Addressing the issue of personal jurisdiction in the context of a declaratory judgment case involving a program for resolving patent infringement claims, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit concluded that a patent...more
Amazon’s Patent Evaluation Express (APEX) program provides an expedited and low-cost tool for patent owners to stop the sale of infringing products on Amazon’s platform. But low cost does not mean low risk. The U.S. Court of...more
The Florida Supreme Court on Aug. 26, 2021, amended the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure to codify the apex doctrine and "protect high-level corporate officers from the risk of abusive discovery, while still honoring opposing...more
The Washington Supreme Court recently considered whether it would adopt the "apex doctrine." This doctrine is a framework used by some courts to evaluate whether a party may take the deposition of a company's executives and...more
In Stratford v. Umpqua Bank, No. 100717-5 (Sept. 14, 2023) (slip op.), the Washington Supreme Court rejected the application of the “apex doctrine” in Washington. The apex doctrine has been adopted by some jurisdictions to...more
In its current session, the Georgia Legislature considered ten bills that, if passed, would have directly impacted the transportation industry in the state. The last day of the Georgia legislative session, known as sine die,...more
In its current session, the Georgia Legislature is considering numerous bills that, if passed, will directly impact the landscape of legal liability in the state. Below we summarize some important components of this proposed...more
A recent and ongoing case, In re Murthy, regarding social media platforms’ censorship of free speech, included discovery from the White House Office of the Press Secretary. This discovery brings former Biden Press Secretary...more
Georgia now has the privilege of being the No. 1 Judicial Hellhole according to the American Tort Reform Foundation. Below are a few of the current hot button issues....more
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act- In this appeal, the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed and remanded the District Court for the Northern District of Ohio’s decision, finding the debt collector violated the...more
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure liberally enable parties to seek relevant information in discovery that may be helpful in the preparation and trial of a case. While the liberal scope of discovery permitted by the...more
The Supreme Court of Georgia recently issued a decision on whether the Apex Doctrine - a theory under which high-ranking corporate executives and government officials may not be compelled to sit for depositions if they lack...more
Much of the law is about balancing interests, and pretrial discovery is no exception. On the one hand, parties in litigation are entitled to discovery of any unprivileged information that could lead to admissible evidence at...more
On June 1, 2022, the Georgia Supreme Court issued a ruling that has the potential to significantly impact discovery in Georgia courts. In Gen. Motors, LLC v. Buchanan, No. S21G1147, 2022 WL 1750716 (Ga. June 1, 2022), the...more
The First Line of Defense Against Plaintiff Overreach - The suit has been filed, the troops have been marshaled, and written discovery is underway. What’s next are the inevitable requests for depositions of current and...more
A frequent and vexing issue for corporate defendants, in products liability and other cases, is the demand for a deposition of the company’s CEO or depositions of other senior executives. Even when these executives were not...more
On Aug. 26, by a majority of 6–1, the Florida Supreme Court adopted, effective immediately, a new Florida Rule of Civil Procedure, codifying a long-recognized protection for high-level government officials and extending that...more
Late last month, the Florida Supreme Court codified into Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.280(h) the “apex doctrine” and declared the doctrine applies with equal force to high-ranking corporate and government officials....more
The Florida Supreme Court has formally adopted the Apex Doctrine and incorporated it into the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. On August 26, 2021, the Court amended Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.280 by codifying the...more
On 26 August 2021, the Supreme Court of Florida (the Court), on its own motion, issued an opinion amending Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.280 (the Opinion). The amendment officially codifies the common-law “Apex Doctrine”...more
On August 26, 2021, the Florida Supreme Court amended the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure to apply the “Apex Doctrine” to high-level corporate officers. The “Apex Doctrine” prevents harassment of such officers in litigation...more
On August 26, 2021, the Florida Supreme Court amended the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure to adopt the so-called “apex doctrine” that protects high-level corporate officers from abusive discovery. ...more
State High Court Provides New Avenue for Opposing Depositions of High-Level Corporate Officials - The Florida Supreme Court adopted new Rule of Civil Procedure 1.280(h) adopting the “apex” doctrine in the corporate...more
In a somewhat surprising move, the Florida Supreme Court has just issued an opinion, on its own motion, “to codify the apex doctrine and to extend its protections to the private sphere.” See In re Amendment to Florida Rule of...more
I know that you haven’t heard from me in a while. I’m sorry, and I feel guilty. ......I’m not ready to abdicate my position as the original NC Business Court blogger, so I’m back at it again. My reentry point is the...more