New York

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.30.20

* A Long Island gym owner is planning on filing a lawsuit over New York's plans to delay the reopening of gyms. Guess they call it "Strong" Island for a reason... [Long Island Press] * Pinterest has hired outside counsel to investigate allegations of a hostile work environment. [Bloomberg] * The Michigan Attorney General is suing Exxon Mobil and other energy companies over alleged culpability with climate change. [NPR] * Booz Allen has been hit with a sex discrimination and retaliation lawsuit by a former employee. [Bloomberg] * A New York lawyer who lied about his grandfather's death to miss a court date and is one of the most disciplined lawyers in the Southern District of New York has been sanctioned $104,000 for conduct in a copyright case. This guy might make a good Above the Law lawyer of the year candidate... [Daily News]

By Jordan Rothman
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.27.20

* Students at numerous universities have filed class-action lawsuits alleging their colleges have not properly refunded fees from COVID-19-related closures. Guess classes by Zoom are just not cutting it. [CNN] * A New York lawyer alleges that conditions at a federal jail in Brooklyn are insufficient to prevent the spread of COVID-19. [New York Daily News] * A lawsuit has been filed over a policy denying COVID-19 stimulus checks to American citizens who are married to immigrants. [Business Insider] * An attorney for the physician accused of selling fake COVID-19 cures says his client was just following President Trump's lead. [NBC News] * Michael Flynn has attempted to undo his guilty plea on the grounds that his former lawyers gave him bad advice. Sounds like an awkward situation. [Politico]

By Jordan Rothman
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.30.19

* There is a lawyer who gets to decide whether bobbleheads of the pope are allowed to be made. Sounds like a pretty good gig. [Wall Street Journal] * A New York lawyer who practiced until he was 101 has passed away. [New York Times] * Wawa has been hit with lawsuits over a massive data breach. Everyone who lives in North Jersey is breathing a sigh of relief... [ABC News] * An Illinois man who pretended to be a lawyer for five years has been charged with the unauthorized practice of law. [Patch] * A Florida attorney has been suspended from practice after making anti-Muslim and homophobic remarks. [Miami Herald]

By Jordan Rothman
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 11.20.19

* A New York City attorney has been accused of filing over 300 lawsuits on behalf of two clients who had no idea he was representing them. [New York Post] * Ben & Jerry's has been sued for allegedly misleading consumers about claims that its milk is sourced from "happy cows." Wonder if the cows will get subpoenaed... [USA Today] * New York has joined California and others in suing Juul, the maker of electronic cigarettes, for allegedly illicit conduct in connection with advertising to minors. [NBC] * Ja Rule has been dismissed from a class action about the failed Fyre Festival. No need to read the article, there will probably be three documentaries about the lawsuit someday. [Billboard] * A South African lawyer died in a freak accident this week after she dropped a loaded gun in court. [People] * A lawyer in Texas has been arrested for returning to the firm that had just axed her and firing a gun. [Dallas Morning News]

By Jordan Rothman
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.05.19

* Two back-to-back mass shootings were committed by domestic terrorists this past weekend, killing at least 29 people with dozens more injured. Lawmakers must do something, anything about America's gun problem. [Wall Street Journal] * Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell claims that he "saved the Supreme Court for a generation" by denying Judge Merrick Garland a confirmation hearing because those shouldn't be held during presidential election years -- unless the president up for election is Donald Trump. [Bloomberg] * In other news related to Senator McConnell, he's currently recovering from fracturing his shoulder this weekend, but plans to "continue to work from home" on not doing anything about gun control. We'd offer some thoughts and prayers, but you know how meaningless those are. [CBS News] * Per this D.C. judge, the Trump administration's latest move to bar those who did not cross the border at a designated port of entry from seeking asylum violates the Immigration and Nationality Act. How many strikes will it take for this one to get appealed to SCOTUS? [CNN] * Louis Vuitton wants to keep senior in-house attorney Andowah Newton's sexual harassment claims in arbitration, while she'd prefer to have her voice be heart in court under New York's new #MeToo law. [Big Law Business] * Spinderella, sue it up one time: the famous DJ is suing Salt-N-Pepa alleging not only that the group failed to pay her hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties, but that she was underpaid for appearances and sometimes wasn't even paid at all. [Showbiz CheatSheet]

By Staci Zaretsky