Eastern District of Texas – Overlawyered

Liability roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 11:20:39 +0000

Company that advances money to claimants against New York City also donates generously to New York politicos [Shawn Cohen, Julia Marsh, Rich Calder and Bruce Golding, New York Post and followup (“LawCash execs showering Schneiderman with campaign contributions”), as well as editorial and followup]
Jesner v. Arab Bank (whether corporations are exposed to liability under Alien Tort Statute) argued at Supreme Court [John Bellinger and Andy Wang, Lawfare; Anthony J. Bellia and Bradford R. Clark, Lawfare; Just Security symposium; Federalist Society teleforum with William Casto and Samuel Estreicher]
For defendants in pending patent litigation, T.C. Heartland decision on patent venue may not offer a get-out-of-Texas card [Jeffri A. Kaminski, WLF]
Top ten class action related developments of 2017 [Paul Karlsgodt; plus Andrew Trask on the class action issues of ascertainability and Spokeo standing in 2017]. And Jim Beck offers a defense perspective on most and least helpful court decisions of the year for pharmaceutical and medical device makers;
Missed this from 2014: how tort law creates pressures (before any dispute arises) to intrude on privacy [Eugene Volokh, Columbia Law Review]
“Alabama SC: Settlement schedule violates due process rights, class members deserve more information” [Jessica Karmasek, Legal NewsLine; MedPartners securities action]

Tags: Alien Tort Claims Act, class actions, Eastern District of Texas, Eric Schneiderman, litigation finance, NYC, pharmaceuticals, privacy

Liability roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

The patent court where you can’t check out?

Walter Olson — Thu, 31 Aug 2017 04:15:31 +0000

Is the notorious E.D. Texas, unwilling to release its clutch, coming up with new rules that will let it keep hearing its enormous patent docket? “In a recent decision, Eastern District of Texas Judge Rodney Gilstrap developed a broadly-sweeping four-factor ‘totality’ test seemingly aimed at keeping patent-infringement suits in his jurisdiction.” [Ryley Bennett, WLF]

Tags: Eastern District of Texas, patent litigation

The patent court where you can’t check out? is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

After SCOTUS rulings, less forum-shopping

Walter Olson — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 10:02:31 +0000

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods, cases filed in the Eastern District of Texas fell from 36% of all patent filings to 21% [Debra Cassens Weiss, ABA Journal] “Quick trials, big verdicts favoring consumers, and a state law that allows nonresidents to easily join mass litigations made St. Louis a destination of choice for attorneys going after companies that do business nationwide. Those days may be over” following the high court’s decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb [Margaret Cronin Fisk and Jef Feeley, Bloomberg]

More: Multidistrict litigation sought in more patent cases [Amanda Bronstad, Texas Lawyer]

Tags: Eastern District of Texas, forum shopping, Missouri, patent litigation, Supreme Court

After SCOTUS rulings, less forum-shopping is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Soon, tumbleweeds in E.D. Tex.? SCOTUS strikes at patent forum-shopping

Walter Olson — Tue, 23 May 2017 04:05:02 +0000

This morning’s Supreme Court opinion in TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods, hinging on what I described in January as a dry point of statutory interpretation, is likely to stand as a landmark win for defendants in patent litigation – and, on a practical level, for fairer ground rules in procedure. A unanimous Court (8-0, Thomas writing, Gorsuch not participating) rejected the broad reading of a venue statute by which the Federal Circuit had empowered lawyers to forum-shop disputes from all over the country into a few decidedly pro-plaintiff venues, above all the largely rural Eastern District of Texas. From here out, defendants can still be sued in a district such as E.D. Tex. if they have a regular and established place of business in it, but the decision is likely to shrink what I called in my January preview a “jackpot patent litigation sector… that shifts around billions of dollar.” By redirecting cases into more neutral venues, it should bring outcomes closer to reflecting cases’ actual merits, which would in turn do much toward restoring confidence in this sector of the law.

If Congress believes the Court has erred it is free to restore patent venue to a more shopper-friendly set of rules. But after the experience of recent years, it is unlikely that a Congress of either party or any likely political complexion will have an appetite for doing that.

[cross-posted from Cato at Liberty] More: Mike Masnick, TechDirt; Daniel Nazer, EFF. [& welcome SCOTUSBlog, Washington Post readers]

Tags: Eastern District of Texas, forum shopping, patent litigation, patent trolls, Supreme Court

Soon, tumbleweeds in E.D. Tex.? SCOTUS strikes at patent forum-shopping is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

April 12 roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 04:05:06 +0000

Judge denies motion to dismiss in Kentucky Trump rally violence suit, now try explaining what that means to some headline writers [Ken White, Popehat]
False liens, threats of “arrest” cited in indictment of eight Colorado sovereign citizens [Boulder Daily Camera]
How virtual reality (VR) may give rise to tort claims [2-part Volokh Conspiracy: first, second]
D.C. Circuit: no, the FCC can’t enable lawsuits over “unsolicited” faxes that recipients did in fact agree to [NFIB]
Economist seems glad free online Berkeley courses got saved; ADA fans in comment section urge his firing, call him felon [Alex Tabarrok, MargRev]
With one in four of all patent cases going to a single federal judge in east Texas, forum-shopping is a menace to judicial impartiality [Jonas Anderson, SSRN]

Tags: Eastern District of Texas, folk law, web accessibility

April 12 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

SCOTUS will look at patent forum-shopping

Walter Olson — Sat, 28 Jan 2017 05:05:58 +0000

The Supreme Court has granted certiorari in the case of T.C. Heartland v. Kraft Foods, which turns on a minor detail of statutory interpretation but raises high stakes indeed: if the Court agrees that a 2011 enactment narrowed venue in patent suits, it could end the current arrangement in which plaintiffs are free to steer most such suits into just a few friendly jurisdictions. My write-up at Cato concludes:

My own suspicion is that not in a thousand years would a thoughtful deliberative process have entrusted the future care of intellectual property in America’s tech sector to the bench and bar of Marshall, Texas, population 24,501. But that’s in no way a reflection on the quality of the able if wily legal talent to be found in East Texas. It’s a reflection on the quality of the lawmakers in the U.S. Congress.

Tags: Eastern District of Texas, forum shopping, patent litigation, Supreme Court, WO writings

SCOTUS will look at patent forum-shopping is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Supreme Court roundup

Walter Olson — Tue, 24 Jan 2017 11:29:03 +0000

I’ve written about Antonin Scalia’s role in the late 1970s and early 1980s as editor of Regulation magazine, and more references to his work there came up at several panels during the recent Federalist Society lawyers convention, all worth watching for their own sake: antitrust (with Judges Doug Ginsburg, Frank Easterbrook (mentioning Regulation at 16:00), et al.), administrative law (Eugene Scalia, same, at 4:25+), and statutory interpretation (Paul Clement, same, at 36:15); and see earlier on my question at the telecommunications panel;
“Can States Forcibly Unionize Small Businesses?” [Ilya Shapiro and Frank Garrison on Cato certiorari petition in Jarvis v. Cuomo, building on Harris v. Quinn line of cases]
High court will hear new cases on limits of personal jurisdiction [Bristol-Myers Squibb v. Superior Court, Tyrrell v. BNSF Railway Company, earlier on BNSF, and more from Michelle Stilwell, WLF on that case]
SCOTUS hears oral argument in “Slants” derogatory trademark First Amendment case [Mark McDaniel and Meredith Bragg/Reason, Jacob Sullum, earlier]
Court accepts case on patent venue that could threaten preferred forum-shopping supremacy of Eastern District of Texas [TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods Group, brief by 56 law and economics professors]
Now taking senior status, Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain has ranked among MVPs of federal bench in part through his skill at flagging error by his Ninth Circuit for high court review [Ethan Davis and Daniel Sullivan, National Review]

Tags: Antonin Scalia, Eastern District of Texas, forum shopping, Ninth Circuit, patent litigation, Supreme Court

Supreme Court roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Supreme Court roundup

Walter Olson — Thu, 29 Dec 2016 11:31:29 +0000

How feckless for an editorial board to undermine institutional legitimacy of a key check on executive power, the Supreme Court, by spreading notion that some of its seats are “stolen” [New York Times]
Eastern District of Tumbleweeds? High court asked to curtail forum shopping in patent suits [Washington Legal Foundation on TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC, more on E.D. Tex.]
Federal charges result in plea deal. State then charges defendant over same conduct. Ought to call it double jeopardy, even if that means overturning misguided “dual sovereignty” doctrine [Ilya Shapiro and Thomas Berry on cert petition in Walker v. Texas]
“Justices Struggle With Cheerleader Uniform Case That Holds Big Implications For Fashion” [Daniel Fisher on Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands]
More Federalist panels on Justice Scalia’s influence: showcase panel on his constitutional influence; federalism and separation of powers with Roger Pilon et al.; the impact of his writing style; criminal law and the Fourth Amendment; Heller, guns, and the Second Amendment;
Appointments Clause makes one of few checks on unaccountable-by-design CFPB, Court should enforce it seriously [Ilya Shapiro on cert petition in Gordon v. CFPB]

Tags: Antonin Scalia, CFPB, Eastern District of Texas, forum shopping, guns, New York Times, patent litigation, Supreme Court

Supreme Court roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

July 27 roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 04:05:49 +0000

It’s against the law to run a puppet show in a window, and other NYC laws that may have outlived their purpose [Dean Balsamini, New York Post]
L’Etat, c’est Maura Healey: Massachusetts Attorney General unilaterally rewrites state’s laws to ban more guns [Charles Cooke, National Review]
Appeal to Sen. Grassley: please don’t give up on Flake-Gardner-Lee venue proposal to curtail patent forum shopping [Electronic Frontier Foundation, Elliot Harmon]
Oil spill claims fraud trial: administrator Ken Feinberg raised eyebrows at news that Mikal Watts “was handling claims from 41,000 fishermen.” [Associated Press, earlier]
By 70-30 margin, voters in Arizona override court ruling that state constitution forbids reduction in not-yet-earned public-employee pension benefits [Sasha Volokh]
Google, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood appear to have settled their bitter conflict [ArsTechnica, earlier]

Tags: Arizona, attorneys general, Eastern District of Texas, forum shopping, Google, guns, Jim Hood, Mikal Watts, NYC, public employment

July 27 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

April 20 roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 04:05:59 +0000

HBO back with “Confirmation” docudrama on the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill episode and Stuart Taylor, Jr. not greatly impressed [Mollie Hemingway, The Federalist]
Another rogue Eastern District of Texas patent outcome falls, this time it’s Google for $85 million [Joe Mullin, ArsTechnica] “New Bill Designed To Stop Egregious Venue Shopping By Patent Trolls” [Nathan Leamer and Zach Graves, TechDirt]
“Life in California — A Tax on a Tax” [Coyote]
Washington Post looks at jury nullification in multi-part series;
Michael Greve recommends this article on unorthodox methods of lawmaking and administrative law, and his recommendation is good enough for me [Abbe Gluck, Anne Joseph O’Connell, and Rosa Po, SSRN]
Are public bureaucracies really a fount of innovation? Not really, despite vogue for new Marianna Mazzucato book The Entrepreneurial State [Alberto Mingardi, EconLog]

Tags: administrative law, California, Clarence Thomas, Eastern District of Texas, Google, jury nullification, patent trolls, Stuart Taylor Jr., taxes

April 20 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system