Verdicts & Settlements

Video Rivals Settle Patent Dispute

Netflix has settled a suit that alleged Blockbuster stole its business method to charge subscribers a monthly fee to rent videos online. Blockbuster revealed the settlement in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. Details of the agreement were not disclosed. A…

Jun 28, 2007 8:39 PM CDT

Court Bars Secret High-Low Deals

New York’s highest court has ordered a new trial for an asbestos defendant because it was not told that a co-defendant had reached a high-low agreement with the plaintiff. The New York Court of Appeals said all parties in multiple defendant cases should be notified of such agreements, the New…

Jun 28, 2007 1:16 PM CDT

Bad Faith Settlement a Pa. Record

An insurance company has agreed to pay $20 million to settle a suit claiming it acted in bad faith when it refused to settle a claim within the policy limit. The settlement is the largest to date in a Pennsylvania bad-faith insurance case, the Legal Intelligencer reports. Princeton Insurance Co.…

Jun 28, 2007 12:57 PM CDT

Big, Big Bucks at Issue in ‘Big Dig’ Case?

Attorneys on both sides are still jockeying for position in the so-called Big Dig tort case in Boston. But plaintiff lawyers reportedly could be seeking a settlement in the neighborhood of $500 million in a tort claim over a woman crushed to death when the ceiling of the ill-fated tunnel…

Jun 27, 2007 10:06 PM CDT

Judge Loses Pants Lawsuit (Updated)

The administrative law judge who sought $54 million from a dry cleaners has lost his lawsuit. Roy Pearson Jr. sued Custom Cleaners for losing his pants, saying the establishment did not live up to a posted sign claiming “Satisfaction Guaranteed.” He first sought $67 million but later lowered his demand…

Jun 25, 2007 7:12 PM CDT

Civil Rights Lawyer Convicted

A crusading civil rights lawyer convicted of tax evasion and other charges could be sentenced to more than six years in prison. Stephen Yagman of Venice, Calif., was convicted of tax evasion, bankruptcy fraud and money laundering on Friday, the Los Angeles Times reports. Prosecutors had claimed Yagman hid money…

Jun 25, 2007 3:10 PM CDT

Another Big Defense Win in Paint Case

Now is apparently the time to be a defense lawyer representing a paint manufacturer in big-bucks litigation over injuries allegedly caused by lead-based products manufactured decades ago. Hard on the heels of recent defense victories in lead paint lawsuits in Missouri and New Jersey, a jury in Milwaukee, Wisc., found…

Jun 23, 2007 1:41 AM CDT

Fee Suit Scores Own Goal: $7 M to Client

It’s a common belief among attorneys that suing a client over unpaid fees is a dangerous practice, and a recent decision by a New York jury shows why. Filing suit to collect unpaid legal fees from a client partnership cost a now-defunct New York law firm a $7 million judgment,…

Jun 20, 2007 9:48 PM CDT

Judge Questions BAR/BRI Deal

Incentives that would be paid to class representatives have temporarily derailed a proposed settlement in a suit against a bar review course. U.S. District Judge Manuel Real of Los Angeles expressed concerns about the incentive awards on Monday, the National Law Journal reports. The $49 million deal would give class…

Jun 20, 2007 1:27 PM CDT

Plavix Patent Upheld

A federal judge in Manhattan today upheld a patent on the blood thinner Plavix. U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein said Plavix’s maker, Sanofi-Aventis, was entitled to an injunction barring a competitor’s generic version of the drug for four years, the Wall Street Journal reports. Apotex Inc. had sought to invalidate…

Jun 19, 2007 5:52 PM CDT

Filing Error Costs Gov’t $100 M Tax Bill

Oops. After winning a tax evasion case against a man described as the biggest tax evader in U.S. history, federal prosecutors made a mistake. They cited the wrong statutory language in a written plea agreement with telecommunications entrepreneur Walter Anderson, reports AP. And that means the government can’t recover some…

Jun 19, 2007 1:07 AM CDT

Illegal Bust Was Not Woman’s

A woman wrongly arrested for going topless will receive a $29,000 settlement from the city of New York. The illegal bust was by police, not the woman, according to the New York Post. Artist Jill Coccaro, who now goes by the name Phoenix Feeley, was arrested in 2005 for taking…

Jun 18, 2007 2:19 PM CDT

Back in Ball Game: O.J. Book ‘If I Did It’

A highly controversial, near-confessional account by fallen football hero O.J. Simpson of how he might have killed his former wife and a male companion could still be published. The father of Nicole Brown Simpson’s companion, Ron Goldman, can pursue the rights to the book, “If I Did It,” from an…

Jun 15, 2007 8:57 PM CDT

Klansman Guilty for Role in 1964 Murders

The brother of a black youth murdered in 1964 says he’s pleased with the guilty verdict reached yesterday against a member of the Ku Klux Klan for his role in the long-ago crime. “I’m rejoicing for justice in this country,” Thomas Moore told the Clarion-Ledger. Moore’s brother, Charlie Eddie Moore…

Jun 15, 2007 7:24 PM CDT

No Line for Hilton’s Parents at Jail Visit

Despite worldwide publicity critical of the special treatment Paris Hilton has already received, those in charge of the hotel heiress’ California incarceration for probation violation reportedly continue to bend the rules on her behalf. Family members of fellow inmates complained that their visits were delayed by several hours or cut…

Jun 13, 2007 11:26 PM CDT