business litigation session

The Road Goes on Forever, But the Lawsuits Never End: ConnectU, Facebook, Their Entourages

January 18, 2010

The ConnectU/Facebook legal saga is truly astounding.  Imagine a mature Oak tree.  Now give the it properties of Kudzu vine (the “vine that ate the South”).  Each branch of this tree is another lawsuit involving ConnectU, Facebook, the principals, and their lawyers. Now, a new branch has burst forth.  Wayne Chang has sued ConnectU and its lawyers in Superior Court Business Litigation Session in Suffolk County, Boston, claiming that Chang is entitled to as much as 50% of the value of the ConnectU/Facebook settlement (so called, since ConnectU has challenged the finality of the settlement). You can read about the ConnectU/Facebook saga here, or wait until the movie comes out. Here is the complaint in the Chang case, and apologies to Robert Earl Keen. Chang v. Winklevoss Complaint

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Judge Ralph Gants: SJC’s Gain Will Be BLS’s Loss

December 1, 2008

Today’s Boston Globe reports that Governor Deval Patrick will nominate Superior Court Judge Ralph Gants to the seat on the Supreme Judicial Court now vacated by Justice John Greaney. This is a great nomination – Judge Gants is truly a superstar of the Massachusetts Superior Court – without question one of the best, if not the best, minds on the state trial court. He has reportedly been on the “short list” of potential nominees for the last few weeks, and there was little question in my mind that he was the outstanding choice on that list. I expect his nomination to the SJC to be approved by the legislature in a heart beat. But, Judge Gants’ nomination to the SJC leaves the Business Litigation Session with a huge loss. Judge Gants was the de facto number two judge in that session (the “BLS2″ session) before Judge Allen Van Gestel’s retirement last year, and he has been the presiding judge of the two-judge session since then. At the BLS Judge Gants has been known as a smart (very smart), no BS judge. He has a high energy level, is on top of his docket and is always prepared for complex motions. He is able to cut quickly to the core issues in cases before him, is polite but firm with counsel, and can turn out strong written decisions soon after oral…

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Two Articles of Interest (by Judges) in the Boston Bar Journal: Continuity and Change in the Business Litigation Session and Lessons for E-Discovery Practitioners

October 8, 2008

Two articles in the September/October issue of the Boston Bar Journal (pdf file on BBA site) are of particular interest. In the first, entitled “Continuity and Change in the Business Litigation Session” Superior Court Judges Judith Fabricant, Ralph Gants and Stephen Neal discuss the Business Litigation Session (BLS) as this session approaches its eighth anniversary and continues its transition following the retirement of Judge Allan van Gestel, who ran the BLS for its first seven years. Some interesting statistics cited in the article: The BLS (both sessions) takes about 300 cases per year. The court has approved 95% of applications for entry. In each of the two sessions (BLS1 and BLS2) there are fewer than 500 cases pending, as compared with over 800 cases in the other civil sessions in Suffolk County (on average). As a reminder, links to the BLS Administrative Directives, “Formal Guidence” memos and Procedural Orders are here. In the second article Federal Magistrate Judge Robert Collings discusses the “discovery saga” in the Qualcomm v. Broadcom patent case in San Diego. In that case it was discovered during trial that highly relevant documents had not been produced during pre-trial discovery. After trial, it was determined that over 300,000 relevant documents had not been produced. Needless to say, when that happens the “sugar hits the fan,” with awards of attorney’s fees and sanctions to follow. Judge Collings is…

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