Celebrating a baby’s birth by puffing on a cigar may be a thing of the past, but what about puffing on a vaporizer pen? Just ask the man who was busted for allegedly using his pot vaporizer in a hospital maternity ward. David Bastin, 28, of Jupiter, Florida, was arrested for possession of cannabis and drug paraphernalia after a nurse smelled weed wafting from a certain hospital room and called the cops, TCPalm....
In Interstate Fire & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Cleveland Wrecking Co., No. A124920, the California Court of Appeal for the First District dealt with plaintiff’s complaint for subrogation against defendant arising from an underlying lawsuit involving an injury of a worker at the parties’ construction site. In reversing the trial court’s sustaining of defendant’s demurrer of the complaint, the court first determined that a good faith settlement between defendant and the injured worker does not bar plaintiff from pursuing its cause of action for express contractual indemnification against defendant....
In a Takings Clause action claiming that the U.S. deprived Plaintiff of the beneficial use of its property, summary judgment for Defendant is reversed where Plaintiff identified a cognizable property interest, namely fee title to land that could not be developed without regulatory compliance. Read the full decision in Schooner Harbor Ventures, Inc. v. US, No. 2008-5084. Appellate Information: Appeal from the United States Court of Federal Claims in case no....
In Burton v. Sup. Ct., No. C062419, the California Court of Appeal for the Third District addressed the issue of whether a criminal defendant, sentenced to death or life without the possibility of parole, may obtain discovery materials from the superior court without representation by an attorney pursuant to section 1054.9. As stated in the decision: “Nothing in the language of section 1054.9 limits the statute to defendants who are currently represented by counsel…Rather, subdivision (a) of section 1054....
Hello, there, 1Ls! It’s time for civil procedure – a class you’ll either love or hate. By the end of this course, if you hear “sufficient minimum contacts” one more time, you’re going to want to strangle someone. 1. Pennoyer v. Neff (SCOTUS 1878) Your casebook had better preface this classic case with Mitchell v. Neff or you’re going to be really lost. Marcus Neff hired an attorney, John Mitchell, to help him purchase land in Oregon....
Happy National Wildlife Day! The holiday, now in its tenth year, serves to celebrate and raise awareness around endangered animals throughout America’s wild lands. It’s fitting, then, that America’s president is just getting back from his tour of Alaska, a state that’s home to some of America’s wildest lands and wildlife. Between hiking along glaciers, visiting the Arctic, and being spawned on by salmon, Obama has taken plenty of actions of legal significance on his brief vacation....
Shoppers excited for Black Friday sales have already started camping out at their favorite stores in preparation. Or at least they’ve tried to. Rhiannon Buckingham of California was No. 17 in line last year when Best Buy opened for Black Friday. She’d stood in line since the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, but she still missed out on a TV. This year, she wants to do better. So Buckingham got in line outside a Best Buy in El Cajon, Calif....
Trial court judgment enjoining enforcement of an ordinance requiring purchasers of large grocery stores to employ the prior store’s workforce for 90 days is affirmed where the ordinance requires successor grocery employers to employ experienced workers in order to maintain health and safety standards at the store during the transition to new management and thus enters into a field fully occupied by state law, and is preempted by the California Retail Food Code as well as the National Labor Relations Act....
In Bradford Co. v. ConTeyor N. Am., Inc., No. 09-1472, the Federal Circuit faced a judgment in favor of defendant in plaintiff’s patent infringement suit, involving patents related to shipping containers used to ship automobile door panels and related parts. The court affirmed the district court’s decision limiting the priority date of a patent to its own filing date as the applicants’ statement to the examiner is a compelling disclaimer of scope that the patent is not entitled to an earlier priority date....
Stealing a 40-foot party bus wasn’t part of his plan, but Steven Hunter of Lincoln, Nebraska, still drunk from a night of debauchery, somehow did just that. Cited on suspicion of criminal mischief and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle on Saturday night, police allege that Hunter drove the party bus home, somehow abandoning his wallet and a pair of pants onboard in the process. He may have also destroyed the bathroom and lost a hubcap....
How’s this for weak? Fort Wayne opened up online voting for the name of a new government center. The runaway favorite is Harry Baals, who won four terms in the 1930’s and 1950’s, the Associated Press reports. However, Deputy Mayor Beth Malloy says that they probably won’t name the new government center the Harry Baals Government Center because people might make fun of them. The name is pronounced like “balls” which is apparently just too much to take....
Tesla, one of the hottest and most followed companies, is facing yet another international lawsuit. For the second time, the inspired automaker is being sued by customers in Norway that claim the company’s P85D was misrepresented and not advertised properly to buyers. If you think this sounds familiar, well, it is. The lawyer handling the matter pretty much explained that it is the same type of case that settled last year, with a new batch of owners....
Ethics. It’s a law school course. It’s even an exam that’s a prerequisite to getting licensed by most state bars. Why are lawyers so inundated with ethics? Maybe it’s because sometimes lawyers - and law schools - walk a fine line. It’s not necessarily “sleazy.” But sometimes a lawyer’s behavior can be described as “questionable.” So here’s some questionable behavior brought to you by the University of Illinois: their law school reported inaccurate LSAT and GPA data for the last 6 out of 10 years....
By now we’re pretty used to seeing ESPN reporters and personalities in commercials. John Buccigross and Stan Verrett shilled for Scion. Monday Night Football’s Jon Gruden has hawked Hooters wings. And there’s always the synergistic joy of SportsCenter movie tie-ins. But what about when Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter took to Twitter to espouse their love of Domino’s pizza? Well, that might have run afoul of Federal Trade Commission guidelines on deceptive advertising....
In plaintiff’s consumer protection and fraud suit against defendant-insurance company concerning the sale of a so-called “vanishing premium” life insurance policy, denial of plaintiff’s motion for certification of the action as a class action is affirmed as the court did not err in concluding that he had not demonstrated any of the requisites for class certification. Read Kaldenbach v. Mut. of Omaha Life Ins. Co., No. G038539 [PDF] Read Kaldenbach v....
Thinking about going into law? You may want to hold onto your transcripts a bit because law school might be getting cheaper. For those of you already in law school, stop reading unless you like getting angry. The Law School Admission Council says the number of times it administered the LSAT in the last academic year has declined for the second straight year. In February, the number of LSAT takers was at the lowest it has been in more than 10 years....
Do the math: lower the cut score and the bar pass rate goes up. So what’s the problem? For some, the problem is that Oregon suddenly became one of the easiest bars to pass in the country. Only Nebraska had an easier July exam, and who wants to practice law there? Just kidding, Nebraska, but the average low temperature there is about 14 degrees Fahrenheit. The point is, how low can Oregon’s cut score go before enough is enough?...
Defendant’s conviction for carjacking, attempted robbery, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and other offenses is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) the true findings on the gang enhancements are reversed as they were not supported by substantial evidence; 2) the prior prison terms must be stricken and the People are barred from seeking to try them upon remand; and 3) the record is sufficiently clear to order the award of custody credits as requested by defendant....
The Pittsburgh Pirates have banned a father and his daughter from PNC Park because of their role in a fight last year. Rachel George, 21, and her father Christopher, 50, faced several criminal charges stemming from their first visit to the park. The two were accused of starting a fight that led to a security guard losing a finger. The two ultimately pleaded guilty to lesser charges including simple assault and recklessly endangering another person....
Decision of the Veterans Court that 38 C.F.R. section 3.343(a) does not apply to the total disability state of claimant’s retrospective stated rating is affirmed as the Department of Veterans Affairs’ interpretation of the applicability of the section is not plainly erroneous or inconsistent with the regulation. Read Reizenstein v. Shinseki, No. 09-7012 Appeal from: United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims Decided September 29, 2009 Judges Before Newman, Mayer, and Prost, Circuit Judges...
