Verdicts & Settlements

Due to client’s ‘surreptitious’ removal of file, law firm prevails on malpractice claim

A New York law firm has prevailed against a malpractice claim on statute of limitations grounds over what a state court described as a client’s “surreptitious” removal of his file. Plaintiff Kevin Aseel contended in the Nassau County case that his malpractice litigation was timely, because the defendant law firm,…

May 31, 2013 9:20 PM CDT

New Mini-Wheats settlement gets preliminary OK; deal value dropped, but not attorney fees

Kellogg’s has agreed to a new settlement in a consumer class action that pays the same attorney fees, despite a lower value than an earlier proposal. U.S. District Judge Irma Gonzalez gave preliminary approval to the deal earlier this month in a suit claiming Kellogg’s made false advertising claims about…

May 31, 2013 11:24 AM CDT

Judge grants injunction barring 16 members of warring gangs from Houston neighborhood

Suing under a public nuisance law, prosecutors have persuaded a Texas judge to ban 16 members of warring gangs from a Houston neighborhood. None of the 16 showed up in court to protest the judge’s ruling in the Harris County case, ABC News reports. If they are found in the…

May 29, 2013 8:55 PM CDT

General counsel takes plea over golf outing credit-card charges

The general counsel of a Colorado transportation agency wound up in the rough over golf outings he was accused of charging on a company credit card around the time when he was scheduled for continuing legal education and professional meetings. Walter Mathews IV was fired by Roaring Fork Transportation Authority…

May 29, 2013 5:33 PM CDT

Ex-partner settles suit claiming ‘boys club’ hogged origination credit at Greenberg Traurig

A former partner has settled her lawsuit contending that male lawyers at Greenberg Traurig hogged origination credit, excluded women from client pitches and favored themselves in work assignments. The suit filed in December by Francine Griesing was settled for an undisclosed amount, report Reuters and the Legal Intelligencer. The would-be…

May 29, 2013 12:53 PM CDT

Former state supreme court justice gets one year in bank fraud case

A now-retired Michigan supreme court justice was sentenced Tuesday to a year and a day in federal prison after pleading guilty to a felony bank fraud charge earlier this year. Prosecutors in the Ann Arbor case had sought a year to 18 months for Diane Marie Hathaway, 59, who reportedly…

May 28, 2013 7:40 PM CDT

5th Circuit parses runny-egg rule, issues sunny-side-up decision for nursing home

A Texas nursing home sizzling over severe penalties imposed after a state inspection found two residents had been served unpasteurized eggs that were inadequately cooked has presumably simmered down after the latest chapter in the runny-egg saga. Reversing an administrative law judge and the U.S. Department of Health and Human…

May 28, 2013 3:20 PM CDT

9th Circuit OKs discharge of $53K in student-loan debt for law grad working as a probation officer

After a 10-year legal battle, a 1997 graduate of an Oregon law school has not only won a federal appeals court ruling that eliminates more than half of his student loan debt, but has established favorable precedent for other recent grads struggling with major debt and minimal job prospects. Finding…

May 28, 2013 3:01 PM CDT

Appeals court cuts ‘unconscionable’ estate legal bill from $44M to perhaps $3M

Citing an “unconscionable” retainer agreement, a New York appeals court has reduced an estate’s legal bill from $44 million to what a lawyer for the winning side estimates will be a $3 million final tally. It also is requiring three members of Graubard Miller to return $5 million in gifts…

May 24, 2013 4:35 PM CDT

T. rex suit takes Texas lawyer to NYC and Mongolia

A victory in civil and criminal litigation over the New York City auction of a smuggled Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton last year hasn’t just earned legal fees for Texas attorney Robert Painter. It’s taken him to Mongolia, where evidence was collected in the Gobi desert, and from his Houston law office…

May 22, 2013 2:05 PM CDT

Suing ex-client for $500K in divorce fees led to disbarment ruling for former bar president

A decision to sue a former client, who happened to be an attorney, for $500,000 in allegedly unpaid legal fees in a divorce case has led to a disbarment ruling against a former Virginia Bar Association president who was once considered one of the titans of the Washington, D.C., matrimonial…

May 22, 2013 10:58 AM CDT

Convicted of murdering ex-client, lawyer is fighting attorney disciplinary petition

Convicted earlier this year of murdering a former matrimonial client and her baby, and sentenced to life in prison, an Illinois attorney is fighting a subsequent legal ethics case. Fredrick Goings reportedly had an on-again, off-again romantic relationship with Nova Henry, his client in a child-support case against professional basketball…

May 21, 2013 3:55 PM CDT

Juror in contempt for posting online comments in news article about trial of attorney murder case

A juror has been held in contempt for posting online comments, during trial last year, in a newspaper article about the felony-murder case against one of nine defendants accused of playing a role in the slaying of a Kansas attorney. James M. Reeder must either pay a $1,000 fine or…

May 21, 2013 1:20 PM CDT

Federal judge jails estate lawyer as flight risk, nixes ‘bizarre’ effort to revoke plea

A Rhode Island estate planning lawyer’s effort to revoke his guilty plea in a controversial $30 million elder insurance fraud case was a “bizarre” and unjustified “hatchet job” on Joseph Caramadre’s former counsel, a federal judge said Monday. U.S. District Judge William Smith not only nixed Caramadre’s bid for a…

May 21, 2013 11:09 AM CDT

Judge denies defense motion to withdraw during penalty phase in Arias murder case

Lawyers for convicted murderer Jody Arias asked the court to declare a mistrial Monday, on the basis that a key witness was receiving death threats. The judge declined to do so and also denied their motion to withdraw as counsel, which the Associated Press reports was done as a protest…

May 20, 2013 10:33 PM CDT