Patentees need to be aware that if they sue multiple entities at different times and in different courts for patent infringement, they may be "stuck" with the claim construction rendered by the first court in later litigations. As a result, patentees must carefully consider both the venue and order in which they face their opponents.
Last month, we introduced our primer on the "leniency" standard for FLSA actions, and its interplay with Rule 23 guidelines. We called the quest for class certification "the most feared battle waged in litigation," and went on to explain that if well-regarded class action practitioners were surveyed, there would almost assuredly be a consensus that the quest for class certification is exactly that to a targeted defendant.We discussed the FLSA's opt-in burden, and the liberal standard in our previous article. This month, we address the seemingly irreconcilable approaches taken by some courts.
Reviews of recent rulings that affect your practice.
Plaintiffs' employment lawyers contemplating bringing Title VII or other discrimination suits have long felt secure in the knowledge that, even if they lose at trial or at the summary judgment stage, their client will not be assessed attorney's fees. Any ambiguity regarding the meaning of a "prevailing party" entitled to fees under the Federal Rules was resolved by the Supreme Court's decision in Christiansburg Garment Co. v. EEOC, 434 U.S. 412 (1977). The Supreme Court denied fees to the prevailing defendant employer in that Title VII case, pointing out that the EEOC's actions in bringing the case could not be characterized as without merit or unreasonable. Is that still the case?
A look at the latest cases from around the states.
As the definition of marital property continues to expand and embrace more and more esoteric forms of property, equitable distribution cases become increasingly…
The Court of Appeals decided a number of important family law cases over the past year, addressing an array of issues ranging from technical questions of the interface between the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and common law waiver to fundamental issues of protecting children from severe abuse and ensuring their support rights under the Child Support Standards Act. Following is a review of those cases.
The option of seeking redress by asking the court to compel the client's spouse to pay is foreclosed, according to a recent decision by the Appellate Division, Second Department, in the case of Frankel v. Frankel, 2003 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 9279 (App. Div., 2d Dept. 9/8/03).
Recent decisions of interest to you and your practice.
First Amendment theory triumphed over celebrity right of publicity and trademark rights this past summer. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a dismissal of Tiger Woods' damages claims for use of his likeness in limited edition prints of a painting titled "The Masters of Augusta." ETW Corporation v. Jireh Publishing, Inc., 332 F.3d 915 (6th Cir. 2003).
