On June 18, 2012, in an opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito for a 5-4 majority, the U.S. Supreme Court held that pharmaceutical sales representatives are not entitled to overtime pay. The question before the Court was whether or not the sales reps were employed “in the capacity as outside salesmen” and therefore within an exemption
Then and Now (Leaving Out Obvious Technology Differences)
Things That Were in my Childhood Home That Are Not in my Current Home: 
Whole milk
A popcorn popper
Waxed paper and Freezer Paper
Wooden tennis rackets
A Sears catalog
Pipe cleaners
Typewriter ribbon
A skate key
A coffee percolator
Green Stamps
Calamine lotion
Evening newspapers
A slide rule
Encyclopedia Britannica
Margarine
Camera film
Tough Week for Fee-Seeking and “Fast Filer” Plaintiffs’ Lawyers
Our legal system is one of our society’s crowning achievements. But for all of its grandeur, our legal system is not without its flaws. Among other things, our system encourages litigiousness that all too often involves frivolous suits and lawyers’-fee driven litigation, including the recent phenomenon of multi-jurisdiction derivative litigation driven by plaintiffs’ lawyers competing
NY Appellate Court: Excess Insurers Off the Hook Where It Can’t Be Determined if Underlying Insurance Exhausted
In the latest of what is now a lengthening line of cases, on June 12, 2012, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, applying Illinois law, ruled in a coverage case brought by JPMorgan Chase that owing to settlements by underlying carriers in a professional liability insurance program, excess insurers in the program
Guest Post: Holding Bankers Liable?
In a recent post on this blog (here), I commented on a May 29, 2012 Dealbook blog post entitled “Why S.E.C. Settlements Should Hold Senior Executives Liable” (here), which had been written by two University of Minnesota law professors, Claire Hill and Richard Painter. After my post appeared, I contacted
Supreme Court Grants Cert in Amgen Securities Suit
On Monday, June 11, 2012, the United States Supreme Court granted the petition of Amgen for a writ of certiorari in a securities lawsuit pending against the company. As a result, next term the Court will be addressing the question of whether securities plaintiffs must establish in their class certification petition that the alleged misrepresentation
“Extravagant” Statements, Nearly Two Dozen Confidential Witnesses – But Credit Crisis-Related Securities Suit Dismissal Still Affirmed
The plaintiffs’ complaint cited twenty-three confidential witnesses and relied on statements the appellate court itself described as “extravagant,” but the First Circuit nevertheless affirmed the lower court’s dismissal of the credit crisis-related securities class action lawsuit investors filed against Textron and certain of its directors and officers. A copy of the First Circuit’s June 7, 2012
Bear Stearns Settles Credit Crisis Securities Suit for $275 Million
The March 2008 collapse of Bear Stearns was, in the words of Southern District of New York Judge Robert Sweet, “an early and major event in the turmoil that has affected the financial markets and the national and world economies.” The securities class action litigation that followed the company’s collapse was among the highest profile
Management Liability Insurer Must Defend Insured Accused of Sexual Molestation
The criminal trial in which Jerry Sandusky, the former defensive coordinator of Penn State’s football team, stands accused of sexually abusing at least 10 boys over a 15-year period began Tuesday, June 4, 2012, in Bellefonte, Pa. Sandusky has been charged with forty criminal counts. Sandusky has also separately named as a defendant in a
To Encourage the Others?: Imposing Personal Liability for Corporate Fines on Individual Officers
In a ruling that has gained a great deal of attention and scrutiny, Southern District of New York Judge Jed Rakoff rejected the “neither admit nor deny” settlement in the SEC’s enforcement action against Citigroup, a ruling that is now on appeal in the Second Circuit (about which refer here). Among other things, Judge