Last week, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer unexpectedly announced the decision to dismiss the serious criminal charges against Alec Baldwin. The actor was initially charged in January 2023 with two counts of involuntary manslaughter after shooting and killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring Joel Souza on the set of ‘Rust’ in...
Last Friday, in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the United States Supreme Court overruled a 40-year-old judicial deference doctrine known as “Chevron deference,” named after the 1984 Supreme Court ruling in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, which instructed courts that they should defer to federal administrative agencies’ readings on...
Earlier this month, in Smith v. Spizzirri, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Section 3 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) requires district courts to stay a lawsuit pending arbitration when asked by a party to do so, and that district courts lack the inherent authority to instead dismiss such...
By Gregory Feit Our firm previously reported on the passage of the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (EFAA) (codified at 9 U.S.C. §§ 401-02), which amended the Federal Arbitration Act. Broadly speaking, the EFAA prohibits the compulsory enforcement of pre-dispute arbitration agreements with...
We are pleased to report that on Friday, August 4, 2023, RPJ client and sexual assault complaining witness, Samuel Schultz, received some closure in connection with the criminal matter against his rapists, opera star David Daniels and his husband, Scott Walters, which was slated to begin trial that day in...
The Supreme Court is on a tear, ignoring precedent and settled legal principles with seeming abandon. However, in its recent, less controversial decision, Mallory v. Norfolk S. Ry. Co., No. 21-1168, 2023 WL 4187749 (U.S. June 27, 2023), the Court affirmed century-old precedent and held that a corporation would have...
The first gay pride march was held in New York City on June 28, 1970, the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Over time, the one-day celebration has expanded to a month-long commemoration of LGBTQ+ pride, with various festivities scheduled throughout the entire month of June, now officially pride month....
The month of May has become a very popular month for raising awareness of a wide range of health conditions, particularly so-called “invisible illnesses” from which many suffer not only from the disease itself but also from the condition being less apparent and therefore perhaps less likely to be believed...
A growing concern in the real estate industry is known as “deed theft.” This occurs when a person loses ownership of their home by fraudulent means. This can happen in two different ways. One way occurs when a criminal records a forged deed transferring ownership to an LLC, which is...
This article discusses Section 74 of the New York Civil Rights Law, which provides “absolute” protection against a claim of defamation arising from a “fair and true report of judicial proceedings,” even if the report is made outside the courthouse. It also addresses the application of Section 74 to the...