Supreme Court

A 27-year solitary confinement and a dispute about discharging settlement payments in bankruptcy

A 27-year solitary confinement and a dispute about discharging settlement payments in bankruptcy

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This week we highlight cert petitions that ask the Supreme Court to consider, among other things, whether a prisoner’s 27-year period in solitary confinement violates either the Eighth Amendment or the 14th Amendment, and whether a settlement can include a provision in which a debtor agrees that any payments are non-dischargeable in bankruptcy.

Constitutional challenges to a 27-year solitary confinement

Dennis Wayne Hope has been in solitary confinement for 27 years since 1994. In Hope v. Harris, Hope … Read the rest

Civil Law

COURT OF APPEAL SUMMARIES (FEBRUARY 28, 2022 – MARCH 4, 2022)

Jump To: Table of Contents | Civil Decisions | Short Civil Decisions

Good afternoon.

Following are this week’s summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario for the week of February 28, 2022.

In Gefen Estate v. Gefen, an estates case, the Court reiterated that while the quality of evidence may vary depending on a claim, the civil standard of proof will always remain the same: proof on a balance of probabilities. The issues canvassed … Read the rest

Civil Law

THE BANKRUPTCY COURT’S RULING IS IN: J&J’S TEXAS TWO-STEP DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A BAD FAITH FILING

Last week this author delved into what has become known as the “Texas Two-Step,” the arguments for and against its permissibility and the broader implications for the bankruptcy system.  The discussion focused on an ongoing trial on motions filed in the bankruptcy case of LTL Management, LLC (“LTL” or the “Debtor”), a Johnson & Johnson (“J&J”) subsidiary, by the Official Committee of Talc Claimants and several other parties, seeking an order dismissing the Debtor’s case pursuant … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Jackson submits Senate Judiciary questionnaire, prepares to start meeting with senators

Jackson submits Senate Judiciary questionnaire, prepares to start meeting with senators

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Just four days after President Joe Biden nominated her to succeed Justice Stephen Breyer, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson submitted her responses to a questionnaire that the Senate Judiciary Committee will use as it considers her nomination. Her responses repeat many of the details in the questionnaire that she submitted in 2021 when she was nominated to her current position on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. But Jackson’s Supreme Court questionnaire does provide new … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Greenhouse gases and “major questions”: Justices to hear argument on EPA’s power to tackle climate change

Greenhouse gases and “major questions”: Justices to hear argument on EPA’s power to tackle climate change

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Three days after President Joe Biden named Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as his nominee to succeed the retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, Breyer and his colleagues will return to the bench on Monday morning to hear oral argument in a case involving the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases. Although the case hinges on a highly technical provision of the Clean Air Act, it nonetheless has the potential to be one of the most consequential cases in a … Read the rest

Civil Law

What do the Jamsek and Personnel Contracting High Court cases really mean for the future of contracts and the performance of work?

Most recent commentary on the recent High Court decisions in Jamsek and Personnel Contracting suggests that the Court has confirmed the primacy to be given to the terms of the written contract when determining the nature of the relationship between the parties. Whilst that is a fair observation, there is much more to the story. Key to understanding the real commercial impact of the two High Court cases for business is an appreciation of two matters.

First, neither of the … Read the rest