Featured Articles

Learning to Love Oral Argument (and Persuade the Court While You're At It) -- The Bryan Garner Interviews III

Kirk Jenkins
June 16, 2011 18:29

My favorite part of my job is oral argument. A well-prepared oral argument with a hot bench is everything that draws a lawyer into appellate practice -- a fast-paced but thoughtful give-and-take about what the law is, and where it should go. As Justice Scalia told Bryan Garner, “I...

Does Legal Scholarship Have an Impact on the Work of the Courts?

August 05, 2010 16:49

It’s almost become traditional wisdom over the past ten years: for the day-to-day work of the courts and the practicing bar, law reviews matter less than ever before. Chief Justice Roberts recently characterized legal scholarship as not “particularly helpful” in deciding...

Website Posters Beware - Florida Supreme Court Extends Long-Arm Statute to Nonresident Who Posts Allegedly Defamatory Comments About a Florida Resident on a Website Accessible and Accessed in Florida

June 25, 2010 20:44

The Supreme Court of Florida, answering a question certified by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, recently held that posting defamatory material on a website about a Florida resident does constitute the commission of a tortious act within Florida for purposes of the State’s long-arm...

Recent Articles

Products Liability Law Ebbs as California Supreme Court Issues Definitive O'Neil Opinion

January 18, 2012 21:34

The California Supreme Court has issued a resounding and conclusive opinion rejecting the surging liability theory that a product manufacturer may be held liable for harmful defects in products made by third parties unless the manufacturer’s own product contributed substantially to the harm,...

California Supreme Court Hears Argument in Pivotal Asbestos Product Liability Case

November 15, 2011 20:06

The California Supreme Court heard oral argument in O’Neil v. Crane Co. The Court’s decision will likely define an important area of strict products liability law in California – specifically, it will expand or limit the duty of product manufacturers to warn about the hazards...

Two New Civil Opinions Coming From the Illinois Supreme Court

Kirk Jenkins
October 25, 2011 17:34

The Illinois Supreme Court has announced that on the morning of Thursday, October 27, it will file opinions in two civil cases [pdf]: A.B.A.T.E. v. Giannoulias, No. 110611 -- Does a state statute permitting the transfer of funds from the Cycle Rider Safety Training Fund to the General Revenue...

Is It Time For Florida to Adopt Daubert and Reject Frye?

October 25, 2011 16:05

Witnesses called to testify as “experts” are cloaked with prestige and authority, and positioned to exert heavy influence on juries. This is accentuated with areas of expert testimony that are highly technical or specialized. The U.S. Supreme Court recognized in Daubert v....

6th Circuit Paging Ph.D. Jones?: Reliable Physician Causation Testimony Requires More Than Clinical Experience

September 07, 2011 17:43

In Thomas, Melau, and Anderson v. Novartis Pharms. Corp., the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a trio of cases prohibiting the testimony of treating physicians as specific causation experts. Though the appellate court’s opinion was not recommended for full-text...

Illinois Supreme Court Sets Civil Argument Schedule for September

Kirk Jenkins
August 23, 2011 22:02

This afternoon the Illinois Supreme Court published its Oral Argument Calendar [pdf] for the September term, and the Court will hear oral argument in ten civil cases. The cases, with the issue or issues presented in each, are: September 20: Simpkins v. CSX Corporation, No. 110662 -- Does an...

A Claim for Medical Expenses Is Limited to the Rate Negotiated by Plaintiff's Insurer - So Rules The California Supreme Court in Howell

August 19, 2011 16:58

  Adding its voice to a continuing national debate, the California Supreme Court has adopted the minority rule and held that tort damages for past medical expenses are limited to those amounts actually paid and accepted as full payment for the services provided, when such amounts are...