Supreme Kick Off: The U.S. Supreme Court fall term begins today, opening to a docket featuring a host of cases concerning corporations, compensation and the financial markets, The New York Times reports in a preview of closely watched cases. Miss the hoopla yesterday at Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C.? The National Law Journal's Tony Mauro was on hand for the traditional Roman Catholic Red Mass, which drew six Supreme Court justices and the vice president.
Buried Treasure: The Washington Post brings us this intriguing tale about a Texas custom broker's attempts to get the government to pay him for ruined U.S. dollars unearthed in Mexico. The authorities suspected the "crusty, grimy greenbacks" in the man's luggage was drug money worth about $6.4 million. Federal prosecutors in D.C., who moved to forfeit the cash, have reached a settlement with the man. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing annually handles about 30,000 transactions involving mutilated currency worth $30 million. The money does not return to circulation.
Fighting Back: Allergan Inc., which makes the drug Botox, is taking on the government in court to seek the right to "share truthful, relevant information" with physicians about off-label therapeutic uses of its drugs, Corporate Counsel reports via law.com. Drug companies are not supposed to push off-label uses of approved drugs. Allergan's complaint against the Food & Drug Administration, among other defendants, alleges the government is violating First Amendment rights in making it a crime for a company to communicate truthful information to physicians about off-label uses.
Delinquent Clients: The Legal Intelligencer reports that some firms are turning to court to recoup money owed from delinquent clients. One consultant told the Intelligencer that a firm would sue a client in only the most "dire of circumstances." There's always the fear of a legal malpractice counterclaim, the consultant said.
Divorce Battle: The award that an injured firefighter received through the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund is separate property for the purposes of equitable distribution amid a divorce, The New York Law Journal reports. A state appeals court in Brooklyn found that lawmakers intended for both the economic and noneconomic portions of personal injury awards to be designated separate property.
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