A few weeks ago the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to the lawsuit industry in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California. In an 8-1 decision, the Court ruled against mass joinder of plaintiffs in state court litigation where the plaintiffs have no connection to the forum state outside the defendant’s home state.… Continue Reading
Last week a black church in Greenville was burned and “Vote Trump” spray painted on the side of the brick building. NPR reports that the FBI has opened a civil rights investigation into the crime. Comments from most Mississippi political leaders was on point: “Gov. Phil Bryant, a Republican who has been campaigning for Donald… Continue Reading
Being a U.S. Supreme Court justice is a great job. You get to keep it as long as you want, have a huge staff, are surrounded by smart people, are on a court that gets to pick the cases it decides and you get the whole summer off. Who else in the legal profession gets… Continue Reading
On Thursday in Dietz v. Bouldin, the Supreme Court ruled that federal district courts can recall jurors after identifying errors in deliberations. The decision involved the trial of a car wreck case in Florida. The defendant admitted liability and stipulated $10,136 in damages for plaintiff’s medical expenses. During deliberations, the jury sent out a note… Continue Reading
I’ll be the first to admit that on Saturday when I heard that Justice Scalia passed, my immediate thoughts turned to issues surrounding naming his replacement. “Is it too soon to be thinking this?” I thought, “or should I just be focusing on the legacy of a popular justice with a dry sense of humor… Continue Reading
On Monday the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a 5th Circuit decision that affirmed the District Court’s grant of summary judgment in Johnson v. City of Shelby. Here is the Court’s per curiam Opinion. The plaintiffs worked as police officers for the City of Shelby. They alleged that they were fired for refusing to ignore an… Continue Reading
On June 30, 2014 the U.S. Supreme Court granted cert and vacated a 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Gibson v. Kilpatrick. The case originated in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, with Judge Michael Mills presiding. The plaintiff was the former police chief of Drew. He alleged that the… Continue Reading
This is not going to be another one of those columns about whether Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg should retire from the Supreme Court–she should. So why doesn’t she? My guess is that it’s a combination of the facts that she likes the job and it makes her feel special. Better in her mind to have… Continue Reading
Blogger Kenneth Jost wrote a post Sunday about the U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings limiting class action lawsuits. By Monday, Jost updated the post to mention new Court decisions deemed hostile to civil litigation. On the issue of class actions, Jost discussed recent Court rulings that allow corporations to circumvent class actions through the use of… Continue Reading
Unlike the titles to many of my posts, this is not a rhetorical question. I really don’t know the answer. The background is that a couple of weeks ago the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5–4 decision in the Citizens United case that corporations can freely spend money in federal election campaigns. Pandomonium among liberals ensued, with Keith… Continue Reading
Stop and ask the first nine people you pass on the street if it would be fair for a judge to decide the case of someone who contributed $3 million to the judge’s campaign and chances are, all nine people will tell you that it would be unfair. But at the U.S. Supreme Court, that very issue garnered… Continue Reading
After the 2004 presidential election it appeared that the Democratic Party was dead as a national force. If they could not beat Bush in 2004, they simply could not win on the national scale. Regardless of your political views, it was obvious that the Republicans played the political game much better than the Democrats. But what a difference… Continue Reading
Rather than try to reinvent the wheel on Justice Souter’s retirement and speculation on possible replacements, I am providing links to articles discussing these issues: Wall Street Journal Law Blog SCOTUS Blog (a blog dedicated to the U.S. Supreme Court). Associated Press speculation on possible replacements… Continue Reading
There is a good Bloomberg analysis of the recent pro-consumer decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court. Among the key points: The Wyeth case illustrated one of the challenges companies face in some Supreme Court cases: persuading members of the court’s conservative wing to limit the powers of state courts and legislatures. Clarence Thomas, a justice… Continue Reading
The Supreme Court issued a one sentence order today dismissing the appeal of an $80 million punitive damages verdict in a tobacco case against Philip Morris. There are stories on the decision here and here. The plaintiff’s actual damages were $800,000. Business interests hoped that the Court would use the case to set a firm… Continue Reading
I have reviewed several blogs discussing the U.S. Supreme Court’s new drug preemption opinion in Wyeth v. Levine. My favorite is at the WSJ blog. Their analysis of the decision is concise and not slanted towards either side.… Continue Reading
In its February 23, 2009 opinion section the Clarion-Ledger refers to a pending U.S. Supreme Court case out of West Virginia that involves whether an elected judge must recuse himself/ herself from cases involving one of the judge’s political contributors. Here is the editorial. The case is straight out of John Grisham’s The Appeal. A defendant lost a $50 million verdict,… Continue Reading
