Federal appeals court judges in New York may limit the amount of raw footage that a filmmaker must turn over from his documentary about a legal dispute between Chevron and Ecuadoreans over oil contamination.

A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Wednesday after lawyers for filmmaker Joseph Berlinger appealed a judge's order requiring the materials to be provided to Chevron.

The judges showed little sympathy for Berlinger's claims that he should not have to turn over any raw footage.

The judges say they could order that the outtakes be limited to materials essential to Chevron's effort to prove it is being unfairly treated by the courts in Ecuador.

Lawyers for Dole Foods and six Nicaraguan plaintiffs suing them have accused each other of fraud in heated closing arguments as a judge ponders whether to dismiss a $2.3 million award to purported banana workers.

The Dole defense team noted Monday that plaintiffs' lawyer Steve Condie never called the six plaintiffs to testify in the current hearing and has not even met them. Condie accused Dole of bribing whistleblower witnesses and conspiring to remove plaintiffs' lawyers from the case. He acknowledged there was fraud but said his six clients were "clean."

Judge Victoria Chaney threw out a similar case after testimony that plaintiffs pretended to be banana workers and faked lab tests to falsely show they were rendered sterile by pesticides on Dole banana farms.

A federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down a government policy that can lead to broadcasters being fined for allowing even a single curse word on live television, saying it is unconstitutionally vague and threatens speech "at the heart of the First Amendment."

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan threw out the 2004 Federal Communications Commission policy, which said that profanity referring to sex or excrement is always indecent.

"By prohibiting all `patently offensive' references to sex, sexual organs and excretion without giving adequate guidance as to what `patently offensive' means, the FCC effectively chills speech, because broadcasters have no way of knowing what the FCC will find offensive," the court wrote.

"To place any discussion of these vast topics at the broadcaster's peril has the effect of promoting wide self-censorship of valuable material which should be completely protected under the First Amendment," it added.

The court said the FCC might be able to craft a policy that does not violate the First Amendment.

It cited several examples of chilled speech, including a Vermont station's refusal to air a political debate because one local politician previously had used expletives on the air and a Moosic, Pa., station's decision to no longer provide live coverage of news events unless they affect matters of public safety or convenience.

The online auctioneer eBay is being sued for $3.8m over six alleged patent infringements and breaking a confidentiality agreement relating to its PayPal payment service.

According to Reuters, XPRT Ventures claims that eBay incorporated information shared in confidence into the "PayPal Buyer Credit" and "Pay Later" services, and used it in a 2003 patent application.

"This involves a trade secret theft, along with sheer patent infringement," said Steven Moore, a partner at Kelley Drye & Warren LLP representing the plaintiff. "It is bad enough to take someone's technology, but it is a bit much to use it in your own patent application."

The payments division of eBay generated $2.8bn in 2009, 32% of their $8.73bn total for the year. XPRT seems to be looking for a chunk of this, seeking a minimum of $3.8bn in monetary damages. It is also seeking treble damages resulting from eBay's alleged "willful and malicious conduct", punitive damages, among other claims.

Much like Facebook in the case brought by Paul Ceglia that we reported yesterday, eBay dismissed the complaint as "without merit". A spokeswoman said: "We intend to defend ourselves vigorously."

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has returned to his hometown for his first court appearance since being indicted last month on tax and fraud charges.

Kilpatrick was arraigned Tuesday afternoon and a not guilty plea was entered at the request of his lawyer. Wearing orange jail clothes, Kilpatrick indicated that he can't can afford a lawyer and one will be appointed for him.

The judge could keep James Thomas on the job at the public's expense.

Kilpatrick is charged with tapping his charity the Civic Fund for cash and personal luxuries while he was mayor and not reporting it on his tax returns.

He has been serving time at a state prison for violating probation in a different criminal case. He will remain in federal custody while he awaits trial.

Don S. Williams has joined the Shanghai office of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as a partner in the firm's Corporate practice group.  Williams most recently practiced with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Shanghai, after spending more than a decade with the firm's Silicon Valley office.  

Williams' practice encompasses a broad range of general corporate and transactional matters, including venture capital and private equity financings, public offerings, and mergers and acquisitions.  He has represented private and public companies across many industries in connection with public offerings, venture and private equity funds in connection with portfolio investments, as well as both buyers and sellers in a large number of M&A transactions.  A Mandarin speaker, Williams works with both U.S. companies conducting business and raising funds in Asia and Asian companies conducting business and raising funds in the United States.

"Don is a top-notch transactional attorney and an excellent fit with both our Corporate practice group and Shanghai office.  His twenty years of investment and capital markets practice straddles both Asia and Silicon Valley, with expertise in venture capital and private equity financings, public offerings and mid-market M&A deals that dovetails well with our China practice as well as firmwide," said Guy N. Halgren, chairman of the firm. 

Commented Williams, "I am thrilled to be joining Sheppard Mullin, a top-notch firm with an impressive Corporate practice group that provides me with an excellent platform.  The firm's collegial culture and dedication to teamwork is very attractive to me."  

Williams received a J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1993 and a B.A., with honors and distinction, from Stanford University in 1989. 

In June, Jon Atzen joined Sheppard Mullin's Corporate practice group in the firm's Los Angeles/Downtown office from DLA Piper in Los Angeles. 

Sheppard Mullin's Corporate practice group includes more than 100 attorneys firmwide.  The firm has fourteen attorneys based in its Shanghai office. 

GlaxoSmithKline Plc agreed to pay about $460 million to resolve a majority of lawsuits alleging the company’s Avandia diabetes drug can cause heart attacks and strokes, people familiar with the accords said.

Glaxo, the U.K.’s biggest drugmaker, agreed to settle about 10,000 suits for an average of at least $46,000 apiece, the people said. The company had been facing more than 13,000 suits alleging Glaxo hid the drug’s heart-attack risk, according to a UBS AG analyst. The settlements come as Glaxo is set to face its first Avandia trial in federal court in Philadelphia in October.

“This is exceptionally good news given the market has discounted $6 billion liability,” for Avandia litigation, Gbola Amusa, an analyst at UBS in London, said in an interview. “We had outlined an absolute worst-case scenario where $500,000 per case would have to be paid.”

Glaxo, the U.K.’s largest drugmaker, is settling Avandia claims as a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel is meeting today to consider whether Avandia’s ability to control blood-sugar levels outweighs a possible increase in heart attacks, strokes and deaths from cardiovascular disease. Mary Anne Rhyne, a spokeswoman for Glaxo, declined to comment.