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This Wall Won’t Hold: Preventing Foreign Claims on Asbestos Trusts
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August 25, 2025
This Wall Won’t Hold: Preventing Foreign Claims on Asbestos Trusts
By: George Calhoun
Bankruptcy continues as a favored vehicle for the resolution of mass-tort claims, particularly asbestos-based claims. In two recent cases in Delaware, an often-overlooked issue has raised a red flag concerning the fairness of the trusts proposed in many of these cases. The plan proponents in those cases proposed asbestos trusts that provided that foreign claimants were not eligible for payment. It is a foundational principle of U.S. bankruptcy law, however, that the bankruptcy courts do not discriminate against claimants based on the origin of their claims. The motivation behind these exclusions appears to be a claimant-driven desire to limit competition, but that motivation is incompatible with the Bankruptcy Code. The result has been, at least in the Imerys talc bankruptcy,…
The Referral was the Easy Part – Where does Gabbard’s Evidence Lead DOJ?
July 29, 2025
The Referral was the Easy Part – Where does Gabbard’s Evidence Lead DOJ?
By: James Trusty
Americans are used to a considerable level of dirty tricks when it comes to politics. Occasionally, however, a legal line is crossed and a high-level official is either chased out of office, subjected to a criminal prosecution, or both. Ask Richard Nixon, Marvin Mandel, and Bob Menendez. Despite the predictable proclamation from prominent democrats that DNI Director Tulsi Gabbard’s referral is “old news” and “politically…
Baltimoronic Investigation
July 8, 2025
Baltimoronic Investigation
By: James Trusty
June 24, 2025, may mark the day that the criminal justice system for Baltimore, Maryland finally established its lunacy. If the allegations are correct, an employee of Pretrial Services committed what Maryland officials view as a cardinal sin—he or she let ICE know that there was an illegal alien coming to the office. Armed with that information, ICE showed up at the courthouse, was allowed…
Death Penalty Overturned Because of Sleeping, Tweeting Jurors
January 25, 2012
Death Penalty Overturned Because of Sleeping, Tweeting Jurors
By: Jeffrey Hamlin
Contrary to our prediction, the Arkansas Supreme Court has vacated the conviction and sentencing of capital-murder defendant Erickson Dimas-Martinez and remanded the case for a new trial on grounds of juror misconduct. Although the decision is a definite victory for defendants, it may well invite a flood of appeals based on allegations of misconduct, regardless of whether the defendant can demonstrate a reasonable possibility of…
Online Protests Hit Hard Against Anti-Piracy Bills
January 20, 2012
Online Protests Hit Hard Against Anti-Piracy Bills
By: Ifrah Law
Organized online protests over two bills in Congress targeting online copyright infringement — the House’s Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Senate’s Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) — seem to have crippled these bills’ progress and ended their chances of becoming law in their present form. We have previously written about the protests mounting against the bills. Just this week, high-profile protests cropped up…
New DOJ Opinion Paves Way to Legal Online Poker
December 26, 2011
New DOJ Opinion Paves Way to Legal Online Poker
By: Ifrah Law
On December 23, 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice revealed that it has reversed a long-held position by stating that the Wire Act applies only to sports betting. This marks a major change in policy for DOJ, which has long contended that the Wire Act prohibits all forms of Internet gambling, including poker. Late that day, the DOJ released a 13-page legal opinion dated September…
New Step for Nevada: Commission Approves Online Gambling Regulations
December 23, 2011
New Step for Nevada: Commission Approves Online Gambling Regulations
By: Ifrah Law
On Dec. 22, 2011, the Nevada Gaming Commission unanimously approved regulations drafted by the Nevada Gaming Control Board that could make Nevada the first state to provide online gambling within its borders. Earlier this year the Nevada state legislature passed legislation allowing for intrastate online gaming. In June, Governor Brian Sandoval, a former Nevada Gaming Commission Chairman, signed the legislation into law. Earlier this year,…
Judge Dismisses Lindsey FCPA Case, Finding Prosecutorial Misconduct
December 12, 2011
Judge Dismisses Lindsey FCPA Case, Finding Prosecutorial Misconduct
By: Ifrah Law
In May 2011, a federal jury in Los Angeles convicted Lindsey Manufacturing Co., its president Keith Lindsey, and CFO Steve Lee, on foreign bribery charges for their dealings with Mexico’s state-owned electricity utility, Comision Federal de Electricidad. The prosecutors claimed that Lindsey Manufacturing retained Enrique Aguilar, a Mexican company representative, after repeatedly failing to win contracts legitimately – and that the defendants knew that the…
