Verdicts & Settlements

Texas Lawyer Ordered to Repay $35.7 M

A big-name Houston plaintiffs lawyer has been ordered by an arbitration panel to repay $35.7 million in improper legal fees he charged to some 3,000 plaintiffs he represented in breast implant litigation. Including interest and attorney fees to be paid to the plaintiff lawyer who brought the claim, the total…

Jul 19, 2007 10:09 PM CDT

DOJ Cites Wins as Reform Bill Looms

The Justice Department may have lost big in the massive $2.5 billion tax shelter fraud case brought against former KPMG accounting firm employees, if a federal judge’s dismissal of 13 defendants on ethics grounds this week holds up on appeal. But it has won 1,236 other corporate fraud cases over…

Jul 19, 2007 8:08 PM CDT

Lawyers Outfox Fla. Legislature—For Now

Persuaded by a lobbyist that Minouche Noel really needed the $8.5 million she had been awarded by a Florida jury for being paralyzed in a botched surgery, the state legislature this year enacted a rare claims bill agreeing to pay the medical malpractice award. Until then, the vibrant young woman…

Jul 19, 2007 7:21 PM CDT

Property Sales to Fund Clergy Deal

The Los Angeles archdiocese will sell stock, borrow money and sell property to help pay a record $660 million settlement with victims of priest sexual abuse. Cardinal Roger Mahony has said there are no plans to sell parish or school properties, the Los Angeles Times reports. Instead the church will…

Jul 19, 2007 5:28 PM CDT

No Insurance, No Lawyers: No Problem

Nobody was insured, and no lawyers were involved. But, unusual as it may seem for Americans accustomed to the U.S. system, a recent auto accident in Iraq was settled the same day. The drivers involved were seated on sofas in the local police chief’s office, and tea was served as…

Jul 18, 2007 9:12 PM CDT

Class Members Alerted Via YouTube

Lawyers are using an animated chipmunk and YouTube to reach class members entitled to proceeds of a class-action settlement funded by the maker of Paxil. Two videos posted on the YouTube Web site alert viewers that they may be entitled to settlement cash, the National Law Journal reports. The $48…

Jul 18, 2007 5:55 PM CDT

Priest Abuse Awards Vary

Victims of priest sexual abuse who recently settled with the Los Angeles archdiocese will receive amounts that range from $100,000 to more than $3 million. The awards vary, based on the harm to the victim, church culpability and the evidence available, the Los Angeles Times reports. The payout will be…

Jul 18, 2007 4:34 PM CDT

CIGNA Judge: High Fees Justified

A federal judge has approved $21.3 million in fees for plaintiffs’ attorneys who obtained a $93 million settlement in a suit against CIGNA Corp. for securities fraud. U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson of Philadelphia said the attorneys were entitled to high fees because “the amount of the settlement in this…

Jul 18, 2007 2:17 PM CDT

Libyan Medics’ HIV Sentences Now Life

Libya’s High Judicial Council has commuted to life imprisonment the death sentences initially imposed on six foreign medics convicted in a controversial case of having intentionally started an HIV epidemic in a children’s hospital. The commutation today was prompted by a foreign financial settlement of $460 million to be paid…

Jul 17, 2007 9:47 PM CDT

DA Awaits Priest Files

The Los Angeles district attorney is waiting to learn what documents he will receive under a record $660 million settlement reached with the local archdiocese in priest abuse cases. District Attorney Steve Cooley told the Los Angeles Times that he needs relevant files to complete his five-year investigation into the…

Jul 17, 2007 5:57 PM CDT

Emotional Close to Priest Suit

A judge has approved a record $660 million settlement in a suit against the Los Angeles archdiocese for sexual abuse by priests. Victims cried as Judge Haley Fromholz of Los Angeles County Superior Court said settlement “was the right thing to do,” the New York Times reports. The plaintiffs’ lead…

Jul 17, 2007 2:28 PM CDT

Ex-Software CEO Can Sue Lawyers

The California Supreme Court has cleared the way for malicious prosecution suit by the founder of a software company. The decision allows Siebel Systems founder Thomas Siebel to sue two lawyers who represented a woman in a suit against Siebel and the company, the Recorder reports. Siebel Systems was later…

Jul 17, 2007 12:37 PM CDT

Legal Trouble for Black’s Wife

Since Conrad Black’s trial began on March 20, his wife has been a constant presence in the courtroom. Now ,as she copes with his conviction for mail fraud and obstruction of justice, she may need to gear up for her own legal troubles. Barbara Amiel Black, a Canadian journalist and…

Jul 16, 2007 3:42 PM CDT

Priest Abuse Settlement Before Judge

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles will present a record $660 million settlement of sexual abuse claims to a judge for approval today. The settlement with 508 sexual abuse victims came just two days before a scheduled trial, the New York Times reports. Settlement negotiations in the case had spanned more…

Jul 16, 2007 2:00 PM CDT

Media Mogul Convicted of Mail Fraud

Updated: A federal jury has convicted media mogul Conrad Black of mail fraud for diverting money from Hollinger International Inc., the Associated Press reports. He faces a maximum penalty of 35 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Black and three co-defendants were each found guilty of three counts…

Jul 13, 2007 6:59 PM CDT