Tort Law

After Supreme Court Win Forcing Customers to Arbitrate, AT&T Now Sues to Stop the Arbitration

Victorious a few months ago before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that held customers were required by their phone contracts to arbitrate claims rather than sue, AT&T is now trying to put the genie back in the bottle. The telecommunications giant has filed suit in eight federal courts…

Aug 17, 2011 7:03 PM CDT

Fired Kasowitz First-Year Sues for $77M, Says Firm Didn’t Appreciate His ‘Superior Legal Mind’

A first-year associate fired by Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman in May after he emailed partners about his “superior legal mind” and asked for more responsibility has filed suit against the law firm seeking $77 million in damages. Gregory Berry, who says he started work at the firm last September…

Aug 16, 2011 10:37 PM CDT

‘Smoking Gun’ Letter Redacted By News of World Publisher Said Editors Knew of Phone Hacking in 2007

Updated: Contradicting claims by other News Corp. employees and even publisher Rupert Murdoch and his son James that they were unaware until later of alleged widespread telephone hacking at the News of the World, a former reporter for the British tabloid has contended in a letter that the intrusions were…

Aug 16, 2011 4:51 PM CDT

Lawsuit Claims Woman Ended Up in Hospital After Walk-In Bathtub Failed to Drain

A Western Illinois woman claims she ended up in a hospital and then a nursing home because of a mishap in her new walk-in bathtub that left her soaking for too long. The suit claims the woman, Anna Cullen, was stuck in the water for 30 hours, resulting in “significant…

Aug 16, 2011 1:06 PM CDT

Suits Claim Skechers Shape-ups Cause Injuries, Are Fraudulently Marketed

A Illinois woman is the latest plaintiff to file a suit claiming her Skechers Shape-ups are a dangerous product. The suit (PDF) was filed on behalf of Theresa Croak of suburban Chicago by Kentucky-based law firm Schachter, Hendy & Johnson, according to The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. Croak…

Aug 15, 2011 4:08 PM CDT

Plaintiffs Apparently Settle Suit Against Dr. Phil over Naked Man Appearance

Corrected: Two women who appeared on a Dr. Phil spinoff show have dropped their lawsuit claiming they were traumatized by the unexpected appearance of a naked man. Defense lawyer Kelli Sager refused to say whether the suit was settled, the Orange County Register reports. TMZ.com interprets Sager’s response as indicating…

Aug 12, 2011 2:43 PM CDT

Sedgwick Opens New DC Office with 14-Attorney Team From Wallace Partners

After opening a Seattle office last month, Sedgwick has now announced a new office in the nation’s capital. It will be staffed by a 14-attorney team from Wallace Partners, led by the firm’s managing partner, Rick Wallace, says a press release. Wallace specializes in the defense of products liability cases…

Aug 12, 2011 12:34 AM CDT

After Burn Injuries, Deaths, Lawsuits and a Recall, Some Push for Gel Fuel Ban

A seemingly ordinary product sold by home-supply retailers to keep patio lights burning can act like napalm, splashing into the air and onto people when spilled, fueling flash fires that are difficult to douse and causing injuries and deaths. Serious burn injuries and even deaths have been reported throughout the…

Aug 11, 2011 6:23 PM CDT

Indiana AG Sues Fla. Lawyer, Says Home-Loan Modification Business Operated Illegally

A Florida attorney has been sued by the Indiana attorney general over a home-loan modification business that the AG contends the lawyer is operating illegally in his state. In addition to the lawyer, Thomas Matevia, and his Legal Home Loan Solutions business, the AG has also named as defendants the…

Aug 11, 2011 3:43 PM CDT

School District May Be Liable for 4th Grade Student’s Sexual Assault, Court Rules

A school district may be liable for failing to protect a fourth-grade student from a sexual assault by a man who checked her out of school without authorization, a federal appeals court has held. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in an Aug. 5 ruling (PDF), said…

Aug 9, 2011 9:59 PM CDT

Embattled Widener Law Prof Suspended for 1 Year Without Pay, Ordered to Get Psychiatric Treatment

Twice exonerated by faculty panels of making racist and sexist statements, a Widener University law professor was, however, found by the second panel to have retaliated against the students who made the accusations against him. Now Lawrence Connell, who taught at the school for 26 years, has been suspended for…

Aug 9, 2011 2:46 PM CDT

Federal Med Mal Reform Will Help Reduce Deficit, Orszag Writes

Enacting federal medical malpractice reform can help the county improve its credit rating, former White House Office of Management and Budget director Peter R. Orszag wrote today in a column for Bloomberg View. Now chairman of global banking at Citi Group, Orszag strongly advocates reducing the deficit as a solution…

Aug 8, 2011 8:31 PM CDT

$10M Federal Wrongful Death Claim Over Hiker Gored By Mountain Goat in National Park

The survivors and estate of a hiker who bled to death soon after being gored by a monster 370-pound mountain goat in Olympic National Park last year are pursuing a $10 million wrongful death claim in federal court in Tacoma, Wash. They say park rangers should have acted more swiftly…

Aug 8, 2011 8:27 PM CDT

Blogger’s Lawyer Fires Back at Cooley, Calls Law School’s Suit ‘Abuse of the Legal System’

Responding to a lawsuit that seeks to unmask anonymous bloggers who have been criticizing the Thomas M. Cooley Law School, a lawyer for Rockstar05 says the school’s suit is an “abuse of the legal system” that disregards his client’s rights, reports the Detroit Free Press. Cooley hasn’t pointed to any…

Aug 8, 2011 6:16 PM CDT

Judge’s Sanction Banning Website Mention of Law Firm and Members Violated 1st Amendment

A California judge had the power to ban a San Diego woman from continuing to make statements online that had been found to be false and defamatory. But the trial court went too far, an appellate panel found, when it banned Maura Larkins, as a sanction for continued violation of…

Aug 8, 2011 4:25 PM CDT