Tort Law

Fen-phen Lawyers Awarded $412M in Fees, Applauded for ‘Herculean Effort’

A federal judge has awarded $412 million in additional fees to lawyers who sued the maker of the fen-phen diet-drug on behalf of thousands of plaintiffs. Chief U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III of Philadelphia awarded the fees for more than 578,000 hours of work that he called “nothing short…

Apr 10, 2008 2:00 PM CDT

Lawyer Sanctioned for Filing ‘Frivolous’ Depo Distress Suit

A New Jersey judge has ordered a plaintiffs lawyer to pay $2,500 plus attorney fees for filing a frivolous lawsuit alleging his opponent’s deposition questions caused his client emotional distress. That suit was dismissed last fall, and in late March New Jersey Superior Court Judge Alfonse Cifelli ordered the sanctions…

Apr 9, 2008 11:05 AM CDT

Sex, Lies and Text Messages: Side Deal a Secret in $8.4M Pact, Detroit Lawyer Says

During a hearing that began today over a controversial $8.4 million settlement by the city of Detroit of police whistle-blower cases, a lawyer representing the mayor told the city council he had no ethical obligation to inform the governing body about a secret side deal about text messages between the…

Apr 8, 2008 10:44 PM CDT

Record $3M Settlement in Seattle Schools Sex-Abuse Case

Seattle Public Schools has agreed to pay $3.05 million to settle a case about two students molested by a former middle-school teacher whose behavior during a 20-year education career allegedly resulted in multiple complaints that weren’t properly investigated. The settlement reportedly is the highest ever agreed to by any school…

Apr 8, 2008 9:51 PM CDT

Grace Sets $3B Aside to Settle Asbestos Suits

After years of posturing, a bankruptcy and recently heated negotiation, W.R. Grace & Co. has announced it will settle all 112,000 lawsuits filed on behalf of individuals sickened or killed because of exposure to asbestos in the company’s vermiculite mine in Libby, Mont. Grace plans to create an irrevocable trust…

Apr 8, 2008 6:16 PM CDT

Med-Mal Plaintiffs’ Suit Against Their Own Expert Survives Appeal

A federal appeals court has refused to dismiss a lawsuit by medical malpractice plaintiffs who claim their expert witness breached his duty to them when he changed his mind. The parents of a woman who died after breast augmentation surgery claim their expert, anesthesiologist Barry Swerdlow, was the proximate cause…

Apr 7, 2008 1:33 PM CDT

Appeals Court Bars Class Action Against Makers of Light Cigarettes

A federal appeals court has tossed an $800 billion class-action lawsuit against the makers of light cigarettes. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said questions of whether plaintiffs relied on marketing that promoted light cigarettes as a safer alternative could not be resolved in a class action, the New…

Apr 4, 2008 3:49 PM CDT

Big Coal Co. Wins in Recusal Dustup; ABC Claims CEO Scuffled With Producer

The West Virginia Supreme Court has once again overturned a $50 million verdict against the nation’s fourth largest coal company, but that apparently didn’t stop the winning company’s chief executive officer from getting into a parking lot scuffle with an ABC producer. The state high court decided to rehear the…

Apr 4, 2008 1:28 PM CDT

Pet Food Suits Resolved in Global Settlement

Canadian pet food distributor Menu Foods has reached an agreement in principle to settle pet food lawsuits consolidated before a federal judge in New Jersey. Terms of the agreement won’t be disclosed until the agreement is finalized May 1, the New Jersey Law Journal reports. The suits say at least…

Apr 3, 2008 4:16 PM CDT

Dad’s Murder Spurred This Mich. Lawyer to Pursue Justice for Dancer’s Son

Michigan lawyer Norman Yatooma knows what it’s like to have a parent’s life cut short by murder. It was Yatooma’s experience losing his father, who was gunned down 15 years ago, that has fueled his desire to find out who killed Tamara Greene, the exotic dancer who is alleged to…

Apr 2, 2008 7:55 PM CDT

Court of Public Opinion Sways Wal-Mart in Battle Over Legal Winnings

A Missouri man, who lost a son in Iraq and whose wife suffers from debilitating memory loss because of an auto accident, couldn’t convince his wife’s former employer to back off its claim to the money the family recovered for her accident. At least not until his plight made prime-time…

Apr 2, 2008 6:52 PM CDT

The Lanier Law Firm, Known for PI Work, Opens IP Office

Plaintiffs lawyers, sensing opportunity for profit, are branching out into intellectual property litigation. The latest entrant in the field is the Texas-based Lanier Law Firm, known for its asbestos and Vioxx work, the Recorder reports. The firm has announced associate Christopher Banys is leaving Howrey to open a new IP…

Apr 2, 2008 3:45 PM CDT

Primed for Lead Paint Litigation

Key Rhode Island case may color the future of the tort of public nuisance

Apr 1, 2008 8:16 PM CDT

Tort Reform’s Human Touch

Cost-shifting statutes won’t cure America’s ailing tort system, and the time and attention spent on them is probably of little value. That’s what economics researchers Kevin McCabe and Laura Inglis found when they tested the effects of the English Rule and a California settlement rule in the human behavior lab.

Apr 1, 2008 4:20 PM CDT

Defamation Suit Over Realistic Fictional Character Allowed

A woman can sue novelist Haywood Smith for defamation based on allegations a hard-drinking, promiscuous character in his book bears a striking resemblance to the plaintiff, a Georgia appeals court has ruled. Plaintiff Vickie Stewart says she is not a promiscuous alcoholic, an atheist, or a “right-wing reactionary,” unlike the…

Apr 1, 2008 3:11 PM CDT