- STATE OF ALASKA TO PAY OUT OF STATE FISHERMAN $ 70 MILLION
Posted December 1, 2009, 2:23 pm by Beard Stacey Trueb & Jacobsen, LLP
Fisherman from outside of the State of Alaska who paid "out of state fees" for commercial fishing licenses and permits from 1984 to 2004 will receive up to $ 70 million dollars in compensation. As the result of a class action lawsuit filed in 1984, the Alaska Court has ruled that the State of Alaska must reimburse out of state fisherman for excessive charges. The Court held that charging the non-Alaska fisherman a fee differential violated the privileges and immunities clause of the United...
- No Federal Preemption Protections For Manufacturers Of Generic Drugs
Posted November 30, 2009, 4:40 pm by Richard E. Vollertsen
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, in Mensing v. Wyeth, Inc., has just ruled that generic drug manufacturers cannot use the doctrine of federal preemption as a shield to avoid liability in claims arising out of the manufacturers' failure to warn consumers about their drugs' dangers. This decision follows on the heels of the United States Supreme Court's ruling in Wyeth, Inc. v. Levine that the FDA's approval of a drug's label does not provide immunity from suit by...
- At Will Employment and Drue Pearce
Posted November 30, 2009, 10:50 am by Will Schendel
The recent resignation of Drue Pearce, the federal Coordinator of Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects, followed the issuance of a legal opinion by the Office of Legal Counsel that concluded that her employment was "at will." This conclusion followed, under federal law, despite her statutorily-confirmed "fixed term" and "independence" of her office. The U. S. Supreme Court has held [...]
- The Workplace Bully
Posted November 30, 2009, 10:45 am by Will Schendel
At the December 2nd meeting of the Employment Law Section of the Alaska Bar Association, Lynn Curry, owner of the Growth Company, management and human resource consultants, will speak on Verbal Confrontation and the Workplace Bully.
- The Weekend: The Stones’ Ya-Ya’s
Posted November 28, 2009, 2:25 am by Dean Hanley
The Rolling Stones, Get Your Ya-Ya's Out (Box Set) Over the course of a career that really should have ended a very long time ago (in my considered opinion), the Rolling Stones have released about 10 live albums, most of which stink. Flashpoint, in particular, stinks all the way up to the highest part of heaven. [...]
- NINTH CIRCUIT COURT RULES THAT INJURED SEAMAN’S CLAIM AGAINST AMERICAN SEAFOODS MUST GO TO TRIAL
Posted November 25, 2009, 12:06 pm by Beard Stacey Trueb & Jacobsen, LLP
November 25, 2009 Reversing a Seattle District Court decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that an injured Alaska fish processor has presented sufficient evidence that his case must go to trial. Samson Ili brought a Jones Act injury claim against American Seafoods based upon the theory that it was negligent to require crewmen to work 16 hours a day, seven days a week, for months at a time. Ili was injured at the end of his shift, after months of work, while lifting 70-lb bags of...
- DAlaska: Collateral Estoppel, Indictment Surplusage, and Pretrial Confinement Conditions
Posted November 25, 2009, 10:35 am by Will Schendel
Collateral estoppel: U. S. District Judge Ralph Beistline has held that state court rulings on personal jurisdiction and on Rule 19 indispensable joinder are binding in subsequent federal litigation (presumably diversity-based). Limani v. First American Title, 2009 WL 3834006 (D.Alaska Nov. 16, 2009). Kevin Anderson of Anchorage represents plaintiffs. Paul Hoffman and Robert Blasco of Juneau, [...]
- Public Citizen Reports on Alaska's Pepper v. Routh Crabtree
Posted November 24, 2009, 10:28 pm by Paul Bratton, Lawyer & Judy Price, Paralegal
Tuesday, November 24, 2009 Alaska Supreme Court Rejects Debt Collectors' First Amendment Defense by Deepak Gupta With increasing frequency, debt collectors accused of engaging in abusive tactics in the context of consumer collection litigation have been raising a novel defense based on the Petition Clause of the First Amendment, which guarantees a right of access to the courts. They argue that their conduct constitutes protected petitioning activity and is thus completely immune from liability...
- HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS FORCE CLOSURE OF WASHINGTON RIVER BARS
Posted November 23, 2009, 3:10 pm by Beard Stacey Trueb & Jacobsen, LLP
Heavy winds and high seas led the Coast Guard to close the Colombia River, Tillamook Bay, and Grays Harbor River bars over the weekend due to hazardous sea conditions. The bar closures were for all vessels. Information about bar conditions are available from the Coast Guard on VHF-FM channel 16. The bars were to remain closed until weather conditions improved. The Washington and Oregon bars are extremely hazardous, with the Columbia River Bar aptly named the "graveyard of the Pacific" because...
- Beistline Clarifies Red Dog Order
Posted November 23, 2009, 10:42 am by Will Schendel
U. S. District Judge Beistline has amended his Nov. 4th order in the Red Dog shareholder preference case - which addressed res judicata issues. See 11/23/09 update to original AEL post. While the result is the same, Beistline did disavow any intention to sanction plaintiff's counsel for what he'd earlier labeled a "frivolous" argument.
- The Weekend: Ray Davies, in Concert
Posted November 21, 2009, 2:21 am by Dean Hanley
Raymond Douglas Davies, Tuesday night at the Berklee Performance Center 1. Boy, were there ever a lot of old people there, even a wheelchair contingent. More trips to the bathroom at a concert than I ever saw in my life. My daughter was the second youngest person there. Memo to self: Go see some current band [...]
- Alaska Supreme Court- Debt Collectors Must Litigate Fairly in Alaska
Posted November 21, 2009, 1:45 am by Paul Bratton, Lawyer & Judy Price, Paralegal
In a case closely watched by consumer groups and the debt collection industry, the Alaska Supreme Court handed down a decision yesterday stating Because we conclude that it would not unconstitutionally burden the defendants' petitioning activities to require them to litigate debt collection claims in a fair manner, we reverse the dismissal of Pepper's complaint. The court in deciding Pepper v. Routh Crabtree APC (available at sp-6437.pdf (application/pdf Object) ) held that acts by the debt...
- 9th Cir: Rehab Act Protects Independent Contractors
Posted November 19, 2009, 4:46 pm by Will Schendel
Does § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794, extend to a claim of discrimination brought by an independent contractor? The 9th Circuit (per Judge Bybee) says Yes. In order to answer that question, we must decide whether § 504(d), which refers to "the standards applied under title I of the Americans with Disabilities [...]
- 9th Cir: Kozinski on Benefits for Same Sex Federal Judicial Employees
Posted November 19, 2009, 11:00 am by Will Schendel
Two days ago it was Judge Stephen Reinhardt. Now 9th Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski takes another step beyond Reinhardt's order for compensatory relief, and orders OPM to stop interfering with his orders, and directs Blue Cross/Blue Shield to enroll the federal judicial employee's same-sex spouse in the health plan. In the Matter of Karen Golinski, 2009 WL [...]
- Legal Research: Google Scholar
Posted November 19, 2009, 10:48 am by Will Schendel
You can now find federal and state court opinions via Google Scholar. It's free, includes internal page numbers, and has a citation feature ("How cited"), ala Westlaw's KeyCite (TM). At the homepage for Google Scholar, check "Legal opinions and journals," enter your search terms, and have at it. It doesn't appear to include unpublished opinions, nor [...]
- 9th Cir: Benefits for Same Sex Spouses of Federal PDs
Posted November 18, 2009, 10:54 am by Will Schendel
Judge Stephen Reinhardt has ordered the Federal Public Defenders Office to compensate an employee for the health benefits denied to the employee's same sex spouse (married under California law). He declined to order the agency to negotiate new insurance contracts that would have provided the benefits. Reinhardt had earlier determined that the denial of benefits violated the [...]
- âœI Just Have One Questionâ - Responding to Telephone Calls
Posted November 18, 2009, 10:35 am by Will Schendel
Several times a week someone calls my office and says, "Can you answer a question? I just want to know if I have a case." Often the caller, quite understandably, will add, "I don't want to spend money on a lawyer if I don't have a case." In response, I usually say, "I'm sorry, but [...]
- JURY AWARDS SEAMAN 1.3 MILLION IN PUNITIVE DAMAGES AGAINST ICICLE SEAFOODS FOR FAILURE TO PAY MAINTENANCE AND CURE
Posted November 17, 2009, 12:18 pm by Beard Stacey Trueb & Jacobsen, LLP
A Washington State King County jury has awarded total damages in the amount of $1.6 million dollars to a crewman injured on an Alaska fish processor owned by Icicle Seafoods. $1.3 million dollars of the award was for punitive damages for Icicles' wilful and wanton failure to pay maintenance and cure benefits as required by Federal law. Mr. Clausen, the injured crewman, was represented by Jim Jacobsen of the Seattle based maritime injury law firm of Beard Stacey & Jacobsen. In February of...
- TRIDENT LOSES BID TO PURCHASE FISH PROCESSING FACILITY ON ADAK ISLAND IN ALASKA
Posted November 17, 2009, 12:13 pm by Beard Stacey Trueb & Jacobsen, LLP
In mid-November, in a U.S. Federal Bankruptcy proceeding, Trident Seafoods lost a bid to purchase a Fish Processing Facility on Adak Island in Alaska. Trident was out bid by a competing purchaser, Adak Fisheries, who bid $488,000 plus assumption of $6.7 million dollars in pending bank loans. Trident reportedly offered $2 million but was unwilling to take on the debt as part of their bid. The deal may make it possible for the plant to open as early as January 2010.
- SAFETY IN OREGON AND WASHINGTON COMMERCIAL CRAB FISHING FLEET LAGGING BEHIND INDUSTRY
Posted November 16, 2009, 5:24 pm by Beard Stacey Trueb & Jacobsen, LLP
Operation "Safe Crab" has been set in motion on the Washington and Oregon coasts in an attempt to limit further deaths in the commercial crab fishery. In November, the Coast Guard will be conducting dock-side examinations throughout the Northwest ports for the safety of the crab fleet. These inspections will be limited mostly to inspection of life rafts, epirbs, and survival suits. The Washington and Oregon commercial crab fishery has a high incidence of deadly accidents. This may be the result...