Branstetter Litigation & Dispute Resolution Program Faculty in the News
May 2012
New York Times: The rising tide against class-action suits - May 5, 2012 - On April 25, the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen released a report saying that since AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, judges had cited the decision at least 76 times as a reason to prevent potential class-action lawsuits from moving ahead. In some of those cases, the judges made clear that they were ruling against the plaintiffs through gritted teeth, explaining that Concepcion basically made it impossible to come to any other decision. Brian Fitzpatrick, associate professor of law, is quoted.
SCOTUSBlog: Scholars’ highlight: Consensus, disorder, and ideology on the Supreme Court - May 2, 2012 - Despite broad areas of agreement that have emerged over the years, scholars and other serious observers of the Supreme Court remain far from unified in their understanding of what drives the Court’s decisions; a blog post by Paul Edelman, professor of mathematics and law, David E. Klein and Stefanie A. Lindquist.
April 2012
Bloomberg Businessweek: Consumer protection faces a ‘tsunami’ in court - April 30, 2012 - A year ago today, a split Supreme Court issued a ruling that fundamentally changed the way consumers can pursue claims of corporate wrongdoing. In a 5-4 ruling in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, the Supreme Court said companies have the right to force consumers who sign contracts—like debit-card agreements and cell phone plans—to accept terms that require them to settle all disputes in private arbitration and waive their right to band together in class actions. Brian Fitzpatrick, associate professor of law, is quoted.
Yahoo! Finance: Can you get rich in a class-action lawsuit? - April 24, 2012 - Class-action suits rarely end with significant payouts to the little guys. In fact, in most cases only two sets of participants reap any real rewards: the attorneys and the named or represented plaintiffs. Brian Fitzpatrick, associate professor of law, is quoted.
Talking Points Memo: John Roberts faces a legacy-defining predicament on ‘Obamacare’ - April 4, 2012 - You’re the chief justice of the United States, and you’re presented with a choice: Either rebuke the political movement that gave you your dream job, or put your institution’s reputation on the line by neutering a sitting president’s signature legislation for the first time in 75 years. This is the unenviable dilemma John Roberts faces as the Supreme Court prepares to rule on the constitutionality of the health care reform act. Brian Fitzpatrick, associate professor of law, is quoted.
Talking Points Memo: Conservatives bristle at federal court’s retaliatory move at Obama - April 4, 2012 - The legal battle over the constitutionality of the health care law was always going to be hard-fought. But in the aftermath of Supreme Court arguments, Republican-appointed appellate judges have taken the unusual step of publicly confronting President Obama after he bristled at the notion that the high court would overturn the law. Now even conservatives are concerned that the circuit court judges stepped out of bounds Tuesday — and made Obama’s point about judicial overreach for him. Brian Fitzpatrick, associate professor of law, is quoted here and in related stories in the Washington Post: Obama’s Supreme Court comments lead some to question his strategy, The Maddow Blog: ‘I find all of this a bit incredible’ and Yahoo’s The Lookout: Jerry Smith’s Obama rebuke questioned by legal experts.
March 2012
The Boston Globe: Ruling may spur foes to Mass. health laws - March 30, 2012 - A Supreme Court ruling against President Obama’s landmark health care law could prompt challenges to the Massachusetts law that inspired it, according to legal specialists and activists following the case. Brian Fitzpatrick, associate professor of law, is quoted here and in a related story on Stateline: Would ‘Obamacare’ demise mean end of ‘Romneycare,’ too?
National Public Radio: On Point with Tom Ashbrook: Health care at the high court - March 26, 2012 - Brian Fitzpatrick, associate professor of law, was a guest on yesterday’s feature about the Supreme Court’s review of the health care reform act.
FedSoc Blog: The Future of Arbitration and the World of Class Action Litigation (Podcast) - March 21, 2012 - Brian Fitzpatrick, associate professor of law, moderates a panel examining the implications of AT&T v. Concepción on the future of arbitration. (Audio)
February 2012
Houston Chronicle: Opinion: UT admissions case reminds us not all Texas high schools equal - February 25, 2012 - The Supreme Court’s willingness to consider the case of a Texas high schooler who claims that her race was unfairly considered in her bid to attend the University of Texas signals that it may once again weigh in on how university admissions officers do their jobs, writes education columnist Patricia Kilday Hart. Brian Fitzpatrick, associate professor of law, is quoted.
FoxNews.com: Supreme Court tackles affirmative action (Video) - February 23, 2012 - Brian Fitzpatrick, associate professor of law, spoke with Fox News about the Supreme Court’s decision to hear a case on affirmative action. The interview was conducted at VUStar, Vanderbilt’s campus broadcast facility.
Bloomberg: Scalia courted as unlikely Obama ally in top court health battle - February 23, 2012 - The fate of President Barack Obama’s health-care law may hinge on the administration’s ability to enlist an unlikely ally: Justice Antonin Scalia, the pillar of the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative wing, based on an unrelated 2005 opinion he wrote about the government’s right to regulate medical marijuana. Brian Fitzpatrick, associate professor of law, is quoted.
Associated Press: Justices will review racial preference for college - February 22, 2012 - The Supreme Court is setting an election-season review of racial preference in college admissions, agreeing Tuesday to consider new limits on the contentious issue of affirmative action programs. Brian Fitzpatrick, associate professor of law, is quoted here and in related stories by the Christian Science Monitor, MSNBC and BBC.
Chattanooga Times-Free Press: Editorial: Don’t enshrine flawed judge selection process in Tennessee Constitution - February 9, 2012 - Gov. Bill Haslam and members of the General Assembly should not push for a constitutional amendment to make the current, flawed appointment-and-retention-vote system of selecting judges permanent, writes the newspaper’s editorial board. Brian Fitzpatrick, associate professor of law and expert in judicial selection, is quoted.
Tennessean: ‘Tennessee Plan’ needs revisions - February 3, 2012 - Brian Fitzpatrick, associate professor of law, writes this opinion piece on how Tennessee’s state judges are selected.
News Observer.com: Electing judges still works for N.C. - February 1, 2012 - Since 1868, North Carolinians have elected the members of their judiciary, making our judges directly accountable to the people for these “political” decisions. The North Carolina Bar Association and other groups now seek to replace the system of elections with an appointment-based system, known in legal circles as the Missouri Plan. Research conducted by Brian Fitzpatrick, associate professor of law, is quoted in this opinion piece.
January 2012
National Review Online: Tennessee Republicans carry water for Soros and the trial lawyers - January 31, 2012 - Tennessee governor Bill Haslam, lieutenant governor Ron Ramsey, and state-house speaker Beth Harwell, all Republicans, recently announced they would like to amend the Tennessee Constitution to formalize their version of the Missouri Plan. Research conducted by Brian Fitzpatrick, associate professor of law, is referenced.
WPLN, Nashville Public Radio: Judicial selection critics wave caution flag on constitutional amendment - January 25, 2012 - Brian Fitzpatrick, associate professor of law, is interviewed about Governor Haslam’s proposal to make Tennessee’s judicial selection process permanent by writing it into the state constitution.
The Tennessean: New ethics code for TN judges draws praise, concerns - January 12, 2012 - A new ethics code for Tennessee judges may increase the public’s confidence in the judiciary, but some changes come at the expense of judges’ First Amendment rights, critics warn. The revamped Code of Judicial Conduct bars judges from making political donations and imposes tighter restrictions on when judges must step down, or recuse themselves, from cases because of conflicts of interest. Brian Fitzpatrick, associate professor of law, is quoted.
Brian Fitzpatrick, an expert on class action litigation, was recently quoted in USA Today on the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Wal-Mart v. Dukes. "I think it will now be very hard to get certified as a class" in certain cases, Professor Fitzpatrick said. "It's another decision giving lower courts more and more power to say at the beginning: We're going to shield defendants." The New York Times, Christian Science Monitor and other media outlets also quoted Professor Fitzpatrick on the Court’s landmark class-action decision.