Discovery can be a harrowing and intrusive process for all litigants. As federal and state rules allow for broad discovery of information relevant to any party’s claims or defenses, individuals and business are compelled to...more
North Carolina District Court Permits Plan’s Lawsuit Against Third Party Administrator to Continue A federal district court in North Carolina has ruled that a plan subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of...more
The Federal Circuit affirmed a district court award of over $360,000 in costs and attorneys’ fees against a non-practicing entity, citing the need “to deter future abusive litigation.” In October 2016, Blackbird sued...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini provided insight on a case that was dismissed following several missteps by the plaintiff during the discovery process. Since the plaintiff clearly demonstrated discovery abuse, the...more
In TASER International, Inc. v. PhaZZer Electronics, Inc. et al, 6-16-cv-00366 (FLMD July 21, 2017, Order), a Florida District Court took the drastic step of entering a default judgment in favor of Plaintiff Taser, along with...more
Imagine that, at the end of a case, the judge decides to impose sanctions on you for the way in which you have handled discovery, or done something at trial. In the order requiring you and your client to pay your opponent...more
On February 17, 2016, the Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District in People ex rel. Government Employees Insurance Company (“GEICO”) v. Cruz (Court of Appeal D067061, Superior Court Case 37-2013-00029878),...more
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were recently amended. Amongst the changes, perhaps the most significant are the changes to discovery under Rule 26. Previously, parties were entitled to conduct discovery regarding...more
The amendments that changed Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26 on December 1, 2015 re-define the scope of discovery and seek to rein in abusive over-discovery. Two revisions in particular demonstrate that these amendments...more
The Department of Labor recently agreed to pay an employer $1.5 million for costs and attorneys’ fees it had incurred in a lawsuit filed by the DOL. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals determined that the employer was entitled...more
The International Trade Commission proposed a series of new procedural rules, which were published in the Federal Register on September 24, 2015. This blog post provides a summary of the more notable proposed changes to the...more
The Department of Justice and dialysis provider DaVita Healthcare Partners recently finalized a $450 million agreement settling claims that the company intentionally inflated Medicare billings. The parties had filed a joint...more
Overly Narrow Statement Of Problem Can Show Reliance On Hindsight - In INSITE VISION INCORPORATED v. SANDOZ, INC., Appeal No. 2014-1065, the Federal Circuit held that enunciating an overly narrow statement of the problem...more