On January 29, 2008, Bernstein Liebhard LLP filed an amicus curiae brief in the United States Supreme Court on behalf of Professor Arthur R. Miller in Exxon Shipping Company v. Baker. The appeal, arising from the protracted litigation following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, addresses complex issues of procedural law, including the proper application of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50.
The brief, prepared by the Firm at the request of and in collaboration with Professor Miller, identifies certain procedural errors by the Ninth Circuit that, if ratified by the Supreme Court, threaten to undermine the federal district courts’ authority to manage their dockets in complex actions. There is a link to the brief below.
Professor Miller has devoted much of his almost 50-year career to the study of civil procedure in the federal courts. He is a University Professor at New York University School of Law, and was previously the Bruce Bromley Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, where he taught since 1971. He is the primary author of numerous books and articles on civil procedure, including the oft-cited multi-volume Federal Practice and Procedure.
