New York Court of Appeals

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.16.20

* The New York Attorney General has announced a settlement with Dunkin' over a security breach. I don't mind others knowing how much pumpkin coffee I've been drinking... [CBS News] * Oral arguments at New York's highest court were canceled earlier this month because one of the attorneys had a high temperature. [Brooklyn Eagle] * The Justice Department is looking into whether John Bolton (not Michael Bolton) improperly divulged confidential information in his new book. [Fox News] * A Texas lawyer has pleaded guilty to smuggling drugs into a jail. [CBS News] * Facebook apparently may be subject to an antitrust lawsuit sometime this year. MySpace is still a competitor of theirs.... right? [Yahoo News] * The family of Breonna Taylor has settled their claims against the City of Louisville, Kentucky, for $12 million. [CNN] * A new lawsuit asserts Bud Light's Lime-A-Ritas falsely suggest they have tequila. Maybe Bud can assert the "beer before liquor, never sicker" defense. [Fox News]

By Jordan Rothman
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By Charles River Associates (CRA)
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.19.17

* Hot on the heels of the news that Amazon would be purchasing Whole Foods, legal nerds wanted to know which firms would be handling the $13.7B transaction. SullCrom is representing Amazon and Wachtell is representing Whole Foods in Bezos's bid to sell asparagus water on Prime. [Texas Lawyer] * Governor Andrew Cuomo has nominated Appellate Division Justice Paul Feinman to replace the late Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam on the New York Court of Appeals. If confirmed, Feinman will be first the first openly gay judge to be seated on the bench of New York's highest court. Congrats! [Journal News] * But her his emails! The state of Indiana will be paying "small-town firm" McNeely Stephenson $100K to handle a backlog of public records requests having to do with the contents of then Governor Mike Pence's private AOL account from which he conducted state business over email. [Chicago Tribune] * Shortly after a mistrial was declared in Bill Cosby's sexual assault case, his spokesman had some sarcastic remarks to share with those who represented the comedians accusers: "For all those attorneys who conspired -- like Gloria Allred -- tell them to go back to law school and take another class." [FOX News Insider] * Legal documents related to the dissolution of annoying jingle firm Cellino & Barnes are currently under seal, but several media outlets are trying to convince a judge to unseal the records because the "litigation over the dissolution of [the firm] is an issue of local and national importance." [New York Daily News] * "They’ve been great at dodging this. But they know they’re not going to be able to dodge it for much longer." New York City may finally do away with its nearly century-old ban on dancing in restaurants, bars, and clubs thanks to a proposed a bill seeking the repeal of the city's 1926 "Cabaret Law." [New York Post]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.13.17

* Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam, the nation's first female Muslim judge and the first African-American woman to serve on New York's highest court, was found dead in the Hudson River. We'll have more on this later. [New York Daily News] * The Ukraine-related activities of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort are under legal scrutiny -- and one of his daughters, lawyer Andrea Manafort, described some of her father's actions as "legally questionable." [New York Times] * Hawaii says "aloha" to the Ninth Circuit in its challenge to Trump Travel Ban 2.0 -- and seeks initial en banc review, bypassing a three-judge panel. [ABA Journal] * So the filibuster is now dead for SCOTUS nominees; are blue slips for lower-court nominees next? [Roll Call via How Appealing] * Melania Trump settles her defamation litigation with the Daily Mail, getting an apology, a retraction, coverage of her legal fees, and what her lawyer Charles Harder describes as "millions of dollars in damages." [New York Law Journal] * Biglaw firms aren't the only workplaces with gender pay gaps; it's an issue for in-house legal departments too, including Google's. [Corporate Counsel] * Seriously, North Carolina? After its half-hearted repeal of the "bathroom bill," three lawmakers in the state want to ban gay marriage. [WNCN] * Judge Janice Rogers Brown of the D.C. Circuit seems to be a fan of Justice Neil Gorsuch's views on Chevron deference. [Law.com] * And Justice Elena Kagan will be throwing a party to welcome Justice Gorsuch to the Court. [Washington Post via How Appealing]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.05.17

* Talk about an alleged fashion faux pas! LuLaRoe, the maker of the "buttery-soft" leggings that have taken the internet by storm, is facing a class-action lawsuit over the quality of the company's leggings. Plaintiffs claim that the leggings as "tear[] as easily as wet toilet paper." LuLaRoe, of course, has stated that the allegations are "completely without merit." [BuzzFeed] * "There's a reason they call it the nuclear option, and that is because there's fallout. And this fallout will be dangerously and perhaps disastrously radioactive for the Senate for years to come." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has set a vote to change Senate rules in order to confirm Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch. [Reuters] * In a landmark en banc decision, the Seventh Circuit reversed itself and ruled that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects LGBT employees from workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. This is not only the first time in history that a federal appellate court has come to this conclusion, but it also creates a split from a recent Eleventh Circuit opinion. This will likely be heard by the Supreme Court. [TIME] * Squire Patton Boggs has formed an alliance with Donald Trump's longtime personal attorney, Michael Cohen, who credits himself as the one who convinced the president to run for office. At this time, it's unclear what exactly Cohen will be doing for the firm, but he'll be working from the firm's offices in New York, London, and D.C. [WSJ Law Blog] * Dislike: Facebook must turn over digital information from almost 400 user accounts following its failed bid at the New York Court of Appeals to appeal a bulk warrant on privacy grounds. A lone judge dissented, bemoaning the fact that the high court punted on a case that could have disastrous effects on civil liberties. [New York Daily News]

By Staci Zaretsky
Art

Morning Docket: 10.28.14

* Some observers do not appreciate the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Delphic pronouncements on a slew of hot-button issues. [New York Times] * The New York Court of Appeals does international banks a solid — but is it bad policy? [Reuters] * Fired Canadian radio host Jian Ghomeshi hires Dentons to sue CBC, which dismissed him over allegations of sexual misconduct. [American Lawyer] * Is post-Citizens United money polluting judicial elections? [New York Times via How Appealing] * An Englishman sues Sotheby’s, alleging that the auction house negligently failed to inform him that a painting he sold through Sotheby’s was by Caravaggio and worth millions. [BBC] * If you’re a lawyer looking for extra income, check out Avvo’s new service, which offers consumers on-demand legal advice for a fixed fee. [Law Sites via ABA Journal] * Is it reversible error for a judge to refuse to ask voir dire questions related to sexual-preference prejudices? [Southern District of Florida via How Appealing]

By David Lat
Bankruptcy

Morning Docket: 07.02.14

* The New York Court of Appeals put the hurt on defunct firms seeking unfinished business fees from former partners who left for greener pastures. Sorry, I didn’t follow ATL protocol: “Dewey think firms should collect unfinished business fees?” [Wall Street Journal Law Blog] * We reported on the Tinder lawsuit yesterday. Here’s a collection of all the messed up texts involved. [Valleywag] * Facebook’s lawyer is now calling the emotional manipulation study it recently conducted “customer service.” Dear Internet: Despite all your rage, you’re still just rats in a cage. [The Atlantic] * So if you’re studying for the MPRE, blow jobs aren’t the preferred legal fee. [Legal Profession Blog] * How did your last cell phone bill look? Because the FTC says T-Mobile knowingly added hundreds of millions of charges on. At least that girl in pink was cute, huh? [USA Today] * BNP Paribas is confident it can pay its record fine. [Dealbook / New York Times] * Meanwhile, Putin accused the U.S. of trying to use the BNP fine to blackmail France into turning its back on Russia. Because conspiracy theories are awesome. [Bloomberg] * Lawsuit filed because right-wingers totally miffed that black people voted for a Republican. [Sun Herald (Mississippi)]

By Joe Patrice
10th Circuit

Non-Sequiturs: 10.21.13

* Law firm Halloween party advice. I disagree with some of this — my “Sexy John Marshall” costume was always a hit. [Greedy Associates / FindLaw] * The Supreme Court is expected to review a 10th Circuit decision holding that corporations are people and can exercise religious rights. Hopefully the Supreme Court stops this madness before my cable company has the right to bear arms. [Constitutional Accountability Center] * Governor Chris Christie has dropped his appeal of the New Jersey court decision authorizing same-sex marriage. He finally worked out that his own homophobia wasn’t worth being on the wrong side of 61 percent of Jersey voters. [Politico] * Let’s go get some Molly! [Law and More] * California is tightening up its Workers’ Comp rules for former professional athletes. From now on, injured ex-jocks need to prove a more significant tie to the state to collect compensation. This presents a problem for a lot of former football players who now have to admit they played for the Raiders. [The Legal Blitz] * Judge Smith of the New York Court of Appeals gets a scathing open letter. It’s fun when lawyers go “Flame On!” toward judges they might eventually be in front of. [New York Personal Injury Law Blog] * Governor Rick Snyder is asking a judge to drop her request to see unredacted copies of internal emails about the search for the Detroit emergency manager. Because nothing seemed sketchy about employing a law that had been specifically repealed by Michigan voters to overturn the democratically elected leadership of a major metropolis to install a partner from a firm that just so happens to get chosen as bankruptcy counsel, earning a ton of fees from the whole affair. Nothing at all. [Detroit News] * Guy sues Apple because he hates iOS 7. Not the dumbest suit ever brought against Apple. [BGR] * Entertainment lawyer Harry M. Brittenham moonlights as the author of graphic novels. A lawyer writing comic books may sound like a guy living in his mom’s basement, but he’s actually married to Heather Thomas from The Fall Guy. [New York Times] * Not everyone thinks law reviews are awful. [The Volokh Conspiracy]

By Joe Patrice
Adoption

Morning Docket: 03.29.13

* The latest update on the law school litigation front represents good news for New York Law School. [National Law Journal] * Should summarizing a one-day deposition transcript really cost $90,000? Even DLA Piper might blush at such a bill. [Point of Law] * Ropes & Gray isn’t backing down in the discrimination lawsuit brought by former partner Patricia Martone. (We’ll have more on this later.) [Am Law Daily] * No, silly polo mogul, you can’t adopt your 42-year-old girlfriend to shield your fortune from litigation. [ABA Journal] * Replacing “barbers” with “beauty culturists”? This is Indiana and not California, right? [WSJ Law Blog]

By David Lat
3rd Circuit

Morning Docket: 01.16.13

* “It’s very hard to copyright a story about an individual growing up in the ghetto and getting involved in crime.” Go Third Circuit, it’s your birthday, we gon’ affirm that like it’s your birthday. [New Jersey Law Journal (reg. req.)] * I believe you have my stapler? A former Fried Frank staffer has been accused of stealing more than $376K worth of copy machine ink from the firm and selling it on the black market for office supplies. [Am Law Daily] * Governor Andrew Cuomo nominated Jenny Rivera, a CUNY School of Law professor, to fill a vacant New York Court of Appeals seat. If confirmed, she’ll be the second Hispanic to sit on the court. [New York Law Journal] * This’ll please the gun nuts: Governor Cuomo’s gun-control bill was passed by the legislature and signed into law, officially making New York the state with the toughest gun restrictions in the nation. [New York Times] * And this right here is the lawsuit equivalent of half-court heave. A lawyer is suing the San Antonio Spurs because the team’s coach sent all of its best players home to rest without the fans’ prior knowledge. [ESPN]

By Staci Zaretsky
Andrew Cuomo

Morning Docket: 01.04.13

* The Department of Justice has reached yet another settlement in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill case, this time with Transocean Ltd. for $1.4 billion in civil and criminal penalties and fines. [National Law Journal] * “[W]ith success comes regulatory scrutiny.” Google convinced the FTC to close its ongoing antitrust probe by promising to change its allegedly shady patent usage and purportedly skewed search terms. [Bloomberg] * According to Littler Mendelson, federal contractors might want to consider sending out sequestration-related layoff notices to employees in order to comply with the WARN Act. America, f**k yeah! [Government Executive] * Governor Andrew Cuomo will have a major impact on the New York Court of Appeals when appointing new judges. It could be a partisan decision, but his father, former Governor Mario Cuomo, insists his son will leave politics at home. [Capital New York] * When you write in defense of the value proposition of law school, you wind up in the op-ed pages of the NYT. When you tell the truth about it, you wind up in the opinion pages of the WSJ. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)] * Remember Danae Couch, the Texas Tech law student who was crowned as Miss Texas? She’ll compete for the Miss America title next weekend. If you’d like to help her become a finalist, you can vote for her here! [KFYO]

By Staci Zaretsky