Law360 quotes HLLI’s Ted Frank and University of Pennsylvania Professor Jill Fisch on a groundbreaking appeal in the Seventh Circuit caused by Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute’s ongoing effort to disrupt a nuisance mootness “strike suit” settlement in Akorn:
[Ted] Frank has asked the Seventh Circuit to appoint him as amicus curiae to argue in support of the district court’s ruling, since Akorn and its board don’t intend to defend the decision. …
Frank has also argued for sanctions against the law firms and an injunction barring them from securing attorneys fees without court approval. He said he can’t afford to intervene in each of the many dozens of cases that are resolved with mootness fees. “It’s not enough to have this whack-a-mole game that will not deter the behavior,” he told Law360.
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The Seventh Circuit seems to be the first federal appellate court to review the practice, said Jill Fisch, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and joint author of a draft paper about mootness fees.
“They are pretty conscientious in terms of policing what goes on in the court,” she told Law360. “So to the extent they view this as an effort to evade judicial oversight, they might be skeptical of the claim.”
Either way, the ruling will likely shed some light on whether the practice will be dealt with in the courts or through an amendment to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, she said.