In the ongoing saga of New York State’s challenge to the U.S. Census question on citizenship (see our previous coverage here), Judge Furman has rejected the Department of Commerce’s 11th hour attempt to delay the trial in the case currently scheduled to begin on November 6. Citing “the defendants’ own urgent need for finality,” Judge Furman … Continue Reading
Shortly before a nine-day bench trial was scheduled to start this morning, Major League Baseball settled an antitrust suit alleging it is anticompetitive for Major League Baseball broadcast out-of-market games only as part of a allegedly overpriced all-or-nothing packages. As part of the settlement, MLB will offer reduced price packages for fans to stream out-of-market games … Continue Reading
The plaintiffs and Major League Baseball yesterday exchanged briefs in anticipation of a January 18 trial before Judge Scheindlin in a case alleging it is anticompetitive for Major League Baseball to divide the market for broadcasting games into various territories exclusive to the local teams, while allowing the broadcast of out-of-market games only as part … Continue Reading
Following a bench trial, Judge Cote today issued a 361-page ruling in favor of FHFA (the conservator to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae) in a case accusing Nomura and RBS of misrepresenting the quality of mortgages underlying various securities. There had been 16 similar cases before Judge against various banks, all of which settled except … Continue Reading
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (or “FHFA,” as conservator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) sued 18 banks in 2011 for misrepresenting the quality of mortgage bonds. All but Nomura and RBS have settled, for a total of around $18 billion. The trial against Nomura and RBS begins Monday before Judge Cote. It will be … Continue Reading
In an opinion today, Judge Rakoff rejected motions to set aside a jury verdict in the so-called “Hustle” case, in which the government accused Countrywide (later acquired by Bank of America) and an officer named Rebecca Mairone of a scheme to defraud Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into buying faulty mortgages. The jury had ruled … Continue Reading
In an opinion today, Judge Rakoff ordered Bank of America to pay $1.3 billion in the so-called “Hustle” case, in which a jury found that Countrywide (later acquired by Bank of America) and an officer named Rebecca Mairone engaged in a scheme to defraud Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into buying faulty mortgages. Judge Rakoff … Continue Reading
In opinion today announcing findings from a bench trial, Judge Pauley rejected claims that American Express, Citi and Discover colluded to add arbitration clauses barring class actions to their standard card agreements. He found that the defendants acted individually, not collusively:… Continue Reading
Judge Kaplan issued a 485-page opinion this morning siding with Chevron in its long-running challenge to a $19 billion Ecuadorian judgment against it. From the introduction of the opinion: [T]he Court finds that Donziger began his involvement in this controversy with a desire to improve conditions in the area in which his Ecuadorian clients live. … Continue Reading
Post-trial briefing was completed Tuesday in the RICO trial challenging a multibillion dollar Ecuadorian judgment against Chevron. (See Chevron Brief / Reply; Donziger Brief / Reply) Chevron’s opening brief states:… Continue Reading
In the RICO litigation Chevron has brought to challenge an allegedly fraudulent multibillion dollar judgment against it in Ecuador, the defendants today moved to strike the testimony of an Ecuadorian judge who admitted to taking bribes from Chevron’s adversaries in the prior litigation in Ecuador. Chevron paid the judge to be relocated to the U.S., … Continue Reading
Judge Carter on Tuesday ordered a new trial for the City of New York and two police officers after a jury had awarded a plaintiff more than $600,000 for unlawful arrest and excessive force. The basis for the reversal, which came after Judge Carter had denied the defendants’ motion for judgment as a matter of … Continue Reading
Judge Sullivan issued an opinion yesterday with his findings and conclusions after a breach of contract bench trial in which Merrill Lynch Capital Advisors sued its swap counterparty and a guarantor for $146 million. The principal question at trial was whether the individuals signing the contracts had the authority to do so.… Continue Reading
