August 2012 Archives

A federal jury in California has awarded Apple, Inc. over $1 billion dollars in its lawsuit against Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.  The Cupertino, California company claimed that Samsung's smartphone and tablet computer products violated several of its patents related to the iPhone and iPad product lines.  The jury agreed on many, but not all, of the claims, although Samsung has vowed to appeal.

A federal judge in New York has overturned a poker room operator's conviction under the Illegal Gambling Business Act.  The judge determined that neither the text of the statute nor the legislative history was clear as to whether Congress anticipated that poker businesses would be subject to the IGBA, thus the rule of lenity required the court to overturn the conviction.

A federal judge in Texas has dismissed Lance Armstrong's lawsuit seeking to end the United States Anti-Doping Agency's investigation into his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs.  The judge found that Armstrong's due process claim lacked merit, and determined that the court either lacked jurisdiction over Armstrong's remaining claims or declined to grant equitable relief on those claims.

A federal judge in San Francisco has rejected the proposed settlement between Facebook and class action plaintiffs who sued the social networking company over its "Sponsored Stories" advertising program.  The judge will, however, allow the parties to modify the agreement or submit further evidence explaining why the class members did not receive any direct payment; justifying the amount of the cy pres payment; clarifying the measures Facebook must implement to protect users; and supporting the plaintiff attorneys' fee calculations.

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has brought a civil lawsuit against Attorney General Eric Holder asking the federal district court in Washington D.C. to reject the Attorney General's assertion of executive privilege in refusing to turn over documents related to the so-called "Fast and Furious" gun walking program.  The lawsuit requests that the court order the Attorney General to comply with the Committee's subpoena and release the documents immediately.

Facebook has filed an amicus curiae brief in the appeal of a sheriff's deputy who was fired after "liking" the campaign page of the sheriff's election challenger.  The brief argues that a "like" on the social networking site is a kind of speech protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and requests that the appeals court overturn the district court's decision in the case.  The district court ruled that a like did not merit constitutional protection since it did not involve an actual statement.