Second Circuit

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This week, the Second Circuit affirmed Judge Crotty’s grant of summary judgment dismissing trademark claims against Oprah Winfrey over use of the phrase “Own Your Power” (see our previous coverage here).  The Second Circuit agreed with Judge Crotty that use of the phrase “Own Your Power” was fair use and did not infringe on the name of the plaintiff’s motivational speaking business, Own Your Power Communications, Inc.  This decision was based on the panel’s finding that the plaintiff’s “mark” was merely a descriptive phrase:
Continue Reading Second Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment in Trademark Case Against Oprah

In an opinion yesterday, the Second Circuit affirmed Judge Forrest’s ruling (covered here) dismissing claims by consumer and commercial end-users who alleged that aluminum trading firms and warehouses conspired to increase the price of aluminum.  The Second Circuit ruled that the plaintiffs lacked antitrust standing because they did not participate in the markets where the wrongdoing was alleged to have occurred:
Continue Reading Second Circuit Agrees With Judge Forrest that Aluminum Consumers Lack Antitrust Standing for Alleged Conspiracy Between Warehouses and Traders

In an opinion Monday, the Second Circuit reversed Judge Buchwald’s dismissal of antitrust claims based on the alleged manipulation of LIBOR (covered here).  Judge Buchwald ruled that the process of establishing LIBOR was a “cooperative” endeavor that, even if manipulated, would not cause harm to competition for purposes of the antitrust laws.  The Second…

Today, the Second Circuit reversed Judge Rakoff’s $1.2 billion penalty against Bank of America/Countrywide for FIRREA violations (see our previous coverage here).  The case involved allegations that BoA/Countrywide had sold faulty mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, originally brought as a qui tam suit under the False Claims Act in which the government intervened.  The Second Circuit’s decision focused on whether the breach of a contractual promise, without further proof of fraudulent intent at the time of contracting, could sustain a claim for fraud.  The Second Circuit held that it court not:
Continue Reading Second Circuit Reverses Judge Rakoff’s $1.2 Billion Penalty in BOA-Countrywide FIRREA Litigation

The New York Court of Appeals has accepted a certified question from the Second Circuit regarding whether New York copyright holders for pre-1972 recordings (governed by state copyright law, and not the federal Copyright Act) have a right to exclusive public performance of those recordings.  The case, initially before Judge McMahon, arose after Sirius XM …

In a decision today, the Second Circuit, by a 2-1 vote, reversed Judge Berman’s ruling in the DeflateGate case, effectively reinstating Tom Brady’s four-game suspension for his role in deflating footballs used during the 2015 AFC Championship Game.

Tom Brady and the NFL Player’s Association focused their appeal on the fact that, based on the NFL’s written policies, Brady had no prior notice that a first-time violation could result in anything more than a fine, but the Second found that the NFL’s reading of those policies was justifiable, and met the minimal standards for confirming an arbitration award:
Continue Reading Second Circuit Sides With NFL in DeflateGate Appeal

Yesterday, the Second Circuit reversed a decision by Judge Scheindlin granting summary judgment in favor of two plaintiffs seeking to confirm ownership of a 7.4-carat diamond under the UCC’s “merchant entrustment” rule (see our original coverage of the case here).  The defendant below, the original owner of the diamond, had lent the diamond to…

The Second Circuit today held, in a shareholder class action accusing Pfizer of concealing the cardiovascular risks of two drugs, that Judge Swain should not have excluded entirely the testimony of the plaintiffs’ damages expert — a decision which had effectively ended the case (see our prior posts here and here).  The Second…