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While Uber may still not even be operating in the state of South Dakota, that didn’t stop the state from getting its piece of the Uber data breach settlement pie. The settlement stems from a 2016 data breach where hackers stole private information for 600,000 Uber drivers, then ransomed that information back to the company. Unfortunately for the company, not disclosing the data breach until 2017 led to public outrage, and, not to mention, several states filing lawsuits resulting in the $148 million settlement....

In plaintiff’s qui tam action against a city under the False Claims Act claiming that the city had defrauded the federal government by making false statements to the Department of Housing and Urban Development when applying for federal grants, dismissal of the case is affirmed where there was no error in a conclusion that the FCA’s public disclosure bar applied to divest the district court of subject matter jurisdiction over the action as: 1) the city’s alleged misrepresentation and what the plaintiff alleges was the city’s true plan were sufficiently in the public domain to ground an inference of fraud; 2) the public disclosure occurred in the manner specified in the statute; 3) plaintiff’s suit is based upon those publicly disclosed allegations or transactions; 4) plaintiff does not qualify for the original source exception; and 5) district court did not err in precluding certain testimony during an evidentiary hearing....

Cost-cutting attorneys beware: Taking advantage of law students’ free access to Westlaw is unethical and could be a potential felony. That’s the conclusion of a recent Utah State Bar ethics opinion, as reported by the Legal Skills Prof Blog. Lawyers who encourage or require law students to use their free Westlaw accounts for firm work could face discipline and even criminal charges, the Bar committee found. “Numerous students” have complained about this widespread practice, the Utah Bar’s opinion notes, adding it really amounts to theft of services....

In plaintiffs’ suit against Puerto Rico’s Milk Industry Regulation Administration, claiming that the Administration’s regulatory scheme governing milk prices violates the Due Process, Equal Protection, Takings, and dormant Commerce Clauses, grant of a preliminary injunction enjoining the regulatory scheme is affirmed where: 1) the district court properly declined defendants’ invitation to abstain from entertaining the action; 2) the Eleventh Amendment does not bar the form of relief granted by the district court in its preliminary injunction; 3) the district court did not abuse its discretion in rejecting defendants’ unclean hands defense; 4) the district court did not abuse its discretion in failing to dismiss the action on the basis of laches; 5) the district court did not abuse its discretion in rejecting defendants’ estoppel defense; and 6) district court did not abuse its discretion in granting plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction....

After I fire up my computer every morning, I have some special alone time with my RSS feeds and my cup of coffee. I get oriented by reading about what’s going on in the world (being in California means the rest of the country has already been awake for two to three hours, so a lot has happened). In-house counsel need to stay up to date, as well. So what should you be reading (in addition to FindLaw’s In House, of course)?...

Remember that clever New York teenager who was selling the white iPhone kits online - before Apple released the white iPhone? He was hit with a white iPhone lawsuit by Apple. Fei Lam, 17, got the idea to sell white iPhone conversion kids in 2010, using his own homemade website, whiteiphone4now.com (now defunct). Lam sold white iPhone kits on his website from parts he obtained from a deal he made with Apple supplier Foxconn, reports Network World....

“There would be no wedding bells, no wedding cake, and no tuxedo and white dress for Dustin Myers and Kelley Bowman. The couple was engaged to be married, but before the time came to say ‘I Do,’ Kelley found herself a new Romeo.” Though he was Romeo, and the adulterous Kelley sported the metaphorical scarlet letter, her father, Jefferson County Chief Magistrate Judge Murry Bowman, said, “Stay away from Juliet,” before negotiating the dog’s ransom - ring and a repaid loan for Lexi....

In 2010, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, and last week, the First Circuit became the first federal appellate court to apply the holding, and “[t]he results are remarkable,” says Harvard Law Professor Noah Feldman in his article for Bloomberg. Dubbed the “most important free-speech case in 20 years” by Professor Feldman, the Holder Court held that normally protected political speech may be criminalized if it’s “coordinated” with groups, designated by the United States, as terrorist organizations....

A new year brings new opportunities and new challenges for in-house counsel. If you’re not sure where to turn your attention, focus on finances. Kick off 2014 with cost-saving goals. Here are three goals to focus on to make 2014 a bigger and better year: Cheers to turning over a new leaf that’s perfectly crisp and green that you can rake in. What are your legal New Year’s resolutions? Share them with us on Facebook at FindLaw for Legal Professionals....

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to reconsider compelled speech challenges to “no abortion” posting requirements in en banc rehearing, reports Bloomberg. In June, a three-judge panel struck down “no abortion” posting ordinances enacted by Montgomery County and the City of Baltimore, finding that officials lacked a compelling interest to enact the ordinances. In Montgomery County, the posting requirement was a regulation that required anti-abortion pregnancy centers to make two declarations: First, they do not have licensed medical professionals on staff....

In the 1990s, Jim Logan started a company called Personal Audio, and this was his idea: Pick your favorite newspaper or magazine articles, and he’ll send you audio versions of those articles – through the mail – on cassette tapes. NPR’s Planet Money first reported on Logan’s failed business venture last year because Logan claimed his patent over this article-to-audio format covered podcasts too. Personal Audio sued some famous podcasts, including Adam Carolla’s and HowStuffWorks....

Tablet computers have become rather unstoppable of late. And if you’re in the legal profession, you might be wondering what the top tablets for attorneys are. Let’s be realistic. It’s not like you’ll be able to draft briefs and conduct complex legal research on a tablet. The absence of a real keyboard can be a real drain on productivity. But a tablet is especially useful for reading emails and documents when you’re on the go....

More than a year later, Apple has finally taken a judge’s advice and settled its long-running e-books price-fixing antitrust case – pending further appeals. On the eve of the damages trial, Apple settled with the government for $450 million, $400 million of which goes to consumers. However, the settlement is conditioned on Apple not losing its appeals, appeals which could reduce the settlement to $70 million or, if Apple gets truly lucky, nothing at all....

Further complicating the growing conflict over employees and contractors, the Fifth Circuit recently declared that independent contractors can sue “any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance” on discrimination suits. According to this circuit, Section 504 (The Rehabilitation Act of 1973) does not adopt the definition of who is covered under Title I even though it may be influenced by that law. The Discrimination Suit In this discrimination suit, Rochelle Flynn, the plaintiff, was a contract doctor who provided medical services with the USAF....

Now, attorneys are notorious for thinking they matter, a lot. But Ethisphere.com has tried to employ some criteria to determine which in-house attorneys represent the creme-de-la-creme of corporate counsel. The list spans all practice areas and includes federal agencies. And, in the nouveau trend of social entrepreneurship, the list also takes into consideration top-notch public service, legal community engagement, and academic involvement. Curious? We thought so. You can check out the entire list on the Ethisphere website....

It was bad to be one of the tourists stuck in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. It was even worse to be one of the tourists stuck in a New Orleans jail during the storm. Robie Waganfeald and Paul Kunkel Jr., two Ohio tourists, were arrested for public drunkenness in New Orleans two days before Hurricane Katrina hit the Crescent City. They remained in jail for a month after the storm – well beyond the 48-hour holding period limit....

Fourth Circuit jurisprudence states that a writ of error coram nobis is granted only where a more usual remedy is not available, a petitioner has valid reasons for not attacking the conviction earlier, adverse consequences exist from the conviction sufficient to satisfy the case or controversy requirement of Article III, and the error is of the most fundamental character. Last week, the Fourth Circuit ruled that a case that seemed like an ordinary ineffective counsel appeal met the four-part test for a writ of error coram nobis....

Might this device be the best of both worlds? My 7 inch Nexus tablet is in my back pocket. My 4 inch Nexus phone is in my front pocket. Carrying both, obviously, is a bit of a pain. Perhaps that is why “phablets” have become so popular. With a 5.7" display, the device seems like it would make for an obnoxious phone, and would be too small for a tablet. Yet, the first Galaxy Note sold well enough to spawn two sequels, and its got us wondering: might this be the perfect device for tech-obsessed lawyers?...

They say two wrongs don’t make a right, and that explains how and when not to write a brief. Attorney Dennis McCoobery learned that lesson the hard way. First he failed to file a brief, then he drafted a fake one to cover up the mistake. That’s not how you write a brief, and there is a point when it’s just too late. Too Late In McCoobery’s case, he tried the old “extension of time” trick....

Assistants and paralegals can make life as a lawyer much easier. And sometimes they can also help make you rich. But for the little things, like organizing your email inbox, assistants can prove invaluable. Unfortunately, not every firm or solo practitioner can afford one. Sometimes you have to do everything on your own. As a result, organization can occasionally fall to the wayside. And email inboxes are usually the first casualty....