“A 2018 Sixth Circuit panel upheld a jury verdict convicting Dr. Richard Paulus of submitting fraudulent medical claims. That same panel, with 2020 hindsight(!), reversed that conviction. It held that the trial court’s order unconstitutionally blocked exculpatory evidence,” reports Thomas Zeno in Squire Patton Boggs case updates.

“The ‘twisted’ history of the verdict began when a jury deadlocked twice and needed an Allen charge in order to convict Dr. Paulus of billing angiograms that were unnecessary.  The trial court rejected the jury’s verdict and set aside the conviction: a doctor’s decision about the degree of blockage of an artery was a matter of subjective medical opinion that ‘could be neither be false nor fraudulent.’  The government disagreed and appealed.  (Double jeopardy does not prevent appeal of a judgment of acquittal after verdict.)”

“In the first appeal, the panel (McKeague, Batchelder, Griffin) recognized the difficulty of distinguishing a fraudulent medical opinion from mere expert disagreement.  Relying on the U.S. v. Persaud, however, the panel reaffirmed that fraud occurs when a doctor deliberately inflates artery blockage in order to bill for unnecessary procedures.  The panel emphasized that “it is up to the jury – not the court – to decide whether the government’s proof is worthy of belief.”  Deferring to the jury, the panel reversed, reinstated the conviction, and remanded the case for sentencing.”

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“There is nothing much better for a litigator/baseball fan than when these two interests collide.  One of the highpoints of my legal career was successfully representing a major league baseball player (Pat Kelly) in his salary arbitration with the Yankees.  So I was pretty excited when the case Olson, et al. v. Major League Baseball, et al. was filed this year in the SDNY.  Maybe not as excited as if I would have been if I were involved in the case myself, but in these times we have to take what we can get,” discusses Edward H. Rosenthal in Frankfurt Kurnit Klein + Selz‘ blog.

“Olson was a putative class action brought by individuals who participated in DraftKings fantasy baseball competitions. The plaintiffs sued Major League Baseball (“MLB”), MLB’s marketing entity called Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (“MLBAM”), the Houston Astros and the Boston Red Sox alleging that plaintiffs’ fantasy baseball efforts had been harmed by virtue of the electronic sign-stealing scandal that has been revealed over the past few months. In a nutshell, the Astros were found to have devised a system using cameras to relay the signs the opposing team’s catcher was giving to its pitcher by sending the signs to a player or coach situated behind the Astros dugout.  The recipient of the video would then convey the pitch information to the batter by banging on a trash can.   It is undoubtedly true that a batter’s knowledge of the pitch about to be thrown enhances his chances of a successful time at the plate.  While sign-stealing is not in and of itself illegal (it’s a time honored tradition for baserunners to try to figure out the sign being given by the catcher and then convey that information to the batter), the rules of baseball specifically prohibit electronic sign stealing.”

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We’d like to invite you to our next webinar: Managing Contracts Remotely with CLM Software.

In this session, we’ll discuss and demonstrate the advantages of using contract management software to overcome the challenges of managing contracts when everyone is working from home.

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Make your contracts securely accessible from anywhere at any time.
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Tim Donaghy
Chief Technology Officer
Contract Logix

David Parks
Director, Product Marketing
Contract Logix

Justin Perkins
Solutions Engineer
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“The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (“OPEC”) and other countries including Russia may have reached a tentative agreement during its virtual meeting today to temporarily cut a significant volume of production; however, at the last-minute, Mexico did not approve the deal,” reports Melissa J. Lyon in The National Law Review.

“According to The New York Times article entitled, OPEC and Russia Reach a Deal to Cut Oil Production: Live Updates, OPEC and other oil-producing countries reportedly agreed to cut about 10 million barrels a day, or about 10 percent from normal production levels, in May and June, and hope that more cuts can be agreed to tomorrow.  However, Mexico is currently reluctant to join in the deal.”

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“The coronavirus pandemic has prevented countless people from fulfilling their contracts, from basketball players to babysitters,” writes Andrew Schwartz in The Daily Reporter’s Commentary.

“Could all of these people be sued for breach of contract, or are they excused due to this extraordinary event? What about payments made in advance, such as tickets bought for a concert that has now been canceled or a dorm room leased at a college that is now closed?”

“Wars, floods and other pandemics have undermined innumerable contracts over the years. In response, U.S. courts have established a fairly clear set of legal rules to answer these questions.”

“As a contracts-law professor, I help future lawyers think through how these rules apply in a wide range of situations. Some of these concern what the law says about contracts that are impossible to meet during pandemics.”

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“You are asked to prepare a prenuptial agreement between spouses of different nationalities, who have different prior countries of residency, assets in various international locations and future plans to relocate to one or more countries. Where do you start? And how do you protect yourself?” asks Jeremy D. Morley in International Family Law’s blog.

“It is difficult enough preparing a prenuptial agreement for wealthy or potentially wealthy people when you only have to take into account the law of one jurisdiction. It is far harder and riskier when multiple jurisdictions come into play.”

“The following are some basic principles that the author has developed from handling a large variety of international prenuptial agreements over many years.

Read the article.

“Express contracts are easy enough to understand. An express contract is a legally enforceable agreement formed by an exchange of promises, the terms of which are declared, either orally or in writing, at the time the agreement is formed,” writes Lee E. Berlik in Berlik Law’s The Virginia Business Litigation Blog.

“A mutual meeting of the minds is required, and the agreement must be supported by consideration. If I promise to pay you $10 to wash my car, and you accept my offer and proceed to wash my car, we’ve formed a contract and I am legally obligated to fork over that $10. But what if you just decided on your own to wash my car without discussing it with me first? Or maybe I ask you to wash my car and you accept, but we never discuss price? In situations like these, I may still be required to pay you a fair price for the service you provided, even though we never actually formed a contract. The legal concepts involved are known as unjust enrichment and quantum meruit.”

“Let’s review what these related-but-distinct terms mean.”

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“Facebook Inc. general counsel Jennifer Newstead earned nearly $19.14 million in total compensation in her first year with the social media giant, according to a 2019 proxy statement filed by the company April 10,” reports Brian Baxter in Bloomberg Law’s Benefits & Executive Compensation News.

“Newstead did not immediately respond to a request for comment about her pay package, which was comprised of a $353,077 base salary, $2.29 million in bonuses, and $16.31 million in stock awards for 2019.”

“Facebook’s proxy said it agreed to give a $4 million sign-on bonus to Newstead after hiring her in May of last year to succeed Colin Stretch as general counsel. Newstead received $2 million of that bonus within 30 days of joining the company and was paid another $1 million by Jan. 31. She will get the remaining $1 million if she remains with Facebook for 30 days after the one-year anniversary of her start date.”

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“The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved … a $1.7 million settlement agreement in the bankruptcy case of Springdale-based nanotechnology manufacturer NanoMech Inc. that will clear its former CEO of any wrongdoing,” reports Jeff Della Rosa in Talk Business & Politics.

“U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey approved the agreement between NanoMech, its directors and officers and New York-based lender Michaelson Capital Partners. The directors and officers in the agreement include all existing and former directors and officers of NanoMech, including former chairman and CEO Jim Phillips, Ajay Malshe, Deborah Wince-Smith, Michael Easterly, Arpana Verma, Wyatt Watkins and Ben Waisbren.”

“NanoMech’s directors and officers will have their insurer pay $1.7 million to NanoMech, and the company will pay $1.68 million to Michaelson, the agreement shows. Also, NanoMech will release all pending claims against Phillips and Conner & Winters LLP, and they will be dismissed with prejudice.”

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“The MIAMI Association of Realtors (MIAMI) has named Evian White De Leon Chief General Counsel. With more than 52,000 total members, MIAMI is the largest local Realtor Association in the nation, has the fourth largest MLS nationally, the fifth largest commercial association and over 220 global partners worldwide,” reports PRNewswire in Yahoo Finance.

“In addition to serving as in-house counsel for MIAMI, White De Leon will oversee professional standards and grievances, human resources and legal education for members. She will also support the government affairs and public policy team.”

“White De Leon graduated from the University of Miami School of Law after studying International Relations, Spanish and Literature at Florida International University, both in Miami and in Spain. Most recently, White De Leon served as Deputy Director of Miami Homes for All, Inc., a nonprofit with a vision that everyone in Miami has a safe and stable place to call home through affordable housing and youth homelessness policy advocacy, research, and coalition building.”

Read the article.

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Akerman LLP, a top 100 U.S. law firm serving clients across the Americas, today announced the expansion of its office in Winston-Salem, North Carolina with the addition of tax lawyer Robert Wall and litigators Bryan Scott and Steven Hemric. Wall’s broad experience in strategic tax planning complements the office’s strengths in corporate and investment management transactions. Scott and Hemric deepen Akerman’s national litigation bench with experience resolving complex commercial and construction matters.

Akerman’s Winston-Salem office opened in 2019 as Akerman’s 25th office location and as part of the firm’s national growth strategy to meet increasing client demand in financial and business centers across the United States. Foley helped establish the office, along with Associate Kiki Scarff and Practice Group Attorney Bree Ward. The team joined from Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, bringing experience in fund formation, investment adviser regulation and securities matters.

Robert Wall: Partner, Tax
Wall focuses his practice on representing corporations, entities, and individuals on strategic tax planning matters and best practices. Specifically, he advises clients on matters pertaining to federal and state income tax laws and how to minimize the impact of taxes on business transactions. He advocates on matters before the Internal Revenue Service and state departments of revenue on client issues, including audits and appeals from audit determinations, compliance, collections, and U.S. Tax Court matters.

Bryan Scott: Partner, Litigation
Scott focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation, construction law, and creditors’ rights. His range of experience include contract disputes, collections and foreclosures, lender liability, title issues, insurance coverage, warranty claims, secured transactions, patent and trademark infringement, unfair trade practices and competition, shareholder disputes, fiduciary claims, and products liability. In his construction law practice, Scott represents public and private owners, developers, contractors, lenders, and insurers on the full scope of issues that may arise in the construction industry.

Steven Hemric: Associate, Litigation
Hemric focuses his practice on commercial litigation and advising construction industry clients in the negotiations of commercial and residential construction contracts, in addition to resolution of jobsite disputes on public and private construction projects, scheduling and delay claims, defect claims, and payment claims. He also counsels insurance carriers on coverage and financial responsibility obligations in a variety of coverage situations and industries.

“An East Bay school district has agreed to pay $665,000 to settle a free-speech suit by a former student who was suspended from a leadership class, and briefly barred from serving as student body president, after posting a video that showed him as a James Bond hero fighting off terrorists, the youth’s lawyers said Tuesday,” reports Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle.

“The video by Nathaniel Yu was a parody, and the supposed terrorists were played by two of Yu’s Muslim friends, his lawyers said in announcing the settlement with the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. They said district officials falsely described the production as hate speech, and that the ensuing publicity led to threats of violence against Yu.”

“In an apology that was part of the settlement, the district said the video was not hate speech and that it ‘egrets the negative consequences associated with mischaracterizations regarding you and the content of the video.’ But Mark Davis, a lawyer for the district, said the apology was only for the harm that Yu suffered, and the settlement does not include any admission of violating the youth’s rights.”

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“As mentioned in previous articles, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has substantially impacted the legal profession. Economic issues have affected the need for legal services, which has forced law firms to reduce headcount, lower salaries, and take other efforts to weather the storm. However, based on my own experience, some practice areas seem to be expanding in the current environment, and other practice areas are struggling because of COVID-19,” writes Jordan Rothman in Above the Law’s Biglaw.

“If attorneys have a good sense of the practice areas that are expanding and contracting in the current environment, they can best weather the storm of COVID-19.”

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“ORIC Pharmaceuticals has recruited Christian Kuhlen as general counsel at the privately held, clinical-stage oncology company. He serves on the executive leadership team and leads ORIC’s legal, compliance, intellectual property and corporate governance functions,” reports Ben Maiden in Corporate Secretary’s Appointments.

“The south San Francisco, California-based company is focused on developing treatments that address mechanisms of therapeutic resistance.”

“Kuhlen, who is also a doctor, most recently worked as general counsel and secretary for Synthorx, where he led the legal aspects of its IPO and advised on the company’s subsequent acquisition by Sanofi. Before joining Synthorx, he was general counsel at Ignyta, where he co-ordinated two public financings and advised on the company’s acquisition by Roche.”

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“Over the last several weeks, virtual meetings have become the new normal for many businesses. Improvements in the technology now mean that virtual meetings have a similar look and feel as in-person meetings. However, there is a much greater risk to valuable information (personal and confidential) in a virtual meeting environment. Some of these risks are associated with the data that are collected and disclosed by the provider of the virtual meeting platform itself. Others arise from inadvertent disclosures or access to virtual meeting rooms by uninvited third parties. Therefore, it is important for organizations to have policies in place that address the need for enhanced cybersecurity and data protection,” warns Kevin Pomfret from Williams Mullen in JD Supra.

“Since Zoom seems to be one of the most popular virtual meeting tools, this alert will discuss how to address these risks on its platform. However, many of these same risks are also associated with other virtual meeting platforms. As a result, it is important to review user instructions, Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policies in order to identify and implement similar protective measures for other virtual meeting services.”

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“On March 27, 2020, a five-year legal battle between three certified classes of Jeep Cherokee drivers and Fiat Chrysler came to a sudden end, when a federal judge in the Southern District of Illinois held that allegations that the vehicles were vulnerable to cyber-attacks did not give plaintiffs standing to sue under Article III of the Constitution,” reports Melissa D. DiGrande in Proskauer’s Appellate.

“U.S. District Judge Staci M. Yandle—who was assigned to the case in April 2019, after Judge Michael Reagan retired—did not take lightly her decision to grant defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, given the lengthy history of the dispute. Discovery had been completed, experts had been retained, and several motions involving the same standing issues had already been resolved—in plaintiffs’ favor. But, as Judge Yandle explained, a federal court has ‘an independent obligation at each stage of the proceedings’ to ensure that it has subject matter jurisdiction over the litigation. Ultimately, defendants’ persistence paid off and resulted in the full dismissal of the claims, with prejudice.”

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“In 2019, 15 percent of cases settled within two years of filing, consistent with the rate over the last 10 years. The average time from filing to settlement in 2019 was 3.3 years,” reports Laura E. Simmons and Laarni T. Bulan in The National Law Review.

“Compared to cases that settled more quickly, cases that required three to five years to settle in 2019 had a higher frequency of factors such as a public pension as a lead plaintiff and/or the presence of a corresponding SEC action.”

“Only 7 percent of cases in 2019 took more than five years to settle, the lowest rate in the past decade. Of these, 80 percent involved institutional investors. The median assets of the defendant firms in these cases were also substantially higher at $68 billion, compared to a median of $1.2 billion in other cases.”

“In 2019, cases that took more than five years to settle had a lower median settlement amount than cases that took three to five years to settle. This is despite the higher median “simplified tiered damages” of $602 million for cases that took more than five years to settle, compared to $375 million for cases that took three to five years to settle.”

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“Gritstone Oncology, Inc. (GRTS), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing the next generation of cancer immunotherapies to fight multiple cancer types, today announced the appointment of Rahsaan W. Thompson as its executive vice president and general counsel. Mr. Thompson joins Gritstone with over 20 years of experience as corporate counsel,” reports Yahoo Finance.

“Thompson was the general counsel for Opiant Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for all legal aspects of corporate strategy, intellectual property, transactions, compliance and regulatory matters. Previously, as the vice president of law for Actelion Pharmaceuticals, he led the Actelion Law Department based in San Francisco, California … Thompson was the associate general counsel at Abraxis Bioscience, before its acquisition by Celegene … Thompson also served as Corporate Counsel at McKesson Corporation.  He began his career as an assistant district attorney in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office. Mr. Thompson obtained his bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University and his law degree from Hofstra University. He has served on various non-profit boards and presently serves on the Board of Directors for the Oakland Museum of California Board of Directors as the finance committee chair.

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