Verdicts & Settlements

Federal judge nixes appeal bond for former Virginia governor sentenced to 2 years

A federal judge has refused to OK an appeal bond for a former Virginia governor sentenced last week to two years for trading the influence of his office for gifts, loans and perks. That means Robert “Bob” McDonnell, who also served as the state’s attorney general, could be imprisoned on…

Jan 13, 2015 10:50 AM CST

Lawyer doesn’t have to turn over Aaron Hernandez cellphone in murder case, top state court says

As jury selection continues in one Massachusetts murder case against Aaron Hernandez, the state’s top court has agreed with defense lawyers that the former New England Patriots star is not required to turn over cellphone evidence in a second murder case. Because Hernandez gave the cellphone to one of his…

Jan 12, 2015 2:55 PM CST

Federal judge sanctions prosecutor’s office for bad faith in police misconduct case

A federal judge has sanctioned a former assistant state prosecutor and her office for bad faith in connection with a Chicago police misconduct case. At issue were files maintained by the Cook County state’s attorney’s office concerning misdemeanor arrests of a Chicago man that he and his lawyer sought to…

Jan 12, 2015 1:50 PM CST

Former judge pleads guilty, admits taking bribe to cut jury verdict from $5.2M to $1M

A former Arkansas judge waived indictment and pleaded guilty Friday to a federal criminal information (PDF) charging him with accepting a bribe for reducing a nursing home negligence verdict from $5.2 million to $1 million. Michael A. Maggio, 53, admitted being “improperly influenced” in the nursing home case by campaign…

Jan 12, 2015 12:05 PM CST

Akerman Senterfitt settles FDIC suit in bank failure

Akerman Senterfitt has agreed to pay $250,000 to settle a suit by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. claiming negligence in the law firm’s representation of a failed Florida bank. The FDIC had claimed the law firm and two of its lawyers failed to secure the Peninsula Bank of Englewood’s interest…

Jan 12, 2015 8:38 AM CST

Debt buyer will seek to vacate 4,500 judgments, pay $675K to settle AG suit

A consumer debt buyer accused by the New York attorney general of illegally obtaining judgments in thousands of collection cases brought over debt that is too old to collect has agreed to settle a lawsuit by AG Eric Schneiderman. Encore Capital Group Inc. will seek to vacate some 4,500 judgments…

Jan 9, 2015 12:35 PM CST

Judge blasts disbarred lawyer for paying no restitution in $837K client fraud, gives her 4-year max

A disbarred Iowa lawyer was sentenced Tuesday to the maximum prison term for wire fraud by a federal judge who expressed “extreme disappointment” that Susan Hense has so far paid nothing toward restitution for more than one dozen victims. That amounts to over four years behind bars for Susan Hense,…

Jan 9, 2015 9:35 AM CST

Harvard law grad loses defamation suit over plagiarism rebuke on transcript

A Harvard Law School graduate says she lost out on BigLaw work because an unfair reprimand claiming she plagiarized a law review article was included on her transcript. But a federal judge saw the matter differently, granting a summary judgment Dec. 30 to Harvard and other defendants in the defamation…

Jan 8, 2015 1:25 PM CST

Attorney ex-wife rejects energy chief’s $975M check; judge nixes reduction despite oil price plunge

An Oklahoma oil baron wrote a check to his ex-wife for almost $975 million on Monday. But Sue Ann Arnall, a lawyer and economist, refused the payment, according to the Oklahoman and Value Walk, which provides a copy of the $974,790,317.77 check. Arnall is appealing the divorce award as representing…

Jan 7, 2015 11:55 AM CST

$5.4M in legal fees awarded by judge to inmates’ attorneys in jail-brutality case

A federal judge has awarded more than $5 million in legal fees to lawyers representing five inmates at a Los Angeles County jail who alleged brutality by deputies, the Los Angeles Times reports. The inmates themselves won a jury award of $950,000 in damages last February. The jury award included…

Jan 7, 2015 11:52 AM CST

Drug-court judge resigns after ethics commission calls for her removal over alcohol-related conduct

A Florida drug court judge resigned on Tuesday, following a call by the state Judicial Qualifications Commission on Monday for her removal from the bench. Sober for nearly 20 years, Broward County Judge Gisele Pollack relapsed in 2013 after her mother’s death. She had been elected in 2004, and had…

Jan 7, 2015 10:10 AM CST

Man beats murder rap but will serve at least 20 years for threatening trial witness

Found guilty in 2009 of murdering an elderly woman decades earlier, when he was a teenager, Jeffrey Glazebrook eventually got that conviction reversed. But the 54-year-old will serve at least 20 years for a mouthed a threat to kill a jailhouse informant testifying at his murder trial that was seen…

Jan 7, 2015 6:15 AM CST

Former Virginia governor sentenced to 2 years in corruption case

Convicted in September in a federal corruption case, former Virginia governor and attorney general Robert F. “Bob” McDonnell was sentenced on Tuesday to two years in prison, the New York Times reports. His lawyers sought probation and 6,000 hours of community service in the Richmond case, in which McDonnell and…

Jan 6, 2015 2:05 PM CST

Man banned from school board meetings wins $147K settlement

A Vermont man banned from school board meetings for two years after he criticized the school district has agreed to a $147,500 settlement. The settlement followed a September ruling by a federal judge that the Addison-Rutland Supervisory Union violated Marcel Cyr’s constitutional right to free speech and due process by…

Jan 6, 2015 9:35 AM CST

Lawyer must pay client’s estate $4.3M, including $2.6M penalty, judge rules

A California lawyer took advantage of a mentally ill client who was romantically fixated on him and improperly influenced her to leave all her money to him, a state-court judge determined in October. Then, awarding damages just before Christmas in a lawsuit brought by charities that originally were to benefit…

Jan 6, 2015 6:50 AM CST