Steven P. Garmisa

Threatened with criminal prosecution if it opens up a “safe injection site” for people struggling with opioid abuse, a nonprofit Pennsylvania corporation claimed protection under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and First Amendment.The nonprofit, Safehouse, alleged the proposed project is “inspired and informed by classic Judeo-Christian beliefs about the need to preserve life, provide shelter to our neighbors, and do everything possible to care for the sick.”The government asked for declaratory judgment that the …

When a non-party located in New Hampshire challenged a subpoena duces tecum that called for production of documents in Las Vegas, the first hurdle was a venue question that has “befuddled attorneys and split courts.”Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45(d)(3), the motion to quash had to be filed in “the court for the district where compliance is required.”But was compliance required in Nevada or New Hampshire?The New Hampshire company, Rayford International, filed its motion to quash in Nevada. As support for the …

Relying on cases that included a federal decision from Illinois, the respondent in proceedings to confirm an $11.4 million arbitration award asked the Washington Supreme Court to decide the litigation was moot because it fully paid the petitioner before a judgment was entered. But the high court, surveying dueling decisions from across the country, disagreed.Point Ruston LLC borrowed $66 million from AURC III LLC for a real estate development.AURC alleged Point Ruston was “delinquent on interest payments.” The dispute went …

Accused of violating an Iowa rule that says it is professional misconduct for an attorney to “engage in sexual harassment or other unlawful discrimination in the practice of law,” the top prosecutor in Wapello County argued that comments he allegedly made to his staff about defendants, judges and his predecessor were protected by his First Amendment right to free speech.

A federal judge in the District of Columbia looked to a 1990 opinion from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for guidance when considering whether to dismiss several claims against the State of Florida under the “melange of doctrines” referred to as “prudential mootness.”This variety of mootness is distinct from the version based on the “jurisdictional limitations” imposed by Article III of the U.S. Constitution.Seven conservation organizations alleged that several federal agencies violated federal law “in the final …

Adopting a qualified version of the “middle ground approach” to an affirmative defense under the Equal Pay Act, a unanimous panel decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reinstated a pharmacist’s EPA claim against the Veteran’s Administration.The case attracted 47 amici curiae.Leslie Boyer’s starting salary as clinical pharmacist at the VA’s medical center in Birmingham, Alabama, was $115,364. The decision to set her pay at that level was partially based on her prior salary of $115,003.The male …

A complicated question of law about Subchapter V of the Bankruptcy Code in a battle over the dischargeability of a debt that a company allegedly procured by fraud — with a false written statement about its financial condition — is so “interesting,” according to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, that it was the topic of a national moot court competition last year.Avion Funding allegedly gave $190,000 to GFS Industries, a Texas limited liability corporation that provides commercial cleaning services, in return for $299 …

In an epilogue at the end of a 126-page decision on a request for summary judgment that was “a monumental waste of time,” a district judge in Massachusetts with 46 years of experience on the bench “puzzled how to do better” in cases where everyone would benefit “from a direct march to trial.”Members of Boston College’s 401(k) retirement plans filed a class action against the college’s trustees and members of its plan investment committee for allegedly violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.Relying on ERISA …

In a case where the defendant relied on the controversial “closely related” doctrine to argue that the plaintiff was bound by a forum-selection clause it didn’t sign, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals considered the split on whether district judges should use “federal common law” when deciding whether a forum-selection clause applies to a nonparty.Firexo Group Limited, a British company that manufactures fire extinguishers, owned Firexo Corp., a Florida corporation. In 2019, FGL sold 70% of Firexo to Scot Smith, an …

As if there isn’t enough for trial lawyers to dislike about third-party litigation funding, requests from clients to review and perhaps join in signing litigation-funding agreements present complicated ethical issues under the Rules of Professional Conduct.A new opinion from the New York City Bar’s Committee on Professional Ethics provides useful guidance on “a lawyer’s ethical duties when advising a client about litigation funding agreements the client intends to enter with a funder.”The bottom line: “Litigation funding …