In an opinion yesterday, Judge Castel denied in part a motion to compel certain drafts of sales and marketing documents withheld as privileged in an antitrust case. The plaintiff argued that the attorneys were not providing legal advice but, instead, “‘scrubbing’ or ‘vetting’ these documents ‘to avoid having a jury see the unvarnished truth.” Judge … Continue Reading
Last week, Jeffrey Atkins (better known as Ja Rule) asked Judge Castel to dismiss claims against him stemming from the “Fyre Festival,” a 2017 music festival in the Bahamas that descended into chaos after organizers were unable to deliver the luxury accommodations, celebrity chefs, and musical acts that attendees were expecting (see NYT coverage here). Plaintiffs accused Atkins … Continue Reading
Today, Judge Castel formally upheld New York State’s “ballot selfie ban” at the conclusion of a bench trial. The ruling comes after Judge Castel denied a preliminary injunction shortly before the November 2016 election (see our previous coverage here). Considering whether the law violated the First Amendment, Judge Castel found that the law survived strict scrutiny because … Continue Reading
In an opinion this week by Judge Forrest (sitting by designation), the Second Circuit reversed in part Judge Castel’s dismissal (covered here) of claims brought by a University of Virginia fraternity against Rolling Stone magazine over a widely discredit article telling the story of a source named “Jackie” being gang raped at a fraternity party. The Second … Continue Reading
Today, Judge Castel denied an attempt to enjoin the enforcement of New York’s Election Law § 17-130, or the so-called “ballot selfie” ban. Judge Castel found that the state’s interest in protecting against voter fraud and intimidation by preventing voters from revealing the content of their ballots (even if through Instagram) was a reasonable First Amendment … Continue Reading
In an opinion this afternoon, the Sixth Circuit refused to block Michigan’s “ballot selfie” ban, and, in doing so, echoed the very same concern from Judge Castel on Wednesday (covered in this post, immediately below), about delay in bringing suit: One hundred and twenty-five years ago, Michigan enacted a law designed to protect the secret … Continue Reading
On Wednesday, a new complaint sought a TRO and preliminary injunction against a law banning so-called “ballot selfies” on the ground that the law violates the First Amendment. According to the complaint, “Taking a photograph of a filled out ballot is a powerful political statement that demonstrates the importance of voting. Without the photograph, the message … Continue Reading
Today, Judge Castel dismissed RICO claims brought against Alibaba Group Holding by a group of luxury goods makers including Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. The complaint accused Alibaba of providing services and a market platform to merchants that Alibaba should have known were selling counterfeit goods. Judge Castel specifically considered the plaintiffs’ claims that Alibaba’s … Continue Reading
In an opinion Tuesday, Judge Castel dismissed a case brought by three fraternity members against Rolling Stone magazine and one of its writers, Sabrina Erdely, who authored a discredited account of a woman referred to as “Jackie” claiming to have been gang raped at a fraternity at the University of Virginia. Judge Castel found that the … Continue Reading
In an opinion dated yesterday, Judge Castel dismissed a suit challenging the proposed merger between a Chilean bank (Itau) and a Brazlian bank (CorpBanca) because the plaintiff, Cartica, was not a “purchaser” or “seller” in relation to the alleged fraud. It was merely a stockholder. In doing so, he took one side of an issue … Continue Reading
In an Order dated Friday, Judge Castel denied the motion of an investor, Cartica, to lift the automatic PSLRA discovery stay in Cartica’s suit challenging the proposed merger between a Chilean bank (Itau) and a Brazlian bank (CorpBanca). Cartica claims that the disclosures to investors were incomplete and misleading, and sought limited discovery in advance … Continue Reading
Judge Engelmayer issued an opinion yesterday resolving several motions in limine relating to an upcoming trial concerning the Beastie Boys’ suit accusing the makers of Monster Energy drinks of using Beastie Boys songs in promotional videos without authorization. Judge Engelmayer largely denied the Beastie Boys’ motion to exclude the testimony of Erich Joachimsthaler, a branding … Continue Reading
In an order today, Judge Castel explained why, although he approved over $150 million in attorney’s fees in a securities class action against Bank of America, he would not approve a request for $3.4 million from Flanagan, Lieberman, Hoffman and Swain, a firm that apparently played only a peripheral role for the class:… Continue Reading
In the class action alleging that Bank of America’s proxy statement for the Merrill merger failed to disclose massive expected losses at Merrill, the plaintiffs filed on Friday a 102-page omnibus opposition to the series of summary judgment motions we covered previously. In response to the principal defense argument — that any failure to disclose … Continue Reading
In a case we have followed closely, the parties to the derivative claims against Bank of America’s directors and officers relating to the Merrill Lynch and Countrywide acquisitions told Judge Castel today that they had executed a definitive settlement agreement, presumably reflecting the $20 million agreement in principle disclosed in April. In an interesting twist, … Continue Reading
The proposed settlement of a derivative suit before Judge Castel concerning Bank of America’s acquisitions of Countrywide and Merrill Lynch is being challenged by lawyers in a parallel case in Delaware state court. The parties to the federal case told Judge Castel on April 12 that they had settled. The next day, the Delaware lawyers … Continue Reading
