Verdicts & Settlements

Along With 4 Lawyers, Judge Who Oversaw Fen-Phen Settlement Could Be Disbarred

In 2006, a Kentucky judge retired rather than face potential discipline for his role in overseeing a $200 million settlement in controversial diet drug litigation that sent two of the lawyers involved to prison and resulted in the disbarment, or recommended disbarment, of two others. But now the board of…

Jun 16, 2011 7:04 PM CDT

Jury Deadlocks in Real Estate Attorney’s Mortgage Fraud Trial

A federal jury has deadlocked in the mortgage fraud trial of an Iowa attorney accused of participating in a scheme to trick lenders into approving inflated loans that included kickbacks paid to home buyers. The buyers also reportedly misrepresented their income on loan applications, because they lacked the income to…

Jun 16, 2011 6:25 PM CDT

NC Appeals Court Stays Order Taking Primary Custody of Children Away from Mom with Breast Cancer

In the latest development in a controversial case in which a North Carolina mom with advanced breast cancer lost primary custody of her two children, the state Court of Appeals today issued a temporary stay of that ruling. It must now decide whether to extend the stay for the entire…

Jun 15, 2011 9:36 PM CDT

Arbitrator Controls $100M Dispute Over Hit Charlie Sheen TV Show; Will Ruling Cut Likely Settlement?

Actor Charlie Sheen may have to arbitrate his $100 million contract dispute with Warner Bros. Television over being axed as the star of Two and a Half Men, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled today. Under a clause in Sheen’s contract for television’s No. 1 comedy, ruled Los Angeles…

Jun 15, 2011 9:19 PM CDT

11th Circuit OKs 28-Year Term for Phil Hill in $110M Mortgage Fraud; 2 Lawyers Also Convicted

Saying that lies upon lies underpinning a massive mortgage fraud had devastated Atlanta’s housing market, a federal appeals court yesterday upheld the conviction and 28-year prison term imposed upon its ringleader. Phillip Hill, 54, appropriately got more time than other defendants involved in the scheme, because he orchestrated it, the…

Jun 15, 2011 8:52 PM CDT

Ky. Bar Recommends Disbarment for Mass Tort Lawyer Stan Chesley

The Kentucky Bar Association Board of Governors is recommending that famous mass tort lawyer Stanley Chesley be disbarred for his role in a $200 million fen-phen settlement that ended with prison sentences for two other lawyers. Chesley had charged $20 million to help settle the case for the plaintiffs’ lawyers,…

Jun 15, 2011 4:02 PM CDT

Chief District Judge Nixes Motion to Vacate Prop 8 Ruling Due to Judge Walker’s Sexual Orientation

The chief federal district judge in San Francisco has refused to vacate a controversial same-sex marriage ruling last year by a now-retired colleague, based on his sexual orientation and involvement in a same-sex relationship. A judge is not required to step down from hearing a case simply because of his…

Jun 15, 2011 1:49 AM CDT

Ex Rothstein Lawyer Pleads Guilty, Allegedly Wrote Letter re Name Partner’s $1.2B ‘Investment’ Scam

A former law partner of convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein pleaded guilty today to wire fraud conspiracy in federal court in West Palm Beach. Prosecutors said Howard Kusnick, 59, wrote a letter claiming to have settled a client’s case favorably when in fact there not only was no such settlement…

Jun 14, 2011 10:44 PM CDT

Bankruptcy Court Says Same-Sex Married Couple Can File Jointly Despite DOMA Prohibition

A federal statute barring recognition of same-sex marriage can’t prevent a legally wed same-sex couple from jointly filing for bankruptcy, a group of 20 judges in California has decided. The ruling by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles yesterday found that two men who had married in California before…

Jun 14, 2011 8:56 PM CDT

Judge’s Son, AKA Bellagio Biker Bandit, Takes Plea in $1.5M Vegas Casino Chips Heist

The son of a municipal judge has taken a plea deal in a brazen $1.5 million heist at a Las Vegas casino that made international headlines. Anthony Carleo, 29, pleaded guilty this morning in the so-called Bellagio Biker Bandit case, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The suspect in the December…

Jun 14, 2011 5:03 PM CDT

Judge OKs $5M Jury Award re Bryan Cave Arbitration Advice; with Interest, It Could Top $10M

A state-court judge in New York has OK’d a $5 million jury awarded against Bryan Cave and a retired former lawyer in a malpractice case. With pre-verdict interest, which Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Barbara Jaffe also OK’d, the total amount of the judgment could top $10 million, the New York…

Jun 13, 2011 8:56 PM CDT

Disbarred Ex-BigLaw Associate Wins Pro Se Appeal of $600K Fine in Insider-Trading Case

After pleading guilty in 2007 to an insider-trading conspiracy, a former associate at Thacher Proffitt & Wood lost a parallel civil case brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on summary judgment. However, Amir Rosenthal apparently spent at least some of his 33-month sentence to good purpose in the…

Jun 13, 2011 8:07 PM CDT

Suspended LA Lawyer Gets 32 Months, Must Repay $41M, in Quellos Tax-Shelter Scheme

A suspended Los Angeles lawyer has been sentenced to 32 months in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release for participating, along with the CEO and an attorney-principal of Quellos Group in a tax-shelter scheme involving wealthy investors. Sentenced Friday by a federal district court judge in western…

Jun 13, 2011 7:27 PM CDT

Lawyer Who Took Plea Delivers on Stand, Helps Convict Goffer, 2 Others in Insider-Trading Case

An attorney who admittedly participated in an insider-trading scheme by providing confidential information about clients of a well-known law firm to a former trader with the Galleon Group hedge fund has helped convict Zvi Goffer and two other individuals in a securities-fraud conspiracy case. A federal jury in Manhattan today…

Jun 13, 2011 6:00 PM CDT

Real Estate Closing Attorney Wins Reversal of ‘Honest Services’ Mortgage Fraud Conviction

A former North Carolina real estate closing attorney who had faced up to 25 years in prison after being convicted in a $15 million mortgage fraud case two years ago has won a reprieve. A federal judge on Friday reversed the guilty verdict against Victoria Sprouse, 40, holding that the…

Jun 13, 2011 5:01 PM CDT