Tort Law

Woman Left Blind After Reaction to Pain Meds Wins $21M Verdict

A woman who says she was blinded and burned by a prescription pain medication has been awarded $21 million by a federal jury in New Hampshire. The plaintiff, Karen Bartlett, had claimed the anti-inflammatory drug sulindac had caused Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis, skin diseases that can cause death,…

Sep 9, 2010 4:19 PM CDT

Ex-Bodyguard’s Suit Accuses Britney Spears of Sexual Harassment

Updated: Britney Spears’ former bodyguard has accused her of sexual harassment in a lawsuit that claims she engaged in sex in front of him and invited him to her bedroom while she was naked. The suit by Fernando Flores claims Spears once exposed herself while bending over in a see-through…

Sep 9, 2010 1:42 PM CDT

BP Blames ‘Multiple Companies’ in New Report on Gulf Oil Disaster

A BP report blames decisions by “multiple companies and work teams” for the Gulf oil disaster. “No single factor caused the Macondo well tragedy,” the company says in a statement published by the Wall Street Journal. “Rather, a sequence of failures involving a number of different parties led to the…

Sep 8, 2010 11:31 AM CDT

As Former Top Exec Heads to Oracle, H-P Sues re Alleged Noncompete Breach

Hewlett-Packard didn’t want Mark Hurd to continue working there as chief executive office, following claimed expense account irregularities concerning a personal relationship with a female employee. But neither did the business computer and software manufacturer want Hurd to take a job as co-president of one of its biggest competitors, Oracle.…

Sep 7, 2010 10:40 PM CDT

Lawyer Files Defamation Suit Against Opposing Counsel in Teen Runaway Case

A lawyer who represented the Muslim parents of a teenage runaway last year in a high-profile case that captured the attention of Christian fundamentalists is now suing his opposing counsel for defamation. Attorney Omar Tarazi contends in a federal lawsuit filed Friday in Columbus, Ohio, that attorney John Stemberger, who…

Sep 7, 2010 9:15 PM CDT

Ex-Partners Sue Law Firm Managers for Surprise Closing of Their Office

Five former partners of a law firm based in Buffalo, N.Y., have sued the CEO and board of directors for closing their office in Florida, claiming the managers acted without an advance vote of the partnership. The suit by former Hodgson Russ partners in Boca Raton claims their rights under…

Sep 7, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

Lawyer Sues ‘Sex Object’ Ex-Client, Wins Ruling Requiring Him to Return Nude Photos of Judge

Accused of harassment by a former client in a civil suit, a Canadian lawyer has now fired back, contending that Alex Chapman breached the terms of a $25,000 settlement agreement in 2003 and has violated his privacy. Additionally, attorney Jack King also won a ruling yesterday from a Manitoba Court…

Sep 3, 2010 5:53 PM CDT

BP Tells Congress Drilling Moratorium Could Affect Spill Payouts

BP has warned Congress that it could have trouble funding its $20 billion oil spill compensation program if an offshore drilling moratorium is imposed. BP says a ban could affect both its restoration efforts and compensation programs, the New York Times reports. David Nagle, BP’s executive vice president for BP…

Sep 3, 2010 1:54 PM CDT

Lawyer Sues for $700K After His Arrest for Failing to Show ID in Courthouse

A Maryland lawyer in a hurry to file some briefs decided to take a stand when an officer at the appeals court in Annapolis asked to see his ID. Norman Christopher Usiak refused, the Baltimore Sun reports. His resulting arrest spurred Usiak to file a $700,000 lawsuit claiming false arrest,…

Sep 3, 2010 12:23 PM CDT

Suicide Attempt Survivor’s 39-Story Fall Destroys Muscle Car, But Owner Will Forgo Deductible Suit

A man who unsuccessfully attempted to commit suicide by reportedly jumping some 400 feet from a New York building totaled the 2008 Dodge Charger on which he landed feet-first, breaking both legs as he plunged through the roof and rear window. But in addition to miraculously surviving the approximately 39-story…

Sep 2, 2010 11:40 PM CDT

Did Lawyer Who Scored $11M Libel Win Sue & Serve Wrong Website?

A $11 million libel victory scored by a schoolteacher who allegedly was falsely accused online of both an affair with a football player and having two venereal diseases may not be a done deal. It appears that Sarah Jones’ lawyer sued and served another website with a similar-sounding name, rather…

Sep 2, 2010 9:36 PM CDT

Another Lawyer Sues Avvo Rating Site, Claims Its Practices Are ‘Beyond Unfair’

A Florida lawyer has sued the lawyer rating website Avvo, claiming it engages in “punitive, coercive and manipulative business practices” that are “beyond unfair.” St. Petersburg lawyer Larry Joe Davis Jr., a board-certified health lawyer who formerly worked as an associate at Foley & Lardner, says he learned he was…

Sep 2, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

‘Sex Object’ Ex-Client Sues His Ex-Lawyer, a Judge & Their Ex-Firm, as Jurist Steps Aside, for Now

Updated: After reporting yesterday the jaw-dropping details of an ex-client’s legal ethics complaint against his former divorce attorney and the lawyer’s wife, who is now a family court judge in Canada, CBC News reports that the man filed suit today against the lawyer, the judge and their former Winnipeg law…

Sep 1, 2010 11:12 PM CDT

Suit Claims Teen Died in Accident After Party at Home of Ex-Texas Chief Justice

The parents of a teen girl killed in a car accident last year claim in a lawsuit that she had been at a drinking party that night outside the home of former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Phillips. The suit claims Phillips and his wife were “were well aware…

Sep 1, 2010 12:06 PM CDT

Lawyer Contends ‘Jersey Shore’ Is a Criminal Enterprise

New Jersey lawyer Eugene Lavergne has filed three separate lawsuits that contend the MTV show Jersey Shore has the characteristics of a criminal enterprise. Lavergne is becoming the go-to lawyer for those wanting to sue the show, the Hollywood Reporter says. One of Lavergne’s clients, Stephen Izzo Jr., claims he…

Sep 1, 2010 11:40 AM CDT