Legal Research

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APARTMENT COMPLEXES WIN TRASH FIGHT
"In a ruling that's bad news for already cash-strapped N.J. municipalities, the state Supreme Court says they must reimburse apartment complexes for use of garbage dumpsters if requiring them to leave trash curbside would have adverse public-health consequences. Tuesday's unanimous ruling potentially affects all towns and cities with multifamily dwellings for which they provide solid waste collection services. The case, Berk Cohen Assoc. at Rustic Village v. Clayton, which drew the participation of the New Jersey Apartment Association as amicus, represents the first high-court test of a statute enacted in 2001 after an appeals court invalidated a solid-waste-collection ordinance found to discriminate against multifamily dwellings."

HOLOCAUST VICTIMS' LAWYER DISBARRED FOR TRUST-FUND DIPPING
"The state Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the disbarment of Edward Fagan, a lawyer who won millions of dollars in settlements for Holocaust victims but who also misappropriated some of their money to pay his debts. Fagan told the justices during a hearing on June 16 that disciplinary authorities' handling of the evidence may have deprived him of a chance to prove that the money he took was for legal work and he asked for a remand for further fact-finding. But the justices declined and found him guilty of knowing misappropriation of client and escrow funds."

BREACH OF MARKETING DEAL WITH TOYS 'R' US WILL COST AMAZON $51M
"Amazon.com has agreed to pay $51 million to Toys "R" Us to end five years of litigation over an online-marketing alliance that went sour. Their lawyers struck the deal when they showed up in court for a hearing on the amount of damages Amazon would have to pay Toys "R" Us for violating the exclusivity that was at the heart of their arrangement to sell toys on Amazon's Web site. Though the settlement in Toysrus.com v. Amazon.com, C-96-04, is confidential, 8-K filings by both parties with the Securities and Exchange Commission reveal that Amazon is to pay a $51 million lump sum within 45 days."

LAW FIRMS LEADERS FEELING LESS GRIM ABOUT THE FUTURE
'Law firm leaders feel the economy is stabilizing and could even improve over the next six months, a survey from consulting firm Hildebrandt International says. About two-thirds of 133 managing partners or chairmen surveyed said the economy is the same or better than six months ago, and 59 percent expect a stable or improving economy over the next six months. However, many still expect layoffs in the near future due to rising expenses. Hildebrandt's Managing Partner Confidence Index, released Tuesday, surveys national firm leaders, mostly at Am Law 100 and Am Law 200 firms."

COURT'S NARROW RULING ON VOTING RIGHTS ACT EVOKES SURPRISE
"The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday stepped back from a major showdown over the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act, ruling instead that because jurisdictions covered by the law can seek to be exempted from its provisions, it was unnecessary for the Court to decide whether the statute should be scrapped altogether. The 8-1 ruling in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Holder both surprised and pleased civil rights advocates, who were nearly certain after April oral arguments that the Court was poised to strike down the law outright, eliminating what they view as a crucial weapon in the struggle for political equality."