Posts on ‘September 15th, 2009’

The Law School Admissions Council, which administers the Law School Admissions Test, is suing test prep company TestMasters for unauthorized use of LSAT materials. The council filed its copyright infringement and breach of contract case Sept. 4 in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. According to the complaint, TestMasters started licensing the council’s materials in 1992, but stopped making royalty payments in July 2008, and owes the council at least $900,000 for the 2007 license, which expired July 31, 2009.

A federal appeals court has affirmed settlements worth $150 million, plus $29.9 million in legal fees and costs, in class action cases alleging that Zurich Financial Services and insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. engaged in price fixing from 1994 to 2005. The 3rd Circuit ruled that settlements reached in 2006 with customers and 10 state attorneys general were fair and reasonable and that the firms that represented the plaintiffs deserved the fees. More than 50 plaintiffs firms were involved in the case.

Two Beverly Hills, Calif., film producers have been found guilty of conspiring to bribe a former Thai government official to obtain contracts that provided for, among other things, control of the annual Bangkok International Film Festival, the Justice Department said Monday. A California jury on Friday found Gerald Green and Patricia Green guilty of money laundering and conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The Greens are scheduled for sentencing Dec. 17.

A federal judge has ordered the release of Internet blogger and Web talk show host Hal Turner, who was arrested in June for declaring in an online posting that three Chicago-based federal judges “deserve to be killed.” Turner’s lawyer says he is being released under “strict conditions,” including home confinement, electronic monitoring and a prohibition on his speaking to the media, until his trial. Turner was charged with threatening the judges in retaliation for their decision not to overturn laws banning handguns.

Imagine preparing for an appeal of a $290 million judgment in a patent infringement case requiring an understanding of high-tech. Now imagine getting the case ready in about a month’s time. That’s the challenge facing attorneys in i4i Limited Partnership v. Microsoft Corp.

Steven Donziger knew pursuing a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against Chevron-Texaco wouldn’t be easy. A Harvard Law grad and former Washington, D.C., public defender, Donziger is the lead U.S. lawyer for 30,000 Ecuadoreans who claim oil drilling by Texaco (now owned by Chevron) polluted portions of the country’s Amazon Basin, contaminating their soil and water sources. Donziger discusses Chevron’s allegations of judicial bribery, trial judge Juan Nunez’s recusal and whether there’s an end in sight.

As part of a management shakeup at Intel, general counsel D. Bruce Sewell has resigned “to pursue other opportunities,” according to a company statement released Monday. Patrick Gelsinger, a manager in Intel’s digital enterprise group, also opted to leave the Santa Clara, Calif.-based chipmaker. Intel said that it’s reorganizing its business units and shifting more power to three executive vice presidents.

New York federal Judge Jed S. Rakoff on Monday rejected the proposed $33
million settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and
Bank of America stemming from the bank’s takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co.
In his opinion, Rakoff took the SEC to task for admitting the $33
million would be indirectly borne by the shareholders, while nonetheless
arguing that the payment would increase shareholder scrutiny and
management accountability.