Trials & Litigation

Bloomberg: Insurers Aren’t Paying Claims

Despite having had to cover Hurricane Katrina, the worst U.S. disaster in the history of insurance, carriers are earning record profits. One reason why is that many don’t pay claims to the extent promised in insurance policies, a news agency says. “Insurers often pay 30-60 percent of the cost of…

Aug 3, 2007 8:47 PM CDT

Judge OKs, Adds to Pedophile Injunction

Two Santa Clarita lawyers who sought an injunction to protect their daughters and other local children from associating with a self-admitted pedophile got everything they sought from a California judge today—and more. They had asked for a temporary restraining order to prevent Jack McClellan, a 45-year-old who admittedly is sexually…

Aug 3, 2007 7:15 PM CDT

Milberg Sued Over Kickback Claims

Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman is facing a lawsuit over allegations it paid kickbacks to plaintiffs to help it secure lead counsel status in securities class actions. The suit was filed by six class members in a number of securities suits in which Milberg Weiss served as lead counsel, the…

Aug 3, 2007 6:15 PM CDT

Agent’s CIA Years Top Secret

It’s well known that Valerie Wilson worked for the CIA; the information was published in a newspaper column and led to a high-level prosecution. And her length of service was published in the Congressional Record. But Wilson’s length of service is classified information, as is a court filing explaining why…

Aug 3, 2007 1:06 PM CDT

Final Likely Loss for ‘Pants’ Judge: His Job

An administrative law judge who became a target of international disapprobation after suing his neighborhood dry cleaners for $54 million over an allegedly botched dry-cleaning job that resulted in the loss of his suit trousers, is now poised to lose more than his pants and the case. It is becoming…

Aug 2, 2007 10:49 PM CDT

Taser Talks Tough, Settles Quietly

Taser International Inc. talks a tough game concerning its litigation strategy in cases brought over its controversial stun guns. “The word has gotten out: Taser doesn’t settle,” said the company’s general counsel, Doug Klint, in an April interview with Bloomberg. “Anyone who sues us is in for a fight.” But…

Aug 2, 2007 8:02 PM CDT

Famous Lawyer Defended Bridge Suit

Lawsuits following a major tragedy such as the Minneapolis bridge collapse aren’t considered all that unusual–unless one of the lawyers involved in the litigation turns out to be a future president of the United States. That was the scenario following the 1856 collapse of a wooden bridge connecting Rock Island,…

Aug 2, 2007 5:24 PM CDT

Injunction Sought for Admitted Pedophile

Jack McClellan has never even been arrested for a child sex offense, let alone convicted. But the 45-year-old California man, who appears to live largely in his car in the Santa Monica area, publicly proclaims his attraction to children, saying that he might act on it if it were legal…

Aug 2, 2007 3:37 PM CDT

Verdict Stands Despite Lawyer-Foreman

A New Jersey judge has found that a lawyer and state senator who served on a jury did not improperly influence his fellow jurors, despite what he said in an article about his experiences. Sen. Robert Martin wrote for the New Jersey Law Journal last December about serving as a…

Aug 2, 2007 12:34 PM CDT

Canada to Review Polygamy Ban?

In a case that could have an effect on United States law enforcement, a prominent Canadian criminal attorney serving as a special prosecutor has recommended that his country reconsider its ban on polygamy. Appointed in a British Columbia case involving a U.S.-based splinter Mormon group that has reportedly openly practiced…

Aug 1, 2007 11:47 PM CDT

Interest Wanes in $100 M Murder Trial

As the trial the man alleged to be Canada’s most prolific serial killer ever nears an end, after six months and at a cost of some $100 million (Canadian) dollars, spent on the case to date, folks are losing interest in it. And this is only the first of two…

Aug 1, 2007 10:22 PM CDT

Pakistan Prez, Top Judge Reconciling?

Four months after he sought to remove Pakistan’s top judge from the bench, the country’s president is now trying to get back on his good side. After a July 20 decision by the Pakistan Supreme Court that Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry had been improperly suspended in March and must…

Aug 1, 2007 6:31 PM CDT

CA Museum Returns Allegedly Stolen Art

Ending a long-standing dispute over the ownership of some of the most prized art works in its collection, the J.P. Getty Museum has agreed to return to the Italian government 40 antiquities illegally excavated and exported from that country. The draft agreement is still being finalized, but will return to…

Aug 1, 2007 5:42 PM CDT

New Standard Lets Weil Sue Mayer

A private equity firm’s selection of New York City bankruptcy powerhouse Weil Gotshal & Manges to handle a $245 million claim against Chicago-based Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw probably wouldn’t have been possible in the not-so-distant past. That’s because Weil likely would have been conflicted out of representing Thomas H.…

Aug 1, 2007 4:53 PM CDT

The Toughest Call

Lawyer’s life changed when he decided to keep a client’s confession confidential

Aug 1, 2007 8:34 AM CDT