Paul Elias

June 26, 2008 | Law.com

A federal judge in California refused on Wednesday to order an overhaul of the Department of Veterans Affairs' health care system, finding that a lawsuit by veterans group was "misdirected." Judge Samuel Conti ruled that veterans should instead ask Congress, the head of Veterans Affairs and the federal court in Washington, D.C., to improve the system. Conti said the veterans groups "did not prove a systemic denial or unreasonable delay in mental health care."

By Paul Elias

3 minute read

May 31, 2007 | Law.com

The self-proclaimed "guru of ganja" was convicted again Wednesday in federal court of illegally growing hundreds of marijuana plants that he said were meant to treat sick people, which California law allows. But Ed Rosenthal won't serve prison time, since he was convicted of the same charges in 2003 and sentenced to a day in prison because the court said that Rosenthal reasonably believed he was immune from prosecution because he was working for a pot club sanctioned by local government officials.

By Paul Elias

2 minute read

December 17, 1999 | Law.com

A Philadelphia pension fund would rather quit its position as lead plaintiff in a stock-drop class action than dump a hometown law firm as counsel. In an unprecedented move in securities litigation, the Philadelphia Board of Pensions and Retirement told a federal judge in California that it no longer wanted to serve as lead plaintiff in a massive class action against Network Associates. The Santa Clara, Calif. software company was sued after it made bookkeeping errors that inflated its stock price.

By Paul Elias

4 minute read

July 02, 1999 | Law.com

By the slimmest of margins, the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday recommended San Francisco labor lawyer Marsha Berzon for confirmation to the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. With two Republicans breaking ranks, including committee chairman Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Berzon was put up for the full Senate's consideration on a 10-8 vote, the closest such committee vote in recent history.

By Paul Elias

2 minute read

January 28, 2000 | Law.com

U.S. District Judge William Alsup appointed Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein as lead plaintiffs' counsel in the hotly contested and potentially lucrative securities class action against Network Associates Inc. The appointment was the latest and probably last twist in the battle for lead plaintiff and lead plaintiffs' counsel in the suit against the Santa Clara, Calif.-based antivirus software maker, which is accused of lying about its financial health to improperly inflate its stock price.

By Paul Elias

2 minute read

July 29, 2005 | Law.com

The biotechnology industry's recent full-court press to let firms owned by venture capitalists qualify for federal small-business grants has found an ally in Dr. Elias Zerhouni, head of the National Institutes of Health. Although most NIH awards go to small biotechnology companies, an SBA judge ruled in 2003 that companies controlled by venture capital firms are disqualified. Thus, many biotech companies cannot get grants because they tend to be majority-owned by such venture capital firms.

By Paul Elias

2 minute read

October 17, 2006 | Law.com

With gas prices at record highs, and a smaller-than-usual harvest, the last thing U.S. rice farmers needed was more pressure. But with the discovery of genetically engineered rice on shelves in the biotech-averse European Union and Japan, outright bans of American rice seem possible. Worried farmers are lining up behind legislation proposed by SunWest, California's largest rice miller, to ban genetically engineered rice in the state.

By Paul Elias

6 minute read

January 18, 2000 | Law.com

By Paul Elias

5 minute read

January 12, 2000 | Law.com

A 30-second film clip of The Three Stooges' "Disorder in the Court" played in the background during a scene in the 1996 movie "The Long Kiss Goodnight" does not violate trademark laws, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. The court held that New Line Cinema, makers of the movie, didn't have to seek permission from Comedy III Productions Inc. -- holders of The Three Stooges' rights -- to use the clip. The Stooges, however, didn't save the Geena Davis vehicle. It was a commercial and critical flop.

By Paul Elias

2 minute read

August 26, 1999 | Law.com

Memo to Latrell Sprewell and his legal team: When a federal judge gives you advice, take it. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker slammed the NBA superstar and his legal advisers with rarely invoked Rule 11 sanctions for bringing a frivolous suit against the National Basketball Association. Back in July, Walker warned Sprewell and his lawyers that the complaint was perilously close to being deemed frivolous. They refiled the case, anyway. On Friday, he dismissed the case and ordered the sanctions.

By Paul Elias

4 minute read