No. 21-592

Jeffrey Isaacs v. USC Keck School of Medicine, et al.

Lower Court: Ninth Circuit
Docketed: 2021-10-22
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Response Waived
Tags: contract-interpretation decade-and-a-half Gibson-Dunn inconsistent-positions judicial-estoppel legal-ethics medical-license oath settlement-agreement USC whistleblower-claims
Latest Conference: 2022-01-07
Question Presented (from Petition)

Under the doctrine of judicial estoppel, should the lower courts have upheld the sanctity of the oath and estopped USC and Gibson Dunn from arguing inconsistent positions that spanned a decade-and-a-half?

2. Did USC and Gibson Dunn present knowingly false statements to the Ninth Circuit, when asked multiple times whether the intent of the Isaacs-USC 2008 settlement agreement was to invalidate the Isaacs-USC 2007 settlement, or did Robin Dal Soglio falsely represent to the District Court that the 2008 settlement "had no effect" on the 2007 settlement agreement?

3. Dr. Isaacs' medical license (see 2018 cert petition) was revoked for his reliance upon Dal Soglio's above representation. Should a physician be effectively barred from medical practice for life, because he relied upon one of two contradictory positions taken by USC counsel over a span of fourteen years?

4. Does FRCP 41(d) allow for award of attorneys' fees, or is it limited to costs, per the plain language of the Rule?

5. Per dissenting Judge Ikuto, is "the [majority] interpretation unreasonable" that a settlement agreement was written with intent to be unenforceable?

Question Presented (AI Summary)

Under the doctrine of judicial estoppel, should the lower courts have upheld the sanctity of the oath and estopped USC and Gibson Dunn from arguing inconsistent positions that spanned a decade-and-a-half?

Docket Entries

2022-01-10
Petition DENIED.
2021-12-08
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/7/2022.
2021-11-01
Waiver of right of respondent Trustees of Dartmouth College to respond filed.
2021-11-01
Waiver of right of respondents USC Keck School of Medicine; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP to respond filed.
2021-10-29
Waiver of right of respondents USC Keck School of Medicine; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP to respond filed.
2021-10-29
Waiver of right of respondent Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center to respond filed.
2021-10-28
Waiver of right of respondent New Hampshire Board of Medicine to respond filed.
2021-10-20
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due November 22, 2021)

Attorneys

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
William D. PandolphSulloway & Hollis, P.L.L.C., Respondent
Jeffrey Isaacs
Keith Allen MathewsAssociated Attorneys of New England, Petitioner
New Hampshire Board of Medicine
Anthony Jordan GaldieriNew Hampshire Department of Justice, Respondent
Trustees of Dartmouth College
Pierre A. ChabotDevine Millimet & Branch, PA, Respondent
USC Keck School of Medicine; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Thomas G. HungarGibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Respondent