Verdicts & Settlements

Jury convicts IRS worker of masterminding bogus tax refund scheme

A federal jury in Philadelphia on Wednesday convicted a former Internal Revenue Service employee of masterminding a scheme to collect fraudulent tax refunds while working at the IRS, often using straw filers. Aware that the IRS didn’t check telephone tax credit requests from filers owed less than $1,500, or ask…

Mar 15, 2013 3:36 PM CDT

Law firm settles Pfizer case, pays bills and emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy

In an unusual move, a Portland, Ore., law firm has been able to pay its bills and emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy after setting a big case. The same prolonged legal battle with Pfizer Inc. that forced Williams Love O’Leary & Powers to file for bankruptcy in 2011 also resulted…

Mar 14, 2013 2:26 PM CDT

Lawyer held in contempt, fined $100, for missing court hearing on day AG admitted their relationship

An Arkansas lawyer who missed a scheduled court hearing on the day the state’s attorney general publicly admitted that the two had had an “inappropriate” extramarital relationship has been held in contempt and fined $100. Attorney Andrea Davis of Hot Springs was upset about the December announcement by Arkansas Attorney…

Mar 13, 2013 9:11 PM CDT

Federal judge sides with whooping cranes in water rights case

A federal judge has ordered Texas officials to put the needs of an endangered flock of whooping cranes first when determining whether to grant water-use permits to new users. The Corpus Christi Caller-Times provides a link to Monday’s 124-page opinion (PDF) by Senior U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack. She…

Mar 13, 2013 8:00 PM CDT

FTC can serve foreign defendants via Facebook, federal judge rules

The Hague Service Convention doesn’t expressly authorize service on foreign defendants by email or social media accounts. But, saying that a U.S. court has the power under the treaty and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to approve supplemental means of service, a federal judge in Manhattan has OK’d a…

Mar 13, 2013 4:58 PM CDT

Judge lifts gag order regulating lawyer’s Facebook posts

After civil rights groups went to bat on his behalf, a Michigan lawyer is once again free to use his Facebook page to post about class action litigation over chicken described as halal that was served at a local fast-food restaurant outlet. Dearborn attorney Majed Moughni, who was not directly…

Mar 12, 2013 8:37 PM CDT

Google to pay $7M over Street View data scoop, critics call huge sum a pittance for Web giant

In one of the largest settlements ever reached over an Internet privacy violation involving unauthorized access into consumer accounts, Google has agreed to pay $7 million to a coalition of state attorneys general over what the search engine goliath has called an inadvertent data scoop during the compilation of photographs…

Mar 12, 2013 7:31 PM CDT

Judge axes ex-partners’ suit saying Citibank misled them about Howrey finances when making loans

A California judge has dismissed a lawsuit by two former Howrey partners who contended that Citibank misled them and should have disclosed more to them about their own law firm’s dismal financial situation before they took out loans to make capital contributions. Judge Peter Busch on Friday declined to give…

Mar 12, 2013 3:55 PM CDT

Judge nixes NYC ban on big, sugary drink sales, calling it ‘arbitrary and capricious’

A state-court judge has struck down a New York City program that was to go into effect on Tuesday and would have banned some Big Apple businesses, including restaurants and theaters, from selling sugary drinks like soda pop in supersize containers. In a blow to the administration of Mayor Michael…

Mar 11, 2013 7:53 PM CDT

‘Landmark’ NY appeals court ruling voids prenup due to millionaire’s oral promises to wife-to-be

In what lawyers are calling a landmark ruling, a New York appeals court has upheld a Long Island judge’s decision to void an prenuptial agreement that the wife of a millionaire says she was tricked into signing by false promises made by her husband-to-be, days before the wedding. Elizabeth Cioffi-Petrakis…

Mar 11, 2013 7:20 PM CDT

Suspect sent to solitary for 22 months gets $15.5M settlement

A New Mexico man who was arrested for driving under the influence and ended up in solitary confinement without any court proceeding for 22 months has reached a $15.5 million settlement. Not long after Stephen Slevin was arrested, there was a determination that he was depressed and a suicide risk,…

Mar 11, 2013 3:03 PM CDT

Lawmaker’s ex-wife who blew whistle on 2003 speeding ticket switch also faces likely jail term

Both a leading former U.K. lawmaker and his ex-spouse are now looking at likely jail time over a 2003 speeding ticket, after Vicky Pryce was convicted by a London jury this week of perverting the course of justice. Pryce, who is a prominent economist, appeared shocked by the verdict in…

Mar 7, 2013 9:59 PM CST

Municipal judge must give up top court job because son is a cop, state supreme court rules

The chief municipal court judge in Perth Amboy, N.J., must step down from the court’s top job, because his son works for the city as a police officer. And Judge George Boyd must also recuse himself from any cases involving the police department, the New Jersey Supreme Court held in…

Mar 6, 2013 10:54 PM CST

Law firm drops name partner from marquee after judge denies injunction

A worker’s compensation law firm has changed its name from Martin Banks to Martin after a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court judge denied a request for a preliminary injunction by now-former name partner Halmon L. “Sonny” Banks III that would have prevented the move. Banks remains one of the firm’s six…

Mar 6, 2013 7:05 PM CST

Paul Hastings, 2 partners to pay $1.6M to settle Dewey unfinished business claim

Two former partners of Dewey & LeBoeuf, along with the law firm at which they now practice, Paul Hastings, have agreed to pay nearly $1.6 million to settle a claim over unfinished Dewey business they took with them to their new jobs. A filing Monday in New York says Paul…

Mar 6, 2013 5:30 PM CST