When a Pennsylvania high school discovered one of their students sent a Snapchat while off-campus to her friends using profanity and the middle finger, the student was banned from her cheerleading squad for the year. This issue brought up the immediate question of whether or not academic institutions can penalize students for things said outside of school, as well as how the First Amendment applies to free speech for students.
In 2017 at the age...
In two recent lawsuits, Ford Motor Company argued that accident victims in Minnesota and Montana were not eligible to file against them due to jurisdictional restrictions. However on March 25th, 2021, The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that Ford can be sued in state courts outside of Michigan due to the strength of connection between the victims’ claims and the company’s activities in other states.
The accidents in question occurred...
When Patricia Hammons from Indiana won her transvaginal mesh lawsuit in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, Ethicon (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson) tried to argue that the $12.5 million verdict should be tossed over questions of jurisdiction. However, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the verdict, claiming that the plaintiff’s injuries were undeniably linked to mesh that was manufactured in Pennsylvania under the close...
The Utah Supreme Court recently ruled in the case of a 14-year-old child that his mother and father were eligible to collect damages for loss of filial consortium, damages that are seldom offered across the United States. “Loss of consortium,” or to put it in layman’s terms, loss of love and affection, damages are typically associated with spousal relationships. However, in some states, the right to recover damages for loss of consortium...
The Supreme Court recently issued a rare unanimous ruling. The topic: excessive fines and civil forfeiture.
Many suspects of crimes have had their property seized. This includes all types of possessions, including valuable ones like cash, vehicles, and homes. Proponents of the practice, like former attorney general Jeff Sessions, argue that this is a great thing because it allows money from drug dealers to be repurposed for the police.
The...
Times are hard for many people in America when it comes to financial burdens, and for some people, the answer is to file for bankruptcy and release any dischargeable debt. Every debtor needs to understand that the whole point of the Bankruptcy Code is to help “honest but unfortunate debtors” get back on their feet. With this, it is also important for debtors to understand that almost no word in the Bankruptcy Code is free from scrutiny, and...
Despite what many may think, the battle over workers' rights is still alive and well. Many workers are unaware that they have already signed an employee agreement that required them to revoke certain rights. Recently, the majority ruling of the Supreme court supported the employer's decision to include limitations on employees regarding disputes and collaboration in and outside of unions to resolve them. This is a very serious concern, and many...
Perhaps you have heard by now that the majority rule of the Supreme court was to support employers over employees in the latest case regarding arbitration and banding together of employees against their employer. Don't be fooled into thinking that this is no big deal. The truth is that many experts are concerned about the decision, written by conservative judge, Justice Neil Gorsuch.
Why Are Many Concerned?
The conservative Supreme Court judges...