Thursday, May 23, 2013
Castille Testifies in Favor of 'Civil Gideon' Funding
The Legal Intelligencer | Friday, May 24, 2013
Pennsylvania Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille testified Thursday in favor of establishing a line item in the state budget to pay for lawyers to represent poor Pennsylvanians in some civil cases.
Workers' Comp Judges Can't Fight Rescinded Raise
The Legal Intelligencer | Friday, May 24, 2013
The state Supreme Court affirmed without an opinion Tuesday a lower court ruling that workers' compensation judges have no vested rights in pay increases, and therefore no recourse to collect on a rescinded raise.
Wal-Mart Told to Release Documents in Bribery Case
Delaware Business Court Insider | Wednesday, May 22, 2013
The Delaware Court of Chancery has ordered Wal-Mart to release internal documents detailing its directors' knowledge of allegations that the company's Mexican affiliate, Walmex, bribed government officials in order to obtain permits to build stores in specific locations.
Chancellor Leo E. Strine Jr. issued the bench ruling late Monday in Indiana Electrical Workers Pension Trust Fund IBEW v. Wal-Mart Stores. Strine's decision was first reported by Bloomberg News.
Strine ordered the retail giant to provide the documents to plaintiffs counsel in a derivative suit filed against the company. A group of lawsuits, which were consolidated last year in Indiana, allege Wal-Mart's board breached its fiduciary duties by failing to adequately investigate the bribery charges.
Strine said that Wal-Mart "can't sanitize its response" to the shareholders' document requests, according to the Bloomberg News report.
Strine's decision was in response to a books-and-records request made by the plaintiffs under Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which enables plaintiffs in a derivative suit to request specific documents. The shareholders were seeking access to emails and other information, according to court documents.
Stuart Grant of Grant & Eisenhofer is representing the plaintiffs. He did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Potter Anderson & Corroon is serving as Delaware counsel for the Bentonville, Ark., retail giant and its board members. Attorneys at the firm also did not return calls seeking comment.
Multiple Wal-Mart shareholders, including the Indiana Electrical Workers Pension Trust Fund IBEW, the California State Teachers' Retirement System and the New York City Employees' Retirement System, as well as several individual investors, filed lawsuits last year in response to allegations that the company's Mexican executives had bribed officials to obtain construction permits throughout the country. Strine consolidated the complaints, which alleged the same facts, in September 2012.
Federal Judiciary Seeks Funding
The National Law Journal | Friday, May 24, 2013
U.S. Judicial Conference asks for $73 million in emergency appropriation.
New Jersey Law Journal | Friday, May 24, 2013
Two men convicted of terrorist plots have lost their argument that being sentenced the same day as the Boston Marathon bombings may have worked against them.
The Am Law Daily | Friday, May 24, 2013
In a new survey from legal consultancy Altman Weil, law firm leaders acknowledge that recession-driven changes to their pricing practices and their clients' expectations that work be done efficiently are likely here to stay.
