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17 May, 2023

Judge: Musk can be subpoenaed through Tesla

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A federal judge rules that the U.S. Virgin Islands can serve Musk a subpoena through Tesla, as part of the government’s lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase over its ties to Jeffrey Epstein. The ruling comes after lawyers for the Virgin Islands government said that it had not been able to serve Musk personally with the subpoena, as is the norm. Nor did a Musk lawyer reply to a request to accept the subpoena for his client. The judge authorizes the U.S. Virgin Islands to:

arrange alternative service of its Subpoena to Produce Documents by serving Elon Musk via service upon Tesla Inc.’s registered agent.

15 May, 2023

Musk’s SEC ‘muzzle’ appeal rejected

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The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan rejects Musk’s bid to modify or end his 2018 securities fraud settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that requires a Tesla lawyer to approve some of his tweets in advance. (SEC v Musk, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 22-1291.). Musk argued that the SEC exploited his consent decree to conduct bad-faith, harassing investigations that violated his First Amendment free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution. His decree resolved an SEC lawsuit accusing him of defrauding investors with an Aug. 7, 2018, tweet that he had “funding secured” to take his electric car company private. (A San Francisco jury already found Musk not liable for investor losses over the tweet.)

In the appeal, Musk’s lawyers called the pre-approval mandate a “government-imposed muzzle” that amounted to an illegal prior restraint on his speech, but the court says the SEC had opened just two subsequent inquiries into Musk’s tweets, which “plausibly violated” the decree’s terms. The three-judge panel says that the SEC’s inquiries were “limited” and “appropriate,” and “have not made compliance with the consent decree ‘substantially more onerous'” for Musk, who chose to allow screening of his tweets and therefore has no right to revisit the matter “because he has now changed his mind.” Musk lawyer:

We will seek further review and continue to bring attention to the important issue of the government constraint on speech.

21 Apr, 2023

Tesla wins Autopilot crash case

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After a three-week trial in the Los Angeles Superior Court, a California jury rules in Tesla’s favor in a lawsuit over a crash involving the company’s partially automated driving software. The jury finds that the company’s Autopilot feature did not fail when plaintiff Justine Hsu’s Model S swerved into a curb while the feature was turned on. The jury also found that the vehicle’s airbag performed safely and Tesla did not intentionally fail to disclose facts. Hsu, who had sought more than $3 million in damages, and was awarded none, broke down in tears outside the courtroom after the jury delivered its verdict. One of her attorneys expressed disappointment with the result. Tesla’s attorney declined to comment.

4 Feb, 2023

Musk found not guilty of Tesla tweet fraud

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In less than two hours, nine jurors unanimously clear Musk of wrongdoing in a Tesla shareholder class action suit, taken over a tweet in which he said he had “funding secured” to take the electric carmaker private in August 2018. The proposed $72bn (£60bn) buyout never materialised. Sharholders claimed Musk had lied when he tweeted later in the day that “investor support is confirmed”. According to an economist hired by the shareholders, investor losses were calculated as high as $12bn. During the three-week trial, Musk, who took the stand for nearly nine hours, argued he thought he had a verbal commitment from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund for the deal.

Musk tweets his thansk to the jurors:

10 Oct, 2022

SpaceX loses Starlink Mexican domain battle

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SpaceX loses a cybersquatting challenge against StarGroup, a 60-year-old Mexican telecommunications and entertainment services company in Mexico that registered the domain name starlinkmx.com. StarGroup’s brands include Star TV, Star Go, Star Line and Star Group.

The company applied for trademarks in Mexico for Starlink for communications starting in 2015. In November 2017, SpaceX legal representatives contacted StarGroup, initially not naming its client, to see if StarGroup would sell its Star Line and Starlink marks.

In finding for StarGroup, the WIPO panel noted that the company’s brand name starts with star, and it has a history of naming products that start with star. The panel also pointed out that StarGroup applied for trademarks in 2015, which predates SpaceX’s intentions to use the mark. The panel found that SpaceX did not show that StarGroup lacked rights or legitimate interests in the domain and did not show that StarGroup registered the domain in bad faith.

6 Oct, 2022

Musk-Twitter trial stayed, deal must close Oct 28

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Delaware Chancery Court Judge Kathaleen McCormick agrees to stay the Musk-Twitter trial, giving Musk until 5 pm on Oct. 28 to close the deal. Otherwise, she will set another trial date for next month. The proceedings had been set for Oct. 17. Twitter had argued that Musk should close the deal before the trial date.

This action is stayed until 5 p.m. on October 28, 2022, to permit the parties to close on the transaction. If the transaction does not close by 5 p.m. on October 28, 2022, the parties are instructed to contact me by email that evening to obtain November 2022 trial dates.

28 Jan, 2022

HCC wins £5m insurance judgement against CMAL

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A summary judgment is granted in favour of HCC International insurance aganst CMAL to claim £5 million owed as a result of the way ministers bought the shipyard when it was in administration. The Scottish government, which owns CMAL, said it was aware.  Deputy High Court Judge Simon Gleeson:

It is easy to see why this decision seems to have caused so much anger and irritation amongst the Scottish ministers. In paying for the business of FMEL (Ferguson Marine) by reducing FMEL’s liabilities to them, they believed that they were simply transferring their own money from one pocket to another, with the transaction having no impact on their overall obligations. The discovery that the choice of transaction structure had resulted in their being required to pay a little over £5million to a third party must have been highly unwelcome.

Scottish government spokesman:

We are aware of a summary judgment that has been made in the English courts in relation to the claim.

29 Nov, 2018

Driving ban

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McGregor is banned from driving for six months after pleading guilty to speeding. He admitted to driving his Range Rover at 154kph (96mph) in a 100kph (62mph) zone near Kill, County Kildare, in October 2017. He also apologised to the judge after he was also fined 1,000 euros (£883) at Naas district court near Dublin. McGregor has 12 previous traffic offences dating back to his teens. Judge Desmond Zaidan said:

The speed here is in the higher end…When speeding goes wrong the consequences are catastrophic and life-changing.

26 Jul, 2018

McGregor pleads guilty, avoids jail

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McGregor pleads guilty to disorderly conduct in a deal with prosecutors to avoid jail time from his assault on a bus in April 2018. McGregor had faced charges of included menacing, assault resulting in injury, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief. As part of his deal he is required to undergo anger management treatment. McGregor was also required to pay full restitution to the bus company, which he has already fulfilled. The plea will not affect his US work visa.

I just want to say I’m thankful to the DA [District Attorney] and the judge for allowing me to move forward. I want to say to my friends, my family, my fans: thank you for the support.

30 Nov, 2017

Receives £350 speeding fine

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McGregor is fined £350 for driving at 98mph in a 60mph zone. McGregor had initially been reprimanded by Judge Walsh for not appearing on time, the third time he had failed to show. Walsh:

I have to ask you the question… how much to you earn? Please don’t tell me you earn more than €110 million in a day?

McGregor:

€140 million…I got the fixed charge notice and attempted to pay it…It didn’t pay and that’s it.

Walsh:

That’s not it…I would warn, however, despite your fortune in life, that you take cognisance of other people on the roads.

McGregor is given the option to pay the fine in installments.

16 Aug, 2017

McGregor to fight Mayweather in 8-ounce gloves

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The Nevada State Athletic Commission votes to allow the McGregor-Mayweather fight to take place using 8-ounce gloves — a first of its kind in boxing. McGregor believes the drop in glove size is to his advantage:

I am very pleased with the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s handling of my next bout today. Fair play was kept all the way through. Referee – Hall of famer Robert Byrd. Judges – Burt Clements. Dave Morreti and Guido Cavalerri. 8oz gloves approved, with pre and post fight analysis of the gloves on the night. This was handled very well and very fairly by the NSAC. I am very pleased and respect the commissions ruling on this. Ten days until fight time.

27 Jun, 2017

9th Circuit: Keys’ guilty verdict and sentence to stand

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The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals rules (ruling) that it was not persuaded by arguments made by Keys’ defense attorney, saying that the damage went beyond the mere alteration, as Keys created new accounts, and there was a fervent effort to contain the defacement. Court:

Prior to Keys’s conduct, the CMS existed in a certain state of security. Keys made the CMS far weaker by taking and creating new user accounts. This manipulation of user accounts and login credentials (not Keys’s access) impaired the system.

Keys:

I am extremely disappointed in their decision. Until I have a chance to review their opinion, I will have no further comment.

13 Apr, 2017

Diaz water-bottle incident penalty reduced

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Diaz’s penalty for the water bottle throwing incident with McGregor during the UFC 202 press conference is reduced from $50,000 and 50 hours of community service, to $15,000 and 15 hours of community service. As Diaz has already paid the fine he will get a refund of $35,000.

27 Mar, 2017

Nungesser’s suit dissmissed

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In a 46-page opinion, Judge Woods dismisses Nungesser’s second lawsuit alleging that the university violated his Title IX rights and two state laws in its handling of Sulkowicz’s mattress-toting campaign to have him expelled from campus. The case is dismissed “with prejudice,” meaning Nungesser is prohibited from filing a third suit on the same claims. Nungesser’s suit said Sulkowicz “enabled reporters to stalk [him], defamed him as a ‘serial rapist,’ and her campaign resulted in public intimidation, isolation on campus and receipt of threats against him.” He described himself “male victim of gender-based harassment” at a federally funded university that did nothing to intervene, a violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972.  Woods argued that there was no proof Sulkowicz’s actions were “motivated by gender” or that she deployed the term “serial rapist” as a gendered slur. As to his claim that harassment deprived him of educational opportunities at Columbia, Woods recognized that Nungesser’s “senior year at Columbia was neither pleasant nor easy,” but said the plaintiff’s case failed to meet the high bar set by Title IX for evidence. Nungesser’s lawyer:

We have carefully reviewed Judge Woods’ decision, and believe it to be erroneous in a number of critical areas. From the outset of this case, Judge Woods has been dead set against Paul Nungesser, which is further evidenced by his flawed reasoning in finding that the 101 page, extraordinarily detailed, Second Amended Complaint contains no viable causes of action. We are confident that the  U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will reinstate the case.

22 Mar, 2017

$150,000 bottle-throwing fine reduced to $25,000

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At a hearing in Las Vegas McGregor’s punishment for the water-bottle throwing incident before UFC 202 is reduced from $150,000 and 50 hours community service to $25,000 and 25 hours of community service, the same terms suggested by the Nevada attorney general’s office ahead of the initial hearing in October 2016. McGregor has six months to complete the community service and can do so in either Dublin or Las Vegas. The board’s chairman suggests that Nate Diaz, who was fined $50,000 and given 50 hours of community service for his part in the incident, should be reheard. NSAC executive director Bennett:

I just didn’t think [the original $150,000 fine] was fair.

1 Feb, 2017

Receives one-year ban for doping violation

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Russell is banned from cricket for one year following a doping whereabouts rule violation. Russell appears to be in tears when the decision is handed down. The ban starts from January 31, 2017 to January 30, 2018 meaning the star all rounder will be unavailable for the Thunder next summer, leaving a hole in the BBL|05 champions’ roster. Russell’s attorney:

Relieved it’s one year, but not two years. But I genuinely thought given the circumstances and the evidence that was before the panel that he would have been exonerated. Haven’t made a decision [about an appeal] as yet. We have considered it but we wouldn’t really consider that seriously until we have had a chance to speak with the client and look at the (written) decision

29 Jan, 2017

Federal court issues stay on immigration order

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The federal court for the Eastern District of New York issues a stay after two of 12 refugees held at JFK airport were released, after 14 and 24 hours respectively. The ACLU had filed a petition on their behalf, but the stay is effective nationwide. Under the stay, none of the travelers held at airports across the nation can be sent back. However, the measure doesn’t mean they have to be allowed into the country – leaving them in a legal grey area. A senior Homeland Security official says that roughly 375 travelers affected by the executive order. Out of the 375, 109 were in transit to the US and denied entry. Another 173 people were stopped by airlines from boarding an aircraft to the US. An additional 81 travelers with green cards or special immigrant visas received waivers.

15 Dec, 2016

Diaz fined $50,000 for bottle throwing incident

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Diaz is fined 2.5% or $50,000 of his $2 million purse from UFC 202 for throwing water bottles at McGregor during the fight’s press conference. He will also have to carry out 50 hours of community service. Despite Diaz throwing the bottles first, he receives a lesser fine than McGregor, who was fined $150,000.

10 Oct, 2016

Fined $150,000 for water bottle fight

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The Nevada State Athletic Commission fines McGregor five-percent of his $3 million purse ($150,000) for the water bottle fight with Diaz inside the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in August. At least one security guard from the hotel was hit with a bottle or can that was thrown by McGregor. He was also fined 50 hours of community service, to be served within six months. McGregor was on the phone from Ireland:

I just want to apologize for the incident, it was a very unusual incident that unfolded. I acted wrong and all I can say is I’m sorry.

Diaz’s hearing will be heard at a later date.

30 Aug, 2016

EU demands Apple pay EUR13 billion taxes

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EU antitrust regulators order Apple to pay up to 13 billion euros in taxes, plus interest, to the Irish government after ruling that a special scheme to route profits through Ireland was illegal state aid. The scheme meant that Apple paid tax rates on European profits on sales of its iPhone and other devices and services of between just 0.005 percent in 2014 and 1 percent in 2003. The demand, 40 times bigger than the previous known demand by the European Commission to a company in such a case, could be reduced if other countries seek more tax from the company. Apple and the Irish government say they willl appeal the decision,.