Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
There are court decisions that change the law, but this is a case that should put the fear of God into those who run a litigation calendar. The bottom line: Defense counsel should be mindful of the 10:00 AM deadline in the rules, and factor it into their calendaring system.
Plaintiffs often try to avoid invoking federal law to prevent removal, while defendants argue that substantial federal issues remain that justify jurisdiction in federal court. The Fifth Circuit may have just shifted the applicable test for federal jurisdiction in a way that encourages future removals.
Legal advice or a business discussion? This question is the key issue in most privilege disputes about in-house counsel. The Fifth Circuit, in a case involving ExxonMobil, addresses that question in a new opinion and offers practical guidance for in-house counsel.
The debate over state versus federal court for the forum witnessed an uncharted new dimension at the Fifth Circuit last week. Make it “state, federal, or Indian tribal court.” The consequences could introduce multiple wild cards – including whether the Bill of Rights even applies – into a range of business cases.
In one of the largest “data breach” cases ever, hackers broke into the computers of Heartland Payment Systems, a credit card processor, and stole confidential information about millions of cards.
The judges at the U.S. Court of Appeals have been busy so far in 2013. They've tackled mandatory arbitration, Daubert, personal jurisdiction, trade secrets and mortgage servicing. Most importantly, monks can sell caskets.
Pleading requirements, relationships that create personal jurisdiction, insurance coverage and the limited availability of mandamus relief greatly influences how a case develops, and the Court’s restrictive attitude about mandamus may mean finality for district court decisions about them.
The federal appeals court signals the potential future of federal class litigation in the Fifth Circuit after Dukes, writes David Coale.
The five important business cases from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in the first half of 2012 show a pragmatic, step-by-step approach to business cases. The Court tested whether an arbitration clause comported with basic principles of contract law, parsed each line of a pleading to test its sufficiency, enforced each element of the basic test for personal jurisdiction, and methodically applied Daubert to complex expert testimony. The five cases illustrate the work of a court that takes seriously the “blocking and tackling” basics of commercial disputes.
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