Tag: supreme court

BREAKING – Supreme Court Severs Government-Debt Exception From TCPA

7/7/20

By: Matt Foree Yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in Barr vs American Association of Political Consultants, Inc. As we reported earlier here, this case deals with the constitutionality of the government-debt exception to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). In a 2015 amendment to the TCPA, Congress exempted from…

Can Governments be Liable for Mass Shootings under the Constitution?

2/11/19

By: Phil Savrin The recent tragedies of mass shootings have spawned litigation over the civil liabilities of state governments for failing to protect members of the public from harm, particularly when there were advance warning signs that police departments overlooked or ignored. To evaluate whether States can be liable under the Constitution for such conduct…

Federal Securities Laws: Has the 9th Circuit Gone Rogue Again?

2/4/19

By: John Goselin On January 4, 2019, the United States Supreme Court decided to hear an appeal from the Ninth Circuit’s April 20, 2018 decision in Varjabedian v. Emulex Corporation, 888 F.3d 399 (9th Cir. 2018). The Supreme Court is hearing this case to resolve a circuit split regarding whether a claim under Section 14(e)…

The Supreme Court Weighs in on Arbitrability, But Questions Remain

1/31/19

By: Ted Peters As reflected in a prior article, the United States Supreme Court recently agreed to take another look at the issue of arbitrability. In the case of Henry Schein, Inc. v. Archer & White Sales, Inc., the Fifth Circuit concluded that the court, and not an arbitrator, had the power to decide the…

Supreme Court Revisits Interplay Between First and Fourth Amendments

11/29/18

By: Wes Jackson Imagine you commit a minor crime and an officer approaches you. The interaction goes south when you call the officer a “pig” and remind him that your tax dollars pay his salary. He then arrests you. Were your constitutional rights violated? That’s the question the Supreme Court considered Monday, November 26, 2018…

Who’s Liable for Letting the Dogs Out?

10/23/18

By: Wes Jackson “Cry ‘Havoc!,’ and let slip the dogs of war.” William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar act 3, sc. 1.   Havoc indeed—in a case argued before the Georgia Supreme Court on October 10, two pit bulls slipped out of a tenant’s backyard gate with a broken latch and then mauled a woman walking her…

Employment Arbitration Agreements are Still Alive in California, At Least For Now

10/4/18

By: Rebecca Smith As Freeman Mathis & Gary brought out in its August 24, 2018 Blog by attorney Dave Daniels, the California Senate had voted to approve Assembly Bill 3080 (“AB 3080”) intended to combat the use of mandatory arbitration agreements and confidentiality clauses to prevent the public disclosure of workplace sexual harassment.  September 30,…

Independent Contractor Or Employee?

9/20/18

By: Marshall Coyle The California Supreme Court has established an “ABC test” that could make it extremely difficult for the state’s truckers to use independent contractors. In Dynamex Operations West Inc. v. Charles Lee, (Case S222732, April 30, 2018) the Supreme Court endorsed what is called the three-pronged ABC test legal standard. In Dynamex the…

Are We Witnessing the End of Qualified Immunity?

9/19/18

By: Sun Choy For many decades, qualified immunity has served as a powerful defense to end civil cases against public officials, including law enforcement officers for the alleged use of excessive force.  Given the many high-profile deaths involving the use of force by officers, progressives have again called for the end of qualified immunity.  Even…

Arbitrability – Who Decides?

9/14/18

By: Ted Peters The question of arbitrability (i.e., Who decides whether a dispute is arbitrable? The court or the arbitrator(s)?) is as ageless as the conundrum of what came first, the chicken or the egg.  In 2010, the Supreme Court decided Rent-a-Center, Vest Inc. v. Jackson, wherein it concluded that agreements to arbitrate questions of…