Posts

Florida voters passed Amendment 4 this week, restoring voting rights to certain felons after they have served their sentences, including prison terms, parole, and probationary periods. Those convicted of murder and sexual offenses will still be barred, under the former rule. In a state that has historically crowned victors by slim margins, this change could make a world of difference. Though the law against former felons voting had been around prior to Governor Rick Scott taking office in 2011, Scott had notoriously limited the number of former felons he allowed to vote....

Anyone and everyone can bring a lawsuit. Just ask the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, the “fireworks fraternity” at Miami University in Ohio that had the gall to sue the university for $10 million after it was shut down following a slew of explosive criminal allegations. Two weeks ago, the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity was allegedly involved in an epic fireworks fight with a rival fraternity. As if this wasn’t bad enough, after cops came a-knocking, the police found not only a cache of fireworks, but also a cache of illegal drugs and related paraphernalia, reports the Dayton Daily News....

Peremptory writ vacating the trial court’s order granting defendant Vargas’ motion to transfer the action to Orange County Superior Court is granted where plaintiff’s action arises from a consumer transaction specified in the statutory venue exception of Code of Civil Procedure sec. 395 (b) and thus venue is proper in the court of the county of his residence. Read Fontaine v. Superior Court of Santa Clara County, No. H033811 in PDF...

Google’s not off the hook. What a California district court did to get it out of court was undone last week by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Vederi’s Patents The Google product up for debate is Street View. Vederi, LLC sued Google alleging that Google’s Street View violates four of Vederi’s patents: U.S. Patent Nos. 7,239,760; 7,577,316; 7,805,025; 7,813,596. The four patents together are for a “system and method for creating, storing, and utilizing composite images of a geographic location....

Is it worth slapping your grandma over a Facebook request? This isn’t a new aggressive marketing campaign by Facebook (we hope), it’s the subject of a recent Florida arrest. Rachel Anne Hayes, 27, was arrested Thursday after allegedly hitting her 72-year-old grandmother multiple times in the face. According to Tampa’s WFLA-TV, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office reports that the slapfest was over the senior’s refusal to accept Hayes’ friend request on Facebook....

It is not every day that an employer can settle a class action employment lawsuit by putting a group of massage therapists on staff, but that’s just how Harvard gets things done. However, before you start thinking that demanding massage therapists will get your lawsuit settled, it should be noted that this class action was filed on behalf of a group of individuals that worked at Harvard, but were improperly classified as independent contractors rather than employees under state law....

That new car smell. For some, it’s intoxicating. For others? It’s toxic. Count consumers in China in the latter category. “Unpleasant interior smell/odor remains the top industry problem in that market,” according to J.D. Power’s Brent Gruber. “To put that in context, it is nearly double the problem rate of the second most prevalent problem, excessive fuel consumption.” The solution to that problem? An odor-removal process that eliminates that new car smell after a vehicle has been purchased....

There’s no doubt that the current administration is a lightning rod for litigation (like most are). However, one influential, but not very vocal member, seems to be rather skilled at evading service. The lawsuit filed by the DNC against Paul Manafort, President Trump, and Jared Kushner, alleging collusion with Russians, has not yet been served on Kushner, despite several attempts. One attempt was refused by Secret Service. Another attempt was refused by someone at his apartment....

Federal prosecutors pursuing a massage parlor sex-trafficking case in Illinois met with an unexpected roadblock last week: a mistrial. The massage parlor mistrial occurred because the defense attorney, Douglas Rathe, was recognized by one of the testifying masseuses as a former client. Can you say, awkward? The case revolved around massage parlors owned by Alex “Daddy” Campbell, who allegedly trained his masseuses to give clients “extras” which included sexual favors. He also demanded money from the masseuses, often illegal immigrant women, threatening to deport them....

Introducing our Ex-Lawyer of the Week: David Westin. A former private-firm partner turned corporate counsel, Westin is currently making the rounds on the lecture circuit with his new memoir “Exit Interview,” about his tenure as president of ABC News from 1997 to 2010. It’s a role that many journalists initially scoffed at, as Westin had no prior newsroom experience before taking the helm at ABC News. But as huge national stories began to unfold, Westin’s legal knowledge became immensely valuable....

There are, as of this writing, still two active lawsuits against the NFL and/or its member teams regarding the prescription of painkillers to players. Dent v. NFL was filed in the District Court of Northern California in May 2014 and claimed the league withheld medical information from players, oversaw acquisition and dispensing of medications, and violated state and federal prescription drug laws. A year later, Etopia Evans v. Arizona Cardinals was filed in Maryland but moved to the same court and judge as Dent....

They answered God’s call to a life of religious service. Now a group of nuns in suburban Chicago are calling for intervention – divine or otherwise – to stop a strip club from opening next door to their convent. The sisters’ next act may be legal action. The mayor of Melrose Park, Ill., where the convent is located, has asked the village attorney to “see if there’s anything we can do to block this thing,” he told the Chicago Sun-Times....

For many people, doing a basic Google search on your prospective attorney is something that has become almost second-nature. But, if you’re Manhattan attorney Matthew Couloute Jr., a Google search of your name doesn’t exactly point prospective clients to your State Bar profile. Instead, it points prospective clients to a character-slamming page on Liarscheatersrus.com, where jilted lovers and ex-lovers congregate to bash on their former flames. Apparently, two of Couloute’s former exes took to the web to unite forces against the attorney, calling him “scum,” amongst other insults....

In what may come as a shocking revelation to all those who believe that everyone in Congress is filthy rich (with an emphasis on the filthy), over 10 percent still carry student loan debt. Notably though, it’s not all their debt. For many members, the loans belong to a child, and show up for them due to co-signing. However, there are definitely a few who actually still owe debt from their own educations....

In plaintiffs’ wrongful death suit, claiming that a defective wheelchair caused the decedent to burn to death, trial court’s denial of defendants’ motion to strike plaintiff’s complaint under the anti-SLAPP law is affirmed as, plaintiffs’ lawsuit did not arise from protected speech or petitioning activity within the meaning of section 425.16 Read Robles v. Chalilpoyil, No. H033329 Appellate Information Filed January 26, 2010 Judges Opinion by Judge Elia Counsel For Appellant: Neil Shapiro...

With the news about Western State College of Law in Orange County, California on the brink of closure and financial destruction, some law students and prospective law students might be wondering what the chances are that their law school will be next. Notably, if Western State actually does end up closing mid-semester, and it’s looking like that’s pretty likely due to the current state of affairs and the very real consequences, it would be the first time in history an accredited law school just up and closed mid-semester....

An investigation has uncovered a meth-making odd couple – a white supremacist meth maker in rural Missouri, and a black inner-city gang member who procured the ingredients needed to make the illegal drug. Aryan Nations member Richard Treis, 38, and gang member Robert “Biz” Swinney, 22, were among seven people arrested in an alleged conspiracy to make and distribute methamphetamine, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. “It was all about the money,” one law-enforcement officer told the Post-Dispatch....

Cravath pumped first year associate salaries up to $180,000 on Monday, Above the Law reported. Hueston Hennignan, a boutique litigation firm in California, followed Cravath’s lead today, also bringing up associate base salaries to $180,000. That’s not a bad salary for a fresh-faced law grad just starting out. But it’s not one that most lawyers will earn. Most new lawyers make significantly less than BigLaw associates, and many law school grads still can’t find legal jobs, despite lower numbers of J....

Greetings from Louisiana, where I got to laugh along as my brother spent $300 on a single Contracts casebook – what in the blue-bound hell is academia coming to when a textbook costs more than my second car? At least he isn’t paying California rent. Speaking of law school orientation, one of our regular readers wants to know what to expect when he enters those hallowed halls. (Hint: It’s mere puffery....

Matlock. That guy was a boss. He exuded confidence, and not just because he won every case. Then again, he was like 70. At that age, with that experience, you’re either confident or ready for retirement. Ditto for Denny Crain, though yelling your name probably won’t win you many cases in real life. How do you exude confidence, like those two legends, even with zero experience? You’d think, that after three years in law school, and an internship or two, that attorneys would have some sense of appropriate attire....