This Week at the Ninth: The IGRA “Two-Step” and Class Action Collusion
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At Left Coast Appeals, we provide insights into all things Ninth Circuit. Check out our Ninth Circuit Statistics page, which offers an empirical window into the Court’s workings. At our En Banc Tracker, we monitor the Court’s busy en banc proceedings. And at This Week at the Ninth, we highlight key recent decisions.
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- This week: the Ninth Circuit elaborates on the Indian Gaming Regulation Act’s “two-step determination” regarding the effects of a new casino on tribal land and clarifies when a post-certification class action settlement agreement is unfair and collusive. KALISPEL TRIBE OF INDIANS V. U.S. DEPARTMENT... ›
This Week at the Ninth: Independent or Intertwined?
By: James R. Sigel
This week, the Ninth Circuit simultaneously issued two decisions addressing the circumstances in which equitable estoppel can require a plaintiff to arbitrate a claim absent an arbitration agreement with the defendant. In the first, the Court held that a plaintiff could not be held... ›This Week at the Ninth: Arbitration and Declarations
By: James R. Sigel and Adam L. Sorensen
This week, we take a look at an opinion examining whether the Department of Labor can be held to workers’ arbitration agreements, and a decision considering whether courts have jurisdiction to issue declaratory judgments relating to tax withholding in real estate transactions with foreign... ›This Week at the Ninth: Bellwether
By: Adam L. Sorensen
This week, we take a close look at an appeal from the first jury trial in a flood of litigation alleging that a popular pesticide causes cancer. EDWIN HARDEMAN V. MONSANTO COMPANY The Court affirms a jury verdict and damages award in the first... ›This Week at the Ninth: Preemption, New and Old
By: Adam L. Sorensen
This week, the Ninth Circuit resolves a novel preemption challenge to California’s CalSavers retirement scheme, and revisits a well-tread preemption question on Nevada homeowner’s association liens. HOWARD JARVIS TAXPAYERS ASS'N V. CA SECURE CHOICE RETIRE. SVG. The Court holds ERISA does not preempt a... ›This Week at the Ninth: Falsity and Fiduciaries
By: James R. Sigel and Adam L. Sorensen
This week, we examine a pair of Ninth Circuit decisions addressing when opinions are materially false under securities law, and what a plaintiff must plead to establish a duty-of-prudence violation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. GOLUB v. GIGAMON INC. The Ninth Circuit holds... ›This Week at the Ninth: Sand Dredgers and the Duty to Defend
By: James R. Sigel and Adam L. Sorensen
This week, we take a look at a decision addressing the proper reading of “because” in federal discrimination statutes, and another addressing a California law precluding insurers from covering defense costs in litigation brought by the state. THOMAS v. CALPORTLAND COMPANY The Court holds... ›This Week At the Ninth: Surgical Robots and Scienter
By: James R. Sigel and Adam L. Sorensen
This week, we take a look at one decision considering when California law requires application of California’s statute of limitations, and another reiterating the strict standard for pleading scienter in a securities fraud case. RUSTICO v. INTUITIVE SURGERY, INC. The Court holds that under... ›This Week in the Ninth: Chickens and Subpoenas
By: James R. Sigel
This week, we take a look at two Ninth Circuit decisions tracing the limits of federal courts’ jurisdiction. In the first, the Court addressed the Article III requirements that public interest organizations must satisfy in challenging alleged false advertising. In the second, the Court... ›This Week at the Ninth: Remand Review and Tax Evasion
By: James R. Sigel and Lena H. Hughes
This week, we look at one decision navigating the complicated jurisprudence governing review of remand orders (which one might think would be unreviewable), and another addressing the available penalties when taxpayers fail to disclose multiple foreign accounts. ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC v. CONTINENTAL CASUALTY... ›