Clients sometimes come to my office, convinced they have an unassailable lawsuit. They cannot lose. They are certain they have the best evidence. But, in litigation, nothing is ever certain. In the case of Knepper v. Ogletree Deakins, Nash. Smoak & Stewart, P.C., No. 19-CV-0060 (C.D. Calif.), much has gone wrong. Dawn Knepper, who
A major law firm, Pepper Hamilton, conducted an investigation into claims of rape and sexual assault by female students at Baylor University. In 2016, the law firm found fundamental flaws in how Baylor University handled these claims. Coaches were fired over the scandal that emerged. Now, some of those women have sued the university. In
The U.S. Commerce department advanced a reason for the citizenship question in the 2020 census. Department head, Wilbur Ross tried to claim the question was included to help enforce the Voting RightsAct. But, the lower court, in an opinion which was affirmed on appeal by the U.S. Supreme Court, found the reason to be “contrived.”
Once again, I nominate Pres. Trump for the award as the worst client in America. His administration has pursued a weak, almost frivolous appeal regarding the citizenship question on the 2020 census. Finally, just last week, the U.S. Supreme Court said the reason advanced by the Administration for the citizenship question was “contrived.” That is
Lawsuits are generally emotional. Both sides feel strong emotions as the lawsuit progresses. It is tempting to seek a megaphone of some sort and proclaim to the world the injustice being foisted upon us. But, only a few of us have the megaphone Alex Jones has. Alex Jones, the infamous Infowars host has been sued
Depositions are usually pretty mild. But, sometimes they include some drama. Jonathan Langley sued IBM for age discrimination. He alleged that a reduction in force was used to pare the number of older workers. At his deposition, he relied in part on some documents given him by current employees of IBM. These documents included slides
One of the aspects unique to employment suits is the simple fact that a fired person will, one hopes, soon find new employment. Generally, for most folks, one job will follow another. That presents new sources of evidence. In Mesa v. City of San Antonio, No. 16-CV-870 (W.D. Tex. 1/23/2018), Abel Mesa worked for
My Cousin Vinny was a wonderful movie in many respects. One of those respects involves the cross examination by Vinny of a so-called eye witness. After close questioning, the “eye witness” admitted he had made eggs and grits while the two defendants were supposedly robbing a small, rural store. As Vinny explained, the witness could
One thing you do not do when you file a lawsuit is antagonize the judge – without a very good reason. Roger Stone just cannot dial down his personality. On the same day a federal judge issued a gag order on him, he re-issued a book from two years ago with a new introduction. The
Some judges are exceedingly difficult. Judge Lynn Hughes in Houston seems to consistently press folks’ buttons. Most recently, he has barred a female Assistant U.S. Attorney from his court. Tina Ansari has appeared in Judge Hughes’ court twice in the past few weeks. She was excused from the court by Judge Hughes both times right