Tort Law

Appeals Court OKs $20M Legal Malpractice Case; ‘How Could They Have Gotten It So Wrong?’ Says Atty

A class action plaintiff who filed a legal malpractice suit contending that a California law firm improperly took some $20 million from a $134 million settlement is back in the ball game. The trial court erred in granting summary judgment to Girardi Keese, held the California Court of Appeal, Second…

Apr 30, 2011 12:11 AM CDT

Mike Tyson’s Tattoo Artist Sues Warner Bros., Says Studio Pirated Copy on Actor’s Face in New Movie

The artist who created an unusual tattoo on the left side of prizefighter Mike Tyson’s face has sued Warner Bros., contending that the studio pirated its work by putting the same tattoo on the face of an actor in its new movie The Hangover 2. S. Victor Whitmill says in…

Apr 29, 2011 11:44 PM CDT

Plaintiffs’ New Suit Claims Ex-Employer Clothing Co. Posted Their Nude Photos Online in Fake Website

Three women who previously sued their ex-employer for sexual harassment have filed a new suit in California state court claiming that they were impersonated online by American Apparel Inc. and chief executive Dov Charney in retaliation for their earlier claims. Plaintiffs Alyssa Ferguson, Tesa Lubans-Dehaven and Irene Morales allege in…

Apr 29, 2011 6:53 PM CDT

Katie Holmes Settles $50 Million Lawsuit with Tabloid Over Cover Story Hinting She Was a Drug Addict

Katie Holmes has resolved her $50 million defamation lawsuit centering on a Star magazine cover story conveying she was a drug addict. Holmes filed the suit against American Media Inc., Star magazine’s publisher, after it ran a January cover story shouting “Katie DRUG SHOCKER!,” the Hollywood Reporter says. Star released…

Apr 28, 2011 7:23 PM CDT

First Lawsuit Filed Over Sony PlayStation Data Breach Affecting Up to 75 Million Customers

After news yesterday that hackers may have obtained personal information, including credit card numbers, of up to 75 million Sony PlayStation Network customers comes news today of the first litigation over the incident. The Rothken Law Firm has filed a federal lawsuit in the Northern District of California on behalf…

Apr 27, 2011 8:09 PM CDT

Mom Sues After Stock Photo of Her Daughter Is Used on Anti-Abortion Billboard

A New Jersey mother says in a lawsuit that she had to explain the facts of life to her 6-year-old daughter after a stock photo of the girl appeared on an anti-abortion billboard aimed at African-Americans. The suit filed by mother Tricia Fraser says the group Life Always and its…

Apr 27, 2011 4:43 PM CDT

LSAC Settles with Blind Advocacy Group, Will Modify Law School Application Website

The U.S. Department of Justice has announced a settlement between an advocacy group for the blind and the Law School Admission Council, which has agreed to modify its website so that its Internet application process is accessible to those who cannot see. In a press release today, the DOJ discusses…

Apr 26, 2011 8:11 PM CDT

Mark Lanier ... Movie Star? Lawyer Plays Himself in Film Based on Antitrust Case

A Houston lawyer is getting positive reviews in a new movie in which he pretty much plays himself. Although based on an actual case, Puncture is “a loose conglomeration of several cases with plenty of Hollywood mixed in,” the trial lawyer tells the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, which links…

Apr 26, 2011 7:44 PM CDT

Foreclosure Is Upwardly Mobile: More of the Wealthy Lose High-End Vegas Homes

It isn’t just members of the working class who are struggling to stay on top of their mortgage payments. A growing number of multimillion-dollar homes in Las Vegas are in foreclosure or being marketed as short sales, in which the lender eats the difference between what was paid the last…

Apr 26, 2011 5:25 PM CDT

Appeals Court OKs Lawsuit Over Woman’s Alleged Web Deception Drama Involving 20 Fictional Personas

Extending the scope of a tort claim that has traditionally been asserted in a business setting, an Illinois appellate court has given the green light to a lawsuit over an alleged multiyear Internet-based deception in which the plaintiff says she was tricked into seeming romance and friendship with individuals who…

Apr 26, 2011 4:20 PM CDT

Apple Customers Sue over Location Data; Illinois AG Seeks More Information

Two Apple customers have sued the technology giant over its recording of location data on iPhones and iPads. The suit filed in federal court in Tampa on Friday claims the data violates the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, according to the Wired blog Gadget Lab. The suit claims the mobile…

Apr 26, 2011 12:04 PM CDT

Widow’s Suit Seeks Damages in Gold for Deaths of Husband and Son in Cop Shootout

A Florida widow has filed a lawsuit in the deaths of her son and husband in a police shootout that highlights her belief in the gold standard. The suit filed by Donna Lee Wray-Kane seeks $75,000 in damages for the deaths of her husband, Jerry Kane, and 16-year-old son, Joseph,…

Apr 22, 2011 3:09 PM CDT

Mattel Loses Latest Bratz Doll Trial, Owes MGA $88M, Possibly Trebled

A verdict has been reached by a federal jury in a copyright infringement case filed by Barbie manufacturer Mattel Inc. over MGA Entertainment’s popular Bratz dolls. In a major reversal of fortune for Mattel, which won a $100 million award in an earlier trial of the same case and had…

Apr 21, 2011 6:38 PM CDT

Chicago PR Firm Recommended Judicial Hellhole Defense in Pollution Suit, Judge Says

A public relations company advised its corporate client it could gain ground in a civil suit by playing up an Illinois county’s designation as a judicial hellhole by tort critics, a judge overseeing the case has revealed. Agribusiness company Syngenta is accused of polluting groundwater with weed killer containing atrazine…

Apr 21, 2011 2:35 PM CDT

Woman Sues Target and Law Firm re ‘False Affidavit Factory’ Allegedly Used in Consumer Debt Cases

A Pennsylvania woman has filed a federal suit against Target Corp. and the retailer’s law firm, Patenaude & Felix, alleging that she and other consumers have been harmed by a “false affidavit factory” they allegedly used to obtain robo-signed affidavits supporting debt-collection suits by a banking subsidiary. Vicki Higgins seeks…

Apr 20, 2011 11:21 PM CDT