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News
Litigation
[07/03]
Continental ordered to trial in Concorde explosion
[07/03]
Florida Supreme Court nixes Indian casino pact
[07/03]
Judge in Ky. gives panel 1 day in fen-phen trial
[07/02]
Judge tells jury to deliberate in fen-phen trial
[07/02]
Astra shares up 6 pct on Seroquel court ruling
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Articles
Litigation
Understanding Discovery
In our legal system, we have determined that it works to everyone's advantage if there are as few surprises as possible in the course of a lawsuit. Since the late 1940s, the federal court system has required disclosure of all relevant facts and documents to the other side prior to trial, and virtually every state has followed its lead. That disclosure is accomplished by discovery. Discovery takes three basic forms: written discovery, document production and depositions.
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Tax Litigation
While most taxpayers do not experience difficulties with tax issues, or resolve their problems at an early stage, individuals with continuing tax disputes may choose to resolve their claims against the Internal Revenue Service in federal court. Taxpayers can bring tax litigation in one of three federal courts that operate independently of the IRS. Depending on the case, Claims Court, District Court, or Tax Court may provide the appropriate forum. The taxpayer may choose to bring his or her dispute in these courts prior to completing the IRS internal appeals process, but some judges will not hear a case that has not been through this administrative procedure. Additionally, a tax court judge may fine a taxpayer if he or she feels that the lawsuit was brought to delay tax payment.
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Case Summaries
Civil Procedure
[07/03]
Followell v. US In a dispute between plaintiffs and the Environmental Protection Agency involving underlying Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) claims against plaintiffs and the EPA's attempts to collect on their resultant debt, dismissal of plaintiffs' claim is affirmed pursuant to Eighth Circuit Rule 47B for the reasons stated by the district court in its opinion.
[07/03]
City of Jefferson City v. Cingular Wireless LLC A declaratory judgment finding a wireless service provider of telecommunication services subject to local business taxes is affirmed where: 1) city's request for declaratory judgment on the issue of tax liability was properly before the district court and 2) a cell phone is a telephone and cell phone services are telephonic services for purposes of the city's tax ordinance.
[07/03]
Kountze v. Gaines In an action seeking to remove trustees from an educational board, summary judgment for defendants and imposition of sanctions on plaintiff are both affirmed where: 1) the district court did not err in finding that plaintiff was not a member of the board at the time he filed this derivative action and that he lacked capacity under state law to bring the action; and 2) there was no abuse of discretion in sanctioning plaintiff on basis that he included a defendant for improper purpose, knowing that the claims against it were barred by a prior dismissal.
[07/03]
Easley v. Reuss On petition for rehearing, the circuit court grants a petition to cure an administrative error to a prior order but declines further review where: 1) petitioner failed to meet the strict requirements of Appellate Rule 35 for a hearing en banc; and 2) petitioner was raising issues that were not previously raised.
[07/03]
MLC Automotive, LLC v. Town of Southern Pines In a suit alleging that the rezoning of a certain piece of real estate violated plaintiff's common law vested rights in the property and its federal and state substantive due process rights, denial of defendants' Rule 60(b) motion is affirmed where: 1) defendant-town's Rule 60(b) motion was filed within ten days of the original judgment, called into question the correctness of the judgment, and is properly construed as a Rule 59(e) motion; 2) the district court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that Burford abstention was appropriate because the case involved difficult issues of state land use policy.
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