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Chancellor William B. Chandler III of the Delaware Court of Chancery ruled in Ryan v. Gifford, 2007 WL 4259557 (Del. Ch. Nov. 30, 2007), that the attorney-client privilege between a Special Committee of a Board of Directors and its outside counsel was waived by presentation of counsel’s report to the full Board. The Court held that the waiver extended to ...
Chancellor William B. Chandler III of the Delaware Court of Chancery ruled in Ryan v. Gifford, 2007 WL 4259557 (Del. Ch. Nov. 30, 2007), that the attorney-client privilege between a Special Committee of a Board of Directors and its outside…
Download associated file: S 2450.pdf  Federal Rule of Evidence 502 (Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product; Limitations on Waiver) was introduced in the Senate on December 11, 2007 as The Leahy-Specter Bill. The text of the bill is attached. The floor statement of S ...
Download associated file: S 2450.pdf  Federal Rule of Evidence 502 (Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product; Limitations on Waiver) was introduced in the Senate on December 11, 2007 as The Leahy-Specter Bill. The text of the bill is attached. The…
The intermediate appellate court's reversal of the $1.58 billion judgment entered against Morgan Stanley in Florida state court (see our post of March 23, 2007) is now final and unreviewable. The Florida Supreme Court voted 5-0 to reject Pereleman's attempt to reinstate the jury's verdict. The New York Times article reporting this development can be found at: htt ...
The intermediate appellate court’s reversal of the $1.58 billion judgment entered against Morgan Stanley in Florida state court (see our post of March 23, 2007) is now final and unreviewable. The Florida Supreme Court voted 5-0 to reject Pereleman’s attempt…
Does the plaintiff in an employment discrimination action waive the psychotherapist-privilege by alleging serious medical problems — here, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, gout, and obstructive sleep apnea — with a history of depression but does not specifically allege psychological injuries? Not under the D.C. Circuit’s opinion in Koch v. SEC, 48 ...
Does the plaintiff in an employment discrimination action waive the psychotherapist-privilege by alleging serious medical problems — here, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, gout, and obstructive sleep apnea — with a history of depression but does not specifically allege psychological injuries? Not…
Whether a computer crash may constitute spoliation has been discussed in previous posts of June 29 and March 5, 2007. In this installment, the plaintiff in Orrell v. Motorcarparts of Am., Inc., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89524 (W.D. N.C. Dec. 5, 2007), was once again not exactly pristine in preserving evidence. Among other things, she used the “Evidence Elimin ...
Whether a computer crash may constitute spoliation has been discussed in previous posts of June 29 and March 5, 2007. In this installment, the plaintiff in Orrell v. Motorcarparts of Am., Inc., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89524 (W.D. N.C. Dec.…
The critical issue on many motions to dismiss concerns just what extra-complaint documents the court may properly consider. Perhaps the most expansive formulation is employed in securities actions. The following is taken from Securities and Exchange Commission v. Power, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87632 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 27, 2007): On a motion t ...
The critical issue on many motions to dismiss concerns just what extra-complaint documents the court may properly consider. Perhaps the most expansive formulation is employed in securities actions. The following is taken from Securities and Exchange Commission v. Power, 2007…
Can the federal government be sued under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for its efforts to collect student loans? Deciding this issue of first impression, the Fifth Circuit ruled negatively in Wagstaff v. U.S. Dep’t of Educ., 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 28001 (Dec. 4, 2007), reasoning that the FDCPA lacks the prerequisite — a statutory provision “uneq ...
Can the federal government be sued under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for its efforts to collect student loans? Deciding this issue of first impression, the Fifth Circuit ruled negatively in Wagstaff v. U.S. Dep’t of Educ., 2007 U.S.…
Our post of August 27, 2007, reported the Federal Circuit’s holding in In re Seagate Tech., LLC, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 19768 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 20, 2007), that — in a case charging willful infringement — the subject matter waiver effected by asserting the defense of advice of counsel was limited to the advice of opinion counsel (the pre-litigation counsel o ...
Our post of August 27, 2007, reported the Federal Circuit’s holding in In re Seagate Tech., LLC, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 19768 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 20, 2007), that — in a case charging willful infringement — the subject matter waiver…
Download associated file: S 344.pdf  On December 6, 2007, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed S.344 -- a bill to permit the televising of Supreme Court proceedings. It is attached. ...
Download associated file: S 344.pdf  On December 6, 2007, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed S.344 — a bill to permit the televising of Supreme Court proceedings. It is attached.…
District Judge Harold Baer, Jr.’s opinion in Wolters Kluwer Fin. Servs. Inc. v. Scivantage, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88052 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 29, 2007), is worth reading. The findings are extensive but it is the analytical framework that merits attention. It is refreshing to abandon cynicism about the profession and to focus every once in a while on what the pra ...
District Judge Harold Baer, Jr.’s opinion in Wolters Kluwer Fin. Servs. Inc. v. Scivantage, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88052 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 29, 2007), is worth reading. The findings are extensive but it is the analytical framework that merits attention. It…

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