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Belfast Project: Ivor Bell To Stand Trial
The Guardian reports that Ivor Bell is to stand trial in the Jean McConville murder case. According to the report: The case against the former IRA commander centres on alleged testimony he is accused of giving to the Belfast Project, an archive of IRA and Ulster loyalist paramilitaries over their role in the armed conflict……
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Case of the Day: Topsnik v. United States
The case of the day is Topsnik v. United States (Fed. Cl. 2016). Gerd Topsnik was “a German resident who formerly had business interests in the United States.” He brought claims for damages, asserting that the government had wrongfully levied taxes on him. (In fact, his claims should have been brought as claims for a……
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Case of the Day: In re O’Keeffe
The case of the day is In re O’Keeffe (2d Cir. 2016). This is another § 1782 case in the Sheldon Adelson libel case against journalist Kate O’Keefee, who wrote that he was “foul-mouthed.” The suit was pending in Hong Kong. O’Keeffe sought leave to serve a subpoena on Adelson’s former driver, Kwame Luangisa, presumably……
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Case of the Day: DDR Señorial LLC v. Prestige Holdings
The case of the day is DDR Señorial LLC v. Prestige Holdings, Ltd. (D.P.R. 2016). DDR was a Delaware company doing business in Puerto Rico. The defendant, Prestige, was a Trinidad & Tobago company. Trinidad & Tobago is not party to the Hague Service Convention. DDR sought to make service under FRCP 4(f)(2)(A), i.e., “as……
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An American View On Brexit
The most surprising thing about the Brexit vote, to me, was that there was a Brexit vote—that the question was put to a nationwide referendum. Many US states made provisions in their constitutions for referenda and initiative petitions in their constitutions during the Progressive Era. Even my own state, Massachusetts, did it—the only New England……