Saturday, May 14, 2011

AOL cy pres Ninth Circuit appeal oral argument set

I'll be arguing the AOL cy pres case June 7 in Pasadena. (My record in Ninth Circuit oral arguments to date: 2-0, with one pending.) Come watch if you're interested in cy pres issues. If you're not interested in cy pres, but are interested in trademarks and pornography (and who isn't?), they're also arguing Roxbury Entertainment v. Penthouse Media ("The content of the film is primarily graphic sex scenes; however, the 'story line' to the extent there is one, concerns a young couple fleeing some unfortunate or unlawful event.") the same session.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Stetson v. West Publishing Corp. - BarBri Class Action Settlement

Because the 170,000 class members are law students and lawyers, I've been getting a lot of inquiries about this case and its coupon settlement. Stay tuned: we will be objecting, and early enough that you can read the objection and choose to write in to the court to join it if you wish.

Note that the notice not only fails to disclose precisely how much the attorneys will be asking for, but disingenuously offers a May 30 deadline for receiving objections. Of course, May 30 is Memorial Day, so the real deadline is possibly as early as May 27. More details at Point of Law.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Court rules for NVIDIA

Details at the Point of Law blog. I'm sorry, as well as angry.

Update: I won't be filing an appeal, though my clients are of course free to find an attorney willing to do that for them.

I won't personally be filing a malpractice action, but I'm happy to consult with an attorney who is considering doing so if a class member finds one.

Update 2: Please don't email me asking for individual legal advice about what you can or should do with your computer, or what other legal options you may pursue. I don't have the resources to provide free advice to a million different class members beyond my five clients. You'll need to consult with your own attorney. I'm rooting for someone to bring a malpractice suit, but I'm not advising you one way or the other on that, either as a class action or as a small-claims case against Milberg.

I will note that I believe that, because NVIDIA failed to provide a computer of "like or similar kind" as the settlement notice promised, and because Judge Ware failed to enforce the settlement as written and noticed to the class (his opinion mistakenly says that the CQ-56 was "designated in the settlement"), the class notice is constitutionally invalid and cannot be considered to bind absent class members besides my five clients who got a ruling from Judge Ware. Someone who sues HP and/or NVIDIA in small-claims court and persuades the judge that the class notice does not bind them could possibly recover cash in small-claims court. Of course, HP and NVIDIA will argue that the notice was constitutionally valid and that the small-claims court does not have jurisdiction, so I am not giving you legal advice to pursue your claim in small-claims court; you could win, you could lose. Check with a lawyer.