Month: April 2020

  • Case of the Day: Clay v. Hilton

    The case of the day is Clay v. Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (W.D. Wash. 2020). Clay was in Phuket, Thailand, for a business conference. When he was strode on the stage during his presentation, he tripped and fell, suffering a serious injury. He sued the company that owned the hotel and the company that managed……

  • Unmeritorious Case Of The Day: Missouri v. China

    I’m keeping an eye on Missouri v. People’s Republic of China, a case just filed in the Eastern District of Missouri. The claim is against the Chinese government and several ministries and local governments, as well as the Communist Party of China and two institutes whose status is unclear, the Wuhan Institute of Virology and……

  • Massachusetts Readies for Remote Notary Practice

    The Massachusetts General Court (our legislature) has passed a bill allowing for notaries to take oaths and acknowledgments in certain circumstances remotely during the state of emergency the Governor declared during the pandemic. I am on record here at Letters Blogatory as generally opposing such laws for a variety of reasons, but in the current……

  • Case of the Day: Francisco S. v. Aetna

    The case of the day is Francisco S. v. Aetna Life Insurance Co. (D. Utah 2020). Francisco S. was an employee of the World Bank. The Bank provided him with health benefits under a self-funded employee benefits plan. Aetna was the third-party administrator. Aetna denied a claim submitted for Francisco’s daughter, and Francisco sued Aetna……

  • Canada v. Merlini: Brief in Opposition Filed

    Canada v. Merlini: Brief in Opposition Filed

    For those of you following the Merlini litigation, the case of the worker injured on the job at the Canadian consulate in Boston, here is the brief in opposition I filed today. Because the other side will get the chance to file one more brief at this stage, I will not comment on the brief……