How Appealing



Wednesday, December 29, 2010

“Ohio Supreme Court upholds state law blocking Cleveland’s gun law”: The Cleveland Plain Dealer has this news update.

The Columbus Dispatch has a news update headlined “Ohio Supreme Court shoots down local gun control.”

Thursday’s edition of The New York Times will contain an article headlined “Ohio Court Limits Power of Localities on Gun Laws.”

And the Public Information Office of the Supreme Court of Ohio issued a news release headlined “Supreme Court Upholds as Constitutional State Law Displacing Local Gun-Control Ordinances; Legislation Does Not Violate Cities’ ‘Home Rule’ Powers.”

You can access today’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Ohio at this link.

Posted at 10:25 PM by Howard Bashman



“California Chief Justice Ronald George leaves historic legacy; George will leave the state Supreme Court on Jan. 2. He consolidated municipal and superior courts and brought them under his authority; He also wrote key decisions on abortion and same-sex marriage”: Maura Dolan will have this article Thursday in The Los Angeles Times.

Posted at 10:14 PM by Howard Bashman



“Chevron tries to use foe’s words against them”: Today’s edition of The San Francisco Chronicle contains an article that begins, “Locked in a bitter environmental lawsuit in Ecuador, Chevron Corp. has unleashed an arsenal of potentially potent new weapons in the case – private documents written by the other side’s lawyers.”

Last Thursday’s edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer contained a front page article headlined “Venerable Center City law firm embroiled in Chevron fraud case.”

Two Saturdays ago, The Wall Street Journal reported that “Chevron Forces Legal Change; Recent Moves in Ecuador Oil-Pollution Suit Have Plaintiffs Revamping Approach.”

And at his “Full Disclosure” blog at Forbes,com, Daniel Fisher has recent posts titled “Note To Litigators: Don’t Film Your Strategy Sessions” and “Chevron Ecuador Case A Shambles, Former Backer Says.”

Posted at 4:42 PM by Howard Bashman



The Seventh Circuit grants permission for defendants to pursue an interlocutory appeal challenging whether a complaint alleging that defendants conspired to fix prices of text messaging services satisfies the pleading standards of Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly: And that’s about the extent of the good news for defendants in today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, as Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner (writing on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel) agrees with the district court that “the second amended complaint provides a sufficiently plausible case of price fixing to warrant allowing the plaintiffs to proceed to discovery.”

Posted at 4:03 PM by Howard Bashman



Today’s Third Circuit victory: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit today issued this judgment order affirming the ruling of the District Court of the U.S. Virgin Islands in a case in which I represent the appellee. You can access at this link the brief for appellee that I filed in the case.

Affirmance appeared likely when the three-judge panel assigned to decide the case did not select the case for oral argument, which explains why I was not in St. Croix two weeks ago.

And now for some Virgin Islands federal judicial trivia. The District Court of the Virgin Islands is a federal court, but it is not an Article III court. Rather, the Virgin Islands District Court is an Article IV territorial court. This may explain why it is incorrect to refer to the Virgin Islands District Court as a “U.S. District Court.” By contrast, since 1966, Puerto Rico has been home to an Article III U.S. District Court whose judges enjoy life tenure.

Posted at 3:48 PM by Howard Bashman



“Jury’s still out on justice in 2010: The last 12 months turned into a year of anxious waiting on landmark decisions in the U.S. justice system.” CBS Radio legal analyst Andrew Cohen has this op-ed today in The Los Angeles Times.

Posted at 8:32 AM by Howard Bashman



“Young aims to be state’s next chief justice; Conservative jurist says he has the votes to nab top spot, promises less court infighting”: The Detroit News contains this article today.

Posted at 8:20 AM by Howard Bashman



“Court revives low-tar cigarette case; Minnesota judges rule in favor of consumers who believed ads that pitched Marlboro Lights as healthier than other cigarettes”: This article appears today in The Minneapolis Star Tribune.

And The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports today that “Minnesota court revives suit against Philip Morris; Judges rule low-tar cigarette case can go forward as class action.”

You can access yesterday’s ruling of the Minnesota Court of Appeals at this link.

Posted at 8:17 AM by Howard Bashman