In a trademark infringement complaint filed on Monday, Liberty Tax Service sued the makers of the TV show “Better Caul Saul” for depicting an allegedly similar business, “Sweet Liberty Tax Services,” as essentially a criminal enterprise:
Continue Reading Tax Preparation Firm Sues the Makers of “Better Caul Saul” For Depiction of Similarly-Named, but Crooked, Fictional Firm
Judge Gardephe
Judge Gardephe: Trump Campaign NDAs Are Unenforceable
Judge Gardephe last week ruled that the non-disclosure and non-disparagement clauses found in the employment agreements for Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign were void and unenforceable. The action originally arose when the Trump campaign commenced an arbitration proceeding against a former staffer, claiming that she had breached the non-disclosure and non-disparagement clauses by filing a complaint alleging sex discrimination claims in New York state court. The present complaint was brought as a putative class action by former employees of the campaign, who sought a declaration that these provisions of the employment agreement were unenforceable.
Judge Gardephe granted the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, and focused on the breadth of the non-disclosure provision as a basis for finding it unenforceable:…
Continue Reading Judge Gardephe: Trump Campaign NDAs Are Unenforceable
Judge Gardephe: “Degrading” For Counsel to Refer to Female Adversary By Her First Name Before Jury
In an opinion Monday denying a motion for a new trial in a car accident case, Judge Gardephe rejected the plaintiff’s argument (among others) that Judge Gardephe made unfairly biased comments during the trial. While Judge Gardephe acknowledged there were times that counsel “strained the patience of the Court,” those did not take place before the jury. Judge Gardephe then listed various ways in which plaintiff’s counsel was unprofessional, including:…
Continue Reading Judge Gardephe: “Degrading” For Counsel to Refer to Female Adversary By Her First Name Before Jury
Judge Gardephe: Courts Can’t Force Nonparty Insurers to Mediate
In a handwritten memo endorsement today, Judge Gardephe denied a plaintiff’s request to force the defendants’ insurers to participate in mediation, concluding that the Court lacked the power to direct the actions of a nonparty:
The Carriers are not parties before this Court. If Defendants believe that the Carriers are not meeting their responsibilities under
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Judge Gardephe Dismisses Renewed Defamation Claims by Anti-Aging Doctors Labeled as “Quacks”
Today, Judge Gardephe dismissed with prejudice the amended complaint brought by two prominent “anti-aging” doctors against the nonprofit consumer advocacy website “Quackwatch.” Last year, Judge Gardephe dismissed the original complaint, containing defamation claims based on an article reporting that the plaintiffs had agreed to pay fines to the Illinois licensing authorities for improperly using the term “M.D.” after their names (see our coverage here). Plaintiffs’ amended complaint claimed that the defendant, a retired doctor who operates the “Quackwatch” site, had secretly contacted government officials in China and Malaysia to scuttle the plaintiffs’ valuable government contracts based on the allegedly defamatory article on “Quackwatch.”
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Continue Reading Judge Gardephe Dismisses Renewed Defamation Claims by Anti-Aging Doctors Labeled as “Quacks”
Judge Gardephe: It is Not Defamatory to Suggest That Anti-Aging Doctors Fined for Misconduct Are “Quacks”
In an opinion yesterday, Judge Gardephe dismissed a defamation complaint brought by two prominent doctors who practice “anti-aging” medicine (see coverage of them in the New York Times here) over an article on a nonprofit consumer advocacy website called “Quackwatch” reporting that they had agreed to pay fines to the Illinois licensing authorities for…
Judge Gardephe Denies Bill Cosby Access to Unpublished Material Used in New York Magazine Story
In an oral ruling today, reported by Reuters, Judge Gardephe denied as “border[ing] on the frivolous” Bill Cosby’s motion to compel New York Magazine to produce unpublished material relating to a story it published about 35 women who accused him of sexual assault. Cosby had argued in his motion papers that the material fell…
Judge Gardephe Allows Plaintiff to Dismiss Own Federal Patent Claims Against Chobani But Preserves Federal Jurisdiction
In an opinion this week, Judge Gardephe granted the plaintiffs’ motion to dismiss their own federal trademark claims, but found that the defendants’ declaratory judgment counterclaims were enough to preserve federal jurisdiction. Defendant Chobani had alleged that the dismissal of the federal law claims was simply a tactic for the plaintiffs to attempt to defeat federal subject matter jurisdiction and effectively move the case to state court.
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Continue Reading Judge Gardephe Allows Plaintiff to Dismiss Own Federal Patent Claims Against Chobani But Preserves Federal Jurisdiction
JPML Transfers Antitrust Cases Alleging Bank Manipulation of Treasuries Markets to Judge Gardephe
Last week, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation transferred 25 actions pending in three districts to Judge Gardephe as part of a MDL concerning Treasury securities. According to the Order, the actions all allege that “over 20 defendant banks conspired to manipulate Treasury securities auctions overseen by Federal Reserve Bank of New York, as well…
Judge Gardephe Certifies for Appeal Issue of Whether SEC Can Subpoena Congressional Committee
Judge Gardephe yesterday certified for interlocutory appeal his earlier ruling (covered here) allowing the SEC to obtain some (but not all) categories of information sought by a subpoena to a congressional committee in connection with an investigation of the STOCK Act, which essentially extends the insider trading laws to Congress. He found that an…