Courts Differ on Wal-Mart Suits

Courts in two states yesterday differed on workers’ quests for class action status in lawsuits against Wal-Mart.

A Missouri appeals court ruled that a class action suit could proceed after a trial judge revises definitions for subclasses, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.).

A New York court refused to certify a class in a similar suit, saying the claims should be tried individually.

Jun 13, 2007 2:37 PM CDT

Ex-Felon on N.Y. Expert List

New York City will increase oversight of those on a roster of court-appointed experts following disclosures that a convicted felon on the list billed $61,000 for work never performed. Richard Gottfried was placed on the list as a mitigation expert, even though he was convicted of federal fraud charges in…

Jun 12, 2007 7:32 PM CDT

Same-sex Couple Splits a $3.5 M Home; New York Judge Applies ‘Divorce’ Rule

A Manhattan judge treated a same-sex couple as if they were married when deciding recently how to divide their $3.5 million home after they split up. Although the two were tenants in common, which ordinarily calls for a 50-50 share in the equity after the partners sell, the judge instead…

Jun 7, 2007 9:46 PM CDT

N.Y. Gun Harms Don’t Justify Sentence

A federal appeals court has ruled a judge improperly increased a sentence for a man convicted of selling guns to New Yorkers on the ground the crime causes greater harm in the city. Consideration of regional and local factors undercuts one of the primary purposes of federal sentencing guidelines—to eliminate…

Jun 7, 2007 1:07 PM CDT

NY Lawyer Lived Happily Ever After (Sort Of), After Acid Attack on Girlfriend

Once a New York trial lawyer, Burton Pugach today is an improbable white-mink-clad movie star. Convicted in an infamous case of putting out a contract to have his girlfriend blinded with lye, after she left him for another man, the 80-year-old has made headlines ever since as the bizarre case…

Jun 7, 2007 12:37 AM CDT

A Surprising Paternity Notice

A New York man says it cost him about $3,000 to fight a surprising notice that said he had been named the father of a baby born in December. Mike Shaieb, a musical composer, is gay. “In my entire 45 years of living, I have never seen a vagina in…

Jun 6, 2007 3:10 PM CDT

Ex-N.Y. Judge Gets Up to 10 Years in Prison

Jun 6, 2007 1:22 PM CDT

Giuliani ‘Stepping Back’ as Practitioner

Rudolph Giuliani’s decision two years ago to become a partner in the Manhattan office of a Houston, Texas, law firm at a point in life when many practitioners are retiring was about more than just a lust to practice law. It was, in all likelihood, at least partially a political…

Jun 4, 2007 7:54 PM CDT

Panhandler Gets Arrest Tossed

A city court judge in New Rochelle, N.Y., has found the arrest of a panhandler violated his free speech rights. Eric Hoffstead had asked his lawyer to challenge his arrest after reading about a 1992 federal judge’s ruling that struck down a ban on panhandling. The court also tossed a…

May 31, 2007 3:51 PM CDT

Panhandler Challenges Begging Ban

A homeless man in New Rochelle, N.Y., claims his arrest for begging violates the First Amendment. A federal judge struck down a begging ban in a 1992 ruling that applied to New York City, but since then more than 2,300 people have been arrested through New York state for the…

May 30, 2007 3:36 PM CDT

N.Y. Judicial Pay ‘An Embarrassment’

A study shows that pay for New York judges is 48th lowest among the states when adjusted for cost of living. The only states with lower cost-of-living-adjusted pay are Hawaii and Oregon, according to the study by the National Center for State Courts (PDF). Trial-level supreme court judges in the…

May 30, 2007 12:27 PM CDT

Ex-Judge Jailed in Child-Support Case

A former Brooklyn judge has been jailed for failing to pay nearly $270,000 in child support. Reynold Mason, who was ousted from the bench for taking funds from a client’s escrow account, was led out of the Manhattan courtroom on Thursday in handcuffs, according to the Associated Press. He had…

May 29, 2007 5:36 PM CDT

Prison’s Dementia Unit a First

A New York prison is the first in the state, and possibly the nation, to create a unit for prisoners with dementia. The unit opened in October at Fishkill state prison, about 70 miles north of New York City, according to Associated Press. The average age of the inmates there…

May 29, 2007 1:05 PM CDT

N.Y. Court Upholds Change in Partner Payouts

In 2004, lawyers at Fish & Neave decided they needed to do something to stem the tide of partner defections and attract a suitable merger partner. By a majority vote, the firm decided to defer payouts of accrued income to departing partners until they reached age 65 or retirement, whichever…

May 9, 2007 1:04 PM CDT

NY Lawyer, Crushed by 300-Pound Fan, Sues Mets

A Manhattan attorney who says her back was broken when she was crushed by an apparently drunken and unruly 300-pound fan who fell on her at a New York Mets game has reportedly filed suit for unspecified damages. The suit filed by Ellen Massey, 58, names as defendants the baseball…

May 8, 2007 10:01 PM CDT