Weinstein appeals NY ‘Carnival’ trial, citing dishonest juror
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| WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2023 |
TOP NEWS
Weinstein Appeals NY ‘Carnival’ Trial, Citing Dishonest Juror
By Lauren Berg
Harvey Weinstein on Tuesday told New York’s highest court that his rape conviction should be thrown out after the jury was swamped with prejudicial character evidence and unrelenting public outrage “created a carnival atmosphere” that prevented him from receiving a fair and impartial trial.
Alex Jones’ Suspended Attorney Taken Off Capitol Riot Case
By Aaron Keller
A lead attorney for Infowars host Alex Jones will not represent an alleged member of the Proud Boys in a seditious conspiracy case as the lawyer fights back against a six-month suspension in Connecticut, a federal court docket revealed Tuesday.
5 documents attached | Read full article »
DC Court Doubts Its Role In Trump Rape Defamation Suit
By Katie Buehler
The full D.C. Court of Appeals struggled Tuesday with whether it has jurisdiction to decide a central question in a writer’s defamation lawsuit against former President Donald Trump over controversial statements he made denying her rape accusation: if he is liable because he was acting outside his scope of employment.
1st Circ. Open To Boston Bomber’s Death Penalty Challenge
By Brian Dowling
A First Circuit panel on Tuesday appeared open to arguments that the federal judge overseeing the Boston Marathon bomber’s sentencing made a misstep in brushing aside misconduct accusations related to jurors’ social media comments on the high-profile trial.
‘Walking Dead’ Producers’ Profits Battle Heads To Arbitration
By Dorothy Atkins
Producers of “The Walking Dead” voluntarily dismissed their allegations that AMC Networks cheated them out of well over $200 million in profits from the hit show in breach of contract ahead of a California state bench trial set for February and will instead resolve their outstanding claims in arbitration, the producers’ counsel told Law360 Tuesday.
3 documents attached | Read full article »
Chrisleys Denied Bond In $36M Bank Fraud Case
By Rosie Manins
Todd and Julie Chrisley of the reality television show “Chrisley Knows Best” must report to federal prison on Jan. 17 to start their sentences of 12 and seven years, respectively, over a $36 million bank fraud scheme and tax evasion, after a Georgia federal judge denied on Tuesday their request for bond pending appeal of their convictions.
‘Chrisley’ Star Can’t Kick Ex-Tax Investigator’s Defamation Suit
By Emlyn Cameron
A Georgia federal judge won’t dismiss a former state tax investigator’s defamation case against a onetime star of reality TV show ”Chrisley Knows Best,” saying serving the celebrity at a courthouse on a day he was attending his criminal sentencing was proper.
Order attached | Read full article »
‘Nate The Lawyer’ Launched ‘Classic SLAPP’ Suit, Court Told
By Jake Maher
The New Jersey resident behind a social media watchdog fired back at an attorney suing him for defamation, calling the suit a “classic SLAPP” and saying that the charges against him are “entirely without merit as a matter of law.”
Motion attached | Read full article »
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Journey’s Steve Perry Stops Believing In TM Fight
By Andrew Karpan
Former Journey singer Steve Perry has decided to end his legal fight at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board against the band’s longtime guitarist Neal Schon over the right to register the names of 20 of the group’s biggest hits, which date to Perry’s years at Journey’s helm.
Decision attached | Read full article »
Hockey Memorabilia Maker’s Copyright Suit Iced
By P.J. D’Annunzio
A man who claimed he came up with the idea of taking melted ice from championship NHL games and injecting it into replica Stanley Cups can’t sue a sports memorabilia company for doing something similar, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled Tuesday, holding that the man failed to show a close enough similarity between the works to sustain an infringement claim.
Decision attached | Read full article »
Harry Styles Sues E-Retailers Over Alleged TM Scam
By Dorothy Atkins
British pop star Harry Styles sued multiple foreign-owned e-commerce stores in Illinois federal court Tuesday, accusing them of selling a variety of counterfeit products that infringe his trademarks by using a vast, complicated network of scammers who purportedly target Prairie State residents.
Complaint attached | Read full article »
PRIVACY & CONSUMER PROTECTION
TikTok Users Say App Unlawfully Tracks ‘Highly Invasive’ Data
By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn
TikTok Inc. has been hit with a proposed class action in California federal court that claims the app has “secretly amassed massive amounts of highly invasive information” about users without their consent.
Complaint attached | Read full article »
COMPETITION
5th Circ. Closes Lid On Cemetery Tour Monopoly Suit
By Donald Morrison
A New Orleans cemetery tour operator failed to show that a stand-alone market exists for historic graveyard tours, the Fifth Circuit said in upholding the dismissal of a suit accusing the local Catholic Diocese of restricting commercial access to a set of historical cemeteries near the city’s French Quarter.
Opinion attached | Read full article »
EMPLOYMENT
Fox Sports Age Bias Suit Kicked Back To Calif. Court
By Patrick Hoff
A suit claiming Fox Sports used the COVID-19 pandemic as cover to push out nine employees because of their age is headed back to state court after a California federal judge said the network was wrong to assert the claims were preempted by federal labor law.
Order attached | Read full article »
SECURITIES & WHITE COLLAR
Block Inc. Urges Chancery To Toss Shareholder’s Tidal Suit
By Leslie A. Pappas
Directors at Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc. carefully scrutinized a proposed deal to buy Norwegian music-streaming service Tidal in 2021, an attorney for the company told Delaware’s Court of Chancery on Tuesday, urging the court to toss a shareholder’s claims that Dorsey’s friendship with rap mogul Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter tainted the deal.
Apex Meme Stock Suit Loses On 4th And Final Try
By Carolina Bolado
Meme stock investors failed in their last attempt to plead claims against broker-dealer Apex Clearing Corp. after a Florida federal judge on Monday dismissed their suit looking to hold Apex liable for trading losses and declined to give them another shot at amending their complaint.
Order attached | Read full article »
Stockholder Sues In Del. For Books On $190M Microsoft Buy
By Leslie A. Pappas
A stockholder of a Microsoft Corp. merger target sued the acquired company in Delaware’s Court of Chancery for records leading up to the $190 million deal, alleging that the company’s common stockholders were shut out of pre-deal financing that diverted most of the merger proceeds to insiders.
T
ELECOMMUNICATIONS
Team Telecom To Review Puerto Rico Broadcast Deal
By Donald Morrison
A group of federal agencies informally known as Team Telecom said it will look into national security concerns over potential foreign ownership in eight Puerto Rican radio and television stations.
3 documents attached | Read full article »
COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS
Chris Brown Wants Canceled Show Fee Suit Tossed Or Moved
By Ryan Harroff
Singer Chris Brown’s company slammed a $500,000 suit brought against the artist for allegedly failing to return an advance fee given to him for a Texas concert he later canceled, telling an Ohio federal judge the case should be thrown out or at least booted from the Buckeye State.
Motion attached | Read full article »
BANKRUPTCY
Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen Lose Big In FTX Ch. 11
By Aislinn Keely
Football star Tom Brady, model Gisele Bündchen and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft are among a host of prominent investors who saw the value of their equity plummet when cryptocurrency exchange FTX imploded last year, according to a list of equity holders filed in the bankruptcy process.
1 document attached | Read full article »
EXPERT ANALYSIS
5 Tips For Adding Value To Legal Clients’ Experience In 2023
Faced with a potential economic downturn this year, attorneys should look to strengthen client relationships now by focusing on key ways to improve the client experience, starting with a check-in call to discuss client needs and priorities for the coming year, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
LEGAL INDUSTRY
Sullivan & Cromwell Faces Congressional Heat Over FTX Work
By Aislinn Keely
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators questioned Sullivan & Cromwell’s representation of failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX in its Chapter 11 proceedings and supported the appointment of an outside examiner to the case due what they said is a troubling relationship between the company and its counsel.
Letter attached | Read full article »
Girardi Keese Trustee Blames Bank For Enabling Firm’s Fraud
By Hailey Konnath
The bankruptcy trustee for Girardi Keese on Tuesday accused a California bank of allowing the firm to misappropriate client funds despite numerous red flags and “suspicious activity” that she said “could not have gone unnoticed” by the financial institution, according to a complaint filed in federal bankruptcy court.
Complaint attached | Read full article »
Girardi Keese Trustee Sues Firm’s Former Attys For $9.4M
By Brandon Lowrey
Ten former Girardi Keese attorneys may owe $9.4 million to the firm to repay checks and personal charges on their company credit cards, the firm’s bankruptcy trustee alleged in a series of adversary actions filed this week in Los Angeles.
Prominent Conservative Atty William Consovoy Dies At 48
By Alison Knezevich
Prominent conservative attorney William Consovoy, a founder of the boutique law firm Consovoy McCarthy PLLC who led legal challenges to affirmative action and represented former President Donald Trump, died Monday at 48.
Ex-Kirkland Atty Urges Judge Not To Ax Harassment Case
By James Mills
A former Kirkland & Ellis LLP associate urged a California federal judge to ignore the law firm’s motion to dismiss her complaint claiming she was held to a stricter standard than her male colleagues before being wrongfully terminated, saying the firm’s motion is meritless, but also asked for room to amend the complaint if necessary.
Response attached | Read full article »
Ex-Trump Org CFO Who Implicated Company Gets 5 Mos. Jail
By Frank G. Runyeon
Longtime Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg was sentenced Tuesday to five months in a New York City jail under the terms of a plea agreement that required him to implicate former President Donald Trump’s companies in a tax fraud scheme.
Ohio Atty Out Of Job Over Nasty Text To Female Colleague
By Eric Heisig
A labor and employment attorney at Zashin & Rich Co. in Cleveland is no longer with the firm amid outrage over a screenshot of a text message circulating among the legal community that allegedly showed him telling a female associate who planned to leave the firm that she had taken a salary “while sitting on your ass” during her maternity leave.
Analysis
State Constitutions Take Spotlight Post-Dobbs
By Jess Krochtengel
One of the biggest waves of state constitution litigation in modern history is playing out in reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings on abortion and voting rights, and legal scholars say they expect the trend to continue for years to come.
Judge Denies Atty Immunity Claim In Lewis Brisbois TM Suit
By Catherine Marfin
A Texas federal judge has denied an attorney’s bid to be removed from a trademark suit brought by Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, writing that he is “reluctant” to decide the nature of the lawyer’s actions when he filed an assumed name certificate using the same name as the national law firm.
Memorandum attached | Read full article »
NAACP Can Pursue Challenge To SC Court Doc ‘Scraping’ Ban
By Gina Kim
A South Carolina judge on Tuesday refused to toss the NAACP’s suit over the state court system’s restriction on automated “scraping” of eviction-related cases, finding the organization stated a claim for a First Amendment violation since the records at issue have been historically available to the public in some form.
Opinion attached | Read full article »
Mich. Justice Apologizes After Attack Pushes Out Clerk
By Danielle Ferguson
A Michigan Supreme Court justice has apologized for his condemnation of a fellow justice’s decision to hire a formerly incarcerated lawyer as a clerk, a rare public schism that caused the clerk to quit.
