Verdicts & Settlements

Appeals Court Grants New Trial Due to Plaintiff Attorney’s Inflammatory Language

Finding that a trial judge had abused his discretion by failing to do so, a Florida appeals court has granted a new trial on most issues in a personal injury case because of inflammatory remarks made by the plaintiff’s lawyer in opening and closing remarks. For example, attorney Michael Laurato…

Aug 27, 2010 4:29 PM CDT

Chihuahua Bought By Wife Isn’t Community Property, Appeals Court Rules

After a trial court awarded custody of a pet Chihuahua to the wife in a divorce case, a Texas man appealed the ruling. But a three-judge panel of the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin yesterday affirmed the lower court decision that the diminutive dog belongs to Brooke Ashley Calder,…

Aug 27, 2010 12:06 AM CDT

Billionaire Bren Owes Adult Kids Zip, Jury Rules; They Had Sought $134M in Child Support

If their mother had taken their billionaire father to court for child support years ago, she would have gotten some $400,000 a month, contend Christie Bren, 22, and David Bren, 18. So Donald Bren should now be required to pay them some $134 million, they and their mother, Jennifer McKay…

Aug 26, 2010 8:11 PM CDT

Public Defenders Often are Just as Effective as Private Counsel, Study Says

A study of Chicago-area courts found that public defenders often are just as effective as private lawyers in persuading judges to grant bail, accept plea bargains and sentence defendants appropriately. But for some defendants, the study found, retaining a private lawyer may be money well-spent, according to Miller-McCune. The bimonthly…

Aug 26, 2010 12:24 AM CDT

Music Downloader Appeals $67.5K Award, Calls It ‘Equally as Insane’ as Earlier $675K Verdict

A Boston University physics graduate student has announced that he will appeal a reduced $67,500 award for downloading copyrighted music, calling the amount “equally as insane” as the $675,000 jury verdict he originally faced after a federal trial last year. Joel Tenenbaum, 26, says he will have to declare bankruptcy…

Aug 25, 2010 11:16 PM CDT

Coal Miner Who Videotaped Seal Leaks Wins Discipline Reversal & Legal Fees

A Kentucky coal miner who videotaped leaking seals at work and showed the footage at a federal mine safety hearing has won a reversal of the subsequent disciplinary action taken by his employer and attorney fees. Federal mine-safety law protected Charles Scott Howard from retaliation, an administrative law judge ruled…

Aug 25, 2010 8:55 PM CDT

Lawyer Admits He Can’t Defend $2.4M Client Embezzlement Case, Loses License

After admitting that he can’t defend himself against charges that he embezzled $2.4 million from a corporate client and blew most of the money at casino slot machines and agreeing to be disbarred by consent, a Milwaukee attorney had his law license revoked today by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Thomas…

Aug 25, 2010 5:10 PM CDT

Kentucky Bar Investigates Ohio Plaintiffs Lawyer Stan Chesley

Ohio tort lawyer Stan Chesley is facing an ethics investigation by the Kentucky Bar Association for his conduct in litigation involving fen-phen and priest abuse. The investigations were revealed in legal documents in the separate cases, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. The Louisville Courier-Journal reported last week on one of the…

Aug 25, 2010 3:33 PM CDT

Zombies Win $165K Settlement for Arrests Over Consumerism Protest

Seven individuals who were arrested while dressed as zombies then jailed for two days after they participated in a 2006 street protest of “mindless” consumerism have agreed to accept a $165,000 settlement from the city of Minneapolis that includes their attorney’s fees. Police said they were carrying simulated weapons of…

Aug 24, 2010 11:22 PM CDT

Judge Blocks White House Plan to Expand Stem Cell Research

Finding that a plan by the Obama administration to expand federally funded research using human embryonic stem cells likely is prohibited by a federal law banning the use of government funds for projects that destroy embryos, a federal judge today has issued a preliminary injunction blocking the plan. “This court…

Aug 23, 2010 10:25 PM CDT

Minneapolis Bridge Collapse Plaintiffs Reach $48M Settlement with Engineering Firm

Survivors and families of victims killed in the 35-W bridge collapse in Minneapolis have reached a settlement of more than $48 million with the engineering company hired to evaluate the bridge’s structural integrity. In a press release announcing the settlement, Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi says it led a group…

Aug 23, 2010 7:14 PM CDT

Pro Se Defendant Blames Judge for Conviction ... And Is Pro Se Again in New Trial

A pro se defendant who sat silently through much of his trial is now blaming the Indiana judge who oversaw the Vanderburgh County case for allegedly failing to warn him adequately of the dangers of self-representation and failing to notice his troubled mental state. As a result of his jury…

Aug 23, 2010 6:28 PM CDT

Judge OKs Suit re Maker’s Claimed Failure to Warn of ‘Addictive’ Nature of Lineage II Web Game

A federal judge in Hawaii has given a green light to part of a pro se plaintiff’s lawsuit contending that he wasted some 20,000 hours playing Lineage II between 2004 and 2009, due to the maker’s failure to warn him in advance of the addictive nature of the Internet game.…

Aug 20, 2010 7:15 PM CDT

Judge OKs Highrise ‘Superblock’ Plan for Fordham U School of Law

A state-court judge in New York has given the green light to a controversial 25-year campus building plan at Fordham University School of Law. Under the proposal, which is opposed by some community groups, bigger and taller buildings will be added to the campus to create more dormitory, academic and…

Aug 19, 2010 11:51 PM CDT

Despite ‘Sweetheart Deal’ Complaint, Judge Approves Barclays Settlement

A federal judge who criticized a $298 million U.S. settlement with the British bank Barclays as a “sweetheart deal” on Tuesday approved the pact on Wednesday after a hearing where he pressed for more details. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan wanted to know why no individual was charged in the…

Aug 19, 2010 2:32 PM CDT