Tort Law

The Pre-emption Prescription

The FDA is claiming total responsibility for drug and medical device safety. Some think it’s a bad idea.

Nov 2, 2008 3:45 AM CST

Ex-LA Prosecutor’s $1.5M Award Axed; She Was the Problem, Appeals Panel Says

A California appeals court has overturned a $1.5 million discrimination verdict awarded to a former Los Angeles prosecutor. Lynn Magnandonovan claimed she was retaliated against by City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo and other supervisory employees before being wrongfully terminated in 2002, after she complained of sex discrimination and blew the whistle…

Oct 31, 2008 6:13 PM CDT

Legal Bill Battle Heats Up Over $1.7M Texas Arrest Settlement

Two brothers who contend the Texas lawyer who won them a $1.7 million settlement in a wrongful arrest case is overcharging them have taken the bill battle to the next level. After suing their former attorney, Lloyd Kelley, earlier this month, Erik and Sean Ibarra have complained to the state…

Oct 31, 2008 3:44 PM CDT

‘King of Torts’ Fred Baron Dies after Successful Quest for Experimental Drug

Dallas trial lawyer Fred Baron has died at the age of 61, two weeks after a successful quest to obtain an experimental drug to treat his cancer. Baron had multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow, the Associated Press reports. He was known as the “king of torts” for…

Oct 31, 2008 11:09 AM CDT

Ex-Partner May Plead in Fraud Case Over Alleged $30M La. Law Firm Theft

A news agency is reporting that James Perdigao, a former partner at a New Orleans law firm who is accused of fraud and money laundering concerning the $30 million he allegedly stole from an Adams and Reese trust account before repaying the money, is now expected to plead guilty. “Court…

Oct 30, 2008 4:24 PM CDT

Malpractice Suit against Orrick Goes to Trial

A lawyer for Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe defended the law firm’s transfer of a family business at a malpractice trial that began this week. Elliot Peters of Keker & Van Nest said plaintiff Fritzi Benesch wanted to undo the transfer of her clothing company, Fritzi California, after she learned of…

Oct 30, 2008 11:01 AM CDT

Dell Sued Over Claimed ‘Concrete’ Ceiling

Alleging that recent layoffs at Dell have unfairly targeted older workers and women, four former human resources managers there filed a federal class action suit today against the computer maker. They are seeking $500 million in damages in the Northern District of California action, arguing that each of the four…

Oct 29, 2008 10:28 PM CDT

Eliminating Guardrails Atop Elevator Saved $1K But Cost $2.17M

Saving $1,000 to $1,500 by not installing guardrails on top of a $1 million cargo elevator, as the original design called for, cost two elevator companies $2.17 million yesterday. That’s what a jury in Rock County, Wis., awarded the widow of a General Motors worker who died Oct. 30, 2003…

Oct 29, 2008 4:06 PM CDT

National Study Finds Modest Damages are the Norm in State Civil Cases

A new study appears to debunk tales of runaway civil trial damages, at least in most kinds of cases. The first national study of civil trials in state courts has found that civil plaintiffs who received monetary damages in 2005 received a median final award of only $28,000, according to…

Oct 28, 2008 8:30 PM CDT

Boy, 8, Dead in Uzi Firing Range Accident; Some Suggest Change in Law

An 8-year-old boy aiming a 9 mm Micro Uzi at a pumpkin on a Connecticut firing range Sunday accidentally shot himself instead as the submachine gun recoiled and he apparently lost control of it. The tragedy at a Westfield gun club has sparked calls for changes in state law, reports…

Oct 28, 2008 5:02 PM CDT

Los Angeles Law Firm to Pay $2.5M to Settle SonicBlue Malpractice Claim

A Los Angeles law firm has agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle a malpractice claim by the trustee representing creditors in the bankruptcy of electronics company SonicBlue. Levene, Neale, Bender, Rankin & Brill, the former counsel for the creditors committee, will pay $2.5 million and will not attempt to…

Oct 28, 2008 4:34 PM CDT

$125M Google Settlement Paves Way for Online Book Publishing

Google Inc. is proclaiming victory over its agreement to pay $125 million to settle copyright litigation by publishers and authors. The settlement, the Internet search engine giant says, will allow it to expand a book-scanning project and provide greater online access to tomes once available only in hard copy format,…

Oct 28, 2008 4:02 PM CDT

Judge Tells Chevron to Remove Sponsored Links to Website about Case

A federal judge in San Francisco has ordered Chevron to take down sponsored Google links to a website providing the company’s spin on an incident that resulted in the death of a Nigerian villager and a lawsuit under the Alien Tort Claims Act. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston had issued…

Oct 28, 2008 12:28 PM CDT

‘Hedge Fund Wives’ Sparks Sisters’ Copyright Spat

A society wife and her sister are gearing up for a court battle over who actually wrote the upcoming book, Hedge Fund Wives. Tatiana Boncompagni Hoover, a published author who is married to an heir to the vacuum cleaner fortune, says she did. But her sister, Natasha, who lives in…

Oct 27, 2008 9:58 PM CDT

Ex-Milberg Partner Gets 6 Months in Class Action Kickbacks Case

Developing: Doubling the three months recommended by prosecutors, a federal judge today sentenced a former name partner of the New York City-based law firm now known as Milberg to half a year in prison. David Bershad, 68, who cooperated with the government, got a six-month sentence from U.S. District Judge…

Oct 27, 2008 9:26 PM CDT