January 22, 2010

"Dissecting the Investor Protection Act"

Bruce Carton analyzes the provisions of a House-passed bill that would open up aider and abetter liability, establish securities whistleblower bounties, expand extraterritorial jurisdiction, and stimulate litigation in a variety of other ways.

January 19, 2010

"Tax informants are on the loose"

"A new federal rewards program dishes out cash to people who turn in friends, relatives and employers for fudging their tax returns." Forbes reports on the Congressionally mandated spread of bounty-hunting principles in a particularly sensitive area (related).

January 13, 2010

Around the web, January 13

• Feres, military contractors and battlefield liability: why not contractual waivers? [Stier, Mass Tort Lit]
• "Blockbuster Punitive Damage Awards: California Leads The Way!" [Nye, Cal Biz Lit on Del Rossi/Viscusi SSRN paper, "The Changing Landscape of Blockbuster Punitive Damages Awards"; more on California damage awards from CJAC]
• Off-label drug promotion: "High court urged to hear False Claims Act case" [LNL]
• When contingent fee clients want to switch lawyers, don't play games with their files [Kennerly]
• More on PCAOB separation of powers case [Hans Bader, Examiner, via Bainbridge]
• Sorry, but implanted medical devices are neither immortal nor indestructible [Beck]

December 15, 2009

"Off-Label Promotion and False Claims"

Beck & Herrmann note an Eleventh Circuit case at the intersection of FDA pharmaceutical regulation and qui tam litigation.

November 30, 2009

"UBS Tax Cheat To Demand Billions In Whistleblower Rewards"

Bizarrely overincentivizing stoolpigeonery, part CCLIX in a series. [WSJ Law Blog, Business Insider]

November 15, 2009

In California, advice on more remunerative litigation

The Consumer Attorneys of California, the state trial lawyers association, is holding its annual convention this weekend in San Francisco. (Legal Newsline story.) Yesterday's afternoon sessions included those under the rubric, "Miracle Growth for Your Practice," headlined by Mark Lanier of the Lanier Law Firm. Judging from the program, that growth is to be achieved by gearing up lawsuits in the area of predatory lending, patents and copyrights, false claims and qui tam, and USERRA, i.e., the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.

November 2, 2009

Around the web, November 2

• More Comer v. Murphy Oil fallout: "Fifth Circuit Decision Threatens a Tsunami of Climate Change Tort Cases" [Legal Wilderness, Bracewell & Giuliani, earlier here and here] Russell Jackson interviewed on ramifications [PNW]
• Pharma marketing suits: "Yet Another Qui Tam Grand Slam" [WSJ Law Blog] "SDNY Dismisses Third Party Payor Class Action" [union fund vs. Pfizer; Russell Jackson, Beck & Herrmann]
• Delaware lawmakers lift the statute of limitations on church abuse suits and bankrupt the Diocese of Wilmington [Religion Clause, Lund/Prawfsblawg]
• Contention among law profs as to whether at-will should be deemed default rule in American employment law [Workplace Prof]
• "An Enron Task Force-induced nightmare ends" [Kirkendall on Scott Yeager case]
  
• "Opinion Specialization: Alive and Well in the Federal Appellate Judiciary" [Edward Cheng, Stanford LR/Legal Workshop]

September 16, 2009

Around the web, September 16

• Interesting: whistleblower suit by lawyer against big personal injury firm raises questions over handling of fen-phen settlement [NJLJ]
• "Summers v. Earth Island Institute Reiterates Actual Injury Requirement for Citizen Suit Standing" [Kevin Haroff/WLF, PDF]
• L.A. port dispute with independent truckers: is it union favoritism dressed up in green? [Carter at ShopFloor]
• High-profile lawprof Stephen Gillers joins Legal Ethics Forum blog [Andrew Perlman there]
• "Mandatory National Reporting of Medical Errors?" [McDermott bill; TortsProf]
• Pursuing product liability claim against Chinese manufacturer can be, let's say, an uphill battle [FT]

September 9, 2009

Around the web, September 9

• Steven Shavell and Mitchell Polinsky, "The Uneasy Case for Product Liability" [SSRN via TortsProf]
• Distinguished alum now at odds with Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyer College [Norm Pattis, Greenfield]
• Victory for sound policy: City of Milwaukee drops its public nuisance product liability case against Sherwin-Williams over lead paint residues [Genova]
• Could the newly constituted NLRB order employers to recognize unions formed by card check even if the idea fails to pass Congress? [Mark Schoeff Jr., Workforce Management via ShopFloor; latest on measure]
• Now before Supreme Court: Graham County v. United States ex rel. Wilson case might help rein in qui tam "whistleblower" actions that piggyback on official reports and investigations [amicus brief, PDF, and more from WLF, plaintiff's view from Labovick]
• "Ten Things I Hate About Health Care Reform" [cardiologist/administrator Arthur M. Feldman, Washington Post via Althouse; #2 is the omission of you-know-what]

September 8, 2009

Around the web, September 8

• "Pfizer's $2.3B Fine Was a Huge Pay Day For Whistleblowers" [Business Insider] More: "Phillips & Cohen Behind Lead Pfizer Whistle-Blower" [Susan Beck, AmLaw Daily]
• Notebook of fabled torts scholar Prosser is online courtesy Berkeley Law archivist William Benemann [Robinette]
• Unions, trial lawyers top Pennsylvania PAC outlays [Penn. Biz Council]
  
• Rosenfield's California lawsuit-lobby group seeks Jerry Brown probe of health insurers' advocacy efforts [ThinkProgress, which approves]
• Wisconsin: defendants can't recoup cost of unnecessary medical treatments for plaintiff [WLJ]
• ABA Journal is taking nominations for its annual best-of "Blawg 100" list [hint, nudge]