Category legal news

In 2006, Cleveland teacher’s aide Denise P. Edwards could not have imagined that a home purchase dispute with her title agency would be argued before the United States Supreme Court but on Monday, Nov. 28, 2011, that is exactly what will happen. In the case, First American Financial v. Edwards, 10-708, Ms. Edwards will be represented by attorneys and law students from the non-profit public interest law firm, Housing Advocates, Inc. (HAI). Organized in 1975, HAI describes itself as “a tax exempt consumer and fair housing organization with a multiplicity of projects including a full service non-profit public interest law firm.” HAI established the Fair Housing Law Clinic with the Cleveland Marshall College of Law, Cleveland State University, in 1990. Second- and third-year law students from Cleveland State University, Case Western Reserve University, and other law schools assist clients under the supervision of HAI attorneys.

In a November 20, 2011 Cleveland Plain Dealer article, reporter Sabrina Eaton summarized the dispute that began when Ms. Edwards was steered by her title insurance agency, Tower City Title Agency, to a single title insurance company, First American Financial Corp, which purchased a minority share in Tower City Title a few years back. In the lawsuit, Ms. Edwards alleges that her purchase of title insurance from these entities resulted from an illegal kickback scheme. Discussing the significance of the case, Ms. Eaton adds, “Legal experts say a decision against Edwards could weaken a broad range of consumer protection statutes and curtail class-action suits. The case could have implications for everything from copyright to credit reporting law, where financial harm to the aggrieved can be hard to prove.”

On Monday, Nov. 14, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will hear challenges to President Obama’s signature legislative achievement, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148, 124 Stat 119-1025). Briefs from the cases before the Court are now posted on their Docket page. An article in the New York Times, “Supreme Court to Hear Case Challenging Health Law,” differentiates the docketed cases:

The Supreme Court agreed to hear three appeals, two from challengers to the law and a third from the Obama Administration. Florida v. Department of Health and Human Services is No. 11-400. A second challenge, from a business group and two individuals is called National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, No. 11-393. The federal government’s appeal is Department of Health and Human Services v. Florida, No. 11-398.

The Court has chosen to focus its deliberations on a Florida case, State of Florida, et al. vs. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (D.C. Docket No. 3:10-cv-00091). On September 28, 2011, the Obama administration requested Supreme Court review of the 2010 health care act, according to a Washington Post article by Robert Barnes. After a number of conflicting decisions, “the administration called upon the justices to review the decision of a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta, which is the only appeals court to say Congress exceeded its power in passing the law. The law requires almost every American to have health insurance.”

Arguments in the case will be held in March, 2012. Jesse Holland, writing for MSNBC, notes that “the decision to hear argument in the spring allows plenty of time for a decision in late June, just over four months before Election Day.”