Posts on ‘January 20th, 2009’

Clothing company Liz Claiborne should be sanctioned for a “persistent refusal” to comply with discovery orders stemming from ongoing trademark infringement litigation with a smaller competitor, a federal magistrate judge has determined. New York Magistrate Judge Michael H. Dolinger concluded that Liz Claiborne fell “seriously short of what the discovery rules require” in litigation between jeans-maker Lucky Brand, one of Liz Claiborne’s flagship clothing brands, and Marcel Fashion Group.

The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a 13-year-old girl’s constitutional rights were violated when school officials strip-searched her for a prescription-strength pain reliever. No pills were found on the student. The 9th Circuit last year ruled in favor of the student, calling the search “grossly intrusive.” The Court also will consider, even if the search is found unconstitutional, whether the school vice principal who ordered the search is financially liable for damages.

Attorney fees cannot be awarded as sanctions to lawyers who represent themselves against suits that are abusive or have no merit, the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday. “The ordinary and usual meaning of ‘attorney’s fees,’ in both legal and general usage, is the consideration a litigant actually pays or becomes liable to pay in exchange for legal representation,” Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar wrote for the court. “An attorney litigating in propria persona pays no such compensation.”

Attorney General Michael Mukasey, under pressure from a federal judge to explain how the DOJ handled the whistleblower complaint in the Ted Stevens case, got a reprieve Friday. Judge Emmet Sullivan had ordered Mukasey to prepare by noon Friday a declaration explaining how his department responded to a complaint alleging prosecutorial misconduct in the Stevens case. But Friday, the judge issued an opinion in which he said a Mukasey designee would be allowed to file the response to the court by 5 p.m. on Saturday.

A lawyer facing criminal charges for advising 10 nurses they could quit their jobs gave “objectively reasonable” advice and cannot be prosecuted, a New York appeals panel has unanimously ruled. “We cannot conclude that an attorney who advises a client to take an action that he or she, in good faith, believes to be legal, loses the protection of the First Amendment if his or her advice is later determined to be incorrect,” Justice Randall T. Eng wrote for the panel.

Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox have settled an ongoing rights battle over the “Watchmen” movie, with Fox and its legal team at Alston & Bird winning a significant concession from Warners: money. Fox will get an estimated cut of between 6 percent and 8.5 percent of the movie’s worldwide gross. That will almost certainly add up to tens of millions of dollars — more than enough to cover Fox’s legal fees and, of course, much more than the zero dollars Warners claimed Fox was entitled to when litigation began.

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to take up six new cases later this term, including one from Oregon that raises an issue that had previously deadlocked the Court because of the recusal of Justice Anthony Kennedy. The same issue has divided lower courts for years: whether students with disabilities must first try a public school’s special education program before they can obtain reimbursement for private school tuition under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Act.

An Assistant U.S. Attorney said Friday in Washington, D.C., Superior Court that, “barring something unforeseen,” the government does not plan to bring a murder case against Arent Fox lawyer Joseph Price, his domestic partner Victor Zaborsky and their roommate Dylan Ward. At Friday’s hearing, the three men pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and evidence tampering stemming from the death of Robert Wone, who was killed in Price and Zaborsky’s D.C. home.

Associates at two big Texas-based firms are learning firsthand what a pay freeze means. At Fulbright & Jaworski, a firm spokesman confirmed last week that associate compensation will stay as is through at least the first quarter of this year. And 508-lawyer Haynes and Boone has decided, based on current market condition, to not give associates lockstep raises at this time, according to managing partner Terry Conner. Several other big Texas firms haven’t made a final decision yet on associate pay.