Tort Law

Pfizer to Pay Record $2.3B, Subsidiary to Plead to Felony in Drug Marketing Case

A $2.3 billion global settlement by Pfizer Inc. detailed by federal authorities today reportedly includes a number of record payments to resolve both a federal criminal probe and a pharmaceutical whistle-blower case. The case concerns the company’s alleged illegal off-label marketing of multiple drugs and related claimed Medicare/Medicaid fraud, according…

Sep 2, 2009 5:41 PM CDT

Reception Hosted by Trial Lawyers May Have Violated Ethics Law

A reception for lawmakers hosted by the New York State Trial Lawyers Association may have violated a state ethics law, according to a state commission. The bar group may have violated the law because of a December 2008 reception it hosted for lawmakers in Albany, according to the New York…

Sep 2, 2009 2:35 PM CDT

Hungry for Change

The feds consider a steady diet of stronger regulation to help fix the U.S. food safety network

Sep 2, 2009 4:30 AM CDT

The Wrath of Grapes

###106
The number of slip-and-fall cases filed since 2005 that blame errant grapes for the cause of the plaintiff’s injuries.

Sep 2, 2009 3:30 AM CDT

In Loco Parentis?

When offspring repay concern with contempt, some moms and dads might wish they had stand-ins

Sep 2, 2009 12:40 AM CDT

Nadel Receiver Sues Holland & Knight, Alleges Failure to Root Out Fraud

Holland & Knight is facing a malpractice suit filed on behalf of the court-appointed receiver trying to recover assets for investors who lost money to alleged Ponzi schemer Arthur Nadel. Receiver Burton Wiand received court approval to sue the law firm last month, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports. The suit (PDF),…

Sep 1, 2009 7:38 PM CDT

Medical Spas Face Increasing Litigation for Treatments Gone Wrong

Cosmetic procedures that cause scarring and other problems are prompting more lawsuits against medical spas. Many of the suits are for laser hair removal that causes burning, scarring and pain, the National Law Journal reports. In another suit, a North Carolina woman obtained a $500,000 judgment in January for a…

Sep 1, 2009 1:32 PM CDT

Paris Hilton Allowed to Sue Hallmark Over ‘That’s Hot’ Phrase

A federal appeals court has ruled Paris Hilton may sue Hallmark for using her photograph and her trademarked catchphrase, “That’s hot.” The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the card was not sufficiently transformative to merit protection from Hilton’s right of publicity claim, Reuters reports. The opinion…

Sep 1, 2009 12:23 PM CDT

Chevron Takes Pollution Case Bias Issue to Feds, Ecuador Officials—and YouTube

Accused by an indigenous group of contaminating the environment in the Amazon region decades ago, Chevron Corp. is fighting back with videotape allegedly showing the judge in the ongoing Ecuador case discussing his planned upcoming ruling in favor of the plaintiffs in October or November of this year. In addition…

Aug 31, 2009 11:04 PM CDT

Doc at VA Hospital Wins $10M in Libel Suit Against St. Petersburg Times

Hampered in its defense of a defamation suit by the death of its reporter, the St. Petersburg Times was hit with a libel judgment of more than $10 million on Friday. A four-woman, two-man Florida state-court jury awarded $5.1 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages to…

Aug 31, 2009 4:46 PM CDT

Ex-Toyota Lawyer Alleges Destruction of Evidence in Rollover Suits

The former managing counsel for Toyota Motor Sales USA has filed a lawsuit against his former employer alleging the automaker destroyed evidence in hundreds of rollover suits, leading to his mental breakdown and firing. The racketeering suit by Dimitrios Biller claims Toyota destroyed evidence in a “ruthless conspiracy” to keep…

Aug 31, 2009 1:43 PM CDT

Investors Sue Proskauer & Partner Over Alleged Conspiracy With Stanford

Investors who lost money in R. Allen Stanford’s alleged $7 billion Ponzi scheme run under the guise of a banking operation based in Antigua have reportedly filed a class action against Proskauer Rose and partner Thomas Sjoblom. Filed yesterday in federal court in Dallas, it alleges that the firm participated…

Aug 28, 2009 9:36 PM CDT

Ex-Judge’s Disability Pension Related to Winning $2.1M Libel Suit Is Rejected

A divided state retirement board voted 3-2 today to reject a former Massachusetts judge’s request for a disability pension because of diagnosed post-traumatic stress that he says is related to a series of 2002 newspaper articles. Former Superior Court Judge Ernest Murphy won a $2.1 million libel judgment against the…

Aug 28, 2009 9:10 PM CDT

Ex-Receptionist Sues Littler Over Alleged Lack of Bathroom Breaks

Updated: A former receptionist in a suburban Washington, D.C., office of a national labor and employment boutique has sued her ex-employer over an alleged lack of bathroom breaks. Plaintiff Rebecca Landrith contends in the D.C. Superior Court suit that the McLean, Va., office of Littler Mendelson had no formal policy…

Aug 28, 2009 6:42 PM CDT

Hard-Hit By Katrina, La. Hospital Workers Revised Health Rules

When the power failed at Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit four years ago, overworked physicians and staff isolated for days in the sweltering building without adequate supplies had to decide for themselves how to handle an emergency that was virtually unprecedented in the history of…

Aug 27, 2009 9:00 PM CDT