Category: Civil Remedies

May 19, 2016

Data Breach Lawsuits: Challenges Persist After Spokeo v. Robins

Data breaches are as common as the common cold—unfortunately, just as incurable. Run a news search on “data breaches” and you’ll find that all kinds of institutions—major retailers, tech companies, universities, even government agencies—have been vulnerable at some point. Now run a search on “data breaches,” but include the word “lawsuit.” You’ll find that many… Read More

September 9, 2015

Copyright & Trademark Protections- Is Metadata Included?

A Canadian federal court recently released an opinion holding that meta tags, at least in some circumstances, are not entitled to copyright protection.  Although the precedent is not binding in American courts, the well-reasoned opinion provides an excellent logical analysis on why meta tags may or may not be afforded copyright protection. In Red Label… Read More

September 12, 2014

A New Remedy for Online Defamation

In the United States it is enormously difficult to remove allegedly defamatory information from the internet.  A victim can take the expensive and time-consuming step of suing the author for defamation in court.  However, even if a court rules that the statement is defamatory—that is, that the published statement is false and harmful to the… Read More

January 27, 2014

Healthcare Fraud Recoveries at All-Time High Since 2009

Fiscal year 2013 marked the fourth consecutive year in which the Department of Justice has recovered at least $2 billion from cases involving charges of healthcare fraud.  Make no mistake: these record-setting yields were no accident.  The Obama Administration has prioritized busting healthcare fraudsters since it took office, and for good reason.  A 2009 analysis… Read More

December 27, 2012

Bill Could Put Reins on Prosecutors’ Efforts to Seize Domain Names

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif), a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, has indicated that she is drafting legislation that would seek to increase judicial oversight over prosecutors’ efforts to act against Internet domain names accused of copyright infringement. While the value of such legislation will depend on the details of the bill, the notion… Read More

June 25, 2012

Appellate Court Casts Doubt on Acceptability of ‘Obey-the Law’ Injunctions

We recently blogged about the recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Goble, 2012 WL 1918819 (11th Cir. May 29, 2012).  There, we discussed the appeals court’s limitation on the reach of the concept of “securities fraud” under Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act… Read More

June 18, 2012

FBI Raid Targets For-Profit School in Florida: Was This Necessary?

When you hear of FBI agents descending upon a place, you might think of a hostage situation, a drug raid, or the penetration of a terrorist cell. But you probably wouldn’t assume that those armed agents were working with the U.S. Department of Education on a raid on a Florida for-profit college. FBI agents raided… Read More

November 7, 2011

Options for Suing the Federal Government Under Bivens Unlikely to Expand

In 2001, federal inmate Richard Lee Pollard sustained two broken elbows after tripping over a cart in a privately operated prison housing federal inmates. He sued five prison employees for their actions after his injuries. On Nov. 1, 2011, the Supreme Court held oral argument in Minneci v. Pollard and considered the possibility of creating… Read More