Gurumurthy Kalyanaram on Lawsuits and Policies: The Latest Court Ruling on Voting Provisions

Gurumurthy Kalyanaram reports on lawsuits and policies and in this brief particularly on the latest court ruling on voting provisions.

Several civil rights groups filed a lawsuit against a law passed by the North Carolina Legislature.  In their lawsuit, the civil rights groups argued that elimination of easy ballot access provisions by the legislature will harm the voters in general, and the black voters even more so.  The two issues in the complaint related to the elimination of same-day registration and out-of-precinct provisional voting.

Gurumurthy Kalyanaram, Dean, former and former professor NYIT and UT Dallas and Expert Witness - Reports on The Lawsuits against Union Carbide (US) and British Petroleum (UK)

Gurumurthy Kalyanaram, Dean and former NYIT and UT Dallas professor, and expert witness, Gurumurthy Kalyanaram reports on the two similar lawsuits but with dramatically different adjudications.

Two industrial disasters have brought two different outcomes in the US courts.

First, let us review the Clean Water Act lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice and others against British Petroleum (BP) for liabilities in the explosion of Deepwater Horizon and massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010.

Gurumurthy Kalyanaram, Dean, Expert Witness and Former Professor NYIT and UT Dallas – Reports on Expert Witness in Litigation

Gurumurthy Kalyanaram, Dean, Expert Witness and former NYIT and UT Dallas professor Gurumurthy Kalyanaram reports on the need and status of expert witness in lawsuits (litigation).

Experts provide important inputs in arbitrations and litigations (lawsuits). Their input/counsel gives the fact-finder an objective rendition of the facts and assessment of those facts, and facilitates fair adjudication of the dispute/lawsuit.

Without an appropriate expert litigation (lawsuit) can flounder. In a decision in July 2014, Honorable Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed the class-action (Celebrex and Bextra) lawsuit against Pfizer because, “Plaintiffs' failure to proffer admissible loss causation and damages evidence is fatal to plaintiffs' claims" after the defendant admitted "without a damages expert a securities fraud trial can't be tried.”

Gurumurthy Kalyanaram – Reports on the Bhopal Tragedy Lawsuit against Union Carbide (US)

Dr Gurumurthy Kalyanaram - Former Dean and former NYIT and UT Dallas professor, and expert witness, Gurumurthy Kalyanaram reports on the Bhopal Tragedy lawsuit against Union Carbide (US).

A lawsuit filed by Earth Rights International in the U.S. District Court against Union Carbide (US) for the Bhopal Gas Tragedy was recently dismissed by Justice John Keenan. I am familiar with John Keenan’s decisions – he is generally inclined to grant motions for summary judgment unless the plaintiff in the lawsuit can show robust evidence of dispute of fact(s). Justice Keenan’s threshold is high. He has been a senior judge since mid-1990s.

Dr Gurumurthy Kalyanaram, Dean, Expert Witness and Former Professor NYIT and UT Dallas

Reports on the Accomplishments, Outcomes and Posture of the US Supreme Court in 2013-2014 Term

Dr Gurumurthy Kalyanaram - Former Dean and former NYIT and UT Dallas professor Gurumurthy Kalyanaram reports on the accomplishments, outcomes and posture of the US Supreme Court in 2013-2014 Term.

The U.S. Supreme Court granted cert to many important issues, and adjudicated many related lawsuits in the concluded 2013-2014 Term. In resolving these important lawsuits, the U.S. Supreme Court tilted to more conservative posture without completely overturning any of the major landmark holdings but nevertheless denting many of them in a nuanced manner.

Gurumurthy Kalyanaram - Reports on the Vote to Authorize Lawsuit against President Barack Obama

Gurumurthy Kalyanaram - Former Dean and former NYIT and UT Dallas professor Gurumurthy Kalyanaram reports on the vote by the U.S. House of Representatives on June 30, 2014 authorizing a lawsuit against President Barack Obama. Gurumurthy Kalyanaram Lawsuit

In a somewhat historic but also development, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on June 30, 2014 to authorize Speaker John Boehner to file a lawsuit against President Obama for his abuse of authority. The vote was completely partisan – all the Republicans except five of them voting to authorize such a lawsuit and all the democrats voting against such a plan. So, it will essentially be Republicans suing President Obama, not so much the U.S. House of Representatives. Gurumurthy Kalyanaram Lawsuit

Gurumurthy Kalyanaram – Reports on the US Supreme Court Decision on the Legality of a New Technology for Transmission

Gurumurthy Kalyanaram - Former Dean and former NYIT and UT Dallas professor Gurumurthy Kalyanaram reports on the recent important US Supreme Court decision on Aereo’s new technology for transmission of programs. Gurumurthy Kalyanaram Lawsuit

ABC and other networks filed a lawsuit, actually an injunction, against Aereo, Inc. (Aereo) which was offering a user-friendly technology and service that allow its subscribers to watch programs that are currently airing on network television or record programs that will air in the future over the Internet. The lower courts refused to enjoin Aereo. Gurumurthy Kalyanaram Lawsuit

Gurumurthy Kalyanaram, Important US Supreme Court Decisions on Social Policy Matters Issued in 2014

Gurumurthy Kalyanaram – Former Dean and former NYIT and UT Dallas professor Gurumurthy Kalyanaram reports on three important US Supreme Court decisions on law and lawsuit and public policy matters issued in 2014.  Here is an executive summary of these decisions. Gurumurthy Kalyanaram UT Dallas
On Campaign Finance, McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission Gurumurthy Kalyanaram Lawsuit

A lawsuit filed by McCutcheon against Federal Election Commission, and supported by Republican National Party, found its way to the US Supreme Court.  The Court held that that the overall limits for contributions from individuals to candidates and political parties was against freedom of expression and therefore, unconstitutional.  The Court, however, did not disturb base limits of $2,600 per election.  The Court had never before had struck down a federal contribution limit. Gurumurthy Kalyanaram NYIT

Gurumurthy Kalyanaram - Reports Onover Reach in Application of Chemical Weapons ACT

Gurumurthy Kalyanaram - This is an interesting case. Carol Bond’s husband was infidel. Based on this fact, Bond could have filed a lawsuit against her husband and/or his mistress, including a divorce petition. There could have been a myriad causes of action – some colorable and others robust – for potential lawsuit by Bond. But, instead, Bond tried to get even with her husband’s mistress, Myrlinda Haynes. She tried to poison her husband’s mistress “by spreading chemicals on (among other things) her doorknob, causing only a minor burn that was easily treated with water.” Bond spread “two toxic chemicals on Haynes's car, mailbox, and door knob in hopes that Haynes would develop an uncomfortable rash.”

Here is where it gets interesting. Instead of treating this as a simple case of assault, the US filed a criminal complaint/lawsuit against Bond under the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 229. Gurumurthy Kalyanaram Lawsuit