Contracts

Lawyer’s Suit Against Developer Claims Condo Was Missing 109 Square Feet

A New York lawyer who says the condo he wanted to buy was missing 109 promised square feet is taking his dispute to trial next month. Rishi Bhandari agreed to pay $795,000 for a two-bedroom apartment in a building being converted to condominiums, the New York Times reports. Shortly before…

Feb 22, 2011 11:30 AM CST

Sued by Ousted Teen Beauty Queen, Pageant Fires Back with Diminution-of-Value Claim

Did Domonique Ramirez really get too fat and attend only lackadaisically and insubordinately to her duties as Miss San Antonio? Or, as the 17-year-old beauty queen claims, did organizers of the pageant apply too strict a standard in claiming that she and her mother failed to meet their contractual obligations?…

Feb 16, 2011 9:46 PM CST

Internet Retailer Limits Negative Online Reviews in Its Terms and Conditions

An Internet retailer called Full House Appliances expressed its displeasure when a customer posted a negative review on the ResellerRatings website. The company dispatched an e-mail to the commenter warning that libel is a prosecutable offense in Washington State where it operates, and it intends to pursue legal action absent…

Feb 14, 2011 5:39 PM CST

Dallas Trial Lawyer Hopes to File Class Action over Hotel Overbooking

Dallas plaintiffs lawyer Allen Stewart says he has fallen victim to hotel overbooking at least a dozen times. Now he’s collecting stories of similar experiences in hopes of filing a future class action naming several hotel chains. Stewart contends a hotel reservation that is prepaid or guaranteed with a credit…

Feb 10, 2011 12:00 PM CST

FDIC Sues Law Firm for $6M, Says Partner Closing Loans for Bank Concealed Critical Info

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has sued a Georgia law firm for malpractice, contending that a partner of the firm, simultaneously representing Neighborhood Community Bank and a developer client while closing loans, concealed from the bank material secret changes in the authorized terms of the loans. In a complaint (PDF)…

Feb 9, 2011 5:18 PM CST

ABA President Urges HUD to Drop Requests for Waivers of Attorney-Client Privilege

ABA President Stephen N. Zack has written a letter urging the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and its inspector general to bolster attorney-client and work-product protections for public housing agencies and other grantees. According to the letter (PDF), HUD guidance “urges” public housing agencies to include an addendum…

Feb 9, 2011 5:05 PM CST

NFL Sweetens Offer to Jilted Super Bowl Fans as Lawyer Sues and Lawsuit Websites Proliferate

The National Football League is sweetening its offer to the 400 fans who bought tickets to the Super Bowl but didn’t get a seat, even as a lawsuit was filed on behalf of those fans and others who were disappointed in their seats. The NFL is giving the 400 jilted…

Feb 9, 2011 2:28 PM CST

Can Law Student Be Disciplined for Suing Accuser? Federal Judge Says Yes

A Vermont Law School student has sued the institution, an official there and another law student over the handling of a sexual assault and sexual harassment complaint in which he was exonerated by an internal code of conduct board. But Joshua Vaughan’s disciplinary problems may not be over yet. In…

Feb 8, 2011 8:18 PM CST

$5M Suit Claims President Carter’s 2006 Book Violated Consumer Protection Laws

A $5 million class-action lawsuit claims President Jimmy Carter deceived the public in a 2006 book by holding out as factually accurate his claims of historical events during Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. According to the suit (PDF), the book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid “is filled with demonstrable falsehoods, omissions and knowing misrepresentations…

Feb 3, 2011 3:40 PM CST

CPA’s Stellar Law School Career Screeches to a Halt as St. John’s Rescinds His Admission

Third in his class at St. John’s University School of Law, a certified public accountant working at PricewaterhouseCoopers was looking ahead to a bright future in the law. But David Powers’ would-be legal career came to a screeching halt after he wrote to New York’s character and fitness committee to…

Feb 2, 2011 11:57 PM CST

Oxford Grad Blames UK Law School for Failing NY Bar Exam, Sues for $162K

A graduate of Oriel College at the renowned University of Oxford blames her law school for her failure to pass both the New York state bar exam and comparable tests in the United Kingdom that would have qualified her to work as a solicitor there, the Daily Mail reported. Now…

Feb 2, 2011 10:58 AM CST

Courtney Love’s ‘Boudoir Queen’ Tweets Leave Lawyers Arguing: Is Case Settled or Not?

An eagerly awaited trial over Courtney Love’s twitter rants against a Texas fashion designer known as the “Boudoir Queen” may not be upcoming after all. Although lawyers for both sides disagree about the status of the Los Angeles Superior Court case, Love’s counsel says a settlement is essentially a done…

Jan 31, 2011 7:15 PM CST

Asbestos Law Firm Seeks Chapter 11 Shield from $4.2M, or Maybe $35M, Claim of Partner’s Widow

Faced with a $4.2 million claim by a deceased name partner’s widow, a Florida-based asbestos law firm has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy seeking respite. Kelley & Ferraro filed in Miami this week, as Lynn Kelley was pursuing a Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas case against the firm in…

Jan 28, 2011 11:20 PM CST

Suit: ‘Fatally Flawed’ Buyout Pact and Bad Advice from King & Spalding Cost Thrashers Owner $194M

A “fatally flawed” buyout agreement drafted by King & Spalding for the majority owner of the Atlanta Thrashers hockey team cost $194 million in lost franchise value, operating costs and legal defense expenses, contends a Georgia lawsuit (PDF). The Atlanta Business Chronicle reported on the suit, which was filed today…

Jan 21, 2011 11:20 PM CST

Suit by Lee Harvey Oswald’s Brother Claims Casket Auction Was a Privacy Invasion

Lee Harvey Oswald’s brother has sued a Texas funeral home and an auction house over the sale of Oswald’s casket and other items linked to the presidential assassin. Oswald’s original casket, saved after a 1981 exhumation, brought nearly $87,500 in the auction, according to the Associated Press, the Fort Worth…

Jan 19, 2011 1:20 PM CST