This morning, it was reported that the FBI is now probing U.S. Officials and Massey Energy, allegedly investigating bribery of officials of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the federal agency in charge of inspections and mining regulation. While it is important to note that these are merely allegations, this represents a significant turn of events [...]
Mine officials confirmed that two Kentucky coal mine workers have been found dead in Hopkins County, Kentucky. Just weeks after the West Virginia mine disaster, two miners were trapped in a coal mine collapse last night. Over 30 rescuers worked through the night to try to recover the miners, but Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear confirmed this afternoon that [...]
(U.S. 1st Cir., Bankruptcy Law, Civil Procedure, Tax Law) In bankruptcy proceedings, involving a dispute over ownership of a tax refund between a non-debtor spouse and the bankruptcy estate’s trustee, the question of whether a non-debtor spouse is entitled to a portion of a prepetition tax refund, where the parties filed a joint return and [...]
(U.S. 2d Cir., Corporation & Enterprise Law, Labor & Employment Law, Sanctions, Tax Law) In an action by the U.S. to enforce a tax levy against defendant law firm, judgment for the U.S. is affirmed where the firm was obligated by the IRS’s continuing levy on the partner’s “salary,” 26 U.S.C. section 6331(e), to surrender [...]
(U.S. Fed. Cir., Civil Procedure, Intellectual Property, Patent) In a patent infringement suit, involving patents related to shipping containers used to ship automobile door panels and related parts, district court’s judgment is affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded where: 1) district court’s decision limiting the priority date of a patent to its own [...]
(U.S. 2d Cir., Antitrust & Trade Regulation, Drugs & Biotech, Intellectual Property, Patent) In an action claiming that defendant pharmaceutical companies violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act when they settled their dispute concerning the validity of Bayer’s Cipro patent by agreeing to a reverse exclusionary payment settlement, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where [...]
(U.S. 2d Cir., Contracts, Injury And Tort Law, Insurance Law) In an action against an insurer under New York Insurance Law Section 3420(a) for satisfaction of a default judgment against the insured, summary judgment for defendant is affirmed where an exclusionary provision in the liability insurance policy barred coverage of the fire.
(N.Y., Family Law, Injury And Tort Law) In a divorce action, the appellate division’s affirmance of the trial court’s order limiting plaintiff’s discovery to the issue of his pecuniary loss in the form of collaborative law process fees is affirmed where plaintiff could not obtain discovery for what was essentially an allegation of marital fault, [...]
(Cal. App., Consumer Products, Cyberspace Law, Injury And Tort Law, Intellectual Property, Trade Secrets) In plaintiff’s suit against Intel Corporation alleging that it misappropriated certain trade secrets used by plaintiff in its software products, judgment of the trial court in favor of the defendant is affirmed where: 1) Intel cannot be liable if it never [...]
(Cal. App., Civil Procedure, Ethics & Professional Responsibility, Injury And Tort Law, Insurance Law, Professional Malpractice) In an insurer’s action against its insured-law firm, seeking to recover $175,000 it had paid to settle a legal malpractice suit against the law firm, trial court’s grant of insurer’s motion for summary judgment and denial of the law [...]