Litigation

Smithfield Foods' precedent-setting civil racketeering suit against the United Food and Commercial Workers' Union (UFCW) and several related defendants spawned critically important legal precedent that blazes a new trail for employers who are in search of litigation options for responding to non-traditional union organizing methods.

The end of the Bush administration and the first six weeks of the Obama administration resulted in significant changes to key federal fair employment statutes.But there are also four U.S. Supreme Court decisions issued since June 2006, which have significantly expanded the scope of the anti-retaliation provisions ...

On Feb. 11, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recognized the broad protections afforded to swap agreements under the Bankruptcy Code. Here is a review of the case.

The first part of this article, which appeared in the December 2008 issue, discussed cases that address the preference for stability over sense, mitigation and interpretation of leases. The second part, which appeared in the February 2009 issue, discussed cases that address enforcement and violations. The cases in the conclusion herein address stipulations and eviction.

Chief Justice Roberts commented in a recent dissent that the Supreme Court's sentencing rulings "have given the lower courts a good deal to digest over a relatively short period." Indeed. Since its landmark holding in United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005), that the Sentencing Guidelines were simply advisory, the Court has swiftly and significantly diminished the relevance of the Guidelines and increased the discretion of district court judges in sentencing defendants. As a…

The Supreme Court's growing embrace of the virtues of arbitration continued on April 1 with a 5-4 ruling endorsing labor contracts that send age discrimination claims to arbitration rather than to federal courts.

The Supreme Court on April 1 ruled 5-4 that courts must enforce clearly stated provisions in labor contracts that require age-discrimination claims to go to arbitration.

In-depth analysis of recent rulings.