Verdicts & Settlements

Disbarred in Pa. and Del. (Where He Wasn’t Even Licensed), Young Attorney Is Merely Censured in NJ

An inexperienced attorney, licensed in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, got into trouble by helping a Delaware accountant prepare estate documents, including wills for his clients. But he didn’t violate attorney ethics rules intentionally, a Delaware tribunal found. Nonetheless, Leonard Kingsley was disbarred both in Delaware—where he was never licensed to…

Jan 6, 2011 9:45 PM CST

Law Firm Leverages Oops E-Mail Sent to Opponent to Win ‘Eye-Popping’ Protective Order

A law firm retained by a group of California engineers to help protect them against potential interference after they established their own shop accidentally sent confidential e-mail to the group’s ex-employer, Arcadis, when an autocomplete function filled in an old e-mail address. At Arcadis, the computer system automatically forwarded the…

Jan 6, 2011 8:42 PM CST

Judge Nixes Jury’s Drug Convictions of Anna Nicole Smith’s Boyfriend and Lawyer

Launched with much fanfare last year by California’s then-attorney general, a high-profile trial of three professionals criminally charged for allegedly helping celebrity and “known addict” Anna Nicole Smith obtain prescription drugs before her death of an accidental overdose has now almost entirely fizzled out. Superior Court Judge Robert Perry today…

Jan 6, 2011 8:02 PM CST

Ex-Corrections Officers’ Confab re Defendant’s Record Requires Jury Selection Do-Over

A Washington state court will be trying again with a new jury pool on Monday, after an initial effort to select a panel to hear a first-degree murder trial was tainted by a conversation today between two former Department of Corrections officers. As some other prospective jurors overheard, the two…

Jan 6, 2011 5:56 PM CST

Toyota Proclaims Victory, Says Arbitrator Ruled Ex-Counsel Must Pay $2.6M for Whistle-Blowing

A former in-house lawyer for Toyota Motor Corp. has been ordered by an arbitrator to pay the automaker $2.5 million plus $100,000 in punitive damages for publicly revealing confidential information, according to a company press release. Although attorney Dimitrios Biller portrayed himself as a whistle-blower informing the public about his…

Jan 5, 2011 9:59 PM CST

Avowed Neo-Nazi Convicted of Soliciting Attack on Juror, Although Web Posting Didn’t Exactly Say So

An avowed neo-Nazi who posted the photo, name, home address and phone number of a juror who helped convict self-proclaimed white supremacist Matthew Hale in 2004 of soliciting the murder of a federal judge in Chicago has now himself been convicted of a crime. William White, 33, was convicted by…

Jan 5, 2011 9:17 PM CST

Controversial Civil Rights Lawyer, Fearless Critic of Federal Judges, Is Disbarred After Convictions

A controversial civil rights lawyer who didn’t hesitate to criticize federal judges and others has been disbarred after his convictions for tax evasion, bankruptcy fraud and money laundering. Known for his representation of victims of police brutality and Guantanamo Bay detainees, Stephen Yagman, 66, had gotten into trouble by failing…

Jan 5, 2011 12:14 AM CST

9th Circuit Asks Calif. Supreme Court If Prop 8 Backers Have Standing in Same-Sex Marriage Appeal

When a federal judge in San Francisco struck down a voter-approved state ban on same-sex marriage last year, then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and then-Attorney General Jerry Brown declined to appeal. So backers of the ballot initiative stepped in to do so. Now the federal appeals court to which they have taken…

Jan 4, 2011 11:33 PM CST

Tax Counsel to House Panel Is Targeted in Protest for Refusing Ex-Wife a Religious Divorce

A tax lawyer for the Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee has become a high-profile target in an unusual public dispute over his refusal to give his ex-wife a religious divorce. Although Aharon Friedman, 34, is civilly divorced from Tamar Epstein, 27, after only a few years of…

Jan 4, 2011 9:46 PM CST

Ex-Obama Aide Remained a Chicago Resident, Stays on Ballot for Mayor’s Race, Judge Rules

Asked to overturn an administrative ruling that determined the former White House chief of staff for President Barack Obama remained a resident of Chicago while he worked in the nation’s capital and hence is qualified to run for election as the city’s mayor, a state-court judge in Illinois has instead…

Jan 4, 2011 9:19 PM CST

Federal Judge OKs RICO Conspiracy Class Action Against Law Firm in ‘Sewer Service’ Case

A federal judge in New York has given a green light to a racketeering conspiracy class action filed against a law firm. The suit contends that the firm and a client consumer debt purchaser, along with a process serving company, schemed to obtain thousands of default judgments in state court…

Jan 4, 2011 8:44 PM CST

Appeals Court Reinstates Uniloc Win in Microsoft Case, But Calls for New Trial re $390M Jury Award

A federal appeals court has reinstated a jury verdict against Microsoft Corp. in favor of anti-piracy software maker Uniloc USA Inc. However, a $388 million jury award to Uniloc in the patent case was “fundamentally tainted,” requiring a new trial on damages, said the U.S. Court of Appeals for the…

Jan 4, 2011 7:00 PM CST

DNA Test Shows Texas Man Who Served 30 Years in Rape and Robbery Case Was Innocent

Paroled in July after serving 30 years in an abduction, robbery and rape case, a Texas man has now been declared innocent after being cleared through DNA testing. Exonerated today in a Dallas courtroom, Cornelius Dupree Jr., 51, said it is a joy to be free but added later that…

Jan 4, 2011 5:54 PM CST

Bank of America ‘Gift’: $2.8B Settlement of Bad Mortgage Claims

Bank of America has agreed to pay Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac $2.8 billion to settle claims it sold mortgages that did not meet specifications. The amount was lower than expected, according to Reuters and the Associated Press. Christopher Whalen, senior vice president for research firm Institutional Risk Analytics, called…

Jan 4, 2011 3:13 PM CST

Lawyer is Suspended Over Hit-and-Run for Which He Initially Blamed His Wife and ‘Road Raged’ Bikers

A Vermont lawyer who reportedly is a former traffic court judge caused an accident in September 2007 by braking abruptly after passing two bikers. Then he blamed the crash on his wife—falsely claiming that she had been the driver—and the “road raged” bikers for the fact that he didn’t stop…

Jan 3, 2011 8:26 PM CST