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Trust now may be needed to protect inherited IRA
Estate-planning lawyers are contacting clients about a big change in the law when it comes to protecting retirement funds meant to pass by inheritance. Until recently, clients who had Individual Retirement Accounts as part of their assets passing at death could count on those retirement funds being protected from creditors during bankruptcy – not only […]
EEOC’s background check rules remain controversial
WASHINGTON — A two-year-old EEOC policy warning employers against the overly broad use of criminal background checks to screen potential new hires continues to draw fire. Employers, business groups and lawmakers say it is cumbersome at best and dangerous at worst. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission “has made it more difficult for employers to […]
4th Circuit fares better than most at Supreme Court
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears appeals from federal courts in Virginia and is based in Richmond, has an enviable record before the U.S. Supreme Court when the justices choose to review its decisions. Although the high court has upheld less than 29 percent of the cases it has reviewed during the […]
Court: ACA contraception mandate violates for-profit companies’ religious rights
WASHINGTON — In a blow to the Obama administration that may hint at how a similar challenge will play out next year, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that employer-funded health care plans cover certain contraceptives at no cost to employees violates the rights of religious owners of closely held […]
Supreme Court leaves most greenhouse gas regs in place
States and business groups challenging controversial Environmental Protection Agency regulations aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions won a battle, but largely lost the war, after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling left the agency’s regulatory scheme largely intact. “The court’s holding confirms that the EPA can use the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions […]
Recess appointment ruling could spur NLRB delays, congressional gridlock
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down President Barack Obama’s 2012 recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board invalidated hundreds of rulings made by the board over an 18-month period. But the ruling in NLRB v. Noel Canning, No. 12-1281, went much further. While establishing the president’s authority to make recess appointments […]
Buffer zone laws on shaky ground after Supreme Court ruling
The constitutionality of several state and local laws creating protester-free buffer zones around entrances and patients at abortion clinics is in question after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on June 26 striking down one of the most expansive buffer zone laws in the country. In McCullen v. Coakley, No. 12-1168, the court unanimously struck down […]
Court nixes warrantless searches of cellphones
WASHINGTON–Cellphones — which the U.S. Supreme Court says have become “such a pervasive and insistent part of daily life that the proverbial visitor from Mars might conclude they were an important feature of human anatomy” — generally cannot be searched by police without a warrant, the court ruled on June 25. In a consolidated ruling […]
High court ruling leaves open questions on software patent eligibility
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court held last week that some, but not all, computer-implemented software functions are too abstract to qualify for a patent. But the court’s ruling in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int’l, No. 13-298, did not clearly define where the line should be drawn, leaving attorneys to fill in the gaps […]
Supreme Court false advertising case rejects preemption defense
WASHINGTON — The legal food fight between a fruit juice manufacturer and soft drink conglomerate Coca-Cola Co. will continue in federal court now that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a false advertising claim was not precluded by federal law. The decision in POM Wonderful LLC v. Coca-Cola Co., No. 12-761, “established that, at […]
Defense bar urges caution after justices’ ‘straw buyer’ ruling
WASHINGTON — This week’s ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court holding that a man who bought a firearm on behalf of another qualified buyer violated a federal law barring “straw purchases” of guns may be limited to its facts. But the decision in Abramski v. U.S., No. 12-1493, is still spurring lawyers to advise their […]
New high court rulings could create problems for ‘patent trolls’
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has handed down a pair of decisions that could make it more difficult to bring patent infringement claims in some circumstances, further hampering suits brought by so-called “patent trolls.” But while the justices’ rulings in Limelight Networks, Inc. v. Akamai Technologies, Inc., No. 12-786, and Nautilus, Inc. v. Biosig […]
Verdicts & Settlements
- Plaintiff injured in crash with oncoming vehicle — $235,000 settlement
- Driver killed in rear-end collision with tractor-trailer — $1.5M settlement
- Man died from pancreatic cancer after delayed response — $1.8M settlement
- Worker fell off roof, rendering him a paraplegic — $1.25M settlement
- Driver sustained permanent hearing loss after traffic collision — $240,000 settlement
- Plaintiff suffered concussion in rear-end collision — $81,000 verdict
- Builder misrepresented home status to buyers — $675,000 verdict
- Low potassium led to cardiac arrest, death of patient — $1M settlement
- Excessive propofol caused death in dialysis patient — $850,000 settlement
- Pedestrian struck in crosswalk in hit-and-run incident — $300,000 settlement
- Navy veteran killed in collision with box truck — $1.85M arbitration award
- Motorcyclist ejected from bike in collision with SUV — $1.5M settlement
Opinion Digests
- Company owner dodges breach of contract suit
- Employee’s own allegations doom minimum wage claim
- Federal government defeats former employee’s claims
- Principal wasn’t entitled to exclusively remote work
- USPTO properly redacted info in responsive documents
- Untimely lawsuit allowed to proceed
- Engineering consultant dismissed from suit
- Rule 60 motion was filed too late
- Nonprofit directors immune from ex-employees’ claims
- City, employees immune from whistleblower claims
- Experts excluded in condemnation damages suit
- Judgment entered against company for horse’s death
