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In a homeowner’s petition for a writ of mandate seeking to require a trial court to vacate its order compelling arbitration and awarding attorney fees to a condominium association is granted where: 1) an arbitration provision contained in the CC&Rs is not unconscionable, and is applicable; 2) however, a party seeking to compel arbitration under Code of Civil Procedure section 1281.2 must establish it demanded arbitration under the parties’ arbitration agreement and that the other party refused to arbitrate under the agreement before it is entitled to an order granting a petition to compel such arbitration; and 3) the association here failed to show it made such a request....

It’s entirely appropriate that Barbara Underwood replaces Eric Schneiderman, the disgraced former attorney general of New York. Schneiderman resigned amidst allegations he physically abused four women. Underwood, a “highly experienced” lawyer, succeeds him as the first woman to become the state’s top attorney. It almost goes without saying that more women deserve leadership positions, especially when so many high-profile men seem to fail. Her Second First Underwood, 73, has been sworn in as New York’s acting attorney general....

Does a data connection have to be completely established before it can transmit data? You’d think so, and if you didn’t, you’d have lost a $147 million jury award and be out about $200,000 in court costs. A company called mFormation Software Technologies (MST) claimed that BlackBerry infringed its patent to “the wireless activation and management of an electronic device without the need to have physical access to the device” – in this case, basically remotely deleting the contents of the phone....

A new app will allow us to rate each other online. Peeple, set for release in November, is Yelp for, well, people. The Peeple tag line is “Character is Destiny.” The app seems destined to be the source of numerous libel lawsuits. Anyone who has your cell phone number can create a profile for you and rate you online. And to many of us, that is not at all fine....

The U.S. News and World Report law school rankings – the only law school rankings that matter – have been leaked. Spivey Consulting, the same “get me into law school” consulting company that obtained a leaked advance of last year’s rankings, has reportedly done it again, grabbing an early copy of the 2018 rankings. (Yes, in law school ranking land, the 2018 list is released in 2017.) And there seems to have been some surprising shakeups....

Charity – not a judge’s robe – covers a multitude of sins. The black robe appropriately cloaks some human behavior, and the public doesn’t really need to know everything that goes on behind the judge’s curtain. So let’s not throw the first stone. But there are some things a judge just shouldn’t do in the courtroom. Here are a few: No Vaping Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Vincent Del Giudice didn’t get the memo on vaping, but local reporters said he was vaping in the courtroom....

Florida Gas Transmission Co. v. FERC, No. 07-1533, involved petitions for review of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) orders establishing new gas quality and interchangeability standards for Florida Gas’s interstate natural gas pipeline system. The D.C. Circuit granted one such petition, holding that 1) the Commission had no authority under section 5 of the Natural Gas Act to impose the new standards on gas flowing from the Western Division into the Market Area; and 2) the Commission failed to identify any mechanism through which Florida Gas (or any other pipeline) could maintain a compliant commingled stream without controlling the quality of upstream deliveries....

The recording industry has settled a suit in which it alleged a porn company was wrongfully using its songs in adult videos. RK Netmedia, the self-proclaimed “World’s Best Reality Porn Website,” had been accused of copyright infringement for using copyrighted music in the company’s porn productions. The settlement, for an undisclosed amount, means the parties have been able to come to a mutual agreement to avoid litigation. Neither party has commented on the case....

The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals generally hears reviews from the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). The Supreme Court clarified an exception to that rule this week. Monday, the Court ruled that a federal employee who claims that an agency action appealable to the MSPB violates an anti-discrimination statute should seek judicial review in district court — not the Federal Circuit — regardless whether the MSPB decided her case on procedural grounds or on the merits....

The fall from grace always seems a little more tragic when it involves the more theatrical sports. The juxtaposition between beautiful costumes full of sequins and color seems so harsh compared to prison orange and a makeup-less mug shot. Former American figure skater Nicole Bobek is no exception. Dubbed as America’s best chance for Olympic Gold in 1998, Bobek will now be serving five years probation for charges stemming from her crystal meth case, reports MSNBC....

The Force has run out for a wannabe Jedi master accused in a Toys “R” Us toy lightsaber attack. David Allen Canterbury, 33, of Portland, Ore., will surrender to the Dark Side … of a jail cell. A judge sentenced him to 45 days behind bars and possible mental-health treatment, The Oregonian reports. In court, Canterbury apologized to his victims, though no one was hurt in the attack – except Canterbury himself, when police used a stun gun to try to subdue him....

The midterm elections are upon us. And while early voting in most states has closed, you can still cast your ballot at the polls on election day tomorrow. If you’re registered to vote, that is. Just about every state requires you to be registered to vote before you can cast your ballot, but the deadlines to register can vary from state to state. Worried you won’t be able to vote? Here’s a look at when you need to register and if it’s too late....

KFC’s advertisements aren’t just famous for the goateed Colonel Sanders. They’re also known for their overflowing buckets of chicken, the iconic red and white stripped takeout containers transformed into a veritable cornucopia of finger-licking, deep-fried chicken parts rising above the brim. But if you’ve stopped in for an eight-piece meal recently, you’ve faced a different reality: just a regular tub of greasy fast food, sans Madison Ave. magic, the chicken pieces sitting sadly below the rim....

English tennis player Robert Dee, 23, lost 54 consecutive matches and 108 successive sets at the international level, before he finally beat an unranked 17-year-old in Spain in April 2008. The British media just lapped up the story. The Daily Mail, Guardian, Sun, and Telegraph newspapers all published articles about Mr. Dee’s success (or lack thereof). Even the BBC joined in. The paper printed two articles about Mr. Dee under the headlines ‘World’s worst ­tennis pro wins at last’ and ‘A British sensation - the world’s worst’....

Strange lawsuits get filed all the time, particularly against law enforcement officers and prison guards. But a lawsuit against two cops for forcing a person to take a field sobriety test on the side of a pubic roadway without pants is not only strange, it’s justified. The lawsuit brought by the pant-less, but sober, driver, is seeking monetary damages as a result of the public humiliation, and violation of her civil rights....

The long legal saga of the Department of Justice versus Barry Lamar Bonds appears to have come to a close, ending not with a bang (or a clang of prison cell doors) but with a whimper: a single paragraph saying the DOJ would not pursue the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. After at least $6 million spent on his trial and appeals, not a single conviction stuck, not even for lying under oath or misleading prosecutors....

If you’re a millennial lawyer, you most likely spent your entire academic career taking notes in class using your computer. But according to research conducted by UCLA and Princeton, you weren’t doing yourself any favors. Looks like new news is old news. The research suggested that those students who took notes by longhand actually learned material better and retained the information longer than their laptop typing counterparts. It’s no secret that writing effectively and learning quickly are essential tasks for lawyers....

Between “leaning in,” “opting out” and opting back in, women are getting conflicting advice about their careers. One thing is for certain – each year, Flex Time Lawyers and Working Mother magazine release their annual survey on the 50 Best Law Firms for Women. Though working at one of these firms won’t guarantee you’ll make partner, the survey highlights law firms with “best practices in retaining and promoting women lawyers.” Unsurprisingly, many of these law firms have many things in common....

A bizarre arrest involving bottled water somehow mistaken for beer has landed one student a $212,500 settlement with the state of Virginia. Elizabeth Daly, a student at University of Virginia, had gone into purchase a carton of sparkling water in April 2013. What she hadn’t counted on was state agents swarming her SUV under the assumption that she had illegally purchased beer, reports The Associated Press. What was going on in Daly’s case, and what led to her significant settlement?...

People v. Seneca Ins. Co., G043026, concerned a challenge to the trial court’s grant of summary judgment and denial of a surety’s motion to vacate forfeiture and exonerate bail, or toll the time available for exoneration of bail. In affirming, the court held that a bail bond is not exonerated simply because the People have not completed extradition of the defendant before the end of the bond exoneration period. The court also held that the statutory scheme does not authorize additional extensions or tolling of the bond exoneration period in the circumstances presented, and the surety already received its one-time extension of 180 days authorized by section 1305....