Cannabis businesses lose in court, law firm mergers stack up, Hamas victims sue in US court, and Chicken Soup for the Soul crashes into bankruptcy ??
Reuters Legal
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?? Good morning from The Legal File! Here is the rundown of today's top legal news:
?? Cannabis businesses lose court challenge to US marijuana ban
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by several Massachusetts cannabis businesses that argued the federal prohibition on marijuana is unconstitutional, saying only the U.S. Supreme Court could overturn its 2005 ruling upholding the law.
Cannabis businesses represented by prominent litigator David Boies had urged U.S. District Judge Mark Mastroianni to conclude the Supreme Court's ruling could not be applied anymore because the landscape surrounding marijuana regulation had changed so much over two decades.
In that case, Gonzales v. Raich, the high court had held that under the Commerce Clause, Congress had the authority to criminalize the possession and use of marijuana even in states that permitted its use for medical purposes as it did in the Controlled Substances Act.
But Mastroianni wrote "the relief sought is inconsistent with binding Supreme Court precedent and, therefore, beyond the authority of this court to grant." He also rejected additional arguments that the ban violated the business' due process rights, saying:
"There is simply no precedent for concluding that the Plaintiffs enjoy a fundamental right to cultivate, process, and distribute marijuana."
Joshua Schiller, a lawyer for the plaintiffs at Boies Schiller & Flexner, in an interview said the ruling was expected and that his clients would press their case on appeal, which could ultimately involve taking the matter to the Supreme Court.
?? Few big law firm combinations loom as merger pace picks up
The outlook for new law firm mergers involving large firms has quieted so far this year, even as the pace of completed mergers picked up slightly in the first half of 2024.
There were 29 law firm mergers finalized in the first half of the year, according to data released on July 1 by legal industry consultancy Fairfax Associates. That's higher than the 28 deals the firm tracked in the first half of 2023, and up from 25 in that period in both 2022 and 2021.
The most prominent completed merger so far this year was Allen & Overy's combination with Shearman & Sterling, creating A&O Shearman with nearly 4,000 lawyers and 3,000 other employees across 47 offices.
Midwest law firms Ulmer & Berne and Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale completed the only other large deal this year, with a Feb. 1 combination to create 275-lawyer UB Greensfelder.
Fairfax tracks law firm mergers by effective date. The consultancy defines large mergers as when both firms have at least 100 lawyers.
?? Victims of Hamas attack sue Iran, Syria, North Korea in U.S. court
More than 100 victims and relatives of victims of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants in Israel sued Iran, Syria and North Korea, accusing the countries of providing financial, military and tactical support to Hamas.
The lawsuit filed on July 1 in federal court in Washington, D.C., by the Anti-Defamation League is the largest case against foreign countries in connection with the attack, and the first backed by a Jewish organization, the ADL said.
More than 1,200 people were killed in the attack and 250 others were taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's offensive in Gaza in response has killed nearly 38,000 people, according to Gazan health officials.
The plaintiffs in the case include U.S. citizens injured on Oct. 7, as well as relatives and the estates of victims killed in the attack. The lawsuit seeks at least $1 billion of compensatory damages and $3 billion of punitive damages.
The Iran, North Korea and Syria missions to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
?? Redbox owner Chicken Soup for the Soul crashes into bankruptcy
Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (CSSE), which owns movie rental company Redbox and the streaming service Crackle, has entered bankruptcy on rocky footing, with its lenders moving to wrest control from CEO William Rouhana.
The company filed for bankruptcy protection in Wilmington, Delaware late on June 28, intending to fund its restructuring with a $20 million bankruptcy loan from private credit firm Owlpoint Capital, but private investment firm HPS Investment Partners, which is owed $500 million, quickly moved to block the new loan and boot out Rouhana.
CSSE, which has a diverse line of businesses that includes its namesake series of self-help books, pet food, and Redbox, known for its bright red self-service DVD rental kiosks at supermarkets and other retail centers, estimated that it had $970 million in total debt and $414 million in total assets in its bankruptcy petition.
?? That's all for today, thank you for reading?The Legal File, and have a great day!
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