On March 31, 2010, the Supreme Court of the United States expanded the range of class action litigation in federal court by ruling that certain class actions barred by state law may nevertheless proceed in federal court. In Shady Grove Orthopedic Associates, P.A.
Client Alert | April 2, 2010
On March 30, 2010, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Jones v. Harris Associates L.P., No. 08-586. The Court construed Section 36(b) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, which states that investment advisers to mutual funds are deemed to have a fiduciary duty with respect to the receipt of compensation for services and provides a private cause of action for breach of that duty.
Client Alert | March 30, 2010
As the Supreme Court enters the homestretch of this Term's oral arguments and approaches its busiest season for issuing opinions, Gibson Dunn is pleased to announce that its Supreme Court Round-Up will be summarizing key developments at the Court.
Client Alert | March 25, 2010
On March 2, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Reed Elsevier v. Muchnick, ___ U.S. ___, No. 08-103, interpreting the Copyright Act to allow judicial approval of settlements of copyright infringement claims involving unregistered works. Reversing the U.S.
Client Alert | March 3, 2010
On January 21, 2010, the U.S.
Client Alert | January 22, 2010
Electronic discovery is one of the most rapidly developing and increasingly important areas of interest for our clients. The past year featured the continued refinement of best practices in e-discovery law, as both courts and litigants continued their struggle to balance cost-effective approaches to discovery with the right to equitable access to discoverable information. The coming year is poised to be another one of significant developments. Our Electronic Discovery and Information Law Practice Group will be carefully watching and reporting these developments to you throughout the year.This 2009 year-end update provides an overview and analysis of the recent trends in e-discovery law, as well as a survey of case law developments. For more in-depth treatment of the
Client Alert | January 15, 2010
In an 11-1 en banc decision issued on August 19, 2009, the Federal Circuit has held that 35 U.S.C. § 271(f), which prohibits exporting the components of patented inventions, does not apply to method claims.
Client Alert | August 20, 2009
On July 23, 2009, in an opinion authored by Chief Judge Anthony Scirica and joined by Judge Marjorie Rendell and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (Ret.), the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a seminal decision regarding class certification pursuant to Rule 23(b)(2) and employment cases generally. Hohider v. United Parcel Service, Inc., No.
Client Alert | July 24, 2009
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued three published opinions that should help defendants challenge labor-and-employment and other types of class actions: (1) Vinole v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., No.
Client Alert | July 14, 2009
Sanctions Cases Double Over 2008; Courts Continue to Press for Cooperation; E⁃discovery Trends in Criminal and Constitutional LawA comprehensive review of more than sixty federal and state court opinions addressing e-discovery issued during the first five months of 2009 reveals a dramatic increase in the frequency with which courts consider and apply sanctions. In part, the increase in sanctions reflects solidifying legal standards governing when a potential litigant must preserve electronic evidence. These opinions also reflect a continuing effort by the courts to urge litigants and their counsel to cooperate in e-discovery matters, and to sensibly and proportionately develop e-discovery protocols. Highlights of 2009 to date include: More than half of the e-disco
Client Alert | July 8, 2009
In a much-watched employment discrimination case confronting the tension between the disparate treatment and disparate impact theories under Title VII of the Civil Rights of 1964, the Supreme Court has ruled that an employer may not resort to intentional discrimination in order to avoid an unintentional, disparate impact absent "a strong basis in evidence" to believe it will be subject to liability if it fails to take the race-conscious, corrective action. Ricci v. DeStefano, No.
Client Alert | June 30, 2009
On June 22, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in an important Clean Water Act case, Coeur Alaska, Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, upholding a discharge permit issued by the U.S.
Client Alert | June 26, 2009
Washington, D.C. partner Thomas G. Hungar is the author of "Observations Regarding the Supreme Court's Decision in Quanta Computer, Inc v. LG Electronics, Inc." [PDF] published in the June 2009 edition of IDEA: The Intellectual Property Law Review.
Client Alert | June 8, 2009
On March 3, 2009, the California Court of Appeal for Sixth Appellate District issued a significant published opinion substantively analyzing the scope of the preemption clause (Civ.
Client Alert | June 3, 2009
On May 26, 2009, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in Merck & Co. v. Reynolds, No.
Client Alert | May 27, 2009
On May 18, 2009, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in Conrad M. Black v. United States, No. 08-876, agreeing to decide whether and to what extent private sector conduct can be prosecuted under 18 U.S.C.
Client Alert | May 19, 2009
On April 20, 2009, the Supreme Court of California narrowed the scope of California's Consumers Legal Remedies Act ("CLRA") by holding in a unanimous opinion that life insurance is not a "good" or "service" subject to the CLRA. Fairbanks v. Superior Court (Farmers New World Life Ins.
Client Alert | April 27, 2009
Los Angeles partner Julian W. Poon and associates Blaine H. Evanson and William K. Pao are the authors of "Interlocutory Appellate Review of Class-Certification Rulings under Rule 23(f): Do Articulated Standards Matter?" [PDF] published in the Winter 2009 issue of DRI's Certworthy Newsletter.
Article | March 31, 2009
Los Angeles partner Theodore J. Boutrous Jr. and Julian W. Poon are the authors of "Tenth Circuit Rules on Loss Causation" [PDF] published in the March 2009 issue of Insights.
Client Alert | March 31, 2009
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has granted en banc rehearing in Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc. et al. v. St. Jude Medical et al., a case with important ramifications for all companies that do business both in the United States and abroad. The question that the en banc Court has agreed to decide is "does 35 U.S.C.
Client Alert | March 10, 2009
We issued a Client Alert on February 19, 2009 on the Tenth Circuit opinion setting forth a robust analysis of the loss causation burden under the federal securities laws.
Client Alert | March 3, 2009
On February 25, 2009, Judge Saundra B. Armstrong of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California resolved a novel question of federal labor law of significant import for employers in California by holding, in the context of a putative state-wide class-action in Rubin v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., No.
Client Alert | February 26, 2009
On February 18, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued a significant decision in In re: Williams Securities Litigation--WCG Subclass (Docket Number 07-5119), that clarified the contours of a plaintiff's "loss causation" burden under federal securities laws.
Client Alert | February 19, 2009
Dallas associate Lawrence VanDyke is the author of "You Do Have A Voice In The Speaker's Race" [PDF] published in print and online by the Austin-American Statesman on January 5, 2009.
Client Alert | January 5, 2009
Washington, D.C. partner Mark A. Perry and of counsel Paul Blankenstein are the authors of "The Inapplicability of Rule 23(b)(1) to ERISA Class Actions" [PDF] published in the December 5, 2008 issue of BNA Inc.'s Workplace Law Report.
Client Alert | December 5, 2008
On October 23, 2008, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a published and precedential decision in Morrison v. National Australia Bank (Docket Number 07-0583-cv), which left open the door for applications of the anti-fraud provisions of American securities laws in so-called "Foreign-Cubed" securities cases--that is, cases brought by foreign plaintiffs, against a foreign company, arising out of a foreign securities transaction. Although the Court declined to exercise jurisdiction because of the particular facts of the National Australia Bank case, the Court also declined to adopt a bright-line rule barring jurisdiction in all such cases. Facts and Procedural Posture of National Australia BankNational Australia Bank ("NAB") is Austr
Client Alert | October 29, 2008
London partner Rachel Couter is the author of "Choice roles" [PDF] published in the October 20, 2008 issue of The Lawyer.
Client Alert | October 20, 2008
Los Angeles of counsel William E. Thomson and associate Kahn A. Scolnick are the authors of "The Supreme Court Sets New Punitive Damage Limits Under Federal Common Law" [PDF] published in the October 2008 issue of Class Action Watch.
Client Alert | October 1, 2008
On June 25, 2008, the Supreme Court issued an important decision clarifying the standards for punitive damages review under federal common law. In an opinion authored by Justice Souter (in which Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Scalia, Kennedy, and Thomas joined, and Justices Stevens, Ginsburg and Breyer joined in part), the Court vacated a $2.5 billion punitive damages award as excessive under federal maritime common law, and set an upper limit on such awards of a 1:1 punitive-to-compensatory damages ratio. In Exxon Shipping Co., et al.
Client Alert | June 26, 2008
On June 9, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Allison Engine Co. v. United States ex rel. Sanders that significantly narrowed the scope of the False Claims Act.
Client Alert | June 11, 2008
Partners Eugene Scalia and James Cox are authors of "Out with the Old: Two major age discrimination cases are set to be heard in the US Supreme Court" [PDF] which first appeared in Legal Week on April 17, 2008 in its US Focus feature.
Article | April 17, 2008
Gibson Dunn partner Cy Benson is the author of author of "An InjunctIon too Far: C v D" [PDF] published in Vol 3, Issue 1, of the Global Arbitration Review, page 38, www.GlobalArbitrationReview.com.
Client Alert | March 7, 2008
On February 20, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an 8-1 decision in Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc., which held that federal law preempts state-law products liability claims challenging the design and labeling of medical devices that the federal Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") has found to be safe and effective.
Client Alert | February 22, 2008
New York partner Jonathan C. Dickey, Washington, D.C. partner Mark A. Perry, and Los Angeles partner Julian W. Poon are authors of "Stoneridge Investment Partners v. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc.: The Supreme Court Rejects 'Scheme' Liability" [PDF] published in the January 2008 issue of Insights.
Client Alert | February 10, 2008
Washington, D.C. partner Mark Perry is the author of "Stoneridge and the Continued Reconceptualization of Implied Private Rights of Action" [PDF] published in the February 2008 issue of Wall Street Lawyer.
Client Alert | February 1, 2008
On January 15, 2008, the Supreme Court issued an important decision clarifying the contours of private actions under the key anti-fraud provision of the securities laws.
Client Alert | January 15, 2008
Gibson Dunn of counsel James C. Ho authored an article entitled "OPEN Government Act Restores Promise of FOIA" [PDF] for the January 2008 issue of the MediaLawLetter, published by the Media Law Resource Center.
Client Alert | December 31, 2007
Dallas partner James Ho is the author of “Constitutional Law: Punitives And Process” [PDF] published in the December 24, 2007 issue of Texas Lawyer.
Client Alert | December 24, 2007
On December 10, 2007, the Supreme Court issued two 7-2 decisions clarifying that federal district judges have significant discretion to impose sentences below (or above) those called for under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Client Alert | December 12, 2007
Brussels Partner Peter Alexiadis & Associate Vassili Moussis, are authors of "Studying Schneider," [PDF] published in the October 2007 issue of the European Lawyer.
Client Alert | October 31, 2007
Brussels Partner Peter Alexiadis and Associate Vassili Moussis are the authors of "Schneider/Legrand: le jugement du TPI ne règle pas tout" [PDF--the article is in French, the title roughly translates as: "Schneider/Legrand: Judgment of the Court of First Instance Does Not Settle Everything"] published in the October 8, 2007 issue of La Lettre des Juristes d'Affaires.
Client Alert | October 8, 2007
Gibson Dunn of counsel James C. Ho is the author of "The Supreme Court's Renewed Interest in Antitrust and Intellectual Property Law" [PDF] published in the ABA Antitrust Litigator.
Client Alert | September 23, 2007
In a previous client update ("UK Court of Appeal confirms that documents created by regulators are not always protected from production in court proceedings"), we discussed a recent Court of Appeal decision confirming the limitations on the statutory protections granted to documents created by the chief regulatory body in the UK, the Financial Services Authority (the FSA), in the course of its confidential investigations into regulated entities for suspected rule breaches. In particular, the Court of Appeal confirmed that such documents are not always protected from production in subsequent court proceedings, even though this will enable claimants to obtain documents that already contain the benefit of a regulatory body's analysis of facts and to obtain advance indications
Client Alert | September 19, 2007
Gibson Dunn of counsel James C. Ho is the author of "Defining 'American': Birthright Citizenship and the Original Understanding of the 14th Amendment" [PDF], published in the Summer 2006 isssue of the Green Bag.
Client Alert | September 16, 2007
On 11 July 2007, the European Court of First Instance (the "CFI") delivered its long-awaited Judgment in the appeal of Schneider Electric S.A. ("Schneider") against the Decision of the European Commission (the "Commission").
Client Alert | July 19, 2007
On June 28, the Supreme Court of the United States held in Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. v. PSKS, Inc. that resale price agreements should be evaluated under the rule of reason to determine whether there is a violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act.
Client Alert | June 28, 2007
On June 21, 2007, the Supreme Court issued an 8-1 decision in Rita v. United States, No. 06-5754, affirming the ability of appellate courts to use a presumption of reasonableness where the sentences they are reviewing were imposed within the applicable range under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Client Alert | June 25, 2007
On June 21, 2007, the Supreme Court issued an 8-1 decision in Tellabs v. Makor Issues & Rights, No. 06-484, explaining the plaintiff’s burden under § 21D(b)(2) of the PSLRA (15 U.S.C.
Client Alert | June 22, 2007
On June 11, 2007, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in United States v. Atlantic Research Corporation, No. 06-562, holding that the plain language of Section 107(a)(4)(B) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C.
Client Alert | June 11, 2007
On April 30, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in KSR Int'l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., which has the potential to reshape long-standing Federal Circuit law and United States Patent and Trademark Office practice on determining whether a patent is "obvious" under 35 U.S.C.
Client Alert | May 3, 2007