Tort Law

Lawyer sued by Judge Judy over TV ads says stations urged him to participate

Sued by Judge Judy over alleged unauthorized use of the famed TV-show jurist’s likeness in a video clip, a Connecticut lawyer says he simply participated in an advertising program when asked to do so by local stations. John Haymond says he is a fan of Judy Scheindlin’s show and was…

Jul 14, 2014 5:55 PM CDT

Citi to pay $7B in latest settlement of US claims that sub-par mortgages caused financial crisis

A $7 billion pact with Citigroup is the latest announced settlement of claims by the U.S. that sub-par mortgages knowingly sold by banks to unwitting investors in the form of derivative products, including Citi’s securitized loans caused the financial crisis that began in 2008, The bank will pay $4 billion…

Jul 14, 2014 4:55 PM CDT

Firm sues ex-client over Yelp review that claims firm will ‘take everything you’ve got’

A Texas law firm has sued a former client over a negative Yelp review, posted after the firm sued the client for attorney fees. Grissom & Thompson claims in the June 24 lawsuit (PDF) that Austin resident Joseph Browning defamed the law firm with the May 9 review, Texas Lawyer…

Jul 14, 2014 11:15 AM CDT

Jury says Dodgers must pay $13.9M in Giants fan’s beating case

Although a jury found the Los Angeles Dodgers to be only partially responsible for a Giants fan’s 2011 beating in a stadium parking lot, that means the team must pay nearly $14 million. Team attorney Dana Fox said a Los Angeles jury’s determination Wednesday that the team was 25 percent…

Jul 10, 2014 3:55 PM CDT

Ex-client says law firm filed suit in wrong state, causing loss of $161M case

A former client has filed suit in Dallas against two Texas law firms and three attorneys, contending that earlier business litigation filed in the wrong state resulted in the loss of the $161 million underlying case. Target Strike Inc. alleges that the defendants should have filed suit in the computer…

Jul 8, 2014 10:20 PM CDT

Sleeping Yankees fan caught on camera sues for alleged defamation

A Yankees fan who was caught on camera napping at an April 13 game has filed a $10 million suit for alleged defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The suit filed on behalf of fan Andrew Robert Rector claims the ESPN announcers “unleashed [an] avalanche of disparaging words” about…

Jul 8, 2014 1:33 PM CDT

Well-known law firm sues prominent clients over alleged unpaid bill of nearly $6.4M

A well-known Chicago-based law firm filed suit last week against members of a prominent family and their corporate entities, contending that they racked up an unpaid legal bill of nearly $6.4 million in a real estate matter. Ungaretti & Harris says former Republican gubernatorial candidate Ronald Gidwitz and other members…

Jul 7, 2014 8:55 PM CDT

Contractor faces unusual manslaughter case concerning carbon monoxide deaths

A California contractor is facing an unusual manslaughter prosecution over work performed on a heating system. Authorities in Nevada County say two men died of carbon monoxide poisoning because contractor Kurt Schoemig didn’t pull a permit and his employees never completed their work after cutting heating system pipes at a…

Jul 7, 2014 3:55 PM CDT

Should insurance cover suit against law firm after staffer allegedly engineered a false arrest?

A law firm could face a double whammy if its insurer is successful in a declaratory judgment action filed in federal court in Las Vegas. Already, a former legal assistant at Lipson, Neilson, Cole, Seltzer & Garin is serving time for stalking, after allegedly setting up an opposing party for…

Jul 7, 2014 3:17 PM CDT

Prove GM fraud on court, if you can, bankruptcy judge tells lawyers in ignition-switch cases

Plaintiffs lawyers in dozens of cases filed against General Motors Co. over the diminished value of vehicles because of ignition-switch recalls have been arguing that a bankruptcy-court bar to such liability prior to 2009 should not apply. That’s because GM allegedly knew about the defect and didn’t disclose it to…

Jul 3, 2014 5:50 PM CDT

Goldman Sachs asks judge to order Google to delete email sent to wrong account

A contractor mistakenly sent “highly confidential brokerage account information” about Goldman Sachs Group Inc. clients to a stranger’s email account, and the famed investment banking firm has asked a New York state court to help get it back. In a court complaint filed Friday in Manhattan, Goldman Sachs said Google…

Jul 2, 2014 10:15 PM CDT

Walgreens employee fired for eating $1.39 bag of chips accepts $180K settlement

A diabetic woman fired after nearly 18 years on the job for eating a $1.39 bag of chips before she paid for it has accepted a $180,000 settlement of her disability discrimination claim. The settlement by Walgreens with Josefina Hernandez, 57, was announced Wednesday by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,…

Jul 2, 2014 9:30 PM CDT

Cooley Law School loses 6th Circuit defamation appeal

Dueling defamation suits by the Thomas M. Cooley Law School and a law firm that unsuccessfully sued over the school’s employment statistics have both been tossed out of court. Cooley filed the first defamation suit against lawyers David Anziska and Jesse Strauss and their then-law firm, Kurzon Strauss. The suit…

Jul 2, 2014 6:42 PM CDT

Law firm’s defamation suit against Cooley Law School is dismissed on jurisdictional grounds

Corrected and updated: A federal judge has dismissed a law firm’s dueling defamation suit against Thomas M. Cooley Law School, filed after Cooley accused firm partners of defamation. U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain of Manhattan dismissed the suit filed by the law firm Kurzon LLP, saying she had no…

Jul 2, 2014 11:14 AM CDT

Solo claims two law firms stole his website content, harming his Google search-result position

A solo practitioner from New Jersey claims in a lawsuit that content from his website ended up on the websites of two other law firms, harming his position in Google search results. The suit by lawyer Thomas Blauvelt says the purloined website information included computer code and Blauvelt’s own name,…

Jul 2, 2014 10:44 AM CDT