Tort Law

After a Cooling-Off Period for Jurors, Judge Declares Mistrial in Fosamax Case

A federal judge has declared a mistrial in a suit against the makers of Fosamax after jury deliberations turned contentious, resulting in shouting and a deadlock. Paul Strain, a lawyer for Fosamax maker Merck & Co., told the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) that the jury appeared to be leaning…

Sep 14, 2009 6:44 PM CDT

Ex-Client’s Bankruptcy Trustee Seeks $25M from Former Powell Goldstein Lawyers

Reviving a malpractice claim against attorneys at the former Powell Goldstein that could potentially cost as much as $25 million to $30 million if it is successful, a federal district court judge decided last month that an ex-client of the firm had not had enough opportunity to present its side…

Sep 14, 2009 6:32 PM CDT

Hulk Hogan Sues Lawyers Over $1M Bill, Says He Wasn’t Told About Insurance

Updated: Wrestling star Hulk Hogan has sued two Florida attorneys, contending that they charged more than $1 million to defend his son in an auto accident case and related matters at billable hourly rates of nearly $500 without telling him his auto insurance company would have paid for legal counsel…

Sep 14, 2009 5:37 PM CDT

UC Irvine to Pay Another $4.23M in Fertility Cases, Total Now Tops $24M

Two doctors at the center of a medical malpractice case have reportedly fled the country to avoid prosecution for allegedly stealing eggs and embryos from some female patients of a California fertility clinic and giving them to other patients. But the University of California at Irvine continues to settle claims…

Sep 11, 2009 9:10 PM CDT

Pfizer GC Loses Compliance Chief Role Under $2.3B Drug Marketing Settlement

The general counsel of Pfizer Inc. will no longer oversee the drug manufacter’s compliance program under the terms of a record-breaking $2.3 billion criminal and civil settlement by the company with the U.S. Department of Justice over allegations that it illegally marketed several drugs. Instead, a corporate integrity agreement (PDF)…

Sep 11, 2009 6:58 PM CDT

Major Plaintiffs Practice Opens in Calif., Joins Westward Move By Corporate Firms

A major plaintiff firm known for its work in securities class actions has opened a new office in California, establishing its first outpost beyond its 70-attorney headquarters in the suburban Philadelphia area. The new San Francisco office of Barroway Topaz Kessler Meltzer & Check will be headed by Ramzi Abadou,…

Sep 11, 2009 6:18 PM CDT

After Court Win, Lawyer Calls Suit Against Seinfeld’s Wife a Publicity Stunt

A federal judge has ruled that a cookbook written by Jerry Seinfeld’s wife didn’t copy another author’s book. Both cookbooks encouraged healthy eating by sneaking vegetables into children’s recipes. Plaintiff Missy Chase Lapine had claimed the cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld employs “brazen plagiarism.” U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain disagreed,…

Sep 11, 2009 12:23 PM CDT

Obama Offers Sketchy Details of Possible Med-Mal Tort Reform Experiments

In a speech yesterday on health care reform to a joint session of Congress, President Barack Obama offered few details of possible changes to medical malpractice laws that could accompany his proposal to implement a national health care program. And today White House aides offered only a little bit more…

Sep 10, 2009 9:51 PM CDT

K&L Gates Missed ‘Massive Fraud’; Its Probe of Co. a ‘Stunning Failure,’ Suit Says

The bankruptcy trustee overseeing the liquidation of Pennsylvania-based Le-Nature’s Inc. has sued the largest Pittsburgh-based law firm and a certified public accountant for malpractice, contending that the inadequate probe they conducted for the company’s board in 2003 failed to spot a “massive fraud” that came to a head in 2006.…

Sep 10, 2009 8:24 PM CDT

Pfizer Wins Injunction Banning N.Y. Man’s ‘Viva Viagra’ Missile Stunt

A federal judge has sided with Pfizer in an unusual trademark dispute over its erectile disfunction drug Viagra, granting a permanent injunction banning a New York man from towing a 25-foot missile replica emblazoned with “Viva Viagra” in front of the drug manufacturer’s Manhattan world headquarters. In addition to U.S.…

Sep 10, 2009 4:57 PM CDT

PI Law Firm Owes $1.5M for Phone Book Ads, Bankruptcy Petition Says

A Florida law firm with a name apparently designed for phone book advertising has filed for bankruptcy, listing $1.5 million in debt to companies that publish yellow pages directories. The personal injury firm, A Advocates & Attorneys, is an affiliate of the Kennedy Law Group in Tampa, whose president, Thomas…

Sep 10, 2009 2:53 PM CDT

Report of Shouting Jurors, Thrown Chair Spurs Fosamax Judge to Order Time Out

The Manhattan judge overseeing the first Fosamax federal product liability trial has ordered a cooling-off period after one lawyer reported hearing shouting from the jury room and a juror reportedly claimed someone threw a chair at her. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge John Keenan ordered jurors to take a day…

Sep 10, 2009 2:23 PM CDT

Bonfire Could Return to Texas A&M, Following $2.1M Settlement

A 1999 accident at Texas A&M University that killed 11 students and one graduate and injured dozens of others ended a 100-year-old campus football tradition known as Bonfire. But the fire, which grew to bigger and bigger heights before a 60-foot-high stack of logs under construction collapsed a decade ago,…

Sep 9, 2009 11:55 PM CDT

Client Sues Bryan Cave for $10M, Says Prenup Silent on Capital Gains Tax

A prominent Missouri businessman has sued Bryan Cave for malpractice in St. Louis County Circuit Court, contending that the firm and partner Lawrence Brody botched his prenuptial agreement by failing to address the issue of capital gains tax. Since a substantial portion of Donald Bryant’s assets were in a high-profile…

Sep 9, 2009 9:14 PM CDT

Parties in $27B Environmental Case Fight Video With Video

A 16-year-old class action against Chevron Corp. over some $27 billion of claimed environmental contamination in Ecuador hasn’t been decided yet. But it’s already generating headlines because of the company’s unusual litigation tactics. Now, as a documentary about the claimed damage to Ecuador’s Amazon region is about to debut in…

Sep 9, 2009 7:55 PM CDT