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Landmark Nebraska Decision
On May 12, 2005, a federal trial judge in Nebraska struck down what has been called the most extreme of the anti-gay family laws in the nation. Citizens for Equal Protection, Inc., v. Bruning, – F. Supp. 2nd – , 2005 WL 1126834 (D. Neb. 2005). Passed by Nebraska voters in 2000, the ballot initiative that was known as “Measure 416″ became Section 29 of the Bill of Rights of the Nebraska constitution. In addition to limiting marriage to a man and a woman, the measure provided that the “uniting of two persons of the same sex in a civil union, domestic partnership, or other similar same-sex relationship shall not be valid or recognized in Nebraska.”
Plaintiffs challenged the law under the United States Constitution as a violation of the Equal Protection Clause and the prohibition on Bills of Attainder. The equal protection claim rested in part on the United States Supreme Court's analysis in Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620 (1996), in which the Court struck down an amendment to the Colorado Constitution that barred any laws that protected against discrimination based on sexual orientation. Plaintiffs argued that for the purpose of equal protection the Colorado and Nebraska provisions could not be distinguished, and the Court agreed. The Bill of Attainder claim rested in part on the assertion that Section 29 was a law that singled out lesbians and gay men for punishment, and the Court here also agreed.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
Judge Rules Shaquille O'Neal Will Face Securities Lawsuit for Promotion, Sale of NFTs
A federal district court in Miami, FL, has ruled that former National Basketball Association star Shaquille O'Neal will have to face a lawsuit over his promotion of unregistered securities in the form of cryptocurrency tokens and that he was a "seller" of these unregistered securities.
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?
Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners
Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.
Coverage Issues Stemming from Dry Cleaner Contamination Suits
In recent years, there has been a growing number of dry cleaners claiming to be "organic," "green," or "eco-friendly." While that may be true with respect to some, many dry cleaners continue to use a cleaning method involving the use of a solvent called perchloroethylene, commonly known as perc. And, there seems to be an increasing number of lawsuits stemming from environmental problems associated with historic dry cleaning operations utilizing this chemical.