The ABA Journal reports that A Florida lawyer defrauded, deceived and embezzled funds from two mentally disabled clients who were declared innocent after spending 31 years in prison, according to a complaint filed Wednesday by the North Carolina State Bar.

“Henry McCollum and his half-brother, Leon Brown, were exonerated in 2014 after serving decades in prison for the notorious rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl. They received $750,000 each from the state in compensation,” writes Joseph Neff for the Marshall Project.

Orlando lawyer Patrick Megaro took excessive fees when he pocketed a third of the awards despite having done virtually no work on their exonerations or compensation cases, the state bar alleges.

Read the ABA Journal article.

A federal appeals court Tuesday ruled that Uber can force its drivers into individual arbitration over pay and benefit disputes, voiding an effort by thousands of drivers to join in a class-action suit against the ride-hailing company, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco overturned a lower-court order that had certified the drivers’ class-action effort.

The court’s opinion cited a 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision in May that employers could enforce arbitration agreements that require workers to give up the ability to collectively pursue claims that they were shortchanged or treated unfairly.

Read the LA Times article.

The ABA Journal reports that attorneys for former Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom partner Greg Craig say he did not circulate a report put together by the law firm and involving former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort.

Reporter Stephanie Francis Ward explains: “The report was written by Skadden attorneys about the 2011 trial of Yulia Tymoshenko, a former prime minister of Ukraine who was found guilty of abusing her office. Working as a lobbyist, Manafort solicited the report on behalf of Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine’s pro-Russian president and a rival to Tymoshenko. The plan was to use the report to defend her trial.”

The Washington Post reports that Skadden was paid $4.6 million, a fact Manafort did not reveal, while Ukrainian officials said they paid $12,000 for the report.

And CNN reports that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York is also looking into whether Craig failed to register as a foreign agent as required by the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Read the ABA Journal article.

A federal courtroom in Miami is now the intersection for a celebrity attorney, two major cybercrimes and a foreign tech firm with an ephemeral South Florida address and entanglement in the Trump-Russia probe, reports the Miami Herald.

The case involves a defamation lawsuit brought by Cyprus-based entrepreneur Aleksej Gubarev against online news outlet Buzzfeed, which published the collection of research memos known as the Trump dossier.

Gubarev also sued former British spy Christopher Steele, a Russia expert who wrote the dossier, in London.

Colorful lawyer Roy Black is representing Buzzfeed in the Miami suit.

Read the Miami Herald article.

Image by Patrick

USA Today reports that a class-action lawsuit was filed Monday against IBM on behalf of three former employees alleging age discrimination.

Reporter Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy explains: “The lawsuit alleges that the plaintiffs are among thousands of IBM employees to be laid off recently as the result of a shift in IBM’s focus to recruit millennials ‘in order to make the face of IBM younger, while at the same time pushing out older employees.'”

“IBM has discriminated, and continues to discriminate, against its older workers, both by laying them off disproportionately to younger workers and by not hiring them for open positions,” the lawsuit alleges.

The three name plaintiffs are 55, 59 and 67, and have worked for IBM for periods ranging from 15 to 34 years.

Read the USA Today article.

Lawrence J. West and Joshua W. Mermis, co-founders of the Houston-based litigation boutique West Mermis PLLC, have both been named to the 2019 listing of The Best Lawyers in America as well as the 2018 listing of Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters.

West and Mermis have been recognized for two consecutive years by Best Lawyers for their work in construction litigation.

In addition to this year’s Super Lawyers recognition, West has been named to the Texas Super Lawyers list each year since 2014.

Mermis was first recognized in 2017, after earning appearances on the companion Texas Rising Stars list from 2010-2011 and again from 2014-2016.

Read about the awards.

Image by Chris Potter

A federal appeals court has upheld a federal judge’s decision to deny as “grossly excessive” a request for more than $900,000 in attorney fees based on a $100,000 punitive award, reports the ABA Journal.

The Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, found that, when a request under a fee-shifting statute is “outrageously excessive,” a judge may deny the award altogether if the statute gives the judge discretion in awarding fees.

Journal reporter Debra Cassens Weiss explains:

Lawyers seeking the fees had admittedly tasked one lawyer with recreating time records that included vague descriptions and excessive hours, the appeals court said. Sixty-four hours were billed for “transcripts/clips” and 562 hours were billed to prepare for a week-long trial. There were only five witnesses for both sides.

Read the ABA Journal article.

Attacks on judicial independence are becoming more frequent and more partisan, according to a Governing report.

Reporter Alan Greenblatt explains, that “while ‘threats of this nature have been going on for years,’ says William Raftery of the National Center for State Courts, articles of impeachment are now being filed more often and for more reasons. Over the past decade or so, judges have become targets of criticism not only from politicians but cable talk-show hosts. In the past, grounds for impeachment have typically been treason, high crimes or malfeasance. That’s changing. These days, lawmakers’ partisan disapproval of rulings appears to be a strong motivator for ousting judges.”

Read the Governing report.

A biotechnology billionaire faces charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission of being part of pump-and-dump schemes that netted $27 million and left retail investors holding the bag, reports MedCity News.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court in New York, the SEC alleged OPKO Health chairman and CEO Phillip Frost took part in three pump-and-dump schemes between 2013 and 2018.

Reporter Alaric Dearment explains that the complaint alleges that Frost was involved in schemes to promote the stock of some companies on the crowd-sourced investment content site Seeking Alpha, on which articles would appear promoting their shares and touting Frost’s involvement in the companies. After the stock prices were pumped up, the defendants would sell it off, the SEC alleges.

Read the MedCity article.

The Associated Press is reporting that MGM Resorts International drew criticism Tuesday for saying hundreds of survivors of the Las Vegas mass shooting, who are being sued by the casino operator, could opt to have the money that will be used to serve them a lawsuit instead donated to a charity.

The company, which sued more than 1,900 victims of the Oct. 1 mass shooting, has been working to notify them as it faces a standard 90-day deadline, explains AP reporter Regina Garcia Cano.

Attorney Robert Eglet, part of a group representing most of the victims, said the company is just trying to “spin” its attempt to save money on serving legal notices, Cano writes.

Read the AP article.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh

In the midst of the discord surrounding his confirmation hearings, Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh was a placid presence. Even as he deflected most questions about legal issues, he was quick to say he was alert to the real-world consequences of his rulings, reports The New York Times.

“He gave the same answers countless times, explaining, for instance, that Roe v. Wade had in 1973 established a constitutional right to abortion and that the Supreme Court had repeatedly reaffirmed it, notably in 1992,” writes Adam Liptak. “But he would not say whether he was prepared to overrule it.”

“The Democrats made a fairly strong case that Judge Kavanaugh is very partisan and loyal to the president,” said Paul M. Collins Jr., a political scientist at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. “The nominee’s refusal to criticize the president in his attacks against the judicial branch didn’t help his case.”

Read the NY Times article.

Sacha Baron Cohen is being sued for defamation by Roy Moore over his appearance on the actor’s controversial Showtime series — and the embattled former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice is seeking $95 million in damages, reports The Hollywood Reporter.

“Cohen, as the character Erran Morad, interviewed the judge and demonstrated a fictional device meant to detect pedophiles — a reference to Moore’s alleged sexual misconduct with an underage girl that surface during his failed campaign for Alabama’s U.S. Senate seat,” writes reporter Ashley Cullins.

Moore’s complaint claims he was deceived and was defamed by “the false and fraudulent routine.”

Read The Hollywood Reporter article.

Barnes & Thornburg has added Marlén Cortez Morris as a partner in the Litigation Department. Cortez Morris, who was previously at Cheng Cohen LLC, is the ninth partner to join the firm’s Chicago office in 2018.

The firm said Cortez Morris represents and advises clients on franchise, labor and employment, and commercial litigation matters in courts and alternative dispute resolution venues, and before government agencies across the country. She litigates complex matters from inception through appeal. Her deep litigation experience includes the enforcement of contract and intellectual property rights, as well as the defense of claims for breach of contract, business torts, violations of franchise registration and relationship laws, state consumer protection violations, and vicarious and joint employment liability.

On the labor and employment side, she defends franchisors and employers against wage and hour class and collective actions and claims for wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation arising under federal, state and local laws. In addition, she has enforced non-competes, litigated unemployment compensation benefits claims up to appeal, and represented management in traditional labor disputes. Cortez Morris also works with complex compliance strategies and best practices for litigation prevention.

“Marlén is a great addition to our team,” said William McErlean, chair of Barnes & Thornburg’s Litigation Department. “From successfully representing franchisors in litigation, arbitration, and regulatory matters to advising franchisors on unique employment issues in that industry, Marlén’s diverse experience will be invaluable to clients who become embroiled in these complex issues.”

Cortez Morris is a member of the American Bar Association’s Forum on Franchising and Section of Labor and Employment Law, the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois, the Hispanic National Bar Association, and the International Franchise Association (IFA). She serves on the IFA’s Diversity Institute Board, frequently speaks and writes on employment and franchise law topics, and is an editor of the ABA’s Franchise Law Journal.

Mark Rust, managing partner of Barnes & Thornburg’s Chicago office, added: “The genuine care that Marlén exhibits toward her clients and the sterling reputation she has earned in the local legal community make her a terrific addition to our growing office. We’re thrilled to have her on board.”

Cortez Morris earned her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Illinois College of Law, where she was an associate editor of the University of Illinois Law Review and received the Rickert Award for Excellence in Advocacy, and her B.S., with honors, magna cum laude, from the University of Tampa.

State Farm agreed to pay $250 million on the brink of a trial to customers who claimed the company tried to rig the Illinois justice system to wipe out a $1 billion jury verdict from 19 years ago, Bloomberg reports.

“The customers were seeking as much as $8.5 billion in damages in a civil racketeering trial that was set to start Tuesday in federal court in East St. Louis, Illinois. A judge granted preliminary approval to the accord and set a final fairness hearing for December,” according to the report.

Policyholders had accused the company of leading an effort to recruit a judge friendly to its cause for the Illinois Supreme Court, secretly funding Judge Lloyd Karmeier’s 2004 election campaign by funneling money through advocacy groups that didn’t disclose donors. Under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, any damages would have been tripled.

Read the Bloomberg article.

A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas has appointed Warren Burns of Dallas-based Burns Charest LLP as sole interim lead class counsel in a nationwide antitrust class action. The litigation alleges a conspiracy by online retailers, including Houston-based Zaapaaz, to fix prices for customized silicone wristbands and lanyards.

In 2017 the defendants in the class action pleaded guilty to a range of federal charges of price-fixing in violation of Section 1 of The Sherman Act.

In appointing Burns as sole interim lead counsel, the court explained:

This appointment is warranted for several reasons. First, at oral argument, Mr. Burns was the only counsel who offered the Court substantive, detailed explanations on how he structures and runs his large case litigation teams.

Of particular note were Mr. Burns’ explanations of his and his firms’ billing practices in prior class action litigation, and his representations that he will use those practices, such as not permitting billing for file and correspondence review, and other mechanisms to ensure efficient prosecution of this case.

Second, the balance of the Rule 23(g) factors support appointment of Mr. Burns and Burns Charest as sole interim lead counsel. Burns Charest has made extensive efforts in these matters to date, Mr. Burns and his firm have significant experience in antirust class actions, and he and his firm have knowledge of the applicable law.

The court concluded that “Burns Charest is uniquely positioned to prosecute this case in the most cost effective and efficient manner possible.”

The case is Kjessler v. Zaappaaz, Inc. et al., Case No. 4:17-cv-3064 (S.D. Tex).

Harvey Weinstein

Image by David Shankbone

NBC News’ handling of allegations of sexual harassment against powerful men is once again under scrutiny over its alleged failing to follow through on a credible probe of accusations levied against Harvey Weinstein, according to Variety.

The magazine’s latest article on the controversy also refers to a Daily Beast report alleging that NBC News general counsel Susan Weiner made multiple phone calls to the reporter, Ronan Farrow, threatening to smear him if he continued his reporting on Weinstein.

“This is a ridiculous claim by all measures. Susan is a person of tremendous integrity, is respected by all her peers and would never, ever threaten someone,” said an NBC News spokesperson.

Much of the criticism comes from  Rich McHugh,  the NBC News former supervising producer of investigative reporting.

Read the Variety article.

The Senate reached a deal Tuesday to swiftly confirm seven federal district court judges, helping President Donald Trump put an enduring stamp on the U.S. judiciary, reports Bloomberg.

One of the Trump nominees, Charles Barnes Goodwin in the Western District of Oklahoma, had been rated “not qualified” by the American Bar Association. Goodwin’s “work habits, including his frequent absence from the courthouse until mid-afternoon,” raised doubts among a majority of the members of the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary.

Susan Paradise Baxter, whom President Barack Obama also nominated but who was stalled by the Republican-controlled Senate, was confirmed to the Western District of Pennsylvania.

The Senate is scheduled to vote on a second failed Obama nominee to the same court, Marilyn Jean Horan, along with seven other district court nominees, “at a time to be determined next week.”

Read the Bloomberg article.

Image by Mike Mozart

Demos Parneros, former CEO of Barnes & Noble, is suing the bookseller in federal court over his firing last month.

CNN reports that Parneros says in the complaint that Barnes & Noble fired him without cause and “irrevocably damaged” his reputation.

Julia Horowitz writes that the suit alleges breach of contract and defamation and asks for severance, lost wages and other damages. The lawsuit says he was not paid severance due under his contract and was removed from the board immediately, after serving as chief executive since April 2017.

Parneros also complained that a Barnes & Noble press releaseon his termination included language that it “knew full well was false but would be read as reporting that Parneros had engaged in serious sexual misconduct.”

Read the CNN article.

The ABA Journal reports that a Cleveland lawyer who was arrested and held in contempt after missing a show-cause hearing will get a new chance to make his case before a different federal judge.

U.S. District Judge John Adams of Akron had ordered the arrest of Brent English after the lawyer didn’t appear for an Oct. 29, 2015, hearing to show cause why he shouldn’t be held in contempt for missing a prior court date on Oct. 21. Federal marshals delivered English to Adams’ courtroom and the judge held a hearing. Adams found English in contempt and fined him $500, writes Debra Cassens Weiss.

The appeals court said in its Aug. 23 decision that Adams had used the wrong standard to judge what amounted to a criminal contempt case against English.

Read the ABA Journal article.

Bloomberg Law reports that a plaintiff in a bellwether products liability case involving the chemotherapy drug Taxotere was sanctioned for withholding information about her medical history.

Plaintiffs in the case claim Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC failed to warn patients that Taxotere could cause permanent hair loss.

Reporter Michael Greene explains: “Dr. Kelly Gahan, a bellwether plaintiff in the multidistrict litigation, used evasive discovery tactics to avoid revealing information about medical treatment she had received, Judge Jane Triche Milazzo, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, said.”

Gahan did not reveal all the physicians who provided treatments to her over an eight-year period and whether she used any over the-the-counter medications. Now she must pay Sanofi expenses and attorneys’ fees incurred in obtaining the records.

Read the Bloomberg Law article.