“Song Download Damages Award Improperly Reduced, U.S. Appeals Court Says”: Bloomberg News has a report that begins, “A judge improperly cut the damages assessed against a teenager who downloaded and redistributed thousands of songs from the Web without paying, a federal appeals court said.”
And at Wired.com’s “Threat Level” blog, David Kravets has a post titled “Appeals Court Reinstates $675,000 File Sharing Verdict.”
You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Sony BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum at this link.
“Majority of Supreme Court signals opposition to opening deliberations; Wisconsin justices still looking for ways to smooth tensions”: This article appears today in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
And The Wisconsin State Journal reports today that “Justices decide against opening deliberations to public.”
“Komisarjevsky Defense Motions Denied; Judge Rejects Efforts To Change Venue Among Others, Paving Way For Trial To Start Monday In New Haven”: The Hartford Courant has this news update.
The New Haven Register has a news update headlined “Judge denies motion to move Komisarjevsky Cheshire triple slaying trial from New Haven to Stamford.”
The Associated Press reports that “Judge denies limiting testimony in home invasion.”
And today’s edition of The New York Times contains a somewhat related article headlined “A Surplus of ‘A Few Good Men.’”
“NYC appeals court puts Chevron lawyer on defensive”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “Judges on a federal appeals court put a lawyer for Chevron Inc. on the defensive Friday, expressing skepticism that a Manhattan judge can shield the company from an $18 billion judgment in Ecuador for contaminating the rainforest.”
And Reuters reports that “U.S. court hears appeal on halted Ecuadorean damages award.”
“Jury Acquits Blogger Of Threatening State Lawmakers, Inciting Violence”: The Hartford Courant has this news update.
Bloomberg News reports that “‘Shock Jock’ Hal Turner Not Guilty of Threatening Connecticut Officials.”
And The Associated Press reports that “NJ blogger acquitted of threats to Conn. officials.”
“Sandra Day O’Connor honors Constitution in Philly”: The Associated Press has this report.
And today in The Philadelphia Inquirer, retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor has an op-ed entitled “Closing America’s civic education deficit.”
“Justice Ginsburg discusses equality, death penalty”: Bob Egelko has this article today in The San Francisco Chronicle.
The Contra Costa Times reports today that “Gender equity movement defines career for Justice Ginsburg.”
And The Associated Press reports that “Ginsburg makes SF talk day after plane emergency.”
“Thomas says Supreme Court plays too large a role”: This article appears today in The Lincoln Journal Star.
“New test of college affirmative action: A new appeal in a closely watched case on race-based affirmative action at the University of Texas reaches the Court, testing the scope of the Court’s most recent ruling on the issue.” Lyle Denniston has this post at “SCOTUSblog.”
“The law and Justice Clarence Thomas: The Supreme Court justice’s reporting of spousal income and his ties with a real estate developer who paid for some of Thomas’ air travel raise disclosure questions.” This editorial appears today in The Los Angeles Times.
“White House Weighs Limits of Terror Fight”: Charlie Savage has this front page article today in The New York Times.
“Feds: reinstate conviction for threats to Obama.” Josh Gerstein has this post at his “Under the Radar” blog at Politico.com.
“Komisarjevsky’s Lawyers Seek To Limit Petit’s Testimony; Defense Also Will Argue For Change of Venue And New Jury”: The Hartford Courant has this news update.
And The New Haven Register has a news update headlined “Komisarjevsky lawyers seek to block Dr. Petit from testifying about his family.”
“Blogger Hal Turner Won’t Mount Defense, Testify In His Threatening Trial”: The Hartford Courant has this news update.
And The Associated Press reports that “Both sides rest in blogger’s Conn. threat case.”
“Justice Stevens Extols Pro Bono Service, Criticizes Connick Ruling”: Tony Mauro has this post at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”
“Obamacare’s Fate Rests With Poor Farmer Filburn”: Daniel Fisher has this blog post at Forbes.com.
“Ill. high court to hear police torture arguments”: The Associated Press has this report.
“Should Faking a Name on Facebook Be a Felony? Congress contemplates draconian punishment for Internet lies.” Law professor Orin S. Kerr has this op-ed today in The Wall Street Journal.
“Court: Judge’s marriage not a conflict in Jacobs case; The Supreme Court ruled ex-park police chief’s sexual misconduct case can move forward.” This article appears today in The Minneapolis Star Tribune.
You can access yesterday’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Minnesota at this link.
“Pennsylvania’s Defective Drug Design Laws Hang In The Balance”: Maxwell S. Kennerly has this post at his “Litigation & Trial” blog.
“Tennessee lawyers want state Supreme Court to take a new look at whether one of its own was too biased to rule in a 2005 case”: Abdon M. Pallasch of The Chicago Sun-Times has a news update that begins, “Some Tennessee lawyers, including former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, are asking the Supreme Court of Illinois to take a new look at whether one of its own was too biased to rule in a 2005 case that overturned a billion-dollar verdict against State Farm Insurance.”
The Belleville News-Democrat has an update headlined “Lawyers accuse State Farm of hiding its ‘extraordinary support’ of Supreme Court Justice Lloyd Karmeier.”
And The Associated Press reports that “Appeal questions Illinois justice’s fairness.”
“Feuding Mires Wisconsin Court”: In today’s edition of The Wall Street Journal, Nathan Koppel has an article that begins, “Justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which began a new term last week, are taking steps to address some of the worst infighting in the court’s history.”
“Victorious Lawyer in Climate Case Still Critical of Plaintiffs’ Strategy”: Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire has an article (via The New York Times) that begins, “The top government lawyer who successfully argued a major climate case before the Supreme Court this year has criticized his erstwhile opponents for claiming states should be able to sue polluters over greenhouse gas emissions under federal common law.”
“Judge Sparks’ ‘cute’ orders criticized by appellate judge”: This article appears today in The Austin American-Statesman.
“Copyright Troll Righthaven Says It’s Nearing Bankruptcy”: David Kravets had this post Monday at Wired.com’s “Threat Level” blog.
“Plane carrying Justice Bader Ginsburg evacuated”: The Associated Press has this report.
“How many days are in a year? The answer is more complicated than it may first appear.” So begins an opinion that Circuit Judge Jay S. Bybee issued today on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
“How the Anti-Injunction Act could scuttle everything”: Brad Joondeph has this post at the “aca litigation blog.”
“Judge casts doubt on ACLU challenge to law forbidding audio recording of cops”: Today’s edition of The Chicago Sun-Times contains an article that begins, “A senior appeals court judge said Tuesday that if Illinois’ eavesdropping law were expanded, gang bangers and ‘snooping’ reporters would run rampant, secretly recording conversations unchecked.”
PACER fee to increase to ten cents per page: At his “Under the Radar” blog at Politico.com, Josh Gerstein has a post titled “Federal courts to hike records’ fees 25%.”
“Court To Expedite Appeal In $3.4B Class Action Settlement”: At “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” Mike Scarcella has a post that begins, “The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has agreed to expedite a challenge to the $3.4 billion Native American class action settlement that a trial judge declared fair and reasonable.”
Judge and jury: The Associated Press reports that “Supreme Court Judge Breyer joins architecture jury.”
“Pennsylvania Considers Changes to Drug Products Liability Law”: Amaris Elliott-Engel has this front page article today in The Legal Intelligencer, Philadelphia’s daily newspaper for lawyers.
It turns out that the live broadcast feed of Pennsylvania Cable Network is available over the internet: simply click here and then click on the “Live Signal” button located directly below the image of a television screen. PCN is scheduled to re-broadcast yesterday’s oral arguments beginning at 11 a.m. eastern time today. I argued the second and fifth cases; the oral argument in the first of the two cases that I argued yesterday should begin around 11:40 a.m. or soon thereafter.
At oral argument, I sought to emphasize the following three points:
First, comment (a) to Restatement (Second) of Torts 402A expressly sets forth the conclusion that the unavailability of a strict liability claim in any case does not preclude the plaintiff from pursuing a claim in negligence.
Second, whether or not a product qualifies as “defective” under 402A is an entirely distinct question from whether the product was negligently designed. Indeed, principles of negligence have no application to strict liability; strict liability focuses on the product and the consumer’s expectations, while negligence focuses on the reasonableness of the defendant’s conduct. Along those lines, simply because a prescription drug may be “unavoidably dangerous” does not mean that it cannot be more safely designed to avoid harms that are in fact avoidable.
And third, in even the two most favorable jurisdictions for Wyeth — in California and Utah, where the highest courts of those states have categorically rejected strict liability design defect claims involving prescription drugs — courts recognize that negligent design defect claims against prescription drug manufacturers may still be pursued. See Artiglio v. Superior Court, 27 Cal. Rptr. 2d 589, 591 (Cal. App. 1994) (“Liability for defective design could not be premised on strict liability, but would require proof of negligence”); Lake-Allen v. Johnson & Johnson L.P., 2009 WL 2252198, at *2-3 (D. Utah July 27, 2009) (refusing to dismiss negligent design defect claim, finding comment k “limited to strict liability”). Thus, Wyeth’s central argument, that the unavailability of a strict liability claim thereby precludes a claim for negligent design defect, is simply incorrect.
“Pa. Supreme Court televises first arguments”: The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review contains this article today.
“Judges asks why Oklahoma’s law on Sharia applies to only one religion; 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals takes up Oklahoma’s voter-approved Sharia law case”: This article appeared yesterday in The Oklahoman.
