Malpractice Suit Against Kaye Scholer Alleges Discovery Foul-Ups Jun 27, 2008
"There is a bona fide dispute and actual controversy among the parties concerning the extent to which Kaye Scholer's legal services to the Celanese Entities were in accordance with the standards of care ordinarily provided by professionals providing legal representation and consistent with any fiduciary duty owed to the Celanese Entities," the firm said in its complaint. Celanese claims that it and another of its law firms, Baker Botts, advised Kayer Scholer of the existence of 20,000 boxes of... (Law.com)
Ballard Spahr Fails to Halt Gender Discrimination Claim Oct 10, 2007
"To sustain an action under the Declaratory Judgment Act, a plaintiff must demonstrate an 'actual controversy' indicating imminent and inevitable litigation, and a direct, substantial and present interest," DiVito said in his three-page order. "Because an action for declaratory judgment cannot be sustained until these elements can be shown to exist, it follows that a cause of action for declaratory judgment does not arise until such 'actual controversy' exists.". (Law.com)
North Carolina Debates Use of Koran, Other Non-Christian Texts During Court Hearings May 9, 2007
A trial court judge dismissed the ACLU's lawsuit in December 2005, ruling it was moot because there was no actual controversy at the time that warranted litigation. In January, the ruling was reversed by a unanimous three-judge panel of the state Court of Appeals. (Fox News -- Views)
Row Over Removal of College Cross Takes New Turn Feb 26, 2007
Annie Oakley, the founder of the Sex Workers' Art Show, told Cybercast News Service, "There is no actual controversy at William and Mary.". "Our show there was attended by 500 people, and nearly 300 more were turned away due to lack of space. Response to the show by those who actually saw it was overwhelmingly positive," she said in an email message. (CNSnews.com)
'MedImmune v. Genentech': The Supreme Court Upends the Federal Circuit's Declaratory Judgment Jurisprudence Jan 27, 2007
Similarly, the Federal Circuit has stated that "[t]he offer of a patent license does not create an actual controversy ... . When there are proposed or ongoing license negotiations, a litigation controversy normally does not arise until the negotiations have broken down." Phillips Plastics Corp. v. Kato Hatsujou Kabushiki Kaisha, 57 F.3d 1051, 1053 (Fed ... 1997) (holding that actual notice may be achieved without creating an actual controversy). (Law.com)
Lawsuit Over Use of Non-Christian Texts in Court to Go Ahead Jan 17, 2007
The lawsuit was filed in July 2005 and the trial judge determined it was moot because there was no actual controversy at the time warranting litigation. But the appeals court said that was not so, pointing to the individual plaintiff, Syidah Mateen, who said her request to place her hand on the Koran as a witness was denied in 2003. (Fox News -- Politics)
U.S. Supreme Court favors companies that rely on others' patents Jan 11, 2007
As long as royalties were being paid, the Federal Circuit had reasoned, there was no actual controversy between the parties and such a lawsuit would therefore not meet the requirement of Article 3 of the Constitution, which limits the jurisdiction of the federal courts to resolving actual "cases" or "controversies." ... The Declaratory Judgment Act, the federal law that MedImmune invoked when it went to the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles for a determination of the validity of Genentech's... (International Herald Tribune -- Technology)
