ABA State Attorneys General and Department of Justice Issues Committee – 2014 ABA Annual Meeting – Showcase CLE Presentations

On August 7-9, 2014, in Boston, MA, the American Bar Association is hosting their Annual Meeting. Two Troutman Sanders partners, William H. Hurd and Ashley L. Taylor, Jr., will be participating on high profile CLE panel presentations, both relating to recent Supreme Court activity.

On Friday, August 8, William H. Hurd will moderate the panel titled “The 2013 Supreme Court Term in Review”. The panelists were asked to name what they view as the top twelve Supreme Court decisions of the 2013 term. Here are the ones they picked:

  • Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., 13-354
  • Town of Greece, New York v. Galloway, 12-696
  • McCutcheon v. Federal Election Comm’n, 12-536
  • McCullen v. Coakley, 12-1168
  • NLRB v. Noel Canning, 12-1281
  • Bond v. United States, 12-158
  • Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, 12-682
  • ABC, Inc. v. Aereo, Inc., 13-461
  • Corporation Pty. Ltd. V.Alice  CLS Bank Int’l, 13-298
  • Riley v. California, and United States v. Wurie, 13-212
  • Halliburton Co. v. Erica P. John Fund, Inc., 13-317
  • EPA v. EME Homer City Generation, L.P., 12-1182/Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA, 12-1146

For more information about The 2013 Supreme Court Term in Review CLE, see below.

On Saturday, August 9, Ashley L. Taylor, Jr. will participate on a panel titled “The Class Action Fairness Act and State Attorney General Enforcement Actions: Does the Supreme Court’s Ruling Open a New Door for the States?” Ashley will be joined by two state Attorneys General, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood, as the panel discusses the effect of the Supreme Court’s ruling. By way of background, on January 14, 2014, the Supreme Court issued its unanimous opinion in Mississippi ex rel. Hood v. AU Optronics Corp. relating to the removability of certain cases from State to Federal Court under the Class Action Fairness Act (“CAFA”).  The Supreme Court ruled that because Mississippi was the only named plaintiff in the enforcement action, the matter did not qualify as a “mass action”  – a civil action in which monetary compensation is sought on behalf of 100+ persons — under “CAFA.”

This ruling effectively prevents a party from removing most, if not all, of the traditional State Attorneys General enforcement cases to Federal Court. While the Supreme Court’s decision centered upon the text of the CAFA statute, our panelists of experts, including the Mississippi Attorney General, will discuss the scope and breadth of a state’s parens patriae authority, the federalism issues related to state Attorneys General actions under CAFA, and the impact of the Supreme Court’s ruling on multi-state enforcement actions.

For more information about The Class Action Fairness Act and State Attorney General Enforcement Actions: Does the Supreme Court’s Ruling Open a New Door for the States? CLE, see below.

The 2013 Supreme Court Term in Review
Friday, August 8, 2014
10:00AM – 12:00PM
Hynes Convention Center, Room 309, Level 3

This panel of noted legal professionals, academics and journalists provides an overview of the Supreme Court decisions of the 2013 term (October 2013 to June 2014).

Moderator:
William Hurd, Troutman Sanders, Richmond, VA

Panelists:
Marcia Coyle, Chief Washington Correspondent, The National Law Journal, Washington, DC
Deanne E. Maynard, Chair of the Appellate and Supreme Court Practice Group, and Partner, Morrison and Foerster, former Assistant to the Solicitor General at the United States Department of Justice, Washington DC
Kannon K. Shanmugam, Williams & Connolly LLP, Washington, DC

The Class Action Fairness Act and State Attorney General Enforcement Actions: Does the Supreme Court’s Ruling Open a New Door for the States?
Saturday, August 9, 2014
10:30AM – 12:00PM
Hynes Convention Center, Room 304, Level 3

Moderator:

Ellen Rosenblum, Oregon Attorney General, Salem, OR

Speakers:

Helen Mac Murray, Partner, Mac Murray, Petersen & Shuster LLP, New Albany, OH
John H. Fund, Senior Editor, The National Law Review, Contributor, Wall Street Journal
Jim Hood, Mississippi Attorney General, Jackson, MS
Anthony J. Majestro, Partner, Powell & Majestro, PLLC, Charleston, WV
Ashley L. Taylor, Jr., Partner, Troutman Sanders LLP, Richmond, VA