Contracts

Lawyer won’t have to pay $1M to law student after making a hyperbolic challenge in TV interview

A Florida lawyer who promised in a television interview to pay $1 million to anyone who could disprove his client’s alibi won’t have to pay the Texas lawyer who tried to collect, a federal judge has ruled. In a decision issued last week, U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell ruled…

Feb 5, 2014 2:40 PM CST

Will bank suits against Target in $1B-plus customer data breach help spur security enhancements?

It isn’t just individuals who are taking legal action over a massive data breach in November and December that reportedly involved at least 40 million and perhaps as many as 110 million Target Corp. customer accounts. Contending that banks may have lost hundreds of millions of dollars because of Target’s…

Feb 3, 2014 11:20 PM CST

Ex-client can sue out-of-state law firm, top Ariz. court rules

Agreeing with an earlier decision by a state appeals court, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Friday that an out-of-state attorney and his firm could be sued by Arizona residents to whom they provided a tax-shelter opinion letter for a $50,000 fee. In a two-page opinion (PDF), the supreme court essentially…

Jan 24, 2014 8:50 PM CST

Man who responded to Craigslist ad for a sperm donor is a dad, must pay child support, judge rules

William Marotta didn’t intend to be a father when he responded to a Craigslist ad for a sperm donor in 2009, and the two women who sought one didn’t want that result, either. But, because they didn’t have a physician perform the artificial insemination procedure, the written waiver of his…

Jan 22, 2014 11:45 PM CST

Cohabitation not allowed in contract of this state university president

The new president of Alabama State University will live in the school’s presidential home, but there’s a catch. Gwendolyn Boyd will not be permitted to cohabit with a romantic partner in the university residence for as long as she is single, according to her two-year employment contract (PDF). The Birmingham…

Jan 14, 2014 12:35 PM CST

Law prof barred from campus for alleged angry comments claims an ADA violation

A professor at John Marshall Law School in Chicago claims the law school failed to accommodate his depression and Asperger’s syndrome when he was barred from campus in October after allegedly losing his temper. Law professor Joel Cornwell claims a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act in his suit…

Jan 9, 2014 2:19 PM CST

Federal judge OKs fired ex-associate’s breach-of-contract suit against law firm

A fired associate attorney has no grounds for a wrongful termination suit, her former law firm argued, because she was an employee at will. However, a federal judge did not agree, dismissing only one of Taffie Jones’ claims against Flaster Greenberg, reports the Pennsylvania Record. While U.S. District Judge John…

Jan 8, 2014 11:10 PM CST

Unhappy with $128K award in family farm case, couple sues prominent lawyer and wins $1.1M

Originally, a Maine couple blamed an agricultural conglomerate for the loss of a potato seed farm that had been in their family for generations. But, following a 10-year legal battle against Agway Inc., Vaughn and Mary Sleeper refocused their legal attack on a new target–their former lawyer and his firm.…

Dec 31, 2013 4:15 PM CST

Online retailer sued by couple it fined $3,500 over disparaging review

An online retailer is being sued for fining a Utah couple over a negative review and damaging their credit rating when they refused to pay the fine. The suit, which seeks at least $75,000 in damages, accuses KlearGear.com of defaming customers John and Jen Palmer and violating the federal Fair…

Dec 18, 2013 9:08 PM CST

Calif. again tops ‘judicial hellholes’ list

For the second year in a row, California tops the American Tort Reform Foundation’s “Judicial Hellholes” list. The Golden State took top honors for the “welcoming stance” its courts take toward consumer class actions and its “rampant lawsuits” targeting small businesses over disability access claims, Forbes reports. The list (PDF),…

Dec 17, 2013 9:00 PM CST

Prosecutors target BMW buyers seeking to profit from resales to China

Federal prosecutors are trying to put a damper on private sales of BMWs to China, where the cars can fetch nearly three times their U.S. sticker price. Prosecutors have seized dozens of the cars at ports and millions of dollars held in related bank accounts, the Wall Street Journal (sub.…

Dec 3, 2013 1:41 PM CST

What does it take to run a contest to find Bigfoot?

As legal counsel for companies creating contests and promotions, Shalom Stephens is used to tackling unusual legal issues. But even for Stephens, Olympia Beer’s Capture Bigfoot contest raised some fresh concerns. The contest, which started last spring and runs through March 31, offers a $1 million prize to anyone who…

Dec 1, 2013 10:49 AM CST

Customer zapped with $3.5K charge for critique of Web retailer; its terms of use ban ‘disparagement’

Updated: A Web retailer has ignited an Internet firestorm by adding an anti-disparagement provision to its terms of use—and enforcing it. Customer Jen Palmer says she was caught between a rock and a hard place when Kleargear.com threatened to impose a $3,500 fine if she didn’t take down the criticism…

Nov 20, 2013 5:15 PM CST

Social media maven sues TV network, says it stole 6.78M Facebook ‘likes’ from her page on ‘The Game’

A social media maven credited with getting The Game back on cable television and helping the program about the lives of football players premiere in front of 7.7 million viewers on Black Entertainment Television in January 2011 has added an unusual claim to a federal lawsuit she filed in Florida.…

Nov 15, 2013 6:05 PM CST

Ex-Miss USA contestant told to pay Donald Trump $5M files malpractice suit against her former lawyer

Ordered to pay $5 million to Donald Trump earlier this year in a federal-court ruling upholding an award in a defamation and breach-of-contract arbitration she didn’t attend, an ex-participant in his Miss USA contest has now sued her former lawyer. Sheena Monnin is not alone in blaming attorney Richard Klineburger…

Nov 13, 2013 11:00 PM CST