Mark Rubin

Obergefell v. Hodges

June 27, 2015
Mark Rubin

In Obergefell v. Hodges, No. 14-556, the U.S. Supreme Court held that

… the right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of the person, and under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment couples of the same-sex may not be deprived of that right and that liberty. The Court now holds that same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry. No longer may this liberty be denied to them. … and the State laws challenged by Petitioners in these cases are now held invalid to the extent they exclude same-sex couples from civil marriage on the same terms and conditions as opposite sex couples.

The Court divided 5-4 along the

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More on King v. Burwell

June 25, 2015
Mark Rubin

Well, well, well! A fine day it’s been for Americans, what with the ruling in King v. Burwell, No. 14-114. (Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., No. 13-1371, the important housing/disparate impact case, also provided plenty to cheer about. Because its issues are more complicated, I’m sticking the King and the Affordable Care Act for now.)

At lunch today my old Wingnut friend started on a rant about Obamacare being forced through Congress with no opportunities for R input. I bit for a moment, and then a sense of calm passed over me and I uttered these words: “What the f*ck am I arguing about? Your side lost.” By the by,

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Supreme Court Update

June 25, 2015
Mark Rubin

Two decisions today. In Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, No. 13-137, the Court upheld the right to bring disparate impact claims involving housing discrimination. MRW was wrong.

And in today’s Big Dog case, King v. Burwell, No. 14-114, the Affordable Care Act/subsidies case, subsidies, and the ACA structure, survive, 6-3. MRW called it 6-3, although we had Justice Scalia in the majority. Roll up that net, fellas, for I’m not falling off the limb on the tree today.

Presently, MRW is 3-2 on predictions, with an asterick for the missed Scalia call.

More later

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Supreme Court Update

June 22, 2015
Mark Rubin

Here’s the Supreme Court update for Monday, June 22. Four opinions issued. First up was Kimble v. Marvel Enterprises, No. 13-720, which is the Spiderman patent case. (Details from MRW are at Spiderman Goes to the Supreme Court.) We called this one 6-3 or 7-2 for Marvel, hoping for a ruling in favor of friends Steve Kimble and Bob Grabb. Unfortunately, Marvel prevailed 6-3.

The other three cases the Court decided were: City of Los Angeles v. Patel, No. 13-1175; Kingsley v. Hendrickson, No. 14-6368; and Horne v. Department of Agriculture, No. 14-275. In Patel the Court affirmed a Ninth Circuit decision, finding that a statute which required hoteliers to provide a registry without

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Supreme Court Update

June 18, 2015
Mark Rubin

Update from U.S. Supreme Court – What’s Left?: Decisions today in: (1) Reed v. Town of Gilbert, AZ, No. 13-502, the sign ordinance/church case; and (2) Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, No. 14-144, the Texas license plate case. In Reed the Court rejected the local sign ordinance unanimously, as MRW predicted. In Walker the Court upheld the state’s right to regulate messages on license plates. (MRW missed blew this one completely.)

The other four decisions—Ohio v. Clark, No. 13-1352; Davis v. Ayala, No. 13-1428; Brumfeld v. Cain, No. 13-1433; and McFadden v. U.S., No. 14-378—all involved criminal law matters. In Ohio v. Clark the state prevailed; in

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U.S. Supreme Court – What’s Left?

June 15, 2015
Mark Rubin

On June 15 the U.S. Supreme Court issued decisions in Baker Botts L.L.P. v. ASARCO, No. 14-103, Reyes Mata v. Lynch, No. 14-185, and Kerry v. Din, No. 13-1402. The cases dealt, respectively, with: (1) a law firm’s right to get fees from a reorganized debtor for work associated with defending a fee application (No Go); (2) a procedural issue in immigration law; and (3) a woman’s liberty interest in having her “civil servant in the Taliban regime” Afghani husband get priority immigrant status. “No go” on the last one, too, and Justice Scalia—writing for himself, the Chief Justice, and Justice Thomas—beat up on the dissent. (Justices Kennedy and Alito concurred, but did not agree with Justice

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Mark Rubin, Tucson Attorney

June 13, 2015
Mark Rubin

I thought I had a post which explained what I do as a Tucson attorney. Using an Attorney Effectively and Working (Mark Rubin) don’t quite nail the issue, and About Mark Rubin doesn’t either.

My practices falls within three broad areas. They are: (a) probate and fiduciary matters, and estate planning; (b) business and real estate, including advising, documenting transactions, and handling lawsuits; and (c) ethics, professionalism, and discipline.

In the probate and fiduciary world, there’s lots of paper and process. Probate involves the affairs of people who have died, as well as young people with money or no parents, or both, and older people who need help because of mental or physical infirmities. There’s paper and process because we

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From the Court: Zivotofsky v. Kerry

June 8, 2015
Mark Rubin

The U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision today in Zivotofsky v. Kerry, No. 13-628. I mentioned this case in Welcome Back, Justices! last October. It is one of the big deal cases of the term, and it’s likely that the politics will eclipse the legal principles.

The decision was 6-3. Justice Kennedy wrote the majority opinion. The Chief Justice and Justices Alito and Scalia dissented, and Justice Thomas concurring in the judgment but dissenting in part. The opinions total 93 pages, so you’re getting a “down and dirty” for today.

Court opinions usually have a syllabus. Here, the syllabus provides a good summary of the facts and the legal issue:

Petitioner Zivotofsky was born to United States citizens living

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Legal Terms

June 2, 2015
Mark Rubin

When I go to the doctor I wonder why medicine uses so many terms I don’t understand. Then, I look in the mirror, as many legal terms have no evident meaning for lay people. Herewith, some terms and their meanings.

Fiduciary is an adjective and a noun, used to describe a relationship a special trust. In certain circumstances the law establishes a fiduciary duty. For example, trustees owe to trust beneficiaries a fiduciary duty, attorneys have a fiduciary relationship with their clients, and partners owe to one another a fiduciary duty. Board members also owe to nonprofits a fiduciary duty. Translation? The terms of the duty vary, depending on the relationship, but they include duties of loyalty, care, and honesty.

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Title Insurance

May 26, 2015
Mark Rubin

Most real estate transactions involve title insurance. Every transaction should! Despite the expense, and the fact that title insurance companies may be very, very profitable, potential losses associated with title defects, for owners and lenders, make title insurance essential.

Title insurance policies issue, generally, on American Land Title Association (ALTA) forms. Policies are issued to owners and lenders. There are standard and extended coverage policies for owners and lenders, as well as an HO—homeowners—policy and a policy for leasehold interests.

A standard owners or lenders policy insures against matters of record, i.e., interests which exist because of a document recorded in the County Recorder’s office. These include claims that someone else owns your property, that another lender’s deed of

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