General Litigation

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For years, plaintiffs in asbestos litigation have been filing suit in the plaintiff-friendly jurisdictions of St. Louis, Missouri and Madison County, Illinois.  Some estimate that more than half of all mesothelioma claims filed in the United States are filed in Illinois and Missouri.  Many of those claims arise out of alleged exposures completely outside of…

Helping sellers navigate the uncertain horizon of post-closing indemnification claims is a crucial part of a deal lawyer’s job on the sell-side of any M&A transaction. According to a relatively recent study by Shareholder Representative Services (the “2013 SRS Study”), approximately 67% of private M&A transactions have “material post-closing issues.”[1]  While post-closing liability exposure is…

Social media use by employees, and employers’ social media policies, continue to appear in the legal headlines.  Much of the recent news coverage has touched on action by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and its assessment of employer social media policies.  However, recent legal action in Pennsylvania does not address the NLRB and its…

In In re Books-A-Million, Inc. Stockholders Litigation, the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed a suit by minority stockholders (the “Plaintiffs”) alleging that several fiduciaries breached their duties in connection with a squeeze-out merger (the “Merger”) through which the controlling stockholders of Books-A-Million, Inc. (the “Company”) took the Company private.[1]  The decision, authored by Vice…

On March 3, 2017, the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its long-awaited opinion in the matter of Board of Commissioners of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East, et al. vs. Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, LLC, et al., No 15-30162, Slip Op. (5th Cir. 3/3/17). The Fifth Circuit’s decision affirmed the…

The US District Court for the Western District of North Carolina recently held that even text messages are subject to the duty to preserve electronically stored information (ESI). In Shaffer v. Gaither, the plaintiff asserted claims against her former boss – a US District Attorney – for constructive dismissal based on sexual harassment and…

Nearly everyone who has practiced civil litigation long enough has experienced a case so meritless that allegations of frivolity and the need for sanctions are thrown around. Despite these feelings, the typical result is a simple dismissal of the case and the defendant footing the bill. Rarely are sanctions ever actually awarded against the frivolous…

Click here to review a Practice Note explaining how to enforce arbitral awards in the state and federal courts in Louisiana.  This Note explains the procedure for confirming an arbitration award in Louisiana, and the grounds on which a party may challenge enforcement under Louisiana and federal law, including the New York Convention on the…

Continuing a trend among other courts, a recent ruling from U.S.D.C., Middle District of Louisiana, recognized the discoverability of plaintiff’s social media postings.  Baxter v. Anderson, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110687 (M.D. La. Aug. 18, 2016).  In Baxter, Magistrate Judge Bourgeois addressed the discoverability of social media in a recent discovery ruling on …

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Office of the Inspector General (“OIG”) published a Proposed Rule in the September 20, 2016 Federal Register that would change the structure and expand the authority of State Medicaid Fraud Control Units (“MFCU”). The OIG wants to change the Federal participation in the costs attributable to establishing and…