Tort Law

PI Firm Sponsors Naked Bike Ride, Tells Participants ‘When You’re Naked, We’ve Got You Covered’

Apparently seeing a business opportunity as well as an opportunity to do good concerning a hugely popular annual naked bike ride in Portland, Ore., a personal injury firm with a partner who’s an avid cyclist is serving as a title sponsor of the event. Expected to attract perhaps as many…

Jun 8, 2011 8:31 PM CDT

Young Ex-Associate Sues Aussie BigLaw, Says She Was Fired After Involvement with Firm Solicitor

In a case that is making waves in Australia, a former female associate is going head-to-head with one of the country’s major law firms, contending that she was harassed and fired after becoming “romantically involved” with a Clayton Utz solicitor. In an ongoing lawsuit against the firm, Bridgette Styles alleges…

Jun 8, 2011 6:07 PM CDT

Appeals Court: Associate Can’t Seek Punitives from Law Firm That Allegedly Misled Him re Partnership

A former associate can’t seek punitive damages from a law firm that allegedly misstated his partnership potential for years to keep him working on an important case and then terminated him once it successfully concluded. Upholding today the trial court’s ruling on punitives, the New York Appellate Division for the…

Jun 7, 2011 11:40 PM CDT

Top NJ Court Says Bloggers May Not Qualify for State Shield Law Protection Against Revealing Sources

Not every “self-appointed newsperson” is a journalist, for the purpose of applying New Jersey’s shield law protecting journalists from revealing their sources, the state supreme court ruled today. Although a Washington state woman, Shellee Hale, who posted message board comments critical of Too Much Media, sought to apply the shield…

Jun 7, 2011 9:02 PM CDT

Tort Reform Advocate Makes Stock Bet on Wal-Mart Win in Supreme Court

Tort-reform advocate Ted Frank is so confident that the U.S. Supreme Court will scuttle a huge employee class action against Wal-Mart that he has put his own money on the line. Writing at PointofLaw.com, Frank says he has invested 10 percent of his net worth in call contracts that bet…

Jun 6, 2011 1:00 PM CDT

Suit Claims Lawyer Fired for Refusing to Trade Clients with Medical Clinic

A Kentucky lawyer claims in a lawsuit that his law firm directed him to trade clients with a chiropractor’s medical clinics and fired him when he refused. The allegations by former associate Anthony Gadlage about his firm, Winters & Yonker, are similar to those made in two lawsuits last year…

Jun 6, 2011 12:11 PM CDT

Rapping Lawyer’s Reality TV Misstep Replayed on YouTube

A rapping lawyer who was booed off the stage of America’s Got Talent remains a celebrity on YouTube. Tallahassee personal injury lawyer Jimmy Fasig accidentally stepped off the stage on Tuesday, landing in front of the judges below, the Tallahassee Democrat (sub. req.) reports. He is one of two performers…

Jun 2, 2011 10:51 AM CDT

Honigman Settles with Ex-Assistant Who Said She Injured Her Back While Wearing Required High Heels

A Detroit-based law firm has settled on undisclosed terms a federal discrimination lawsuit brought by a former executive assistant who alleged that she injured her back while wearing high heels Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn required of female employees, reports Crain’s Detroit Business. Denise Fitzhenry sued both the firm and…

Jun 1, 2011 9:35 PM CDT

ABA on Blind Applicant’s Suit: LSAT Isn’t Required; Law Schools Decide How to Weigh Any Test

In a written public statement responding to a federal lawsuit filed last week that accuses the American Bar Association of discriminating against those with visual impairments by requiring law school applicants to take an admission test that includes questions requiring the ability to diagram and demonstrate visual reasoning skills, the…

Jun 1, 2011 10:00 AM CDT

Librarian Who Sued Law Firm Over False Fire Alarm Arrest Seeks to Depose Defense Lawyer

Arrested for allegedly setting off a false fire alarm at Parker McKay on June 2, 2009, a former librarian sued the New Jersey Law firm and multiple other defendants last year contending that the incident involved retaliation for her prior complaints about her work schedule and pay. Now Sheila Ciemniecki…

May 31, 2011 5:54 PM CDT

Supreme Court Finds John Ashcroft Not Liable for Material Witness Arrest, Hits 9th Circuit

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against a former college football player who had claimed he was unconstitutionally held as a material witness in a terrorism probe after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The U.S. Supreme Court found no liability for former Attorney General John Ashcroft in an 8-0 opinion.…

May 31, 2011 3:28 PM CDT

Former Lawyers for Courtney Love Claim She Libeled Them in a Tweet

Courtney Love is facing a second libel lawsuit over a tweet. This time the suit was filed by former lawyers for the rocker, report the Wrap and the Hollywood Reporter’s Hollywood, Esq. Lawyers Frederic Gordon and Rhonda Holmes of San Diego say they had been hired to represent Love to…

May 27, 2011 11:36 AM CDT

3rd Circuit Says Lawyers’ Involvement in ‘Crude’ Film Wasn’t a Subject-Matter Privilege Waiver

By allowing a filmmaker access to attorney-client meetings for his Crude documentary about a megabucks environmental case in Ecuador, lawyers for the plaintiffs did not create a subject-matter waiver for all privileged communications, a federal appeals court has ruled. Reversing a lower court decision that the attorneys involved would have…

May 27, 2011 12:01 AM CDT

SEC Nixes Rule Requiring Whistle-Blowers Seeking Big Bucks to Start with Internal Corp. Complaint

Updated: In a 3-2 vote today, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nixed an effort to require whistle-blowers to complain directly to corporations before initiating enforcement action. Rejecting an appeal seeking to require whistle-blowers to go first to internal compliance entities, the SEC said incentives to report wrongdoing directly to…

May 25, 2011 7:15 PM CDT

Molested Teen Awarded $15M in Suit Against Antitrust Lawyer in Prison for the Assault

A Minneapolis judge has awarded a teenage boy $15 million in a civil lawsuit against the once-prominent lawyer he accused of sexually assaulting him. Judge Denise Reilly ordered former antitrust lawyer Aaron Biber to pay $10 million in punitive damages and $5 million for assault, battery and emotional distress, the…

May 25, 2011 3:40 PM CDT