Arizona Court: Public Office Requires English Proficiency

The Arizona Supreme Court on Friday upheld a state law that requires elected officials to be able to read, write and speak the English language.

The state’s top court, in affirming a lower court’s ruling, said the long-standing language requirement “manifests a legitimate concern that those who hold elective office be minimally proficient in English in order to conduct the duties of their office without the aid of an interpreter.”

The court rejected an argument that a lower court’s interpretation of the law violates . . . . .

Fuel Fight at the D.C. Circuit

The battle over ethanol came to a federal appeals court today, with prominent conservative judge Brett Kavanaugh saying the Environmental Protection Agency “ran roughshod” over the law when it permitted fuel refiners to bring gasoline blended with 15% ethanol onto the market.

Unfortunately for the petroleum industry, the food industry and a host of others who dislike E15 fuel, Judge Kavanaugh couldn’t persuade his two colleagues  . . . . .

Hall-of-Famer Eddie Murray Hit With, Settles, Insider-Trading Charges

Well, it’s a sad day for anyone who grew up who idolizing Eddie Murray, the switch-hitting Baltimore Orioles’ first-baseman who was enshrined into Cooperstown in 2002.

Friday afternoon, the Securities & Exchange Commission charged Mr. Murray with insider trading. Mr. Murray agreed to settle the SEC’s charges, according to the SEC’s release.

According to the release, Mr. Murray’s former Orioles’ teammate Doug DeCinces gave Mr. Murray and another man, Utah businessman David L. Parker, inside information ahead of an acquisition by Advanced Medical Optics Inc. The SEC on Friday also charged James V. Mazzo, the chairman and chief executive of Advanced Medical Optics.

The SEC alleges that Murray made approximately $235,314 in illegal profits . . .

For Now, Insider Trader Doesn’t Have To Forfeit Money

A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the conviction of a former portfolio manager at Jefferies Group Inc.’s asset-management unit convicted of insider trading two years ago, but said he didn’t have to forfeit any money for now.

In a somewhat unusual ruling, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals . . . . .

Insurance Spat That Went Viral Ends in Settlement

Progressive Corp. has said it reached a settlement with the family of a deceased policyholder after the family’s complaints about the company ignited a firestorm of criticism about the way it handled her car-insurance claim.

The settlement comes just three days after the policyholder’s brother, Matt Fisher, took to his blog to say he was surprised to learn a driver involved in a car crash that killed his sister “was defended by Progressive’s legal team” when his family sued the driver for negligence.

“If you are insured by Progressive, and they owe you money, they will defend your killer in court in order to not pay you your policy,” Mr. Fisher wrote in a post Monday on Tumblr.

Progressive disputed Mr. Fisher’s characterization of its actions in a statement on its website Tuesday. The blog post caused hundreds of people to flood the company’s Facebook page with negative comments . . .

The AM Roundup: Apple-Samsung Judge Gets Testy, More

Fierce Words For most of the Apple-Samsung patent trial, it’s been Samsung’s lawyers who’ve borne the brunt of Judge Lucy H. Koh’s ire. Not on Thursday. Judge Koh used some colorful language on Apple lawyer William Lee in voicing her frustration over Apple’s trying to book a lot of witnesses in the remaining time it has. CNET. In the meantime, the trial turned to the issue of damages. WSJ

Forensics Move to Afghanistan: Forensic evidence, like the use of fingerprints, have until now been a relative novelty in Afghan courts, where convictions are usually based on defendants’ confessions—often extracted under duress or even torture. But that’s not necessarily the case anymore. WSJ

Strange Bedfellows: Kodak’s auction of intellectual property has yet to produce a sale. But it has had one unlikely result: turning the fiercest rivals . . .

Law Professors Jump in Rakoff’s Corner

A friend-of-the-court brief from a group of law professors says U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff was well within his power to reject the now-infamous proposed settlement between the SEC and Citigroup.

Judge Rakoff (pictured), in rejecting the settlement, said he didn’t have the facts in front of him to approve the $285 million settlement, which centered on a $1 billion collateralize debt obligation the bank created in 2007. Now the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is considering whether he acted appropriately.

The brief, filed Thursday in the Second Circuit, is signed by Barbara Black, a professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, and 19 other scholars. . . .

K&L Gates, Australia’s Middletons, in Advanced Merger Talks

Law-firm mergers that span the Atlantic are soooo last decade.

These days, anyone who’s looking for that splashy tie-up are turning their sights to the Pacific. Specifically, Down Under.

The latest: K&L Gates and Australian law firm Middletons are in merger talks that appear to be fairly far along. If approved, the combination would create a firm of . . .

Dewey ‘Clawback’ Plan To Move Forward

Former partners from defunct law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP have agreed to give back at least $50 million in past earnings in exchange for immunity from lawsuits relating to the New York firm’s demise.

If approved, the deal would mark an unusually early resolution of such so-called “clawback” claims, which typically take years to resolve following a law firm’s failure. . . . .

Standard Chartered Faces Suit from Victims of 1983 Beirut Bombing

A lawsuit filed against Standard Chartered by survivors and the families of the 241 servicemen killed in the 1983 bombing of a U.S. marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, shows the wide-ranging litigation risks that banks are facing amid the recent wave of scandals.

The suit, filed Wednesday in Manhattan federal court, alleges the recently revealed claims that Standard Chartered helped Iran hide 60,000 financial transactions from U.S. regulators also kept assets hidden from the victims. The plaintiff group was awarded $2.66 billion in damages from Iran by a 2007 ruling from federal court in Washington D.C. that found Iran liable in the bombing.

The group alleges that Standard Chartered’s actions kept hidden assets that they could have seized as part of that 2007 ruling.

“Had SCB acted lawfully and blocked the Iranian funds federal law required SCB to block, Plaintiffs would have attached and executed on those assets,” the suit said.

A spokeswoman for Standard Chartered said the bank doesn’t “comment on pending litigation.”

Last week, the New York Department of Financial Services caught the banking world by surprise when it alleged Standard Chartered had improperly handled some $250 billion in transactions. The bank settled the charges earlier this week, agreeing to pay a $340 million fine. The allegations by the regulator and the settlement has rankled other regulators on both sides of the Atlantic, as WSJ reported today.

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