Sponsored by the People's Government of Qingdao, the 2020 Qingdao·Global Venture Capital Online Conference themed "A New Platform for International Cooperation, A New Opportunity for Technological Innovation" kicked off at Qingdao International Convention Center on May 8. A host of Chinese and overseas experts and scholars from the investment community, industrial circle and academia and entrepreneurs from around the globe joined the "cloud dialogue" through a "face-to-face" plus "screen-to-screen" mode to seek cooperation and share their insights on future development.

(United States Second Circuit) - Affirmed. Defendant is a divorced spouse who holds an interest in property that Plaintiff obtained a judgment lien against the other spouse’s interest. Plaintiff argued that Defendant’s interest was subordinate to Plaintiff’s interest. The trial court held that Defendant’s interest vested upon the entry of the judgment of divorce and that Plaintiff could execute only against the other spouse’s interest.

(United States Second Circuit) - Affirmed a finding of copyright infringement, in a lawsuit that involved copyrighted music recordings resold through an internet platform. The suit was brought by several record companies.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - In an issue of first impression involving the Securities and Exchange Commission's ability to disgorge ill-gotten funds from so-called 'relief defendants', the district court's final judgment, arising in connection with the SEC's enforcement action for federal securities law violations arising out of a fraudulent investment scheme, is affirmed where: 1) the district court properly asserted jurisdiction over appellants as relief defendants to determine the legal and factual legitimacy of appellants' claim to the $5 million; and 2) the district court did not clearly err in finding that the $5 million transfer as a loan was a sham.

(United States Second Circuit) - Affirmed a finding of copyright infringement, in a lawsuit that involved copyrighted music recordings resold through an internet platform. The suit was brought by several record companies.

(United States DC Circuit) - Reversed and remanded. The district court's dismissal of a tort claim as time barred was in error because at the motion to dismiss stage dismissal for statute of limitations is only possible if the plaintiff's claims are conclusively time barred on the face of the complaint.

(Supreme Court of California) - Remanded. The Plaintiff purchased an insurance policy from Defendant that covered pollution conditions. The policy required notice of any pollution condition and written consent before incurring obligations. Defendant denied coverage for pollution conditions that were found at a dormitory construction site because the policy notice and consent provisions were violated. The Court held that the notice-prejudice rule, which allows insureds to proceed against their insurer even if notice is late as long as it does not substantially prejudice the insurer, is a fundamental public policy of California and applies to consent provisions in first-party liability coverage and not third-party coverage. Remanded to the Ninth Circuit to determine type of policy involved.

(California Court of Appeal) - Reversed and remanded to enter summary adjudication for Plaintiff as to her retaliation claim and punitive damages, but denied discrimination and harassment claims.

(California Court of Appeal) - Reversed and remanded to enter summary adjudication for Plaintiff as to her retaliation claim and punitive damages, but denied discrimination and harassment claims.

(California Court of Appeal) - In the third chapter of Silicon Valley litigation spanning more than 14 years involving a microchip company and its successor, alleging breach of fiduciary duty, the judgment entered on plaintiff's cross-complaint against defendant is reversed where the court erred in submitting defendant's statute of limitations defense to the jury, as the cross-complaint was timely filed.

(California Court of Appeal) - In a a shareholder derivative action on behalf of a company, alleging that individual members of the company's board and affiliated entities improperly exploited their control of the corporation in entering into three separate self-dealing transactions, the district court's dismissal of the complaint, concluding that the dilution claim was properly derivative under Delaware law and that plaintiff failed to plead demand futility under Fed. R. Civ. P. Rule 23.1(b)(3)(B), as to any of the claims, is affirmed where: 1) plaintiff's dilution claim was properly derivative, not direct; 2) the district court had subject matter jurisdiction to adjudicate the non-class, derivative claims; and 3) plaintiff did not allege facts sufficient to excuse it from making a pre-suit demand.

(Court of Appeals of New York) - In a contracts action arising from a dispute over the auction sale of a syndicated loan, the Appellate Division's grant of defendant's motion for summary judgment is reversed where the lack of a written sales agreement and plaintiffs' failure to submit a timely cash deposit were not conditions precedent to the formation of the parties' contract and do not render their agreement unenforceable.

(United States Fifth Circuit) - Held that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services improperly calculated two Mississippi hospitals' Medicare reimbursements, specifically, so-called Disproportionate Share Hospital payments. Reversed the decision below and remanded to the agency.

(California Court of Appeal) - Held that a hospital waited too long to file an administrative appeal challenging a reduction in Medi-Cal reimbursements. Affirmed that the filing was untimely.

(Supreme Court of California) - Remanded. The Plaintiff purchased an insurance policy from Defendant that covered pollution conditions. The policy required notice of any pollution condition and written consent before incurring obligations. Defendant denied coverage for pollution conditions that were found at a dormitory construction site because the policy notice and consent provisions were violated. The Court held that the notice-prejudice rule, which allows insureds to proceed against their insurer even if notice is late as long as it does not substantially prejudice the insurer, is a fundamental public policy of California and applies to consent provisions in first-party liability coverage and not third-party coverage. Remanded to the Ninth Circuit to determine type of policy involved.

(United States Second Circuit) - Affirmed a finding of copyright infringement, in a lawsuit that involved copyrighted music recordings resold through an internet platform. The suit was brought by several record companies.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Dismissal of a class action complaint alleging false statements contained in a merger agreement with a third party company is affirmed where the plaintiff has not pled facts that would either directly or indirectly give rise to a strong inference of scienter on the part of those officers responsible for making the false statements contained in the merger agreement.

(United States Seventh Circuit) - In an insolvent corporation's suit against defendant-corporation for tortious interference with its merger agreement, district court's judgment awarding defendant about $1.2 million in legal fees after ruling in favor of defendant and holding the insolvent corporation's board of directors personally liable is reversed as, under Nev. Rev. Stat. section 78.747, there isn't any fraud as plaintiff's thin capitalization was both the reason why the deal had been proposed and the dominant feature in the deal's structure. Furthermore, when plaintiff signed a contract promising to reimburse defendant's legal expenses if litigation ensued, defendant knew beyond doubt that plaintiff would be unable to keep that promise unless the merger closed. Thus, the court is not aware of any statute or decision holding that investors in a thinly capitalized corporation are personally liable for its debts to a contracting partner when that partner, with knowledge of the corporation's insolvency, signs without getting a guaranty from the investors.

(Court of Appeals of New York) - In a suit for tortious interference with prospective business relations and aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, arising from the defendants' alleged participation in derailing the plaintiff company's acquisition by a third party, the Appellate Division's dismissal of the complaint is affirmed by memorandum, where the plaintiffs failed to produce evidentiary proof as to whether: 1) individual defendants participated in a co-defendant's admitted campaign to interfere with the proposed acquisition; 2) defendant entities should be held vicariously liable for the interference; or 3) an individual plaintiff was entitled to injunctive relief.

(United States Federal Circuit) - Vacating the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's dismissal of an interference claim for lack of standing and remanding for further proceedings because the description of a method for removing hair using nanoparticles to damage hair follicles was a sufficient written description under the Patent Act because although the description only gave optical density rather than particles per ml, this was enough of a disclosure to convey to those skilled in the art that the inventor had possession of the claimed subject matter.

(United States Federal Circuit) - Affirming in part and reversing in part the inter partes review decision of the US Patent and Trademark Office Patent Trial and Appeal Bard holding claims for methods of distributing nitric oxide gas cylinders for pharmaceutical applications used in treating respiratory failure as unpatentable as obvious because, while the Board didn't err as to most of the rulings, it did as to one.

Mexican health officials admitted to surpassing 3,100 COVID-19 related-deaths as cases continue to rise nationwide. The reports come despite repeated accusations of the government downplaying the true scope of the coronavirus pandemic

(United States Seventh Circuit) - Held that the district court did not adequately explain its reason for rescinding certification of a class in a business dispute between numerous used-car dealerships and a financing company. Vacated the class certification ruling and remanded for further proceedings.

(Supreme Court of California) - Interpreting Code of Civil Procedure section 580d, the California Supreme Court held that a creditor holding two deeds of trust on the same property may recover a deficiency judgment on the junior lien extinguished by a nonjudicial foreclosure sale on the senior lien.

(Supreme Court of California) - Remanded. The Plaintiff purchased an insurance policy from Defendant that covered pollution conditions. The policy required notice of any pollution condition and written consent before incurring obligations. Defendant denied coverage for pollution conditions that were found at a dormitory construction site because the policy notice and consent provisions were violated. The Court held that the notice-prejudice rule, which allows insureds to proceed against their insurer even if notice is late as long as it does not substantially prejudice the insurer, is a fundamental public policy of California and applies to consent provisions in first-party liability coverage and not third-party coverage. Remanded to the Ninth Circuit to determine type of policy involved.

(Supreme Court of California) - Remanded. The Plaintiff purchased an insurance policy from Defendant that covered pollution conditions. The policy required notice of any pollution condition and written consent before incurring obligations. Defendant denied coverage for pollution conditions that were found at a dormitory construction site because the policy notice and consent provisions were violated. The Court held that the notice-prejudice rule, which allows insureds to proceed against their insurer even if notice is late as long as it does not substantially prejudice the insurer, is a fundamental public policy of California and applies to consent provisions in first-party liability coverage and not third-party coverage. Remanded to the Ninth Circuit to determine type of policy involved.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Held that the Federal Trade Commission Act could support an order compelling an online payday lender to pay more than $1 billion in monetary relief for unfair business practices. Two of the judges on the Ninth Circuit panel filed a concurring opinion to suggest that the court should rehear the case en banc to reconsider relevant circuit precedent.

(United States Second Circuit) - Held that a consumer could not proceed with a claim that a debt collection letter unlawfully failed to inform him of certain information. Affirmed the dismissal of his proposed class action lawsuit against the debt collector under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Queen guitarist Brian May injured himself while gardening at home earlier this week.

A Denver judge ordered that U.S. Senate candidate Michelle Ferrigno Warren must be placed on the June 30 primary ballot, despite falling well short of the Colorado Secretary of State's usual signature requirement.

This year, it wasn’t the typical stoner types in all-green that descended on Civic Center Park in April with marijuana leaf flags. It was the star-spangled banners that waved sky high in an intense display of patriotic exceptionalism this past weekend that should have just stayed home.

Apparently when you’re rich and powerful “you can do anything… grab them by the (ahem)” and get away with it.  Guess Trump was right about that.

(United States Third Circuit) - Held that a company could not be compelled to arbitrate a dispute over retiree healthcare benefits. The manufacturing company argued that the dispute over retiree benefits was not arbitrable because there was no provision in the collective-bargaining agreement regarding such benefits, and the memorandum of agreement discussing the matter did not provide for arbitration. Agreeing with the company, the Third Circuit concluded that the district court erred in ordering that the dispute be arbitrated under the Labor Management Relations Act.

Colorado lawmakers are hopeful that they'll be back at the Capitol as early as May, but they caution that it will depend on the advice of experts and whether the state's state-at-home order is still in place.

When some of Colorado's Democratic lawmakers found out about Gov. Jared Polis's decision not to extend the state's coronavirus stay-at-home order and instead allow certain types of businesses to soon begin reopening, they were frustrated.

(United States Fourth Circuit) - Affirmed an order enjoining the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from enforcing a Medicaid reimbursement policy that was set forth in a Frequently Asked Questions document. The plaintiff, a hospital, contended that the reimbursement policy was not validly promulgated because there was no formal rulemaking as required by the Administrative Procedure Act. Agreeing, the Fourth Circuit held that the FAQ document was insufficient and that notice-and-comment rulemaking was necessary.

(United States Fourth Circuit) - Held that the National Labor Relations Board was not entitled to preliminary injunctive relief directing two hospitals to bargain in good faith with a labor union representing nurses and take other actions. The NLRB argued that the district court ought to have granted its request for a preliminary injunction under section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act. Finding no abuse of discretion, the Fourth Circuit explained that the Board had not demonstrated that the effectiveness of its remedial power would be in jeopardy unless a preliminary injunction were imposed.

This might be one of the most unique headlines I've ever written but Queen frontman Brian May had to be rushed...

The post QUEENS's Brian May (Literally) "Rips" His Ass "To Shreds," Taken To Hospital appeared first on Metal Injection.

(United States Third Circuit) - Reversing the District Court dismissal of complaints in litigation that alleged Lipitor's fraudulent patent procurement and other misconduct because the allegations were plausible, and reversing the dismissal of allegations in Effexor litigation because it was plausible that the companies holding the pharmaceutical patents and generic manufacturers entered into reverse payment settlement agreements that subjected them to antitrust scrutiny.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Held that the Federal Trade Commission Act could support an order compelling an online payday lender to pay more than $1 billion in monetary relief for unfair business practices. Two of the judges on the Ninth Circuit panel filed a concurring opinion to suggest that the court should rehear the case en banc to reconsider relevant circuit precedent.

Apparently when you’re rich and powerful “you can do anything… grab them by the (ahem)” and get away with it.  Guess Trump was right about that.

DCPA isn't giving up on Hamilton yet.

Rachel Hughes was thrilled Wednesday at the prospect of touching her husband, Rev. Terrence “Big T” Hughes, when they were briefly united on his release from the hospital where he’s battled COVID-19 for almost two months. “I was grateful he is alive and I could touch him, I didn’t know if I could touch him, […]

Brenda Johnson, 62, was arrested Sunday for investigation of second-degree assault on a peace officer, driving under the influence, hit-and-run and several other traffic charges, the news release said.

Water filter pitchers have started to arrive at Denver homes, and tens of thousands more families will receive them in coming months.