Paul Weiss and Lowenstein Ordered to Pay $1.96 Million for Filing Frivolous Suit

Bergen County, N.J., Superior Court Judge Ellen Koblitz doesn't seem too worried about sparing the reputations of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Lowenstein Sandler. In June, you'll recall, she found that the two firms had filed a frivolous suit on behalf of billionaire Ronald Perelman in a family dispute over hundreds of millions of dollars. On Friday she issued a final opinion (pdf), rejecting the firms' arguments for mercy and ordering them to pay $1.96 million in legal fees to the defendants, Perelman's former father-in-law and brother-in-law.

"Paul Weiss and Lowenstein Sandler argue that since they are both such important, well-regarded law firms, the mere finding that they engaged in frivolous litigation is deterrence enough," Koblitz wrote. "They argue that this court's finding of frivolous litigation has been widely publicized and besmirches their reputation, which will cost them untold, unspecified damages. A monetary sanction, however, is clearly appropriate here." more

EFF Urges Supreme Court to Block NASA's Invasive Background Checks

Washington, D.C. - Earlier this month, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) urged the United States Supreme Court to uphold an appeals court decision that blocks invasive and unnecessary background checks at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), arguing that the over-collection of personal data puts employees' privacy at risk.

The case was originally filed by federal contract employees working at CalTech's Jet Propulsion Lab, which houses NASA's robotic spacecraft laboratory. The workers were low-risk, by NASA's own admission, and did not work on classified projects. Yet the government instituted sweeping background checks, including a requirement to list three references who were then questioned about the employees' general behavior. NASA said it needed the information to assess "suitability" for government employment, and would check factors like "carnal knowledge," "homosexuality," "cohabitation," and "illegitimate children." more

BlackBerry Torch Levels the PDA Field

Momentum in the smartphone market has shifted in favor of Apple and Google, but BlackBerry maker Research In Motion hopes it can still reverse course before it's too late. RIM (RIMM) is widely expected to unveil a new touch-screen smartphone with a pull-out keyboard at a corporate event on Tuesday. The device is likely the much-hyped AT&T (T, Fortune 500) BlackBerry Slider 9800, leaked images of which have flooded the Internet over the past several weeks.

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Senate confirms Elena Kagan to Supreme Court

Chief Justice John Roberts will swear in Elena Kagan as the nation's 112th Supreme Court justice on Saturday, making one-third of the nation's highest court women for the first time in history.
Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said Roberts telephoned Kagan to offer "warm congratulations" Thursday, shortly after the Senate confirmed her to the post. The 63-37 vote represented a victory for President Obama, who has doubled the number of women ever named to the Supreme Court with his first two nominees.

"I am confident that Elena Kagan will make an outstanding Supreme Court justice," Obama said in Chicago, where he was traveling. "And I am proud, also, of the history we're making with her appointment." more