Tort Law

Court Reinstates Suit by Lawyer Who Says She Caught Inmate’s Eye Infection

A court-appointed lawyer who says she caught her client’s serious eye infection will be allowed to pursue her lawsuit against the prison warden who released the inmate for trial. A Tennessee appeals court reinstated the suit by lawyer Lanis Karnes in a unanimous decision last Thursday, according to Jacksonsun.com. Karnes…

Sep 29, 2010 3:17 PM CDT

Woman Wins $75K for 1-Day Jail Stay + $25K for Strip Search in ID Theft Mix-Up

A Florida jury deliberated only about two hours before awarding a 32-year-old woman $100,000 for being jailed overnight in an identity-theft mix-up. Kimberly Shields Hesketh, 32, was arrested in 2002 on a Charlotte County warrant after a car thief stole her identity and violated probation. Although the mistake was clear…

Sep 28, 2010 10:01 PM CDT

Judge Cites ‘Egregious Breach’ of Ethics, Slashes Law Firm Fee from $12M to $500K

An antitrust class action over the fees charged to law graduates to take the BAR/BRI test preparation course for their bar exams was settled for $49 million in 2007. The settlement by West Publishing Corp., which owns BAR/BRI, resolved claims that it made a secret market-monopolization deal with Kaplan Inc.,…

Sep 28, 2010 8:11 PM CDT

‘Flurry of Lawsuits’ Accuse For-Profit Colleges of Misleading Students

A lawsuit claiming that Westwood College misled students about the value of a degree and their likely salaries after graduation is one of several suits filed against for-profit colleges after release of a critical government report. The Government Accountability Office report , released on Aug. 4, said 15 schools engaged…

Sep 28, 2010 2:02 PM CDT

Joe Jamail Is Richest Practicing Lawyer, But Not the Richest Law Grad

Houston litigator Joe Jamail is 269th on the Forbes 400 list, but he’s No. 1 in another category. With a net worth of $1.5 billion, he’s the nation’s richest practicing lawyer. The 84-year-old trial lawyer was his usual blustery self when Forbes interviewed him about his latest win on behalf…

Sep 28, 2010 12:18 PM CDT

Paris Hilton Settles ‘That’s Hot’ Lawsuit

Paris Hilton has settled her lawsuit against Hallmark for using her photograph and her trademarked catchphrase, “That’s hot.” Terms of the settlement are confidential, “but it’s believed Hilton walked away with a favorable package,” Reuters reports. The deal follows a ruling for Hilton last year by the San Francisco-based 9th…

Sep 27, 2010 1:18 PM CDT

Report: 6 Partners Exit Lytal Reiter With 1 Hour’s Notice

In a dramatic departure from South Florida plaintiffs firm Lytal Reiter Clark Fountain & Williams, six partners, headed by 25-year firm veteran Mark Clark, exited with only an hour’s notice, reports the Daily Business Review. The group, which includes two other name partners of their now-former firm, also took office…

Sep 24, 2010 9:08 PM CDT

Priest Abuse Cases Take ‘Fearsome Personal Toll’ on Plaintiffs’ Lawyers

Some lawyers who represented victims in priest abuse cases were so overwhelmed by the experience that they retired from law practice, saw their marriages fall apart and experienced psychological troubles. The Associated Press chronicles how the cases affected four lawyers who represented plaintiffs. “The sex scandal that rocked the nation’s…

Sep 24, 2010 2:33 PM CDT

Lawyer Sues Ex-Firm for Harassment, Cites Clothing-Optional ‘Modern Male Initiation’ Event

A personal injury lawyer has sued the California law firm at which he formerly worked, contending that his pay was at first cut and then eliminated after he refused pressure to attend a “New Warrior Training Adventure” outdoor weekend retreat. Plaintiff Steven Eggleston alleges that potential activities there which he…

Sep 23, 2010 7:47 PM CDT

Toyota Lawyer Drives Into Attorney, Loses $625K Case, Must Pay Her $125K Legal Bill + $5K for Appeal

It appears that attorney Granville Webster Burns simply didn’t see a fellow California lawyer when he drove into her as she was crossing a street on foot in Manhattan Beach. Burns, who works as an assistant general counsel for Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. and was driving a company-owned SUV,…

Sep 22, 2010 7:57 PM CDT

Maricopa County Supervisors Exchange Fire with Ogletree Deakins Over Sheriff’s Suits

Upping the ante in a hard-fought battle for control of Maricopa County, Ariz., that some observers fear has threatened the rule of law there, the county’s board of supervisors is reportedly expected to consider tomorrow whether to fire the private law firm that has been representing the sheriff’s office in…

Sep 21, 2010 11:12 PM CDT

Lawyer Pleads Guilty in $2.5M Theft Case; Failure to File Tax Returns Alerted Authorities

Alerted by a state office that a New York lawyer had failed to file tax returns, authorities in Erie County initiated an investigation that eventually led to a guilty plea today by now-suspended attorney Kenneth Bernas in a $2.5 million-plus case. He pleaded guilty in state court in Buffalo to…

Sep 21, 2010 8:13 PM CDT

Attorney Disciplined Over Real Estate Loan Made to Client, Pending Tort Case Recovery

A longtime Fort Collins practitioner with a hitherto unblemished ethical record has been put on probation by a disciplinary arm of the Colorado Supreme Court after making a loan to a client in a personal injury case at 18 percent interest. Although Erik Fischer said he felt he was doing…

Sep 21, 2010 2:49 PM CDT

Did Border Patrol Have Right to Deport Baby, a US Citizen, Over Citizen Mom’s Objections?

Updated: Deporting a baby, who happened to be a United States citizen, along with her undocumented Mexican father, despite frantic objections from her U.S. citizen mother, was hardly optimal, a federal appeals court said. But the majority opinion in a sharply divided panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit…

Sep 21, 2010 12:16 AM CDT

Wrongful Death Suit Against Ex-Partner Creates Document Dilemma for Arent Fox

Arent Fox doesn’t have any direct role in a $20 million wrongful death lawsuit filed against former partner Joseph Price by the widow of an attorney found slain at the Washington, D.C., townhome Price shared with two other men. But the civil litigation has created a document dilemma for the…

Sep 20, 2010 10:11 PM CDT