States

Vioxx Class Action Rejected

The New Jersey Supreme Court has refused to certify a nationwide class action against the company that makes the Vioxx painkiller, rejecting the plaintiffs’ efforts to prove losses through a “fraud on the market” theory. A superior court judge had granted class action status to the suit against Merck &…

Sep 6, 2007 3:32 PM CDT

$13.5 M Settlement in Nightclub Fire

Four companies sued in connection with a 2003 Rhode Island nightclub fire that killed 100 people have agreed to a $13.5 million settlement. A special master would determine how to distribute the money, the New York Times reports. About 300 plaintiffs are suing for injuries or deaths of family members…

Sep 6, 2007 2:45 PM CDT

MN Ruling Could Help Craig

A recent Minnesota appeals court ruling could help Sen. Larry Craig in efforts to withdraw his guilty plea for disorderly conduct. Craig’s lawyer has confirmed he will try to withdraw his plea, entered after he was accused of soliciting an undercover police officer for sex in a restroom at the…

Sep 6, 2007 2:33 PM CDT

Claim of Midnight Trip Delays Noriega Extradition

A federal judge has delayed the extradition of former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega to France following a defense claim that the government planned to sneak him out of the country to avoid further litigation. Noriega has served a U.S. sentence for narcotics trafficking and was awaiting extradition to France for…

Sep 6, 2007 12:44 PM CDT

Rigases Oppose Deloitte Settlement

Litigation over accounting firm Deloitte & Touche’s role in failing to detect accounting problems at Adelphia Communications is likely to continue, despite a $167.5 million settlement agreement. Adelphia has filed a motion in a Philadelphia court to discontinue its malpractice suit accusing Deloitte of failure to detect accounting problems at…

Sep 6, 2007 11:58 AM CDT

Malpractice Deadline Before CA High Court

During oral arguments yesterday, justices on the California Supreme Court appeared reluctant to extend the deadline for filing malpractice suits against law firms. The case has attracted amicus briefs arguing against extension from nine major law firms and two county bar associations, the Recorder reports. The plaintiff in the suit,…

Sep 6, 2007 11:20 AM CDT

Client Turns Tables on Firm in Fee Dispute

A Texas plaintiffs firm that sued to collect an attorney fee from a former client in a medical malpractice case won exactly nothing after a three-day jury trial. But a Tarrant County jury awarded the client $1.4 million last month on his counterclaim against the firm for intentional infliction of…

Sep 5, 2007 11:47 PM CDT

Sex With Client’s Mom Requires Waiver

It may be OK for a lawyer to have sex with a client’s mother—if the client approves the relationship in a written waiver of the conflict. But you can’t ethically have sex with the client, unless the relationship got started prior to the representation. That is the gist of a…

Sep 5, 2007 9:50 PM CDT

240 LA Court Interpreters Walk Out

Today was not a good day to be in Los Angeles County Superior Court with a case requiring an interpreter. Angry about skimpy pay increases since they became employees instead of independent contractors in 2005, some 240 court interpreters there went on strike today and did not show up for…

Sep 5, 2007 9:26 PM CDT

Arrest Warrant Issued for Donor Hsu

A California judge issued a warrant for the arrest of Democratic campaign donor Norman Hsu after he failed to show up for a court appearance today. Hsu’s lawyer, James Brosnahan, said he could not locate his client or his passport, the New York Times reports. “We do not know where…

Sep 5, 2007 6:19 PM CDT

Firm Survives 9/11 Attack, But Changes

It takes a lot today to create a crisis at Harris Beach. Its law offices at 2 World Trade Center were obliterated on Sept. 11, 2001, killing three lawyers, two staff members and a contractor supervising an almost-completed $4 million renovation project. Now, many among the more than 100 who…

Sep 5, 2007 6:16 PM CDT

Musician Shot in Deadly Force State

A Texas keyboardist who played in two rock groups was shot and killed by a frightened homeowner three days after a new state law took effect that expanded the rights of crime victims to use deadly force to protect themselves. Jeffrey Carter Albrecht, who played with Edie Brickell and the…

Sep 5, 2007 5:43 PM CDT

Joel Steinberg Wants $15 M Award Tossed

Disbarred lawyer Joel Steinberg, convicted of manslaughter for killing his adopted daughter with a blow to the head, is asking New York’s highest court to overturn a $15 million civil judgment against him. Six-year-old Lisa endured “at most, eight hours of pain and suffering,” Steinberg says in legal briefs filed…

Sep 5, 2007 3:47 PM CDT

Law Grad Acquitted, Relies on Polygraph

A judge’s decision to admit the results of a polygraph exam may have helped a law school graduate win acquittal Monday in an Ohio sexual battery case. Sahil Sharma had been charged for a sexual encounter with a woman after a wedding they attended in Cuyahoga Falls, the Cleveland Plain…

Sep 5, 2007 2:54 PM CDT

Dogged Argument Lands PD in Jail

A Washington, D.C., lawyer with the public defender’s office ended up in a holding cell last week after a heated argument with a judge. Judge John Bayly Jr. said he acted because the PD, Liyah Brown, argued over with him over whether her client was homeless—and kept on arguing even…

Sep 5, 2007 12:48 PM CDT