Tort Law

Lawyer, 71, Awaits Trial in Record Alleged $2M Theft as Guardian for Disabled Veterans

Some disabled veterans reportedly have been shorted on living expenses, as a result of a claimed record-breaking guardianship theft by a Texas lawyer. Responsible for overseeing funds of some veterans for decades, attorney Joe Phillips, 71, allegedly evaded detection for years with the help of doctored records even though his…

Nov 10, 2010 1:13 AM CST

Prince’s Case Is About Alleged Overcharges by His Lawyers, Not Sex or Harem, Judge Says

Limiting the evidence that can be introduced in an ongoing trial over alleged overcharging by the prince of Brunei’s lawyers, a New York judge today nixed as inadmissible both life-size statues of Prince Jefri Bolkiah having sex with a girlfriend and information about his many wives and harem, reports the…

Nov 9, 2010 8:33 PM CST

AT&T Case to Be Argued Today Could Doom Class Actions

The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing a case today that could “end class-action litigation in America as we know it,” according to a law professor who studies the subject. Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, Vanderbilt law professor Brian Fitzpatrick says the case has a low profile, but it could…

Nov 9, 2010 3:07 PM CST

Nancy Grace Settles Suit Over Alleged Show-Related Suicide for $200K Trust Fund

Talk show host Nancy Grace and CNN have settled a suit brought by the family of a young woman who committed suicide in 2006 after being aggressively interviewed by Grace about the then-recent disappearance of her 2-year-old son from her home. Melinda Duckett, 21, shot herself on the day the…

Nov 8, 2010 11:29 PM CST

Suit Claims Keyless Ignition Is to Blame for Lawyer’s Death

A lawsuit filed in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y., claims Toyota is to blame for the carbon monoxide death of a 79-year-old lawyer and the brain injury of his companion. Ernest Codelia Jr. was still practicing law in the Bronx when he died in February 2009, the New York Daily…

Nov 8, 2010 4:09 PM CST

Lawyer Sues for Humiliation and Lost Business Due to Misspelled Yellowbook Ad

A South Dakota lawyer claims in a lawsuit that a misspelled Yellowbook ad will drive would-be clients away from his law firm. The half-page ad for Sioux Falls lawyer Manny de Castro reads, “The Trial Lawyer Fighting For Your Justics,” the Argus Leader reports. De Castro’s suit says he shouldn’t…

Nov 8, 2010 2:26 PM CST

Ex-Baron & Budd Attorney Who Became an $8.8M Man Has Settled Suit Against the Law Firm

After winning an $8.8 million jury verdict against his former law firm earlier this year, an ex-lawyer of Baron & Budd has settled the suit. Plaintiff Gary Cruciani and defendants Baron & Budd and Russell Budd have concluded the contentious litigation with an agreed motion for a new trial, which…

Nov 5, 2010 5:22 PM CDT

2nd Circuit Tosses Elderly Woman’s Hot Tea Lawsuit

An elderly woman who was burned when she spilled her Starbucks tea as she tried to open the lid won’t be able to pursue her $3 million lawsuit due to a federal appeals court ruling. Rachel Moltner had contended the tea was in a double cup that changed the center…

Nov 5, 2010 2:40 PM CDT

US Law Doesn’t Bar ‘Rendition Operations,’ CIA Lawyer Says in Law Review Article

U.S. laws don’t prevent the government from forcibly transferring terrorism suspects to third countries, even when they could be subjected to torture there, a CIA lawyer says. CIA assistant general counsel Daniel Pines defends the legality of “rendition operations” in an article that will be published in the Loyola University…

Nov 5, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

In 3rd Music-Download Trial Replay, Minn. Woman Is Hit with $1.5M Verdict; $62,500 Per Song

As the Bill Murray character experienced in the movie Groundhog Day, those who can’t seem to get it right may have to relive the same day again and again until they do. For a Minnesota woman, that has been happening in real life in a music-downloading lawsuit. In the third…

Nov 4, 2010 4:59 PM CDT

Supreme Court Could Deadlock in Seat-Belt Pre-emption Case

The U.S. Supreme Court could deadlock 4-4 in a case that asks whether car makers are shielded from product liability lawsuits for injuries caused by lap-only seat belts. Justice Elena Kagan is not participating in the case, which considers whether suits are pre-empted by federal regulations, according to the Associated…

Nov 4, 2010 3:38 PM CDT

Estate of Slain Gun-Rights Advocate Loses $1M Suit Over Brief Loss of Concealed-Carry Permit

Saying that concealed-carry regulations have traditionally been recognized as valid under the Second Amendment, a federal district court in central Pennsylvania has dismissed a federal lawsuit against a local sheriff in the Harrisburg area. The suit was brought by a woman whose concealed-carry permit was temporarily lifted after she took…

Nov 3, 2010 9:04 PM CDT

Judge Sues Lawyer for Defamation, Says Ethics Complaint E-Mailed to Over 100, Then Wins Re-election

An already-contentious relationship between a Texas judge and a number of his colleagues on the bench likely has not improved since yesterday’s general election. According to unofficial election results for Dallas County (see page 9), incumbent Judge Carlos Cortez of the 44th Judicial District has edged out his Republican challenger,…

Nov 3, 2010 8:24 PM CDT

Partner Fired for ‘Abject Laziness’ Had No Meaningful Caseload for Nearly 10 Years, Filing Contends

Firing back in response to a $7 million lawsuit over a partner’s removal, the managing partner of three New York law firms says in a court filing that he ousted his own brother from a partnership in the three firms due to his “abject laziness” and “flagrant acts of disloyalty,”…

Nov 3, 2010 7:17 PM CDT

Class Action Partner Sues Over Price of Delta Airline Ticket Sold to His Wife, Seeks Punitives

When a Delta Airlines representative sold a $3,000 coach ticket to Israel to Susan Izard and then allegedly admitted, later in the same conversation, that a business-class ticket could have been purchased for several hundred dollars less, she apparently didn’t know who she was dealing with. Izard is the wife…

Nov 3, 2010 5:41 PM CDT