From Ledford v. Peeples, 605 F.3d 871 (11th Cir. 2010) (Note: This opinion is on reconsideration and modifies the opinion reported in our post of July 8, 2009): We pause here to elucidate the meaning of abuse of discretion review in the PSLRA context. We find it helpful to explain how abuse of discretion review differs from de novo

From TIG Ins. Co. v. Firemen’s Fund Ins. Co., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 61519 (D.D.C. June 22, 2010): The [underlying] insurance coverage and liability actions [brought by third parties] against the plaintiff and the defendant were resolved in accordance with a confidential Settlement Agreement and Release (the "Settlement Agreement").... I ...

From State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Jarden Corp., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60327 (S.D. Ind. June 16, 2010): Defendants' first contention is that Jones's opinions fail to adhere to the scientific method because they did not follow the generally accepted scientific norms set forth in NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) 921, Guide for F ...

An attack on the enforceability of a contract containing an arbitration clause is for the arbitrator to resolve, under the Supreme Court’s decision in Rent-A-Center, West, Inc. v. Jackson, 2010 U.S. LEXIS 4981 (U.S. June 21, 2010). Only an attack on the enforceability of the arbitration clause itself is subject to judicial determination. The Court conside ...

From Nat’l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, PA. v. Aker Kvaerner/IHI, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60019 (S.D. Tex. June 16, 2010): A. The First-to-File Rule The first-to-file rule is based on "principles of comity and sound judicial administration." Save Power Ltd. v. Syntek Fin. Corp. , 121 F.3d 947, 950 (5th Cir. ...

From State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Jarden Corp., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60327 (S.D. Ind. June 16, 2010): Plaintiff moves first to exclude any reference to a study conducted by Scott Barnhill in which Mr. Barnhill recorded the results of his testing of the characteristics of heaters similar to the one at issue here as well as the potential ...

From State of Conn. v. Sunrise Herbal Remedies, Inc., 296 Conn. 556, 2010 Conn. LEXIS 196 (Conn. Sup. Ct. 2010): The plaintiff, the state of Connecticut, appeals from the decision of the trial court granting the motions of the defendants, Valerie Hawk-Hoffman and David Hoffman, to dissolve prejudgment attachments originally filed agains ...

From Rai v. Barclays Capital Inc., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59739 (S.D.N.Y. June 14, 2010): 1. Evident Partiality of the Arbitrators Section 10(a)(2) of the FAA allows a court to vacate an arbitration award "where there was evident partiality or corruption in the arbitrators, or either of them." In Morelite Construction ...

From Pecot v. S.F. Deputy Sheriff’s Ass’n, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21710 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 6, 2009): Civil RICO claims are subject to a four-year statute of limitations. Agency Holding Corp. v. Malley-Duff & Assocs., Inc., 483 U.S. 143, 156 (1987). "The limitations period for civil RICO actions begins to run when a plaintiff know ...

From Fharmacy Records v. Nassar, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 11626 (6th Cir. June 7, 2010): We have identified four factors — the "Regional Refuse factors" — that guide our review of a district court's decision to dismiss a party's lawsuit as a sanction: (1) whether the party's [conduct] [was] due to willfulness ...