Verdicts & Settlements

Ex-Edwards Aide Turns Over Claimed Sex Tape, as Lawyers Argue On in Privacy Case

After legal wrangling over whether Andrew Young would be accompanied by a security officer, the onetime aide to ex-presidential candidate John Edwards has retrieved his original copy of a purported sex tape of Edwards and his former mistress from a bank safe deposit box and turned it over to a…

Feb 10, 2010 12:41 AM CST

Court Upholds $355K Verdict for Pastor Maligned By Church Leaders

In a novel church employment case, an Oregon appeals court has ruled that a church can’t use the First Amendment as a defense in a defamation case if church officials used the pulpit to accuse its former pastor of being a thief. The ruling reinstates a $355,000 jury verdict awarded…

Feb 9, 2010 1:26 PM CST

Judge Plans to Trim $300M Verdict for Ex-Smoker, Says Tobacco Lawyers’ Strategy Backfired

Calling a record $300 million jury verdict against tobacco giant Philip Morris excessive, a Florida judge has indicated he’ll reduce the amount. Broward County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Streitfeld gave no indication, however, when he’d make the adjustment, the Daily Business Review reports. The verdict, reached in November, was the largest…

Feb 9, 2010 12:57 PM CST

$150M SEC Pact with BofA Still Low, Judge Says. Will Case Go to Trial?

A federal judge left open the possibility that he could, for a second time, reject a settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Bank of America over the bank’s controversial takeover of Merrill Lynch. Such a rejection by U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff, this time of a proposed…

Feb 9, 2010 11:53 AM CST

9th Cir. Revives Title IX Suit By UC Davis Women Wrestlers

Three women wrestlers at the University of California at Davis scored a major victory today at the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which reversed a federal district court’s grant of summary judgment to the defendants in a Title IX discrimination suit. The women had sought permission to…

Feb 9, 2010 12:34 AM CST

Ex-John Edwards Aide Turns Over Copy of Sex Tape, Is Held in Contempt in Privacy Case

A former aide to onetime Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has been held in contempt of court for turning over a copy, but not the original, of a claimed sex tape of his boss and Edwards’ then-mistress, reports the Politico. The existence of the tape, which reportedly shows the former…

Feb 6, 2010 1:27 AM CST

3rd Cir. Creates ‘Chaos’ with Conflicting Rulings on Student MySpace Principal Parodies

Two panels in different districts of one federal appeals court made apparently conflicting rulings yesterday in cases over students in two separate Pennsylvania school districts who posted similar parodies of their principals on MySpace, using computers at their homes. One divided three-judge panel in the Middle District of Pennsylvania issued…

Feb 5, 2010 6:09 PM CST

DOJ Critical of Google Book Settlement

Weighing in on the massive class action settlement between Google and groups representing authors and publishers, the Justice Department has said that Google’s plan to create a giant digital library and store has significant legal problems. The DOJ filed a 31-page statement of interest in the case, which is awaiting…

Feb 5, 2010 4:39 PM CST

5th Circuit Stays Judge’s Order That Insurer Must Pay Stanford’s Lawyers

Staying a federal district court’s order that a renowned insurance company must pay for R. Allen Stanford’s defense in a criminal case, a federal appeals court today scheduled oral arguments on the issue later this month. Last week, a federal judge in Houston ruled that Lloyd’s of London had a…

Feb 5, 2010 12:58 AM CST

ISP Not Liable for Customers’ Illegally Downloaded Movies, Court Rules

In a movie-downloading case that observers say could help set global industry policy, an Internet service provider in Australia has been held not liable for the activities of its customers even though the court found there was illegal file-sharing on a “large scale.” Top Hollywood studios had sought to win…

Feb 4, 2010 9:17 PM CST

Bank of America Settles With SEC, Faces New Suit from NY AG

The Bank of America today settled two Securities and Exchange Commission regulatory complaints over its handling of Merrill Lynch & Co. losses and bonuses by agreeing to pay a $150 million fine and improve the bank’s corporate governance rules. The agreement must still be approved by the federal judge overseeing…

Feb 4, 2010 7:08 PM CST

Judge Reduces Jail Sentence for Lawyer Who Made Obscene Gesture in Court

Appearing before Senior District Judge Paul Davis in jailhouse stripes, an Austin, Texas, attorney won a significant reduction in his 90-day contempt sentence for making an obscene gesture in court during a hearing. Because Adam Reposa’s girlfriend is pregnant and due to give birth in a month, Davis said, he…

Feb 4, 2010 5:34 PM CST

Ill. Supreme Court Strikes Down Caps on Med-Mal Awards

A divided Illinois Supreme Court has struck down caps on medical malpractice awards in an opinion today that showed little regard for the practice in other states. The opinion (PDF) said the tort reform law interferes with the judiciary’s power to assess and reduce verdicts, violating the separation of powers…

Feb 4, 2010 4:28 PM CST

Appeals Court: Ex-Prosecutor Can’t Be Sued Over His Work on Terror Case

A former federal prosecutor who was tried and acquitted of conspiring to hide evidence in a terrorism case cannot be sued civilly over his work on the case by one of the defendants, a federal appeals court has held. Reversing a Detroit federal judge’s ruling in favor of plaintiff Karim…

Feb 3, 2010 6:51 PM CST

Judge Rapped Over Order to Pay Class Action Attorney in Store Coupons

Apparently figuring that what is considered reasonable reimbursement for winning clients in class actions is also fair pay for their lawyers, a California state-court judge ordered that a male attorney receive a structured stream of $10 gift cards from the defendant women’s apparel retailer. However, the decision in January 2009…

Feb 3, 2010 12:43 AM CST