Tort Law

Ex-DLA Piper partner caught in ‘churn that bill, baby!’ crossfire sues firm’s counsel

It’s been years since a litigated billing dispute between DLA Piper and a former client brought an embarrassing “churn that bill, baby!” comment in an internal law firm email to light. Although DLA Piper said the email was an offensive attempt at humor, the firm emphasized that there was, in…

Mar 24, 2016 12:15 PM CDT

Couple whose kidnapping claims were initially publicly called a hoax by police file defamation suit

A graduate of Harvard Law School was eventually charged in the kidnapping of Denise Huskins from her boyfriend’s Vallejo, California, home last year. But before Matthew Muller was identified as a suspect by way of a dropped cellphone found after a similar alleged kidnapping attempt occurred in another home, police…

Mar 23, 2016 11:35 AM CDT

ABA opposes federal medical-malpractice bill that caps pain-and-suffering damages

The ABA has sent a letter to the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee that opposes a medical-liability bill with caps on noneconomic damages. The ABA letter (PDF) to House Judiciary Committee chairman Bob Goodlatte says states have had the authority to determine medical liability law for 200 years, and…

Mar 23, 2016 11:11 AM CDT

Johnson & Johnson unit is settling cases over morcellators used in hysterectomies, lawyer says

A unit of Johnson & Johnson that sold laparoscopic power morcellators used to cut a woman’s uterus into small pieces that could be extracted through a tiny incision is settling cases over a number of hysterectomies, a plaintiff’s lawyer says. The problem is, if a woman has undetected cancer, the…

Mar 22, 2016 4:30 PM CDT

Judge OKs release of portions of Bill Cosby settlement files to plaintiffs in new suit

A former Temple University employee agreed to keep confidential the terms of a 2006 settlement with Bill Cosby of a lawsuit that alleged that the comedian sexually assaulted her. However, that pact shouldn’t prevent seven plaintiffs in new Massachusetts litigation against the entertainer from seeing some relevant information in a…

Mar 22, 2016 2:00 PM CDT

Lawyer’s suit seeks declaratory judgment that he shoved state treasurer in self-defense

An Arkansas lawyer has sued the state treasurer on his own behalf, seeking a declaratory judgment that he acted in self-defense when he shoved the official at a deposition in February for an earlier federal lawsuit. In his Monday suit, which was filed in Pulaski County Circuit Court, attorney Luther…

Mar 21, 2016 4:40 PM CDT

Suit says Starbucks underfilled lattes; company says customers told of ‘likelihood of variations’

Citing standard Starbucks cups that allegedly are too small to hold the advertised number of ounces, two California customers have filed suit against the company on behalf of themselves and fellow consumers. The complaint was filed last week in the Northern District of California. It alleges that “Starbucks lattes are…

Mar 21, 2016 4:15 PM CDT

With latest $22K sanction, attorney’s total for case tops $166K

A Chicago lawyer was ordered to pay $22,864 to a litigation opponent last week for pursuing a frivolous appeal. The sanction was not the first regarding attorney Dennis James Stolfo’s handling of a retaliatory discharge and defamation suit against Kindercare Learning Centers Inc. Including the latest $22,864, Stolfo has been…

Mar 21, 2016 1:55 PM CDT

Court says state AG can’t retain private law firm to pursue possible case against opioid makers

New Hampshire’s attorney general can’t simply hire a private law firm to pursue a potential case against pharmaceutical companies that market opioids, unless the governor and state lawmakers agree, a state-court judge ruled last week. However, Attorney General Joe Foster is mulling a possible appeal and Gov. Maggie Hassan also…

Mar 17, 2016 3:05 PM CDT

Suit claims Judge Judy’s ‘astronomical’ pay wiped out profits due company

A lawsuit filed on Monday claims a raise that boosted Judge Judy’s pay to $45 million in 2009 wiped out profits due to a company that is successor to the talent agency that created her show. The suit filed by Rebel Entertainment Partners against CBS and Big Ticket Television says…

Mar 17, 2016 1:47 PM CDT

Suit accuses DC federal judge of coerced sex; he says retirement is due to disability

The chief judge of the federal court in Washington, D.C., told the White House on Wednesday that he is retiring in a letter that didn’t mention allegations of coerced sex aired in a lawsuit filed the same day. U.S. District Judge Richard Roberts attributed his retirement decision to a permanent…

Mar 17, 2016 7:37 AM CDT

9th Circuit OKs dismissal of Jaycee Dugard suit over kidnapping by parolee who held her for 18 years

The government’s failure to supervise closely a paroled sex offender who held a kidnapping victim captive for 18 years behind his California home didn’t establish a cause of action, a federal appeals court has ruled. Plaintiff Jaycee Dugard, who is now 35, had contended in the suit against the federal…

Mar 16, 2016 4:00 PM CDT

Crowdfunded ‘Star Trek’ fan film violates Klingon language copyright, says lawsuit by major studios

Boldly going where no lawsuit has gone before, two movie studios are contending that a crowdfunded Star Trek fan film has violated copyright law by—among many other things—using the Klingon language. But the original complaint by Paramount Pictures Corp. and CBS Studios Inc. wasn’t detailed enough, Axanar Productions Inc. contended…

Mar 14, 2016 11:45 AM CDT

‘Blown off’ toilet by explosion from sewer work, woman claims physical injuries and PTSD

A Baltimore woman whose lawyer says she was “blown off” the toilet one day in November 2014 due to work that was being done on backed-up sewer lines is suing for damages. Angela Wright says she suffered physical injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder from the incident, which left both her…

Mar 11, 2016 4:00 PM CST

Nation’s largest youth football league settles suit over brain disease

The nation’s largest youth football league has settled a lawsuit that claimed that hits to the head from playing the game caused a degenerative brain disease that led a 25-year-old man to commit suicide. The Pop Warner organization settled for an undisclosed amount, report the New York Times and the…

Mar 11, 2016 6:15 AM CST