Eleventh Circuit Restores $20m Punitive-Damages Verdict Against Philip Morris
Posted on Dec 6, 2018 in Consumer Protection | Comments Off on Eleventh Circuit Restores $20m Punitive-Damages Verdict Against Philip Morris
The Eleventh Circuit last week reinstated a $20.76m punitive-damages verdict against tobacco giant Philip Morris, ruling that the district court had abused its discretion in ordering a new trial on the plaintiff’s intentional tort claims. Cote v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 2018 WL 6167395 (11th Cir. Nov. 26, 2018). The court also affirmed the denial of Philip Morris’s motions for a...
Employee Waived Jury Trial on Formation of Arbitration Agreement
Posted on Jul 10, 2017 in Arbitration | Comments Off on Employee Waived Jury Trial on Formation of Arbitration Agreement
The Eleventh Circuit labored to disentangle a procedural morass in Burch v. P.J. Cheese, Inc., 2017 WL 2885095 (11th Cir. July 7, 2017), ultimately holding that the plaintiff, a former employee alleging violations of a raft of federal employment laws, failed to perfect his right to a jury trial on the existence of an arbitration agreement between him and the defendant employer. ...
Trademark Battle SCARs Between Assault Rifle Makers
Posted on Oct 4, 2016 in Intellectual Property | Comments Off on Trademark Battle SCARs Between Assault Rifle Makers
A trademark dispute between assault rifle makers turned on whether promotional activities associated with an unregistered mark having no public sales are sufficient to establish prior analogous use, and whether that mark could acquire distinctiveness through secondary meaning based at least in part on these promotional activities. FN Herstal SA v. Clyde Armory Inc., 2016 WL 5390341...