you probably feel there are some animals who are more deserving of certain rights than some of our human brethren. Nonetheless, animals do not have the same rights as humans, as a New York court recently explained in a case where lawyers argued that chimpanzees were entitled to habeas relief....

According to federal district judge Christina A. Snyder, the County of Los Angeles’ Official Seal is unconstitutional. Controversy began when a group of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim congregation leaders represented by the ACLU sued the LA County Board in 2014, alleging that the addition of a tiny cross in the seal’s imagery violated the Establishment Clause. The ACLU sued the LA County Board in 2014 on behalf of several religious leaders who claimed that the defendants unlawfully inserted a Christian cross atop the seal’s already existing depiction of San Gabriel mission’s gable....