Tort Law

Did Ropes & Gray retaliate by giving info to Above the Law about ex-associate’s discrimination case?

A discrimination case brought by a former associate against Ropes & Gray is headed to trial next month. Among the questions to be answered by a federal court in Boston, the National Law Journal reports: Did the law firm retaliate against John Ray III by providing information about his Equal…

Oct 16, 2013 9:05 PM CDT

Racketeering case filed by Chevron against lawyer who won $18B enviro award goes to trial

Having won an $18 billion environmental judgment against a deep-pockets corporate defendant after nearly two decades of litigation, attorney Steven Donziger, one might think, would be living high on the hog. Instead, the Harvard Law School graduate is a defendant in a civil racketeering trial brought by Chevron Corp. Trial…

Oct 16, 2013 7:10 PM CDT

Harper Lee sues hometown museum, claims trademark and cybersquatting violations

The author of To Kill a Mockingbird has sued a museum in her Alabama hometown, accusing it of violating her trademarks and right of publicity. The Hollywood Reporter has news of the suit filed by Harper Lee, 87, who is in an assisted living facility after suffering a stroke. Because…

Oct 16, 2013 1:59 PM CDT

Toyota found not liable in acceleration case

Los Angeles jurors ruled for Toyota in a suit that had claimed a design defect in a 2006 Camry made it impossible to stop after being struck by another car. The Camry driver, Noriko Uno, died in the accident. While jurors cleared Toyota, they did award $10 million in damages…

Oct 11, 2013 1:41 PM CDT

Suit says those with most United frequent flier miles pay more for redeemed hotels and flights

Those with the most frequent flier miles in their United Airlines accounts are charged higher redemption rates for hotels and flights, contends a lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in New Jersey. Seeking class action status, plaintiffs Robert Gordon and Melissa Chan said they found out about the double-standard when…

Oct 10, 2013 6:45 PM CDT

How to be a boss | More hot coffee lawsuits on horizon?

Corrected: The LexisNexis offer of six free months of LexisNexis Firm Manager described at Robert Ambrogi’s Lawsites and announced at the ABA GPSolo fall conference is not a member benefit and is not endorsed by, or offered in cooperation with the ABA or the ABA GPSolo fall conference. The ABA…

Oct 4, 2013 1:29 PM CDT

In a victory for BP, 5th Circuit tells judge to re-evaluate oil-spill payout formula

BP’s complaints that undeserving claimants were winning oil-spill payouts will get a new look as a result of a federal appeals court ruling. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday ordered a lower court judge to reconsider the formula used to measure potential economic loss suffered…

Oct 4, 2013 11:20 AM CDT

Despite defense verdict in Michael Jackson case, entertainment execs ponder potential liability

Despite a defense verdict Wednesday in the Michael Jackson wrongful death case, entertainment industry executives aren’t breathing a sigh of relief. The case—in which a concert promoter would have found itself facing a potential verdict of $1 billion or more if had the jury sided with the plaintiffs—is prompting soul-searching…

Oct 3, 2013 9:15 PM CDT

Litigant accused of carrying on vendetta against lawyer loses appeal over $1M default judgment

A federal appeals court has upheld a $1 million default judgment obtained by a New Jersey lawyer who claimed an opposing litigant disseminated false information about him and interfered with his business as part of an ongoing vendetta. Lawyer Bruce Baldinger of Morristown, N.J., had claimed Matteo Patisso, of Huntington…

Oct 3, 2013 11:09 AM CDT

Defense verdict reached in Michael Jackson wrongful death case: No award to singer’s survivors

Updated: A Los Angeles jury has reached a verdict in the wrongful death case filed by Michael Jackson’s family against the concert promoter that paid the salary of the personal physician convicted of involuntary manslaughter for giving him a potent intravenous anesthetic. Announced at approximately 3:35 p.m., California time, on…

Oct 2, 2013 10:25 PM CDT

Couple sues indicted judge in state and federal court

A West Virginia judge who was previously indicted on accusations that he tried to prosecute his secretary’s husband for fictitious crimes is now facing new troubles. Kim and Robert Woodruff sued Mingo Circuit Judge Michael Thornsbury on Monday in state and federal court, respectively, the Charleston Daily Mail reports. Other…

Oct 1, 2013 9:20 PM CDT

Salvage company that lost $600M sunken ship case must pay $1M to Spain for ‘abusive litigation’

First, a Florida-based marine salvage company lost a lawsuit over $600 million of sunken treasure it found in 2007 in a Spanish vessel that was shipwrecked more than 200 years earlier. Now Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. has been ordered by a federal judge to pay $1 million to the Kingdom…

Sep 30, 2013 10:45 PM CDT

Cooley Law defamation suit against law firm and bloggers critical of its job stats is nixed by judge

A federal judge has nixed a defamation suit filed by Thomas M. Cooley Law School against a law firm and bloggers who criticized the institution’s portrayal of its graduates’ employment statistics. Finding that the law school is, at minimum, a limited-purpose public figure, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Jonker on…

Sep 30, 2013 10:33 PM CDT

Jury mulls Michael Jackson case, as lawyer for family complains of defense counsel ‘smugness’

Updated: After months at trial, a California jury is now in the initial stages of considering a potential blockbuster wrongful death case over the demise of pop superstar Michael Jackson. The six-man, six-woman panel spent two hours in deliberation Thursday and another five hours Friday, and will resume their consideration…

Sep 30, 2013 6:49 PM CDT

Federal judges increasingly tap special masters to handle pretrial morass in complex cases

It’s not just law firms that are outsourcing some of their work. Overburdened federal judges are increasingly appointing special masters to help with the pretrial work in complex cases. The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) has a story on the trend. Though there is “scant” data on the exact number…

Sep 30, 2013 6:27 PM CDT