Supreme Court

A bungled house sale, a bankrupt couple, and a statutory puzzle involving debts incurred through fraud

A bungled house sale, a bankrupt couple, and a statutory puzzle involving debts incurred through fraud

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The court will hear its second bankruptcy case of the week next Tuesday, with Bartenwerfer v. Buckley following close on the heels of the Monday argument in MOAC Mall Holdings LLC v. Transform Holdco LLC. The cases could hardly be more different. MOAC Mall Holdings involves the assignment of a shopping-center lease in a large corporate reorganization. Bartenwerfer presents a single impecunious debtor attempting to discharge a debt incurred through the fraud of her husband.

The case involves … Read the rest

Civil Law

FSIS seeking public comments on a number of proposed rules and regulations for the USDA

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service are seeking public comments on proposed rules and notices, which are viewable on the FSIS Federal Register & Rulemaking webpage.

Of note is that FSIS extended the written comment period on the proposed Salmonella framework to Dec. 16, 2022. Written comments should be submitted through Regulations.gov. Visit the FSIS website to view the Federal Register notice and details on how to comment.

FSIS is currently seeking comments on the following:

  • Until December 16: Proposed Framework for Controlling Salmonella
… Read the rest
Supreme Court

Justices asked again to consider the consequence of biased jurors

Justices asked again to consider the consequence of biased jurors

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The Petitions of the Week column highlights a selection of cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here.

The Supreme Court has ruled that the seating of a biased juror can violate the constitutional right to an impartial jury. It has stopped short, however, of holding that the violation is so stark as to constitute a “structural error” requiring automatic reversal under the Sixth Amendment, and state courts … Read the rest

Supreme Court

What mental state is required for making a prohibited “true threat”?

What mental state is required for making a prohibited “true threat”?

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The Relist Watch column examines cert petitions that the Supreme Court has “relisted” for its upcoming conference. A short explanation of relists is available here.

It will be a short installment this week, because at their last conference, the justices disposed of only one relist, and added only one. The court dismissed the appeal in Brooks v. Abbott, involving a Texas state legislative redistricting dispute. Because the court had mandatory appellate jurisdiction over that matter, that likely … Read the rest

Civil Law

Guest blog: California expands scope of Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, strengthening protections for mental health information exchanged through digital health applications

By: Andrew Serwin, Kristi Kung, Bethany J. Hills, Christine Lentz

With the mounting mental health crisis intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic, the telemental health industry has exploded in recent years. According to recent estimates, as many as 325,000 health and wellness apps are available for download, and 10,000-20,000 apps have been designed specifically for mental health. Many of these programs require clients to record their symptoms, which has led to reports of privacy concerns, because these companies may profit from … Read the rest

Supreme Court

In New York bid-rigging case, justices are dubious of the “right to control” theory of fraud

In New York bid-rigging case, justices are dubious of the “right to control” theory of fraud

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The Supreme Court heard oral argument on Monday in the case of Louis Ciminelli, an executive convicted of federal wire fraud in connection with bid-rigging to secure a $ 750 million New York state contract. The trial court informed a federal jury regarding a “right to control” theory of fraud, and the jury convicted Ciminelli. At argument, Justice Neil Gorsuch remarked at the “radical agreement” among all that the right-to-control theory was flawed, but there was less consensus as … Read the rest

Civil Law

Guest blog: SEC adopts final rules for clawback of erroneously awarded compensation

By: Louann Fang Richard, Brent L. Bernell, Andrew D. Ledbetter, Eric Forni, Rita M. Patel, Keith Ranta, Bryan Card

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved, by a 3-2 vote, final rules that require publicly traded companies to adopt policies regarding recovery of erroneously awarded incentive-based compensation, or “clawback” policies. The SEC initially proposed clawback rules in July 2015, but the rules have been pending finalization until the SEC reopened the comment period in October 2021 and again in … Read the rest