Family Law

Divorce Lawyer Not Liable in Malpractice Case by Nobel Prize Winner

A Nobel Prize winner has lost a $1 million malpractice suit against his former divorce lawyer. Federal jurors in Washington, D.C., ruled for divorce lawyer Rita Bank on Wednesday, according to The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. Economist Joseph Stiglitz had alleged Bank should have filed divorce papers more…

Jul 14, 2011 12:55 PM CDT

Extremely Obese Kids Should Be Placed in Foster Care, Lawyer Argues in JAMA

Updated: Children who are extremely obese and in dangerously poor health should be placed in temporary foster care, a physician and a lawyer argue in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The commentary says foster care is more ethical than obesity surgery because long-term effects of the operation in…

Jul 13, 2011 12:39 PM CDT

Gay Couple Seeking La. Birth Certificate for Their Adopted Son Files Cert Petition

A gay couple is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a Louisiana registrar’s decision that prevented them from being listed as the parents on the birth certificate of a Louisiana boy they adopted in New York. The Louisiana registrar had refused to issue an amended birth certificate, citing the…

Jul 13, 2011 11:00 AM CDT

Couple Wins Damages After Condo Neighbor Complains They Were Having Noisy Sex

Asked by a condominium resident to do something about the “indiscreet and scandalous” noise a neighbor couple allegedly made while having sex in their suburban Rio de Janeiro home, a judge in Brazil has acted. Instead of providing relief to plaintiff Lucas Bohrer Filho, the judge has found merit to…

Jul 12, 2011 11:24 PM CDT

Polygamist Family on ‘Sister Wives’ Plans Suit Challenging Utah Law

The polygamist family profiled on the Sister Wives reality TV show is planning to challenge Utah’s criminal ban on polygamy. The suit will not demand a right to polygamous marriage, the New York Times reports. Rather, it will contend Utah’s criminal penalties for polygamous unions are unconstitutional under Lawrence v.…

Jul 12, 2011 1:38 PM CDT

Report: Husband Meant to Kill Wife’s Divorce Lawyer, Car-Bombed Another Attorney in ‘08 by Mistake

Authorities say Milton “Skip” Ohlsen III meant to kill his wife’s divorce attorney in a 2008 car bombing in a suburban St. Louis parking garage. But instead he injured another attorney with a similar-looking car by mistake, they said yesterday after a federal indictment against Ohlsen was announced, reports the…

Jul 8, 2011 11:05 AM CDT

Jilted Dallas Cowboys Receiver Sues His Would-Be Bride, Says Beauty Queen Didn’t Return a $76K Ring

Add another well-known name to a small but growing list of jilted would-be spouses filing suit to recoup alleged financial losses as a result of derailed wedding plans. Wide receiver Roy Williams of the Dallas Cowboys says in an affidavit that former Miss Texas USA Brooke Daniels rejected the recorded…

Jul 7, 2011 10:44 PM CDT

Courts in New Jersey to Try Harder to Include Children in Custody Hearings

When it comes to custody or placement arrangements, no one knows better than the child concerned what he or she wants. And children over 10, in particular, are capable of expressing their views in an intelligent and helpful manner and should be given a chance to do so in court…

Jul 7, 2011 12:04 AM CDT

DOJ’s Fair Housing Suit Says Mortgage Insurer Discriminates Against Home Buyers on Maternity Leave

The Department of Justice has filed a federal fair housing suit in Pittsburgh against the nation’s largest mortgage insurer, contending that it has discriminated against homeowners who are on paid maternity leave. Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. violated the federal Fair Housing Act by discriminating, based on sex and familial status,…

Jul 6, 2011 6:09 PM CDT

Man Gets Protective Order for Self and Puggle During Family Estate Dispute re Autographed Baseballs

During his lifetime, Chicago White Sox investor Larry Pogofsky was the proud owner of a collection of autographed baseballs worth as much as $25,000 each. His ambition was to collect one signed by every Hall of Famer, reports the Chicago Tribune. Now, after his death at age 64, the collection…

Jul 5, 2011 5:40 PM CDT

Withdrawing from Controversial Case Was Awkward for King & Spalding, But That’s About All

Atlanta-based King & Spalding may have doused a white-hot fire when it changed its mind about defending a statute that denies federal benefits to married same-sex couples. By dumping the case, the 126-year-old firm may have soothed withering criticism from gay rights organizations, and perhaps among some of its own…

Jul 1, 2011 7:30 AM CDT

ABA Home Front Website Helps Service Members Deal with Legal Matters

Stephen T. Lynch was certain there was something wrong about the hospital debt being sought from a member of the U.S. Coast Guard. As far as Lynch could tell, the alleged debtor—a petty officer second class—didn’t owe anything, let alone the amount in question. But the collection agency wouldn’t budge…

Jul 1, 2011 6:30 AM CDT

Economist Says in Negligence Suit His Divorce Lawyer Didn’t Act to Protect His Nobel Prize Money

Joseph Stiglitz, an economist and Nobel Memorial Prize winner, is suing his former lawyer for $1 million for professional negligence, on the basis that had she been quicker filing his divorce papers, his now ex-wife wouldn’t have received part of the prize’s $300,000 award, or share future earnings based on…

Jun 30, 2011 6:02 PM CDT

DA Sues Family Law Lawyer over Alleged Affair, Claims Alienation of Affection

A prosecutor slated to become president of the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys has filed an alienation of affection suit against another lawyer who is the godmother to her children. Johnston County, N.C., District Attorney Susan Doyle alleges her neighbor and one-time friend, Christi Stem, had an affair with…

Jun 30, 2011 11:36 AM CDT

Gay Rights Advocates Sue to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage in New Jersey

Less than a week after New York approved same-sex marriage, gay rights advocates filed suit for the same right in New Jersey. The suit, brought by Garden State Equality, is joined by seven gay couples and several of their children. Garden State Equality Chairman Steven Goldstein called the state’s civil…

Jun 29, 2011 6:53 PM CDT