Arbitration & Mediation
Lawyer Likely Can’t Defend Clients on Related Criminal Charges
News
A New York lawyer representing two clients in separate but related criminal matters faces a ‘likely unwaivable’ conflict of interest based on the facts presented.
Minor Errors Axe Judgment Lien
News
Based on a mistake about when a Cook County default judgment became final — plus a 60-cent discrepancy between the amount of the judgment ($238,007.61) and the amount listed in a memorandum of judgment ($238,007.01) that the plaintiffs filed as a lien on the defendant’s real estate in Will County.
Lawyer Who Took Off Pants at Security Checkpoint Fights Bid to be Ousted from Representing Clients
News
Atlanta lawyer Robert Ward acknowledges that he took off his pants at a security checkpoint at a federal courthouse in Tampa, Florida.
Ohio Lawyer Who Took $128K From Mentally Ill Client Suspended
News
An Ohio attorney who stole from and overcharged a client nearly $129,000 was indefinitely suspended by the state’s highest court.
3M Files Second Lawsuit To Combat COVID-19 Price Gouging
News
After a public dispute with the White House about exporting N-95 masks, 3M is turning to trademark law to help combat impressions that it is price-gouging at home.
Coronavirus Class Actions—Part Two—A Few Weeks Later
News
Numerous COVID-19 related class actions have been filed throughout the country in various different spaces—consumer, mass tort, securities, labor & employment, and banking and privacy.
$4M Verdict Over Doctor’s Failed Attempts to Insert Catheter
News
West Palm Beach attorneys William D. Zoeller and Michael V. Baxter of Schuler Halvorson Weisser Zoeller Overbeck obtained a $4 million jury verdict for the family of a 72-year-old man who died after his doctor tried to insert a catheter 14 times—for a procedure the plaintiffs alleged could have waited.
Levy Konigsberg LLP Upholds $3.3M Verdict Against Whittaker Clark & Daniels, Inc. for Toxic Talcum Powder
News
On April 9th, 2020 the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, affirmed the trial court’s decision in Nemeth v. Brenntag North America, et al., Case No. 9765, New York County Index No. 190138/14, denying the defendant’s post-trial motions.
“Twisted” Path to New Trial for Dr. Paulus
News
A 2018 Sixth Circuit panel upheld a jury verdict convicting Dr. Richard Paulus of submitting fraudulent medical claims. That same panel, with 2020 hindsight(!), reversed that conviction.
$665,000 Settlement For East Bay Student Punished For Mock Terrorist Video
News
An East Bay school district has agreed to pay $665,000 to settle a free-speech suit by a former student who was suspended from a leadership class, and briefly barred from serving as student body president, after posting a video that showed him as a James Bond hero fighting off terrorists.
Time to Settlement and Case Complexity
News
In 2019, 15 percent of cases settled within two years of filing, consistent with the rate over the last 10 years. The average time from filing to settlement in 2019 was 3.3 years.
‘Landmark Settlement’ With Justice Companies Over Unpaid Safety Penalties
News
Coal companies owned by Gov. Jim Justice and his family have settled with federal agencies to satisfy more than $5 million in unpaid penalties for violations of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act.
If You Want the Benefits of an Arbitration Agreement, Say So
Insights
Both contract language, and keeping such language up-to-date, is critical for navigating the legal landscape of company relationships with vendors, including enforcing arbitration provisions.
Texas Supreme Court Reinforces the Eight-Corners Rule, Or Does It?
News
In Richards v. State Farm Lloyds … the Texas Supreme Court answered a certified question posed by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals; namely, whether the absence of a clause requiring a carrier to defend claims that are “groundless, false or fraudulent” means that the “eight-corners” rule does not apply when determining the existence of a duty to defend.
Eleventh Circuit Affirms Individual’s $41 Million Verdict Against Tobacco Companies
News
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed denial of motions for judgment as a matter of law against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and Philip Morris USA Inc. in a published opinion upholding multi-million dollar jury verdicts against both defendants.
Seventh Circuit Court Of Appeal (Mostly) Affirms Judgment Against Dish
News
The appellate court concluded that the district court made no material legal errors save one– in assessing damages the Court started with the Plaintiff’s ability to pay and worked backward.
GM Reaches Settlement Over Lost Vehicle Value From Defective Ignition Switches
News
General Motors has reached a $120 million settlement with owners who claimed that their vehicles lost value because of defective ignition switches, which have been linked to 124 deaths.
Avenatti Asks Judge to Nix Nike Jury Verdict or OK New Trial
News
Michael Avenatti wants a judge to reject a jury verdict that found he tried to extort Nike.
Jury Awards Pharma Whistleblower Over $760k in Retaliation Case
News
A federal district court in Massachusetts recently ordered Minneapolis based Coloplast to pay over $760,000 to Plaintiff, Amy Lestage, for retaliating against her after she and others filed a whistleblower complaint against the company.
Equitable Tolling: “Estopping” the Clock from Running on Your Claims
News
A court can preclude a defendant from asserting a statute of limitations defense where the defendant’s own intentional misconduct prevented the plaintiff from timely filing suit.
