The article, complete with pictures of, for example, a custom Plexiglas booth for witnesses, is here. See also our prior coverage here.
Judge Preska
Cardozo Law Review Publishes Special Issue On Litigation Costs, Inspired by Judge Marrero Essay
The Cardozo Law Review has published a special issue, inspired by a 2016 essay from Judge Marrero entitled The Costs of Rules, the Rule of Costs, focusing on the way modern practice and procedure have needlessly made litigation so expensive and slow. The special issue includes (among other things) a follow up article from Judge Marrero entitled Motion to Dismiss: A Dismissal of Rule 12(b)(6) and the Retirement of Twonbly/Iqbal, proposing various reforms, including severely limiting motions to dismiss that are aimed at the factual sufficiency of the allegations (as opposed to dispositive legal theories). Judge Marrero argues that the wastefulness that inspired the adoption of the Federal Rules in 1938 (which ushered in the simple, notice pleading standard) has reappeared in a different form in today’s practice:
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Judge Preska Declares Consumer Finance Protection Bureau Unconstitutional
In an opinion today, Judge Preska dismissed the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) from an action after finding that, because the CFPB’s structure was unconstitutional, it lacked the authority to bring claims under the Consumer Finance Protection Act (“CFPA”).
The CFPB and the New York Attorney General had originally brought claims against companies that…
Judge Preska: Disputed Picasso Will Stay at the Met
Yesterday, Judge Preska dismissed a suit seeking to reclaim Picasso’s “The Actor” from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The suit alleged that the painting was sold under duress in the 1930s after its owner at the time, a German Jew, fled the Nazi regime (see our original coverage here). While the opinion details the plight of the Leffmann family as they fled from Germany to Italy, Switzerland, and eventually Brazil to escape the Nazis, ultimately, the complaint did not adequately allege a claim against the Met.
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Judge Preska: Widespread Pirating Makes Music Price Fixing Case Unsuitable for Class Treatment
In an opinion yesterday, Judge Preska refused to certify as a class action a case alleging price fixing in the digital music industry. Among other reasons, she found that widespread pirating would raise “unclean hand” defenses that could not be determined on a classwide basis:
Defendants note that two of the Proposed Class Representatives admitted
…
Suit Against Met Alleges that $100 Million Picasso Painting Was Sold Under Duress in Nazi Germany
The heirs to estate of the former owner of Picasso’s “The Actor” filed a complaint last week alleging that the painting, currently in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection, was sold under duress in the 1930s as its owner at the time, a German Jew, fled the Nazi regime. The complaint alleges that, but for…
Judge Preska Grants Steven Cohen Summary Judgment in Long-Running Case Brought by Former Wife
Today, Judge Preska granted summary judgment in favor of Steven Cohen on fraud and breach of fiduciary duty claims brought by his former wife, Patricia Cohen. The case was originally filed in 2009 (see our previous coverage here) against Steven Cohen, the former head of SAC Capital Advisors. In the complaint, Patricia Cohen claimed that Steven Cohen had defrauded her during their divorce in the late 1980s by hiding assets using a Queens real estate investment.
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Judge Preska Rejects Copyright Challenge to Play Parodying “Three’s Company”
In an opinion yesterday, Judge Presksa granted judgment to the creator of a play called “3C” that parodies the 70’s TV show “Three’s Company.” She found that the play fell within the bounds of “fair use” because (among other reasons) it was “transformative”:
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