July 25, 2008

• California Supreme Court agrees to hear appeal of the very important dispute on public contingency fees between Santa Clara County and lead paint defendants [Legal NewsLine; more]
• More sighs of relief in employee benefits community as Second Circuit joins trend to uphold cash balance retirement plans [NYLJ; background here, here, here, and here]
• On Scruggs and his "mistakes": "Leaving an 's' out of 'Mississippi' is a mistake; bribing a judge is a crime." [John Agnew, Fort Myers News-Press]
• Chevron has a website explaining its side in the litigation over Ecuador environmental damage ["Texaco in Ecuador"; earlier here, here, and here]
• Provoking outrage among plaintiff's bar, employers have found another way to contract around the litigation system, this time via employee agreements to shorten statute of limitations [NLJ]
• San Diego's city attorney is suing mortgage lenders and says he aims to make his city a "foreclosure sanctuary" [Sorkin, NYT "Dealbook", press release; earlier here, here, etc.]