Punitive Damages

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.22.16

* WHATCHA GONNA DO, BROTHER, WHEN THIS JURY'S PUNITIVE DAMAGES AWARD RUNS WILD ON YOU?!? Gawker was hit with an additional $25M in punitive damages yesterday in Hulk Hogan's sex-tape lawsuit, on top of the $115M award the jury had already slapped the media company with last week. That loud typing sound you hear is the appeals being furiously written. [Reuters] * They were gonna grant you leave to file, but then they got high? The Supreme Court has puff, puff, passed on the opportunity to hear a challenge posed by Nebraska and Oklahoma to Colorado's legalization of marijuana. Justices Thomas and Alito dissented, contending that the case fell within the Supreme Court's original jurisdiction. [NPR] * This took longer than the iOS 9 download: Hot on the heels of the announcement of new Apple products, we got the news that the tech giant and its rival, Samsung, will face off next term before SCOTUS in a patent case that's been going on since the iPhone 4 was still considered the latest and greatest in smartphone technology. [WSJ Law Blog] * "Once you start seeing leading law firms offering this, it's going to become more prevalent and pretty rapidly, because it's going to be required to compete." Lawyers with law school debt will probably jump at the chance for their firms to pitch in to repay their loans, but don't forget, all of that assistance will be taxable as income. [U.S. News] * "My job is to enforce the law, and starting today, DraftKings and FanDuel will abide by it." In a settlement reached with New York AG Eric Schneiderman, the sports betting daily fantasy sites will cease operations in the state, and in exchange, the AG will hold off on additional litigation that could force them to pay restitution to their losers. [ESPN]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.27.15

* A jury has ruled that rapper 50 Cent must pay an additional $2 million in punitive damages to a woman whose sex tape he posted online, on top of the $5 million he already owes her. This wanksta better hope the judgment gets discharged in bankruptcy. [Associated Press] * California is America's breeding ground for unaccredited law schools, and "[m]ost jurisdictions simply don't allow [these] kind of law school[s] to exist at all. Period." Nearly all students (about 9 out of 10) drop out before graduation. How much money is being wasted? [Los Angeles Times] * Since 2007, the pay gap between the highest- and lowest-paid positions in many specialized fields has widened -- but that isn't the case when it comes to the legal profession. Unfortunately, not as many people are making it rain. [New York Times] * "[M]aybe legislation should fix this. Not the court." A San Diego judge has suggested that he'll likely dismiss a right-to-die lawsuit filed by Christy O'Donnell, a civil rights attorney who's fighting a battle against lung, brain, spine, rib, and liver cancer. [NBC San Diego] * You've seen reactions to Harper Lee's portrayal of Atticus Finch as a racist in Go Set A Watchman (affiliate link) from everyone and their mother and their dog, but maybe you haven't seen reactions from law professors yet, so have a look. [National Law Journal]

By Staci Zaretsky
11th Circuit

Morning Docket: 01.27.12

* The people at the Department of Justice really don’t want you to see Osama bin Laden’s death photos, but don’t they realize that the internet needs pics or it didn’t happen? [Blog of Legal Times] * Déjà vu: Hustler Magazine’s nude photo spread of Nancy Benoit was back on the Eleventh Circuit’s docket this […]

By Staci Zaretsky