Christopher Columbus's log records the first European encounters with tobacco. His crew observed Indians "carrying a charred, hollow wood in their hands and herbs to smoke in this wood, which they are in a habit of doing."1 Bartolemé de Las Casas, a contemporary who witnessed Columbus's return to Seville, described the consequences:

These muskets as we will call them, they call tabaco. I

Under the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA), Civil Code, section 3426,1 when does a claim for trade secret infringement arise: only once, when the initial misappropriation occurs, or with each subsequent misuse of the trade secret?
We conclude that in a plaintiff’s action against the same defendant, the continued improper use or disclosure of a trade secret after defendan

Defendant, Illinois Bell Telephone Company, d/b/a Ameritech Illinois, seeks reversal of the circuit court's order denying its motion to dismiss the complaint filed by plaintiff, Village of McCook, a municipal corporation, for lack of standing. Plaintiff brought suit on behalf of itself and all other Illinois municipalities and other units of government which, during the period of May 1993 through

1 This appeal challenges the propriety of an independent action in which relief was granted from a default judgment that had been purportedly satisfied through payment of the underlying obligation. Especially given the coordination between the judge who entered the default judgment and the judge who decided the independent action, we affirm.

BACKGROUND

2 Roger Oliphant had several fi

On July 20, 2001, plaintiff filed a complaint for damages against defendants PacifiCare of California, Inc. and PacifiCare Health Systems, Inc. (collectively PacifiCare). The complaint alleged as follows: Plaintiff had developed prostate cancer. Plaintiff's doctors recommended that he undergo proton beam therapy. Because plaintiff's employer was in the process of changing health plans and ent

Jeffrey and Marta Morrison contend the trial court erred by granting summary judgment against them on their malicious prosecution claim. The court ruled the underlying suit by a buyer - for damages allegedly stemming from construction defects the Morrisons failed to disclose when selling their condominium - was not so untenable that no reasonable attorney would pursue it. We affirm. We decline

Entergy owns and operates the Remmel Dam on the Ouachita River near Hot Springs, Arkansas. Constructed in 1923, the dam is an "Amberson-style" gravity dam comprised of abutments on the north and south shores of the river and a spillway that spans the river and connects the two abutments. In 1996, Entergy solicited bids for a construction project designed to alleviate the Federal Energy Regulat

Gross Negligence and misrepresentation claims by Spanish owned bank International Finance Bank claimed that Key Bank, NA, returned 28 checks which Cofo Financial Group attempted to deposit stamped "uncollected funds" rather than "insufficient funds" with the result that IFB paid CoFo $3,972,000.

Roof-Techs International, Inc. (Roof-Techs) appeals from the district court's decision to grant summary judgment in favor of The Law Company, Inc. and its insurance company, United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co.(Law); the State of Kansas (State); and Brent Bowman and Associates Architects, P.A. (BBA). The district court found Roof-Techs' claims were barred by the statute of limitations. Central Me

The central issue in this case is whether there was temporary insurance coverage on the life of William Thomas Gaines at the time of his death. Gaines died within the temporary coverage period set by the conditional premium receipt. When National Inspection and Repair, Inc., (NIR) demanded payment of $500,000 in life insurance on Gaines, Valley Forge Life Insurance Company and Continental Assuranc

Amanda Adams owned a Doberman pinscher, which bit a seven-year-old boy, Christopher Marshall. Amanda had renter's liability insurance from Pekin Insurance Co. (Pekin), and Christopher's father, Nicholas Marshall, submitted a claim. Pekin denied the claim and filed a complaint for rescission of the insurance policy on the ground that Amanda had falsely stated, in her application for the insurance,

In 1999, Jean Northenor, executive Vice-President of the Lake City Bank ("the Bank"), heard a rumor that Munsell, the manager of the Shipshewana branch of the Bank, had engaged in voyeuristic activity. On October 1, 1999, Northenor confronted Munsell about the rumors. Munsell became very upset, and Northenor suggested that he meet with Hambright for counseling at the Bank's expense. Munsell agreed

Plote, Inc., Allied Asphalt Paving Company and Milburn Brothers, Inc. (collectively Plote or plaintiff), appeal from the judgement of the circuit court of Cook County granting a motion pursuant to section 2-615 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2-615 (West 2000)) in favor of counterdefendant Illinois Bell Telephone Company, d/b/a Ameritech Illinois (Bell or defendant), dismissing counts I

This reverse employment discrimination case is before us on remand from our Supreme Court. In an unusual remand order, the Court stated:

The panel is directed to explain . . . whether, in affirming summary disposition in favor of defendant, it was necessary to rely on Allen v Comprehensive Health Services, 222 Mich App 426; 564 NW2d 914 (1997). If it was not, the Court should explain why not

Defendants appeal as of right from the entry of judgment in the amount of $29,332,686 following the jury's verdict in plaintiffs' favor in this wrongful death action. We reverse, vacate the judgment, and remand for entry of judgment in favor of defendants, holding that under the circumstances defendants owed no legally cognizable duty to protect plaintiffs' decedent from the homicidal acts of

In January 1998, AmeriGas and Toghiyany entered into an agreement pursuant to which Toghiyany would refurbish propane cylinders that AmeriGas would market for use with residential barbecue grills. The agreement was never reduced to writing. Prior to this agreement, Toghiyany had been in the auto body and car repair business. Toghiyany had painted trucks, cylinders, and propane tanks for AmeriG

This appeal from a jury verdict was brought by defendants Advanta Corp. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Advanta Mortgage Corp., U.S.A. (together, "Advanta"), with a cross-appeal by plaintiff Milton Riseman ("Riseman"). For the following reasons, we will affirm the District Court's September 7, 2001 judgment, except that we will reduce Riseman's damages under the Pennsylvania Wage Payment and

On May 2, 1996, plaintiffs-appellants Mark and Linda Levine filed a complaint against The Kramer Group, Sol Kramer, Isaac Kramer, Philip Kramer, Eli Kramer, Fred Mosesman, Bruce Forman, Charter Club Associates, L.P., Charter Club, Inc., and Charter Club at the Hampton, Inc. ("Kramer defendants"). The Kramer defendants are the respondents in this appeal. Plaintiffs also joined Richard Sofo as a def

This is an appeal from a court trial in which the trial judge found in favor of plaintiffs Todd and Corrine Gillespie ("Gillespies") and awarded them $5,000 plus attorney's fees against defendants Mountain Park Estates, L.L.C., Darris A. Ellis, Clayton Ellis, and Ellis Construction (Sellers) based on promissory estoppel.

II

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In 1997, Gillespies met with Darris

The law firm of Boyce & Isley, PLLC, and its member attorneys G. Eugene Boyce, R. Daniel Boyce, Philip R. Isley and Laura B. Isley (collectively, "plaintiffs") appeal from an order of the trial court dismissing plaintiffs' complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure. For the reasons set forth herein, we reverse in part the order of the trialcourt.

Th

Bankers Wholesale Mortgage, L.L.C. and BWM Mortgage, L.L.C. (“defendant” or “BWM”) appeal from the trial court's denial of their motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. We affirm the order of the trial court.

I. Facts

Defendants are limited liability companies organized under the laws of the state of Wisconsin. Plaintiff is a corporation organ

1. When the underlying litigation leading to an insured's liability is settled, leaving facts crucial to a coverage determination unresolved, the district court in the coverage action must make findings as to these unresolved coverage issues, which will not be reversed unless clearly erroneous.

2. When damages covered by occurrence insurance take place over mor

The defendants,1 Christine Fappiano and Shoreline Real Estate Company, appeal from the judgment of the trial court, rendered on the third count of the complaint, ordering them to pay the sum of $5000 as a penalty, $15,000 for attorney's fees and costs of $545.55.2 We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

This appeal stems from a purchase and sale agreement executed on September 15, 1999,

MCI, a company in the long-haul trucking business, leased forty-six Aeromax A-95 trucks from Ford. The trucks consistently suffered from driveline and vibration problems. MCI reported driveline failures in twenty-one of their trucks, as well as other problems allegedly caused by the vibrations (such as cracks in the windshields, tire wear, etc.). MCI sued Ford and Ford Credit for breach of e

Sixty-four year old smoker brought fraud, negligence and product liability claims against Philip Morris Tobacco Company for damages associated with developing lung cancer. Ms. Bullock smoked Benson & Hedges cigarettes.

Negligence; Strict Liability; Enterprise Liability; False Representation; [Restatement Section 402-B]; Deceit/Fraudulent Concealment; [Bus. & Prof. C. sections 17200 et seq.]; B