Verdicts & Settlements

Tough Judge Who Intended to Give Witness Contempt Time for Causing Mistrial Relents After Testimony

Angry over a February courtroom outburst by a witness that caused a mistrial in a murder case, a Florida judge had told Raynaldo Carrillo, the 46-year-old brother of the slain man, to come back for a contempt hearing in April prepared to serve up to six months in jail. But…

Apr 20, 2012 6:39 PM CDT

$65K Award in Dog’s Demise May Be Largest Ever in Colo. for Death of Pet

An award of over $65,000 to a Denver woman whose pet dog, Ruthie, was let out of her home by a cleaning service last year and got hit by a car, may be the largest verdict ever in Colorado for the death of a pet. Plaintiff Robin Lohre said she…

Apr 19, 2012 7:35 PM CDT

Malpractice Insurance Fraud Charge Is Dropped Against Ky. Lawyer Disbarred for Role in Fen-Phen Case

Disbarred even after he was acquitted in a high-profile criminal case against three attorneys accused of swindling clients in multimillion-dollar fen-phen diet drug litigation, a Kentucky lawyer has won another round in criminal court. A Fayette Circuit Court judge has acquiesced to a prosecutor’s request to dismiss without prejudice a…

Apr 18, 2012 8:07 PM CDT

No-Drinking Rule Nixed for Administrative Law Judge, Absent Evidence of Drinking Problem

An administrative law judge was appropriately reprimanded for violating his probation when he tested positive for alcohol after a misdemeanor case in which he was convicted of operating a motor vehicle while impaired and ordered to abstain from drinking as a condition of probation. However, there was no basis for…

Apr 18, 2012 5:52 PM CDT

Death Sentence Upheld in ‘92 Court Murder; Judge, 2 Lawyers, 5 Others Also Targeted in Shooting

Convicted, after a lengthy procedural history that included three competency hearings and two trials, in the 1992 murder of his wife during a courtroom divorce hearing, a Missouri man shot twice in the head in the fray has lost a pro se appeal focused largely on claimed failures by his…

Apr 17, 2012 10:17 PM CDT

Pro-Se Ex-Associate Gets Green Light to Proceed with NY Suit Against UK Law Firm re Moscow Partner

A fired former associate in the Russia offices of Allen & Overy has been given a green light by a New York judge to sue the major London-based law firm. Deidre Clark, who made headlines while still working in Moscow for A&O by posting a racy online novel and photos…

Apr 17, 2012 8:07 PM CDT

Texas Lawyer Who Was a ‘Lesser Player’ in Judicial Corruption Case Gets 1 Year in Federal Prison

A Texas lawyer whose defense attorney described him as a “lesser player” in a judicial corruption case had sought probation. But a federal judge in Brownsville on Monday gave Jose Martin “Joe” Valle a prison term of one year and a day. Although U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen took…

Apr 17, 2012 4:50 PM CDT

Lawyer with Murder Hearings in 2 Counties Misses One, Is Held in Contempt and Given 5-Day Jail Term

What’s a California lawyer with two murder cases on the verge of trial in two different counties to do? Tim Pori chose to attend one of the two hearings, in Solano County, on Monday, apparently sending another lawyer, former Solano County Bar Association president Daniel Russo, to appear in his…

Apr 17, 2012 3:46 PM CDT

Divorce Lawyer Takes Plea, Admits Contract Hit Plot re Ex-Boyfriend of Ex-Client He Was Dating

A young divorce lawyer with a once-thriving practice in the Chicago suburbs has taken a plea in a federal case in which he was charged with plotting a murder for hire targeting the jealous ex-boyfriend of a former client the attorney was dating. Overwhelmed by months of harassment by his…

Apr 13, 2012 12:19 PM CDT

NY Appeals Court OKs $12K Divorce Award for Value of Spouse’s Notre Dame Law Degree

A New York trial court did not abuse its discretion in awarding a husband only 10 percent of the value assigned to his wife’s law degree from Notre Dame University despite his contributions as the family’s primary wage-earner and the child care he provided while his wife was in law…

Apr 13, 2012 10:36 AM CDT

Kelley Drye Settlement with EEOC Offers No Guidance On When a Partner May Be Deemed an Employee

A consent decree (PDF) filed Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan resolved a more than decade-old pay dispute between Kelley Drye & Warren and one of the New York-based law firm’s older partners. In addition to a $574,000 payment by the firm to Eugene D’Ablemont, covering work he performed from…

Apr 12, 2012 4:19 PM CDT

Software Engineer Convicted of Murdering Attorney Who Pursued Wrongful Death Suit Against Him

Jason Cai had beaten the rap twice before when tried for murder. A jury acquitted him of murder and deadlocked on a manslaughter charge in 2006, when he was tried in the death of his second wife, Ying Deng, resulting in a decision by California prosecutors to dismiss the case.…

Apr 12, 2012 1:30 PM CDT

Defiant After Disbarment Ruling, Ex-Maricopa Attorney Andrew Thomas Compares Himself to Gandhi

Defiant after a Tuesday disbarment ruling by an Arizona Supreme Court disciplinary panel, a former Maricopa County attorney said in a Wednesday press conference that he is an innocent victim of a corrupt political and legal system. Andrew Thomas also complained that he wasn’t properly defended because the Maricopa County…

Apr 11, 2012 11:48 PM CDT

Kelley Drye Settles EEOC Suit re Alleged Partner Age Discrimination, Will Pay $570K to One Partner

Settling an age-discrimination lawsuit brought on behalf of a partner by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a well-known 350-attorney New York law firm has agreed not to reduce its partners’ pay based on their age. In an April 3 consent decree that was signed Tuesday by a federal magistrate judge…

Apr 10, 2012 11:18 PM CDT

Federal Circuit Gives Veteran SEC Lawyer Fired Over Inappropriate Email Another Chance to Regain Job

A trial lawyer for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission who was fired after nearly 18 years on the job for sending inappropriate email will get another chance to keep his job. An arbitrator erred by refusing to let Jeffrey Norris present medical evidence that the circumstances which led to…

Apr 10, 2012 9:43 PM CDT