all things amicus

DRI Files Amicus Brief Urging Supreme Court To Review Class-Action Fairness Issue

All Amicus Briefs, DRI, Other Amicus Briefs, US Supreme Court /

Class actions have become a lucrative business for the plaintiffs’ bar. National corporate defendants sometimes settle even frivolous claims for substantial amounts, especially in plaintiff-friendly state courts. To curb state-court class-action abuses, the Class Action Fairness Act (“CAFA”) expressly authorizes “any defendant” to remove (i.e., transfer) a qualifying class action from state court to federal court, […]

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Supreme Court’s Sports Betting Decision Reveals Hidden Preemption Requirement

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On May 14, the Supreme Court held in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association that the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (“PASPA”) is unconstitutional. The Court ruled that PASPA’s  prohibition against States authorizing sports betting violates the “anticommandeering principle,” which precludes Congress from directing States to take, or refrain from taking, particular legislative

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Who Needs “Calexit”? California Already Pretends It’s A Separate Nation

Commentary, US Supreme Court /

The so-called “Calexit” secession initiative not only is nonsensical, but also superfluous. California in many ways already acts as if it were its own sovereign nation, defiant of federal authority and oblivious to the interests of other States. This is federalism on steroids. In early April, Missouri and 10 other States filed an amicus curiae

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all things amicus

France Urges Supreme Court To Overturn California’s Foie Gras Ban

All Amicus Briefs, Other Amicus Briefs, US Supreme Court /

I recently had the honor of authoring an amicus brief for the Republic of France relating to federal preemption and France’s product identity and ingredient standards. French law declares that foie gras (specially fattened duck or goose liver) is part of France’s “protected cultural and gastronomic heritage.” To produce foie gras, ducks and geese are

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all things amicus

Government Contractor Groups Urge Supreme Court To Enforce High Hurdle For Would-Be Whistleblowers

All Amicus Briefs, Other Amicus Briefs, US Supreme Court /

The nation’s three leading  government contractor organizations—The Coalition for Government Procurement, the National Defense Industrial Association, and the Professional Services Council—are jointly urging the Supreme Court to clarify the “particularity” with which a False Claims Act qui tam relator must allege fraud in order to survive a motion to dismiss. The groups’ amicus curiae brief, authored by Capital

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Supreme Court Declines To Review D.C. Circuit Drone Strike Case That Implicates Separation of Powers

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In Ali Jaber v. United States, No. 16-5093 (D.C. Cir. June 30, 2017), recently retired D.C. Circuit Judge Janice Rogers Brown authored a unanimous panel opinion faithfully applying circuit precedent and the political question doctrine to bar a declaratory judgment suit challenging the wisdom of a U.S. drone strike in Yemen that allegedly resulted in

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Six Supreme Court Justices Reminisce

Commentary, US Supreme Court /

Who would have guessed when I graduated from Harvard Law School in June 1972 that my 45th  class reunion in October 2017 would coincide with that institution’s Bicentenntial celebration? The event began with a roundtable discussion among Dean John Manning and six current/former Supreme Court Justices, all of whom are Harvard Law School alumni.  No

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DRI Brief Urges Supreme Court To Enforce Antitrust Statute Of Limitations

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DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar has filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court supporting the certiorari petition in Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. v. Morgan-Larson, LLC, No. 17-441.  In its brief, DRI urges the Supreme Court to grant review and clarify the scope and application of the “continuing violation doctrine” insofar as it applies to

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Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Quotes Larry Ebner in Feature Article on Supreme Court Anti-Forum Shopping Decisions

US Supreme Court /

A feature article entitled “Supreme Court clamps down on state-court forum shopping,” published on July 13 in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, turns to Capital Appellate Advocacy founder Larry Ebner for comment.  In two cases decided this Spring, BNSF Railway Co. v. Tyrrell (see Supreme Court Derails Forum Shoppers) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California (see Tough

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Tough Times for Forum Shoppers

All Publications, Published Articles, US Supreme Court /

The Supreme Court’s June 19 decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb v. Superior Court reaffirms well-established principles for state court exercise of specific (case-linked) personal jurisdiction.  As a practical matter, the opinion  curtails forum shopping for plaintiff-friendly courts in connection with tort actions brought by multi-state groups of plaintiffs against companies that are not “at home” in a forum state.

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