The Supreme Court released several new decisions at the end of last week. While the most covered decision was probably where the Court ruled in favor of the photographer and against Andy Warhol, each decision offers a potentially helpful insight into the interworking of the Court.

Gonzalez v. Google LLC (Anti-Terrorism Act / Section 230)

Listen to the Supreme Court’s opinion syllabus here. After the Twitter ruling below, the plaintiffs failed to state a claim under the Anti-Terrorism Act. 18 U.S.C. §2333(d). The Court reversed and remanded and decided it did not need to reach the question regarding 47 U.S.C.
Continue Reading Last Week’s Supreme Court Decisions

The Supreme Court has been unusually slow this term, with fewer rulings compared to past years. However, the pace seems to be accelerating, with 19 opinions released recently, including five last Friday. Major rulings are anticipated in the coming months as numerous cases remain pending. Let’s briefly examine the cases from last Friday.

Ciminelli v. United States

In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that the right-to-control theory for wire fraud, which has long been recognized in the Second Circuit, cannot be used to convict persons under federal fraud statutes. In this case, Ciminelli was convicted for wire fraud…
Continue Reading A Brief Summary of the Five Supreme Court Opinions Released on May 11

Illinois Supreme Court Opinion Summary: PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS v. DION ADDISON

The Illinois Supreme Court only issued on written opinion in the month of April. In Justice Rochford’s opinion, she sided with the defendant Dion Addison. While the bounds of the right to effective of assistance of trial counsel has been well-litigated, the question of effective assistance of appellate counsel, arising from the failure to properly plead ineffective assistance of appellate counsel, presents a slightly different question.

In this case, the Illinois Supreme Court addressed whether postconviction counsel provided unreasonable assistance by failing to frame the issues…
Continue Reading A Brief Review of April 2023 Illinois Supreme Court Opinions

In Bridges and Cunningham v. Blackstone, Inc., the Seventh Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals recently issued a ruling in favor of Blackstone, the defendant-appellee. Plaintiffs Carolyn Bridges and Raymond Cunningham filed a class action against Blackstone, alleging that the firm violated the Genetic Information Privacy Act (GIPA) in its acquisition of Ancentry.com.

Background

The plaintiffs submitted their DNA samples for genetic review years earlier to Ancestry.com. The plaintiffs allege that in Blackstone’s acquisition of Ancestry.com, it violated GIPA, which prohibits the disclosure of the identity of any person upon whom a genetic test is performed, or the…
Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Affirms Decision Below in Favor of Blackstone in Ancestry Privacy Case

Charles Bertini v. Apple Inc., No. 21-2301 (Fed. Cir. 2023)

In a recent case before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the court reversed the tribunal which it dismissed a case that sought to challenge Apple’s use of the mark “Apple Music” as applied to live musical events. Apple previously purchased a trademark that had originally been owned by the Beatles which had been used to cover certain products including live events. In using this mark, Apple attempted to “tack” its date back to 1968. The Federal Circuit found that while tacking was proper sofar as…
Continue Reading Tacking Doctrine, “Apple Music,” “Apple Jazz,” and a 1968 Beatles Trademark. Federal Circuit Rules Against Apple in Trademark Priority Case

Meier v. Pacific Life Insurance Co., No. 22-1607 (7th Cir. 2023)

Ron Meier applied for a life insurance policy from Pacific Life Insurance Policy. After applying for the policy, but prior to being issued the policy, Ron was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He did not disclose this to Pacific Life, given that he had already applied for the policy. His widow Lorrie, attempted to collect on the policy after he died. Pacific Life denied coverage, stating Ron’s failure to disclose the diagnosis amounted to a material misrepresentation, which allowed for the policy to be rescinded. The Northern District of…
Continue Reading Undisclosed Cancer Diagnosis: Material Misrepresentation and Policy Rescission in Meier v. Pacific Life Insurance Co.

Uetricht v. Chicago Parking Meters, LLC, No. 22-1166 (April 7, 2023)

In 2008, Mayor Daley entered into an agreement to lease the city’s parking meters to Chicago Parking Meetings, LLC. In the decade since the $1.15 billion agreement, the company has made its investment back and then some, by 2019, the company already had half a billion dollars in profit from the deal. The deal has been subject to close public and judicial scrutiny over the years.

Last last week, the Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of an antitrust suit

There are several areas of analysis that are instructive…
Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Antitrust Action in Chicago Parking Meter Case

The Internal Revenue service issued guidance Friday that answers lurking questions about whether payments issued by 21 state governments will be considered taxable income.

The guidance largely breaks down to whether the payments were simply a rebate of state and local taxes paid, or if it was general welfare and disaster relief. The guidance states that “people in the following states do not need to report these state payments on their 2022 tax return: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island . . . Alaska is…
Continue Reading IRS Releases Guidance Relating to Certain State Refund and Relief Payments

Citigroup Inc. will no longer be allowed to operate in the roughly $3.4 billion municipal bond market in the state of Texas. Texas Attorney General Brent Paxton announced in December that he would investigate to determine whether Citi discriminates against gun manufacturers.[1]

This investigation stems from a 2021 initiative that Governor Abbott signed into law, which prohibits companies bidding for state contracts to not have discriminatory policies in relation to the firearm industry. [2] The Firearm Industry Nondiscrimination (FIND) Act of 2021 provides for the Attorney General to investigate compliance. [3]

BACKGROUND

This is…
Continue Reading AG Concludes Investigation, Citigroup Banned From Texas Municipal Bond Market Over Firearm Policies

Marathon Petroleum Co. v. Cook County Department of Revenue, 2022 IL App (1st) 210635)

This is a recent decision released from the First District Appellate Court, Justice Walker, who was joined by Justices Mikva and Tailor delivered the opinion of the court. This is an interesting case that involves some of the nitty-gritty details of a motor fuel tax assessment.

BACKGROUND

The Cook County Department of Revenue assessed fuel taxes and penalties under the Cook County Retail Sale of Gasoline and Diesel Tax Ordinance for so-called “book-out transactions.” In these transactions, no fuel physically changes hands or locations. When parties…
Continue Reading Appellate Court Affirms Tax Assessment, Rejects Penalties (Marathon Petroleum Co. v. Cook County Department of Revenue)