Lawsuit |

Supreme Court

Maker of CBD products asks court to decide whether lawsuit under criminal racketeering law can go forward

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.

Organized crime, from the mafia to small-time money laundering schemes, often evades criminal prosecution. To bolster efforts to fight organized crime, Congress passed the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO, more than 50 years ago. In addition to the criminal penalties for violating RICO, the law also … Read the rest

Criminal Law

Fifty Survivors File Maryland Lawsuit for Sex Abuse in Juvenile Facilities

Fifty sexual abuse survivors have opened a lawsuit against the Maryland government, alleging rampant sexual abuse of young people in six of the states juvenile justice facilities over five decades, Erin Cox and Steve Thompson report for the Washington Post. Lawyers said they have several hundred additional clients, most of whom they expect to add as plaintiffs.

The 50 plaintiffs range from a man who says he was molested in 1962 at the age of 7, to a woman … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Outspoken critic on Texas city council seeks to revive lawsuit over retaliatory arrest

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.

Four years ago, the Supreme Court ruled in Nieves v. Bartlett that a plaintiff who alleges he was arrested in retaliation for speech protected by the First Amendment must show that police lacked probable cause to arrest him. However, the decision carved out an exception to deal with situations in … Read the rest

Criminal Law

Deutsche Bank Agrees to $75 Million Settlement in Lawsuit Over Jeffrey Epstein’s Abuse

Deutsche Bank has reached a $ 75 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by women who claimed they were victims of sexual abuse by financier Jeffrey Epstein, Jonathan Stempel reports for Reuters. The settlement resolves a proposed class action and accusations that the German bank facilitated Epstein’s sex trafficking. Epstein, a former client of Deutsche Bank, died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges. The settlement still needs approval by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff. Similar … Read the rest

Criminal Law

Trump v. Cohen Is Another Lawsuit About The Plaintiff-In-Chief Weaponizing Civil Litigation

On Wednesday former president Donald Trump sued his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen for more than $ 500 million in a federal court in Miami. The civil lawsuit accuses Cohen of violating his attorney-client relationship by testifying as a key witness before a Manhattan grand jury, revealing “confidences” and “spreading falsehoods” which resulted in Trump being charged on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

Looking backwards from 2023 to 1973, Trump has been involved in more than 4.000 … Read the rest

Supreme Court

In lawsuit against tech companies, justices debate what it means to “aid and abet” terrorism

The Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared wary of a lawsuit seeking to hold Twitter, Facebook, and Google liable for aiding and abetting international terrorism based on ISIS’s use of the companies’ platforms. But during nearly three hours of oral argument, the justices struggled to draw a line between holding organizations responsible for supporting terrorism and allowing organizations to go about legitimate business, even if they may come in contact with terrorists as part of that business.

The dispute, Twitter … Read the rest

Supreme Court

With The Onion’s support, satirist asks court to revive lawsuit against police who arrested him

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.

In a case that prompted satirical news outlet The Onion to file its first-ever amicus brief in the Supreme Court, an Ohio man sued police for violating his constitutional rights when they arrested him for creating a Facebook page parodying the local police department. This week, we highlight cert petitions … Read the rest

Civil Law

New Allegations in World-first Lawsuit Over Clean Energy and Zero Emissions Claims

On 25 August, 2022, the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (“ACCR”) expanded its case against the Australian gas company, Santos Ltd. (“Santos”), with new and more detailed allegations around greenwashing.

Last year, ACCR filed a consumer protection lawsuit with the Federal Court of Australia regarding certain misleading or deceptive statements Santos made relating to its clean energy claims and net-zero representations in the 2020 Annual Report (which we reported here). This was the first lawsuit in … Read the rest