FindLaw News - Top Stories

California IOUs: Will Small Businesses Get Stiffed for Millions?

FindLaw's Free Enterprise — July 2, 2009

(FindLaw's Free Enterprise) - Today, California is set to start issuing IOUs for bills it can't pay. With Governor Schwarzenegger and the legislature at an impasse, the state is preparing to issue IOUs to cover billions of dollars it owes small businesses, large vendors, county agencies and California taxpayers....

Calif. Hedge Fund Exec Ran $15M Ponzi Scheme, SEC Says

Andrews Publications — June 30, 2009

(Andrews Publications) - A California hedge fund manager bilked investors of nearly $15 million in a Ponzi scheme involving purported options trading, the Securities and Exchange Commission alleges in San Diego federal court....

Why Didn't Governor Sanford Suppress His E-Love-Letters?

FindLaw's Writ — June 26, 2009

(FindLaw's Writ) - FindLaw columnist and former counsel to the president John Dean comments on the possible copyright-infringement action that South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford might have against the newspaper that opted to publish his emailed love letters to his paramour. Dean includes in his column the results of his question-and-answer session with Los Angeles-based attorney John C. Kirkland, who is both well-versed in copyright law and the author of the best-seller "Love Letters of Great Men." Dean also notes the irony that while the newspaper at issue, South Carolina's The State, doubtless would vigorously enforce its own copyrights, it likely has infringed Sanford's....

Atty. Gen. Holder Says Hate Crimes Legislation Wouldn't Deal with Speech

FindLaw's Blotter — June 25, 2009

(FindLaw's Blotter) - According to a CNN story, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today suggested it is necessary to "address a rising tide of criminal activity fueled by bias and bigotry" by passing federal hate crimes legislation. The bill, known as the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act would expand "federal protection against hate crimes to cover disability, gender and sexual orientation."...

Chase, WaMu Illegally Froze Home Equity Credit, Suit Says

FindLaw's Writ — June 24, 2009

(Andrews Publications) - Chase Bank and its recently acquired division Washington Mutual Bank have been illegally freezing customers' home equity lines of credit across the country, a California woman alleges in a federal court lawsuit....

What is Fair Game for the Sotomayor Hearings?

FindLaw's Writ — June 19, 2009

(FindLaw's Writ) - FindLaw columnist and U.C., Davis, law professor Vikram Amar considers which topics Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, previously a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, can properly be asked about during her confirmation hearings....

Supreme Court Says No Constitutional Right to DNA Testing for Convicts

FindLaw's Blotter — June 18, 2009

(FindLaw's Blotter) - It's not unusual to hear news stories about individuals who have languished in prison for years to be freed based on exonerating DNA evidence. Similarly, although they might not get as many headlines, the value of evidence from DNA tests for law enforcement and the prosecution in pursuing and establishing the guilt of a defendant is tough to dispute. In a close 5-4 decision today, the Supreme Court today announced that there is no constitutional right for someone who has been convicted of an offense to get access to the prosecution's evidence to perform DNA testing....

Group Sues White House Over Visitor Logs

FindLaw's Courtside — June 17, 2009

(FindLaw's Courtside) - Despite pledging to usher in a new era of government transparency, the Obama administration is continuing many of the most secretive policies of the Bush administration, including the invocation of the state secrets doctrine in terrorism and wiretapping cases. The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a lawsuit Tuesday over another of the Obama administration's leftover Bush policies, the refusal to turn over the logs that record visitors to the White House....

Illinois Sues Town Over Tainted Drinking Water

Andrews Publications — June 16, 2009

(Andrews Publications) - The Illinois attorney general filed suit June 9 against the village of Crestwood, several officials and the village's former certified water supply operator for allegedly using a contaminated well and knowingly providing false information about the water supply to residents and state regulators....

Scammed Investors Sue Madoff Firm's Trustee Over Claims Valuations

Andrews Publications — June 15, 2009

(Andrews Publications) - A group of retirees swindled by Bernard Madoff has filed a class-action suit alleging the trustee liquidating the financial fraudster's firm engaged in improper and unfair claim calculation....

Futures Fund Manager Pleads Guilty in $20 Million Scam

Andrews Publications — June 12, 2009

(Andrews Publications) - The operator of a suburban Philadelphia investment fund that promised returns of up to 18 percent trading stock-index futures contracts has admitted that he defrauded investors of $20 million....

Are Reverse Mortgages the New Subprime Loans?

FindLaw's Common Law — June 10, 2009

(FindLaw's Common Law) - When it comes to consumer risk, reverse mortgages present many of the same problems that subprime home loans did, and regulators need to take steps now -- by applying some of the lessons learned in the wake of the subprime crisis -- to avoid a similar meltdown, a federal bank official said this week....

High Court to Review Bankruptcy Law's Limits on Lawyer Advice

Andrews Publications — June 9, 2009

(Andrews Publications) - The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the 2005 bankruptcy reform law bars attorneys from advising clients to incur more debt and requires them to make certain disclosures to their clients. ...

The Supreme Court's Busy Day: Chrysler Fiat Sale, Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy, And More

FindLaw's Courtside — June 8, 2009

(FindLaw's Writ) - The Supreme Court had a busy day today, one which was reportedly punctuated with an exclamation point. At least, that is, as far as Chrysler and various pension funds were concerned. Late today, the Supreme Court issued an order putting a screeching halt to the sale of Chrysler to Italian car maker Fiat. No reason was reportedly given for the order, and it is unclear when the Court will resolve the issue....

Sotomayor as a Student: Her Experience Illuminates Her Views on Race

FindLaw's Writ — June 5, 2009

(FindLaw's Writ) - FindLaw columnist and Pepperdine law professor Douglas Kmiec looks to Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's student days to consider how her experience might affect her views on the law as a Justice. Interestingly, Kmiec notes, as a student, Sotomayor served as a research assistant to Jose Cabranes -- later her colleague on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit -- with respect to an article on America's conflicted role in regional foreign affairs. Kmiec suggests that the article, and in particular its discussion of Puerto Rican citizenship, may offer further insight into Sotomayor's views on race, which have become controversial since her nomination -- in a way that, he argues, should strengthen her candidacy....

Drywall Safety, Recall Bills Before Congress

Andrews Publications — June 5, 2009

(Andrews Publications) - Legislation sponsored by senators from Florida and Louisiana calls for a ban on Chinese-made drywall suspected of emitting sulfur gases and causing the corrosion of household plumbing and wiring....

California AG: Foreclosure Consultants Must Post $100K Bond, Register

FindLaw's Common Law — June 2, 2009

(FindLaw's Common Law) - Californians will get enhanced protection from foreclosure rescue scammers under a new plan from state Attorney General Jerry Brown, which will require foreclosure consultation companies to register with the AG's office and post a $100,000 bond by July 1st if they want to stay in business....

An Analysis of the California Court Ruling Upholding Proposition 8

FindLaw's Writ — June 1, 2009

(FindLaw's Writ) - FindLaw columnist and U.C., Davis, law professor Vikram Amar explains several key aspects of last week's California Supreme Court ruling upholding the voter-passed constitutional amendment Proposition 8. First, Amar addresses the key question of why the court reached opposite conclusions about same-sex marriage in 2008 (when it found that the state constitution required marriage equality) and this year (when it held that marriage equality was now not constitutionally-required). Second, Amar covers the reasons why the court upheld the same-sex marriages performed in the interim between its first decision and Proposition 8 as valid. Third, Amar questions why the court characterized Proposition 8 as narrow, because same-sex couples can still enter into a registered partnership, when its prior opinion deemed the label of "marriage" to be highly significant....

FDA's Concern Over Cheerios Health Claims Spawns Consumer Suit

Andrews Publications — May 29, 2009

(Andrews Publications) - A California federal court lawsuit accuses cereal maker General Mills of deceptive advertising, citing the Food and Drug Administration's recent warning to the company to be careful about saying Cheerios lower cholesterol....