Verdicts & Settlements

Miss. Judge is Federally Indicted in Scruggs-Related Corruption Case

A Mississippi judge who presided over a bitter multimillion-dollar legal fees dispute concerning asbestos litigation has been indicted for allegedly secretly funneling information about the case to one of the attorneys involved. Allegedly influenced by a promise of appointment to the federal bench, Hinds County Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter is…

Feb 13, 2009 1:30 AM CST

In ‘Fig Leaf’ Settlement With Jones Day, Website Agrees to Adjust Use of Links

Updated: In a “fig leaf” settlement entered into by BlockShopper after it racked up a six-figure legal defense bill in a controversial federal trademark infringement lawsuit, the website has agreed to alter the way it describes home purchases by Jones Day attorneys. Instead simply “deep linking” the name of a…

Feb 12, 2009 10:53 PM CST

Most of Roger Clemens Defamation Suit is Dismissed

Finding that trainer Brian McNamee would have faced potential prosecution if he didn’t cooperate with an investigation by Sen. George Mitchell on steroids use in Major League Baseball, a federal judge in Houston has dismissed most of the defamation suit filed against McNamee by star pitcher Roger Clemens. Statements made…

Feb 12, 2009 10:04 PM CST

Verdict Sealed in Fatal N.Y. Fire Case Despite Lawyers’ Objections

A jury reached a verdict yesterday in the trial of two tenants accused of illegally creating extra rooms that doomed two New York firefighters in the so-called Black Sunday blaze in 2005. They died jumping from the fourth floor when they were trapped by flames in a room without a…

Feb 12, 2009 6:57 PM CST

Irell & Manella Settles Malpractice Suit over Two Deleted Paragraphs

A malpractice suit against Irell & Manella stemming from an associate’s contract error has settled for an undisclosed amount. A Feb. 10 court filing disclosed the settlement but reveals no details, the National Law Journal reports. The $150 million malpractice suit was filed by Charter Communications over an alleged error…

Feb 12, 2009 5:55 PM CST

Pa. Attorney Was Victim in Juvenile Jail-for-Pay Case, His Lawyer Says

A Pennsylvania lawyer who formerly was a co-owner of juvenile detention facilities implicated in a jail-for-pay case that has brought down two senior judges was a victim of their kickbacks scheme, his lawyer says. “Bob Powell never solicited a nickel from these judges and really was a victim of their…

Feb 11, 2009 8:55 PM CST

Disbarred NJ Lawyer Beats the Rap in Misappropriation Case

A New Jersey lawyer who was disbarred for misappropriating mortgage settlement funds can’t be criminally convicted for the same conduct, a state appeals court ruled today. Because prosecutors didn’t charge Lawrence Coven in time, a three-judge appellate panel held, the criminal case against him concerning four mortgage refinancings was properly…

Feb 11, 2009 6:47 PM CST

Case Dropped Against Texas Girl, 12, Accused of Police Assault

A Texas girl, then 12, who was allegedly accused by Galveston police of being a prostitute and assaulted when she stepped outside her family home has herself escaped conviction on a criminal charge in the 2006 incident. A jury split 5-1, with all but one refusing to convict Dymond Larae…

Feb 10, 2009 11:15 PM CST

VA to Pay $20M to Settle Case Over Stolen—and Recovered—Laptop

Seemingly taken in a routine burglary at an employee’s home, a laptop computer stolen from a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs analyst in 2006—and recovered later that year, apparently without any of its data being misused—is costing taxpayers a $20 million settlement. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., approved the…

Feb 10, 2009 9:50 PM CST

What Is a Weed? Mich. Judge Decides, Upholds $100 Lawn Ticket

In a hard-fought municipal ordinance case pitting a Michigan man, supported by local environmental groups, against his township’s governing officials, a local judge has weighed in against the flourishing so-called weeds growing in his yard. “Central to the case is what it means to ‘cultivate,’ and to a lesser degree,…

Feb 10, 2009 8:59 PM CST

Scruggs II: Once-Renowned Trial Lawyer Pleads in Another Court Corruption Case

Already serving a five-year prison term for his role in a scheme to bribe a Mississippi judge concerning a dispute over Hurricane Katrina legal fees, once-renowned trial attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs pleaded guilty today in a federal mail-fraud case. “According to prosecutors, Scruggs was involved in a scheme ‘to deprive…

Feb 10, 2009 8:28 PM CST

Oops. Confidential Settlement Revealed in Quinn Emanuel Brochure

A law firm fired by the founders of the website ConnectU apparently got carried away in a recent marketing brochure. Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges touted a settlement in the infringement case, and even revealed the confidential amount won by ConnectU: $65 million, the Recorder reports. The figure was…

Feb 10, 2009 1:03 PM CST

Calif. Must Plan to Release Up to 60,000 Inmates, Federal Panel Says

Although it’s not yet a final decision, a special panel of federal judges ruled today that California must begin planning to release tens of thousands of state prison inmates over the next several years. “California’s 33 prisons hold about 160,000 inmates, nearly twice their designed capacity. The judges said they…

Feb 10, 2009 1:26 AM CST

Identical Twin Escapes Gallows in Real-Life Prisoner’s Dilemma

In a rare real-life, high-stakes demonstration of the prisoner’s dilemma—two suspects can both escape consequences, but only by trusting each other not to snitch to authorities—a judge in Malaysia has freed a man facing the gallows in a drug-trafficking case. That’s because, due to a police error, no one but…

Feb 9, 2009 8:20 PM CST

Experts Advise on Key Custody Issue: The Family Dog

A divorcing spouse may think his or her dog will be bereft without a favorite human at hand. But actually the most stressful part of a divorce for some canines is the lack of routine that results, reports the Asheville, N.C., Citizen-Times. “We’ve had cases where, just like the parents…

Feb 9, 2009 7:35 PM CST