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LOOSE LIPS CREATE CLIENT RELATIONSHIP
"Construction lawyer Robert Peckar has good cause to regret his talks with architect Scott Keller in 2005 about a possible suit against William Paterson University over the renovation of its student center. An appeals court ruled Wednesday that an implied attorney-client relationship resulted, disqualifying Peckar and his firm, Peckar & Abramson, from representing an existing client that became embroiled in the ensuing litigation. No retainer agreement was signed, no file opened and no fees billed, but when the architect first consulted Peckar, he was clearly seeking his advice regarding a potential dispute, the three-judge panel wrote in Gruzen Samton v. William Paterson University, DDS No. 04-2-4299."

COLLECTIVE-BARGAINING ARBITRATION CLAUSE COVERS CONTRACT WORKERS AT SAME SHOP
"Binding-arbitration provisions in a collectively negotiated agreement (CNA) apply when a nonunion contract employee is discharged, a divided state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. The majority, in Mount Holly Township Board of Education v. Mount Holly Township Education Association, DDS No. 25-1-4303, held that under the New Jersey Employer-Employee Relations Act, separate agreements with employees are meant to be superseded by a single compact with terms that reflect the negotiating power and welfare of the group. Three justices dissented, however, saying there was no actual conflict between the affected employee's contract and the CNA and that the employee's appeal rights were not fully exhausted."

SNAPPLE'S 'ALL NATURAL' CLAIMS MIGHT BE SUBJECT TO CONSUMER FRAUD CHALLENGE
"A Third Circuit panel appears likely to revive a consumer fraud suit that accuses the popular Snapple line of beverages of misleading the public by proclaiming it was 'All Natural' even though it was sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, or HFCS, an ingredient the plaintiffs' lawyers have labeled 'synthesized' and 'unnatural.' During a lively hour-long argument Wednesday at the Newark federal courthouse, there were strong hints from the judges' questions that the case would become part of a recent trend in the courts to allow such consumer or products liability suits ? and to reject the arguments of manufacturers who contend that the private suits risk havoc by conflicting with or frustrating federal regulations."

BLOGGER ARRESTED IN N.J. FOR THREATS TO THREE FEDERAL JUDGES
"A blogger and Internet radio host was arrested by the FBI in North Bergen, N.J., on Wednesday after urging the killing of three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, who in a ruling earlier this month declined to overturn laws banning handguns in Chicago and a nearby suburb. The blogger, Hal Turner, in a June 2 Web posting on the day of the ruling, called it an 'outrage' and said the judges 'deserve to be killed.' In a second posting on June 3, he provided the names, work addresses, phone numbers and photos of Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook, Judge Richard Posner and Judge William Bauer. The complaint charged Turner with threatening to assault and murder the judges in retaliation for performing their official duties."

FALSE CLAIMS ACT CASE MAKES SECOND TRIP TO SUPREME COURT
"The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday stepped back from a major showdown over the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act, ruling instead that because jurisdictions covered by the law can seek to be exempted from its provisions, it was unnecessary for the Court to decide whether the statute should be scrapped altogether. The 8-1 ruling in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Holder both surprised and pleased civil rights advocates, who were nearly certain after April oral arguments that the Court was poised to strike down the law outright, eliminating what they view as a crucial weapon in the struggle for political equality"

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