In the midst of an options-backdating investigation, UnitedHealth Group (UHG) — the issuer of $850 million of notes — failed to timely file certain reports with the SEC. The Indenture Trustee contended that the failure to file the SEC reports breached a duty under the indenture to the noteholders, and hedge funds owning more than 25% of the notes issued a notic ...

The plaintiff in McAdams v. United States, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 24631 (3d Cir. Oct 28, 2008), slipped on the floor of a VA Medical Center (VMAC) and attempted unsuccessfully to introduce the testimony of an x-ray technician employed by the VMAC that the floor was as slippery as a skating rink: McAdams argues that the statement of the VAM ...

From Arista Records LLC v. Does 1-27, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89681 (D. Me. Oct. 29, 2008): Both a motion for leave to take a deposition and a motion to quash would typically be treated as addressing a discovery dispute subject to Local Rule 7(b). Commonly, the parties' memoranda supply the factual background for the dispute and the Court ...

From SEC v. Tambone, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 24457 (1st Cir. Dec. 3, 2008) (2-1 decision): [Pleading Standards for SEC in Enforcement Action.] Here ... we are evaluating a securities complaint filed by the SEC, not a private actor. Therefore, on its face, the requirements of the PSLRA do not apply. Additionally, the rationales we ...

From In re Initial Public Offering Secs. Litig., 544 F.Supp.2d 277 (S.D.N.Y. 2008): Defendants argue that plaintiffs should be bound by their earlier pleadings. However, statements in superseded pleadings are not conclusive admissions (though they are still admissions for evidentiary purposes). See United States v. McKeon, 738 F. ...

Section 9 of the Federal Arbitration Act authorizes a judgment to be entered on an arbitration award "[i]f the parties . . . have agreed that a judgment" may be so entered. The arbitration clause in Qorvis Commc’ns v. Wilson, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 24376 (4th Cir. Dec. 3, 2008), did not so provide. Nor did it adopt the rules of a governing orga ...

From Aguilar v. Immigration & Customs Enforcement Div., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97018 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 20, 2008) (Maas, M.J.): A. Metadata and Discovery "As a general rule of thumb, the more interactive the application, the more important the metadata is to understanding the application's output." Williams v. Spri ...

There is a gap in the scope of Federal Rule of Evidence 502 (Attorney -Client Privilege and Work Product; Limitations on Waiver), the excellent new rule that was enacted into law on September 19, 2008. The Rule addresses disclosures “made in a federal proceeding or to a federal office” (Rule 502(a), (b)) and disclosures “made in a state proceeding” ...

From Knight v. J.I.T. Packaging, Inc., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96927 (N.D. Ohio Nov. 24, 2008): [T]he crux of the issue ... turns upon whether Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6(d) applies to the removal procedure. Although the courts that have considered the issue are divided, the majority have determined that Rule 6(d) does not extend the ...

Although the Second Circuit did not find the statute of limitations defense viable in Staehr v. Hartford Fin. Servs., 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 23551 (2d Cir. Nov. 16, 2008), it identified a series of documents that could properly be considered on a 12(b)(6) motion without converting the motion to one for summary judgment. The permissible documents include compla ...