On January 14, 2022 I had the privilege of presenting a live webinar for the Beverly Hills Bar Association titled Friendly Persuasion: Drafting Effective Amicus Briefs & Using Them Strategically. BHBA President-Elect, Malcolm McNeil, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Atlantic Legal Foundation, engaged me in a 60-minute conversation that covered […]
Amicus Brief Webinar for Beverly Hills Bar Association Read More »
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. v. McCall, No. 21-926 Question Presented Whether an out-of-state corporate defendant’s registration to do business in a State should be deemed consent to that State’s general jurisdiction. Case Background Imposing limits on the ability of state and federal courts to assert jurisdiction over out-of-state defendants is fundamental to due process—what
The Covid-19 pandemic has spawned numerous wrongful death and personal injury suits. These suits belong—if anywhere—in federal courts. But vast majority of these suits, which allege negligence and malpractice on the part of hospitals, nursing homes, doctors, and other healthcare professionals, especially during the early months of the pandemic, have been filed in state courts.
Amicus Brief Argues That Covid-19 Negligence Suits Belong—If Anywhere—In Federal Court Read More »
I was delighted to attend The Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention in Washington, DC on November 11-13, 2021 at the Mayflower Hotel. This year’s theme—“Public and Private Power: Preserving Freedom or Preventing Harm?”—covered many current issues expertly addressed from both legal and policy perspectives by prominent federal appellate judges, law professors, and advocacy organizations. The
Thought-Provoking Federalist Society Lawyers Convention Read More »
The following commentary was originally published by Jurist on November 5, 2021. My client, Jamie Belcastro, a registered pharmacist, started Belmora LLC, a small, Virginia-based company that sells nonprescription Flanax pain relief products, about 20 years ago. For much of this time Bayer AG, the multinational pharmaceutical corporation headquartered in Germany—whose gross revenues approach $
Hispanic-Americans May Be the Real Victims of the Flanax Litigation Read More »
The Atlantic Legal Foundation has submitted an amicus brief supporting the certiorari petition in John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy, Inc. v. Tony Evers, Governor of Wisconsin, No. 21-388. The question presented —the proper First Amendment test for scrutinizing government officials’ selective exclusion of journalists from press conferences and briefings—goes to the heart of the
More than two decades ago, I stood before the Justices of the California Supreme Court and succeeded in persuading them that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) expressly preempts pesticide-related failure to warn claims. See Etcheverry v. Tri-Ag Service, Inc., 22 Cal.4th 316 (Cal. 2000). Five years later, in Bates v. Dow AgroSciences,
It’s Time For The Supreme Court To Revisit FIFRA Preemption Read More »
When scientists employed by universities, nonprofit institutes, or corporations publish scientific studies, they routinely make their underlying research data available to peer reviewers and anyone else who is interested. A recent D.C. Circuit decision¸ Pavement Coatings Technology Council v. United States Geological Survey, 995 F.3d 1014 (D.C. Cir. 2021), confirms that federal government scientists should
D.C. Circuit’s Exploratory Data Ruling Is A Win For Transparency Read More »
Thousands of product liability suits have been filed against Johnson & Johnson alleging that the company failed to warn consumers that women’s use of talcum powder can cause ovarian cancer. Based on the same failure-to-warn theory, Mississippi’s Attorney General has filed a state consumer protection action against Johnson & Johnson seeking millions of dollars in
Amicus Brief Argues Constitution Bars Talcum Powder “Consumer Protection” Suit Read More »
The certiorari petition in AMN Services v. Clarke, No. 21-296, presents a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) question about the relationship between per-diem payments for business-related travel and the calculation of overtime pay. AMN Services, a healthcare temporary staffing company, reduces the amount of per-diem payments for traveling nurses who decline to work all of their
