Litigation Commons^™

On Your Mark, Get Set, Sue: The Fourth Circuit Considers When Citizen Suits Under The Clean Water Act Properly Commence In Naturaland Trust V. Dakota Finance Llc, Sarah A. Moynihan

Villanova Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Change We Can Believe In: The Seventh Circuit's Exposure Of Inadequate Environmental Review In Protect Our Parks V. Buttigieg, P. Nicholas Greco

Villanova Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

On The Fence About Immigration And Overpopulation: "Environmentalists" Challenge Dhs Policies On Nepa Basis In Whitewater Draw Natural Resource Conservation District V. Mayorkas, Maya J. Williams

Villanova Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Class Action, Thomas M. Byrne, Stacey Mcgavin Mohr

Mercer Law Review

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit worked its way through a varied menu of class-action issues during 2022, including the multifaceted problem of uninjured class members—which the court has decided to consider en banc—as well as several class-action jurisdictional issues. The court also declined to rehear en banc its controversial 2020 decision prohibiting class-representative incentive awards, a decision that the Supreme Court recently declined to review as well.

Game, Set, …Tie? The Eleventh Circuit Gives Courts Discretion To Refrain From Choosing A Prevailing Party, Tessa Sizemore

Mercer Law Review

During the National Football League’s (NFL) 2022 opening week, the Houston Texans game versus the Indianapolis Colts ended in a tie after an impressive fourth-quarter comeback by the Colts. This is only the nineteenth opening week tie in NFL history. Much like that Texans-Colts game, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit hosted a legal dispute which ended in a tie this year. While the American legal system is no game, it is certainly a surprise when our adversarial system produces a legal result with no winner.

Trial Practice And Procedure, John O'Shea Sullivan, Leesa M. Guarnotta, Grace B. Callanan

Mercer Law Review

The 2022 Survey period yielded decisions involving issues of first impression relating to federal trial practice and procedure in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. This Article analyzes recent trial practice developments in the Eleventh Circuit, including significant rulings in the areas of consumer debt collections, arbitration, copyrights, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54, and a rule change regarding party disclosures.

For Whom The Church Bells Toll: The Supreme Court Of Georgia Resolves The Issue Of Whether Fraud Can Toll The Statute Of Limitations For Sexual Abuse Claims, Sydney Thompson

Mercer Law Review

In January of 2002, the Boston Globe published an article detailing widespread allegations of child sexual abuse by serial pedophiles and a sophisticated coverup that implicated high ranking clergy members. In the aftermath of the article, thousands of men and women from across the United States came forward with their own allegations, which revealed patterns of abuse and deception in dioceses around the country. The wave of litigation that followed raised compelling questions about statutes of limitations, discovery rules, and the long term effects of childhood sexual abuse.

Twenty years after the Globe’s article, the Supreme Court of Georgia decided …

When Patent Litigators Become Neurosurgeons, Katie Chang

Washington Law Review Online

Patent law is where the law meets the most cutting-edge and innovative technology of its time. Usually, subject matter experts, with the help of lawyers, are the ones applying for patents. But when it comes to granting and enforcing patent rights, the job falls onto lawyers and judges, who, for the most part, are likely not experts in the relevant technical field. Bridging the gap between technological expertise and legal expertise has been a pain point in patent litigation, one that Congress has tried to rectify for many years. This Comment primarily examines one of Congress’s solutions—the Patent Pilot Program—and …

Attorney-Client Privilege: Minnesota Recognizes The Common-Interest Doctrine, George H. Singer

University of St. Thomas Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Sacred Spheres: Religious Autonomy As An International Human Right, Diana V. Thomson, Kayla A. Toney

Catholic University Law Review

How should courts resolve thorny human rights disputes that arise within religious groups? According to an emerging international consensus, they shouldn’t. When a case involves sensitive internal decisions by a religious organization, such as choosing who is qualified to teach the faith, courts are increasingly taking a hands-off approach. This global consensus has formed across international treaties, tribunals, and domestic courts in European and American nations. Every major human rights instrument and many international and domestic courts recognize that religious freedom must extend to religious communities, especially houses of worship and schools where believers gather to practice their faith and …

Blue Water Navy Veterans And The Agent Orange Rulings: A Lifeboat For The Veterans; A Storm Warning For The Vba, Jennifer Howley

Catholic University Law Review

Agent Orange was a herbicidal chemical used by the U.S. military for tactical use during the Vietnam War. Although initially told by the government not to worry about exposure to the chemical, veterans, their wives, and their offspring began having severe health and reproductive issues. In the early 1990’s, Congress passed the Agent Orange Act and the government directed the Institute of Medicine to report on the health effects of Agent Orange. Through this approach, Vietnam Veterans could claim benefits for illnesses listed in connection with Agent Orange. But only some Vietnam Veterans.

Initially, only veterans who served on-shore or …

Abortion In America After Roe: An Examination Of The Impact Of Dobbs V. Jackson Women’S Health Organization On Women’S Reproductive Health Access, Natalie Maria Caffrey

Senior Theses and Projects

This thesis will examine the limitations in access to abortion and other necessary reproductive healthcare in states that are hostile to abortion rights, as well as discuss the ongoing litigation within those states between pro-choice and pro-life advocates. After analyzing the legal landscape and the different abortion laws within these states, this thesis will focus on the practical consequences of Dobbs on women’s lives, with particular attention to its impact on women of color and poor women in states with the most restrictive laws. The effect of these restrictive laws on poor women will be felt disproportionately due to their …

A Framework For Assessing Whether Civil Penalties Under The False Claims Act Violate The Excessive Fines Clause Of The Eighth Amendment, Joel D. Hesch

University of Cincinnati Law Review

Fraud is crippling government programs, such as Medicare and the military. The government’s primary enforcement tool is the False Claims Act (“FCA”), which not only requires that the defendant pay three times the amount of damages, but also mandates a civil penalty of not less than $5,000 and not more than $10,000 (with adjustments for inflation) per violation. Because civil penalties apply to each false claim, complex fraud schemes may result in a defendant being liable for hundreds or even thousands of civil penalties. This article analyzes when civil penalties (or a portion of treble damages) under the FCA violate …

The Business Of Securities Class Action Lawyering, Stephen J. Choi, Jessica Erickson, Adam C. Pritchard

Law & Economics Working Papers

Plaintiffs’ lawyers in the United States play a key role in combating corporate fraud. Shareholders who lose money as a result of fraud can file securities class actions to recover their losses, but most shareholders do not have enough money at stake to justify overseeing the cases filed on their behalf. As a result, plaintiffs’ lawyers control these cases, deciding which cases to file and how to litigate them. Recognizing the agency costs inherent in this model, the legal system relies on lead plaintiffs and judges to monitor these lawyers and protect the best interests of absent class members. Yet …

Using Odr Platforms To Level The Playing Field: Improving Pro Se Litigation Through Odr Design, J.J. Prescott

Law & Economics Working Papers

In a few short years, court-connected ODR has shown itself capable of dramatically improving access to justice by reducing or eliminating barriers rooted in the simple fact that courts have traditionally offered dispute resolution services only during certain hours, only in particular physical places, and primarily through traditional face-to-face proceedings. Given the monopoly that courthouses have long had on resolving many legal issues, too many Americans have discovered their rights are simply too difficult or costly to exercise. As court-connected ODR systems spread, offering new types of dispute resolution services everywhere and often at any time, people will soon find …

Conviction On Interpretation, Advocate Adaptability, And The Future Of Emojis And Emoticons As Evidence, Samantha Lyons

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental & Innovation Law

The dawning of the digital age introduced new and unique interpretive quandaries for judges and litigators alike. These quandaries include (but are not limited to) misinterpretation of pictorial slang as used in instant messaging, new or collateral meanings invented by phrases paired with specific emoticons or emojis, and the existence of emojis alone as communicative accessories.

This Note analyzes how lawyers and judges have essential free reign to treat emojis as they see fit: a prosecutor can argue, even in good faith, that the inclusion of an emoji depicting an open flame means the sender knew the heroin he sold …

Pooling Patents For Pandemic Progress: Mrna Vaccines And The Broader Context Of Modernatx Inc V. Pfizer Inc., Francis Brefo

DePaul Journal of Art, Technology & Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Aclu V. Clearview Ai, Inc.,, Isra Ahmed

DePaul Journal of Art, Technology & Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Law's Credibility Problem, Julia Simon-Kerr

Washington Law Review

Credibility determinations often seal people’s fates. They can determine outcomes at trial; they condition the provision of benefits, like social security; and they play an increasingly dispositive role in immigration proceedings. Yet there is no stable definition of credibility in the law. Courts and agencies diverge at the most basic definitional level in their use of the category.

Consider a real-world example. An immigration judge denies asylum despite the applicant’s plausible and unrefuted account of persecution in their country of origin. The applicant appeals, pointing to the fact that Congress enacted a “rebuttable presumption of credibility” for asylum-seekers “on appeal.” …

Catalyst Pharms., Inc. V. Becerra: When The Food And Drug Administration Repeatedly Ignores The Plain Language Of The Orphan Drug Act (Oda), Yifan Wang

Journal of Law and Health

In Catalyst Pharms., Inc. v. Becerra, the court held that the scope of orphan drug exclusivity applies to the disease or conditions for which the drug is designated because the plain language of the 21 U.S.C. § 360cc(a) is clear. The decision is in contrast to the practice of the FDA to narrowly construe the exclusivity to apply only to the uses or indications for which the drug is approved. The court correctly reached its holding using a plain language approach and rejected the FDA’s argument based on legislative history and purpose. The FDA has repeatedly ignored courts interpretations …