Judge King Nixes Delta Baggage Delay Reimbursement Case!

Did you know you are entitled to up to $3300 in expenses from Delta if your bags are delayed?

Neither does anybody else.

But in a suit brought by Aaron Podhurst over Delta's failure to advise customers of this policy, Judge King has dismissed the suit with prejudice, holding that it is preempted under the Airline Deregulation Act:

Plaintiff's claims clearly rest on allegations that "relate to the heart of services that an airline provides.'' Koutsouradis, 427 F.3d at 1344 n.2. Permitting this claim to move forward as plead would thus impermissibly sanction regulation of the manner in which the airline advertise their reimbursement services and would interfere with the provision of baggage handling services to their passengers, thereby offending the stated purpose of the Deregulation Act.

You can't win 'em all, I guess.

Oh yeah -- happy almost Good Friday, plebes!

Checking Overdraft Settlement Approved!

Judge King's 59 page order here.

Julie Kay gets a few good quotes from Podhurst here.

Drinks on him (I certainly hope).

Judge King Denies (Again) Checking Overdraft Arbitration Agreements.

11th Circuit, 11th Schmircuit, that's what I always say.

And I see I'm not alone.

On Friday in the closely-watched Checking Overdraft litigation, Judge King has denied renewed motions to enforce bank arbitration agreements in the wake of the Supreme Court's Carlos Concepion decision, finding them both procedurally and substantively unconscionable.

Here's what plaintiff's counsel Aaron Podhurst had to say:

"WOOOOHOOO!!!!"

Ok, I'm paraphrasing; here were his exact words:

"Concepcion only said that you don’t knock out arbitration automatically,” Aaron Podhurst, the lead plaintiffs’ lawyer, said in an interview. “Concepcion said it’s a fact issue, so Judge King applied the facts. We have Judge King finding that in four different states, the arbitration agreements are unconscionable.” 

In other post-Labor Day news, Governor Scott has decided he really hates "regulations":

“Every dime a company spends on regulations is a dime they add to what you care about as a purchaser of a product or service,” he said. “You hear the stories. Why do we have to do this? What’s the benefit?

Exactly!

Why do I have to check for razor blades when I sell apples to the public schools?

Who can really keep track of the permissible amounts of rat droppings in Rice-A-Roni?

Why do we have to do this?  What's the benefit?

Checking Overdraft Cases Thrown into Turmoil!

We've previously reported on the numerous orders entered by Judge King finding various banks' arbitration clauses to be unconscionable.

Those orders are now highly suspect in light of the Supreme Court's Concepcion opinion last week.

Already the 11th Circuit has vacated at least five of these orders:

After oral argument in this case, the United States Supreme Court decided AT&T Mobility LLC v. Conception, No. 09-893, 2011 WL 1561956 (April 27, 2011). The district court’s order denying the motion to compel arbitration is VACATED, and this case is remanded to the district court for reconsideration in light of the Supreme Court’s opinion.

And Wells Fargo immediately moved before Judge King to have the case against it dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.

How this will impact the $410 million BoA settlement announced back in February is anyone's guess.

Prominent Lawyers Get Special Treatment at Joe's -- All is Well With the World!

My Herald gag reflex usually doesn't kick in until Tuesdays (for obvious reasons), but it came a day early this week.

Let's see -- we're now in the middle of three wars and there is an unprecedented nuclear crisis in Japan, in addition to thousands lost and many more suffering from the devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Not to mention unemployment, gas prices, global warming yada yada yada.

And all the President wants to do is work on his bracket!

But do not fear, my childrens, because Akerman's Mike Abrams has his very own gold plaque and table at Joe's:

Don’t see his name on it? Look to the right, on the wall, where there’s a gold plaque – the only one like it in the place – that reads very clearly, “Reserved for MIKE ABRAMS.”

A gold plaque?

In my view that's quite humble and modest -- remember, it could have been platinum.

Ok, I'm all for Joe's and lunch there frequently.  The food's great, the atmosphere is very New York busy, and you do see tons of people you know.

However, if I ever wind up in an article like this, regaling the special treatment accorded to prominent attorneys who lunch there and schmooze with Anthony and my buddy Steve, you have my absolute permission not only to note that I have "jumped the shark" but to just shoot me dead.

Let's round up the usual suspects:

For example, on a recent Tuesday, KnoxSeaton senior principal George Knox sat on the inner left side, declaring deadpan, “I’m not a power player and I’m not a regular.” Too bad he was belied by Sawitz, who seated him prominently at a table he later declared (while grinning) had been reserved for Legal Legends, a distinction Knox had received in 2010 from the 11{+t}{+h} Judicial Circuit Historical Society. Knox was lunching with general litigation attorney Pamela Chavies, hoping she’d agree to help plan a scholarship component of the 2012 convention for Sigma Pi Phi, an 8,000-member organization of African-American professionals.
“It’s a social luncheon around a business topic,” says Knox.

Just behind him, construction king Bobby Castellano sat with Victoria Palacios, the vice president of sales for his new (and still confidential) conservation business, discussing with her and insurance exec John Lander a $25 million policy for a key man in the company.

One table over was banker-turned-University of Miami chairman Leonard Abess Jr., sitting with UM board member, beverage and automotive executive Manny Kadre. Also there: Weiss Serota Helfman managing partner Michael Popok eating with Katz Barron partner John Squitero; novelty manufacturer Sam Hollander celebrating his birthday with Gordon Miller and Isaac Serure; and research associate professor of biomedical engineering, radiology and family medicine at University of Miami, Dr. Edward Dauer with his daughter, Allison Dauer, a nurse at Bascom Palmer’s pediatric ENT clinic.

Other Joe’s regulars include: Best Buddies International founder, Anthony Shriver; Miami Beach Community leader Stu Blumberg; former Miami Beach mayor and Akerman Senterfitt partner Neisen Kasdin; Judge Rosa Rodriguez; trial lawyer Aaron Podhurst; commercial property negotiator Lyle Stern; actress and activist Sharon Gless; and real estate lawyer Steve Helfman.

(Yawn)

Wait a minute -- Sharon Gless??

Are you s&^*ing me?

Beautiful and enchanting veteran 70s TV star, who appeared in such memorable fare as the Eddie Albert/Robert Wagner crime caper series Switch, or as the replacement for Lynn Redgrave in the TV version of the Walter Matthau film House Calls?

Well then, I take everything back.

(Note -- I recently asked Sharon to sign the above Switch fan photo last week at Joe's.  Sure, my lunch partner Aaron Podhurst was a bit unsure how to handle it when I took the photo and pen from my jacket and went running over for an autograph, I mean it was kind of a big scene and they had to call security and I never did get to finish my Key Lime pie, but what can I say -- the heart wants what the heart wants).

BREAKING -- BoA Checking Overdraft Settles HUGE!

Good to see all that TARP money going to a good place:

Plaintiffs and Bank of America, N.A., through their respective undersigned counsel, hereby notify the Court that on or around January 27, 2011, they executed a Memorandum of Understanding evidencing an agreement in principle, under which Bank of America will pay the total sum of four hundred ten million and 00/100 dollars ($410,000,000.00) in exchange for a full and complete release of all claims brought against Bank of America in this multidistrict litigation.

Aaron, your timing is impeccable as always.

Bobby Gilbert Leaves Alters for Grossman Roth.

Gilbert Grossman Roth

The turmoil at Jeremy Alters' firm continues as class action litigator Bobby Gilbert is apparently leaving for PI powerhouse Grossman Roth.

This according to Judge King who is supervising the checking overdraft MDL, and who entered an order noting Gilbert's move to his new firm, creating a new position for Bobby as "Coordinating Counsel" and appointing Grossman Roth to the plaintiff's executive committee.

The Court also appointed war horse (ed. note -- this is a compliment!) Aaron Podhurst to serve as co-lead counsel with Bruce Rogow.

Congrats on the move Bobby!

Dreaming of Soofganiyot.

Well kids, I'm warming up the dreidel and pulling out the soofganiyot recipes, and yet here we are still dealing with the slings and arrows of this thing we call "practicing law."

I just bumped into Aaron Podhurst by the Starbucks near the courthouse, looking trim and thin btw.

Congrats to him and the leadership team he has put together for the Miami Art Museum, including lawyers Juan P. Loumiet and Arthur Halsey Rice.

Now it's time to raise some gelt, fellas.

Speaking of conflicts, former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and other state court justices will be rolling out a campaign to end judicial elections:

Many judges and the American Bar Association argue the legal system is tainted by judges seeking campaign donations.

"It doesn't support the fundamental principle of judges acting fairly and impartially," Ohio Chief Justice Tom Moyer told The Associated Press.

A judicial think tank at the University of Denver has assembled a group of prominent judges, including O'Connor, to push for the abolition of directly elected judges in the 33 states that have them.

They want state commissions made up mostly of non-lawyers to pick judges. Governors would appoint judges the commissions select, and voters would decide in future elections whether the judges keep their jobs.

Exactly -- I mean, that worked out pretty good in Broward recently. Maybe anybody wearing a mustard suit need not apply?

Meanwhile, the federal judiciary gets a $357 million boost in its budget for 2010, less than what is needed but better than a budget cut.

Sorry Judge Fay, still no judicial pay raise yet.

Ok, back to my recipes.