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A congressional response to the Supreme Court's controversial Citizens United ruling moved a little closer to reality Thursday with the introduction in the House and Senate of the DISCLOSE Act -- Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections. The legislation would impose comprehensive disclosure requirements on corporations, labor unions, trade associations and nonprofit advocacy groups that spend money for independent expenditures or electioneering communications to influence federal elections.
President Barack Obama on Thursday interviewed federal appeals court Judge Sidney Thomas for an opening on the Supreme Court, a person familiar with the conversation told The Associated Press. The roughly hour-long session at the White House was the first known formal interview that Obama has conducted for the upcoming vacancy on the high court. It is not clear whether Obama has interviewed other candidates in person.
A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld summary judgment granted to drug companies sued for violating antitrust laws through so-called "pay-for-delay" patent settlements. But the case is far from over. The 2nd Circuit affirmed the ruling only because it was bound by its own precedent on the issue, and said it was unable to address policy arguments. The court invited the plaintiffs to petition for rehearing en banc because of the "exceptional importance" of the antitrust implications of the settlements.
The Department of Justice announced two settlements with pharmaceutical companies Thursday for a total of more than $100 million in penalties under the False Claims Act and the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. In one settlement, two Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries will pay more than $81 million for the off-label promotion of the epilepsy drug Topamax. The announcements came two days after the DOJ reached a $520 million settlement with AstraZeneca for similar violations involving unapproved uses of drugs.
Trade secrets are like pie recipes, a California appeals court ruled Thursday. If a baker has stolen a pie recipe, it doesn't make the pie eater liable for trade secret theft. The simile was applied to Silvaco Data Systems' aggressive effort to extend liability to customers of a company that stole its trade secrets. Silvaco had sued a slew of chip makers, including Intel, that bought software from Circuit Semantics Inc., after winning an injunction that barred CSI from using the disputed code.
Stepping up the pressure on Goldman Sachs just days after its executives were grilled and publicly rebuked by lawmakers, the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation of the Wall Street powerhouse over mortgage securities deals it arranged. The investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan stems from a criminal referral by the Securities and Exchange Commission, said a knowledgeable person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the inquiry is in a preliminary phase.
International law requires anyone receiving an SOS to "proceed with all possible speed" to help -- a "duty to assist." But despite cyber-attacks like the one that hit Google in China, there is no "duty to assist" on the internet. Temple University professors Duncan B. Hollis and David G. Post say that needs to change.
Scott Rothstein's former law firm general counsel cried Thursday as he recalled how he discovered his boss had committed a fraud of epic proportions. David Boden, who worked for Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler for 18 months before it imploded last November, testified in a deposition about discovering the $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme. He was the subject of an all-day deposition by attorney Chuck Lichtman of Berger Singerman, which represents trustee Herbert Stettin in the firm's bankruptcy.
The Senate Judiciary Committee passed several measures Thursday addressing greater transparency in the judicial system -- including televising U.S. Supreme Court hearings and allowing chief district and appellate judges to permit cameras in court. One bill, which was approved on a 13-6 vote, would require the Supreme Court to televise oral arguments unless the Court voted, in a particular case, to prohibit live coverage.
The plaintiffs bar is circling the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. One of the first lawyers to hit court is Daniel Becnel Jr., who also has several cases pending against Toyota. Becnel filed a class action Thursday on behalf of Louisiana shrimpers, fishermen and commercial boaters over damages caused by the drilling rig that exploded on April 20. "Every hour, it's going to get bigger," Becnel said of the class, noting high winds are pushing the oil slick. "They don't know where the hell it's going."
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