Tort Law

Sued after posting video of brawl with neighbor, law partner loses bid for SLAPP protection

The chief of Sedgwick’s cybersecurity practice has lost a round in personal litigation over a brawl with a neighbor. In an opinion last week that contained a “Reader Discretion Advised” disclaimer because of “an abundance of obscene language,” the California Court of Appeal, Second District, said partner John Stephens can’t…

May 3, 2016 6:15 AM CDT

SCOTUS to mull Federal Circuit refusal to apply top court’s copyright laches ruling in patent case

Does the same laches standard recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 2014 copyright infringement case also apply in a patent infringement case? In an en banc decision last year, a divided 6-5 panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit crafted its own hybrid…

May 2, 2016 2:00 PM CDT

Those who knowingly send texts that distract drivers could face liability in Pennsylvania

It isn’t just drivers who text behind the wheel who run the risk of accidents and expensive lawsuits. In an apparent case of first impression in the state, a ruling last month by a Pennsylvania judge says two men accused of texting a driver at the time of a fatal…

Apr 29, 2016 1:45 PM CDT

Investigator sued along with Northwestern University by exonerated ex-inmate files $20M countersuit

Sued for $40 million last year by an exonerated ex-inmate who claims he was coerced into making a false confession and framed, a private investigator has fired back with a lawsuit of his own. In a $20 million defamation countersuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Chicago, private investigator Paul…

Apr 29, 2016 12:10 PM CDT

Death caused by fall on display case wasn’t reasonably foreseeable, appeals court rules

Fatal injuries caused when a woman fainted and fell on a display case were not reasonably foreseeable, a Tennessee appeals court has ruled. In a decision (PDF) on Monday, the Court of Appeals of Tennessee at Knoxville affirmed dismissal of the premises liability suit, the Legal Profession Blog reports. The…

Apr 27, 2016 8:13 AM CDT

Judge indicates he will allow torture suit against psychologists who aided CIA

A federal judge in Spokane, Washington, has indicated he will allow a lawsuit filed against two psychologists accused of helping design a CIA interrogation program that included waterboarding. U.S. District Judge Justin Quackenbush said on Friday that he will deny a request to toss the suit by two psychologists who…

Apr 25, 2016 8:11 AM CDT

Ex-client sues firm for allegedly accepting credit card payment for bankruptcy legal fees

Updated: When Loyd Cadwell decided to file for bankruptcy, he allegedly paid legal fees to the Orlando, Florida-based KEL law firm in January using two credit cards. But that’s not allowed under bankruptcy law. So when Cadwell later decided to switch to another law firm, Jacksonville-based Mickler & Mickler noticed…

Apr 22, 2016 11:50 AM CDT

Trial date set for Sandy Hook lawsuit against gun companies

A Connecticut judge has set a tentative trial date for a lawsuit filed by families of victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting against the gun manufacturers that created the weapon used by the shooter. CNN reported that Judge Barbara Bellis of the Fairfield District Superior Court in Connecticut ruled…

Apr 20, 2016 11:00 AM CDT

Monitoring of my Twitter account showed racial bias, state lawyer says in labor complaint

A lawyer with the Oregon Department of Justice claims he was the victim of racial bias when co-workers investigated his tweets that used the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. Erious Johnson Jr. has filed a civil-rights complaint with the state labor department, along with a notice of intent to sue. Johnson is civil…

Apr 18, 2016 8:59 AM CDT

Lawyer is found liable for $200K for stabbing man in hotel lobby

Jurors in Minnesota have found a personal injury lawyer liable for $200,000 for stabbing a man with a steak knife in a hotel lobby. Jurors in Hennepin County found lawyer Michael Riehm liable for $200,000 for attacking Daniel Kerkinni at the W Minneapolis Hotel, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. A…

Apr 15, 2016 9:57 AM CDT

Imprisoned Pastafarian loses lawsuit; federal judge says ‘religion’ is in fact a parody

Arguments by Pastafarians that they are entitled by their religion to wear an upside-down spaghetti strainer on their heads for driver’s license photos have succeeded in several states and a number of foreign countries. But prison officials in Nebraska and a local federal judge are made of sterner stuff. In…

Apr 14, 2016 12:35 PM CDT

Lawsuit filed in US over intentional crash of German flight in French Alps

Lawyers for survivors of some of the 150 individuals who died when a co-pilot intentionally crashed a Germanwings flight in the French Alps last year have found a way to file suit over the incident in the United States. Investigators said privacy laws that allowed co-pilot Andreas Lubitz to conceal…

Apr 13, 2016 4:00 PM CDT

Lawyer sued for defamation over praise of rival real-estate broker wins at trial

A Florida lawyer has won a lawsuit claiming he defamed his first real-estate broker in a testimonial on behalf of a second broker that managed to sell his Boca Raton home. Jurors returned a defense verdict on behalf of lawyer Rick Felberbaum last week, the Daily Business Review (sub. req.)…

Apr 12, 2016 2:00 PM CDT

Dershowitz and victims’ rights lawyers drop dueling defamation claims

Retired Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz and two victims’ rights lawyers have settled dueling defamation claims stemming from allegations in a court filing that Dershowitz had sex with a minor. The lawyers announced the defamation settlement in a statement on Friday, report the Careerist, Above the Law, Reuters and Politico.…

Apr 12, 2016 6:15 AM CDT

Grandstanding motions could bring sanctions, judge warns in suit over lawyer ‘conflictineering’

A federal judge in Atlanta is warning litigants in a suit over a lawyer’s litigation tactics that they could face sanctions if they file court documents “for the purpose of harassment, intimidation or grandstanding.” U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten issued that warning in a March 31 order (PDF) allowing RICO…

Apr 11, 2016 5:45 AM CDT