States

Violent Femmes Bassist Blisters Over Royalties

The ’80s American folk-punk band known widely for its song “Blister in the Sun” is now embroiled in litigation. Violent Femmes bassist Brian Ritchie has filed a federal suit in New York against the band’s lead singer Gordon Gano, accusing him of failing to pay a fair share of royalties,…

Aug 16, 2007 4:28 PM CDT

Paris Hilton & Mel Gibson Protection Act?

A bill being considered in the California legislature attempts to regulate checkbook journalism and private investigators who pay for confidential information. The legislation, AB 920, would make it a misdemeanor for law enforcement personnel and court employees to profit by releasing confidential information or permitting photographs of a person in…

Aug 16, 2007 4:08 PM CDT

Bailiff Tells of Judge’s Shooting Remarks

The ex-bailiff for controversial Las Vegas Judge Elizabeth Halverson testified that she frequently asked him to shoot her husband, according to recently released transcripts. Johnnie Jordan said Halverson often made the remarks in front her husband, an ex-felon she called “evil Ed,” the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. But her spouse…

Aug 16, 2007 2:54 PM CDT

NY Subpoenas Study-Abroad Agencies

The New York Attorney General’s office is investigating whether study-abroad agencies pay cash or other incentives to universities. Lawyer Benjamin Lawsky told the New York Times that the office has issued five subpoenas to study-abroad providers, the first of several to come. The probe follows disclosures that some study-abroad agencies…

Aug 16, 2007 1:38 PM CDT

Lender’s Bounced Checks Create Lawyer Havoc

A mortgage company that went belly-up has left Atlanta-area lawyers digging into their own pockets to cover escrow losses. HomeBanc Mortgage Corp. may have issued as much as $20 million in bounced checks on July 30 and 31 before it filed for bankruptcy, according to the Fulton County Daily Report.…

Aug 16, 2007 12:31 PM CDT

Client’s Ignorance Tolls Legal Malpractice Deadline

A six-year statute of limitations isn’t stopping a disgruntled divorce client from suing her lawyer for malpractice almost 10 years after the initial alimony settlement. A New Jersey appeals court has ruled that the limitations period didn’t begin to run until the client learned from another lawyer that she might…

Aug 16, 2007 12:09 PM CDT

$81.5 M in Fees Approved

Plaintiffs attorneys were awarded about $81.5 million in attorney fees yesterday following settlement of a case that alleged price fixing of DRAM computer chips. The money will be split among some 40 firms that worked on the case, In Re Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) Litigation, the Recorder reports. The…

Aug 16, 2007 11:54 AM CDT

NY Gun Suit Survives

A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the city of New York that claims 15 out-of-state gun sellers engage in retail practices that lead to illegal gun use. U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein of Brooklyn rejected defendants’ argument that the court did not have personal jurisdiction…

Aug 16, 2007 11:35 AM CDT

Great Expectations: Law Clan in 14-Year Estate Battle

Corrected: When Walter L. Green died in 1993, the prominent Prince George’s County jurist, lawyer and businessman left an estate variously estimated as worth between $17 million and $30 million, as well as a detailed 10-page will explaining how to divide it. The basic plan, however, wasn’t particularly complex: after…

Aug 15, 2007 10:57 PM CDT

Gov’t Atty to Put ‘White Hat’ on Targets

A soon-to-be-former New York government regulator plans to switch sides and serve as a consultant helping those targeted by such probes to don a “white hat” and work cooperatively with the federal, state and/or local agency involved. David M. Grandeau, a lawyer known as an aggressive state lobbying regulator, will…

Aug 15, 2007 10:28 PM CDT

Top Va. Tech Payment: $180k Per Death

Settlement amounts were announced today in a plan to compensate victims of the April massacre at Virginia Tech and their estates. Families of the 32 students and faculty shot to death by a troubled student will each be offered $180,000 under the plan, which is funded by donations, according to…

Aug 15, 2007 9:53 PM CDT

Classic Exam Question in Benoit Case: Who Died When?

Most lawyers probably remember a case or two from law school that dealt with the issue of short-term survivors. Estate attorneys often address it by drafting wills that require a brief period of survivorship (perhaps as little as 48 hours or as much as a month) before a beneficiary can…

Aug 15, 2007 9:08 PM CDT

Lawyer Attacks Pit Bulls, Saves Woman

When Paul Geller spotted two pit bulls attacking a pregnant woman walking her small dog in Delray Beach, Fla., this past weekend, he didn’t hesitate. Pulling over to the side of the road, the 39-year-old plaintiffs securities litigator warned his 8-year-old son not to try this himself and then leaped…

Aug 15, 2007 8:05 PM CDT

Hard Job Hunt, $40-$70 K, for ‘07 Grads

Competition for graduates of the nation’s biggest and best-known law schools has driven starting salaries at some major firms well over $150,000 and prompted whispers of a once-unthinkable $200,000 at some point in the foreseeable future. But legal job-market reality is much different for the vast majority of those with…

Aug 15, 2007 7:19 PM CDT

FL Fights for Internal State Farm Docs

A battle between Florida regulators and the state’s biggest property insurer is capturing the attention of lawyers there and elsewhere, because of what’s really at issue. Property insurance rate-setting is the official topic. But attorneys on both sides are waiting to see whether State Farm, a Bloomington, Ill.-based insurer, has…

Aug 15, 2007 5:26 PM CDT