Verdicts & Settlements

Parents donate their portion of wrongful death settlement as a way to honor son

The parents of Kevin Kennelly Jr., a 17-year-old Chicagoan who died in 2011 after being punched in the face, have donated their portion of a $1 million wrongful death settlement to various Catholic institutions, including two schools their son attended. “It wasn’t our money. It was the price they put…

Sep 25, 2015 5:20 PM CDT

New Yorker profiles ‘St. Judy,’ revered defense lawyer who, for first time, had a client get death

Judy Clarke helped keep high-profile murderers including child-killer Susan Smith, Unabomber Ted Kaczynski and Jared Loughner, who killed a federal judge in an Arizona shooting spree, off death row. But despite her best efforts, Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, whose conviction was generally viewed as almost inevitable, was sentenced to…

Sep 18, 2015 2:30 PM CDT

GM will pay $900M to end US criminal probe over ignition-switch issues

General Motors has agreed to pay a $900 million fine to resolve a federal criminal probe into the automaker’s reported delay in dealing with ignition-switch issues in some 2.6 million vehicles. The issue has been linked to over 100 deaths and many more injuries. The settlement also involves a three-year…

Sep 17, 2015 12:50 PM CDT

Appeals court blasts school’s claim teen ‘consented’ to teacher sex, nixes defense jury verdict

Making a controversial claim that a 14-year-old consented to sex with a teacher, in order to win a tort case, appears not to have paid off for a California school district. Reversing a jury verdict for the defense, a state appeals court on Wednesday ruled in no uncertain terms that…

Sep 17, 2015 11:10 AM CDT

Former exec ‘Fruitcake’ gets 10 years in $16M money-launder case; his wife ‘Cupcake’ gets probation

A former controller for a Texas bakery known for its high-end fruitcakes was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in federal prison in a Dallas case involving a $16.7 million theft from his employer. Sandy Jenkins agreed to a plea deal last year and pleaded guilty to charges including mail fraud…

Sep 17, 2015 7:35 AM CDT

Former Cuomo lawyer dies after being caught in NYC shooting crossfire

A 43-year-old lawyer for a New York state economic development agency who formerly worked for the governor and Jones Day has died from a gunshot wound to the head. An apparent unintended victim in what may have been a gang shootout in Brooklyn last week, Carey Gabay died Wednesday, after…

Sep 17, 2015 6:40 AM CDT

Former judge ‘ready to be punished’ gets 2 years in domestic violence case

A former Ohio judge who pleaded guilty last month as trial loomed in a felony domestic violence case concerning his wife was sentenced Wednesday to 24 months in prison. “I make no excuses, I mean, I beat my wife in front of my kids,” Lance Mason told the court during…

Sep 16, 2015 2:15 PM CDT

South Carolina paying $215K in legal fees in same-sex marriage battles

South Carolina’s attorney general recently entered a settlement for $80,000 in legal fees for a couple who challenged the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, which follows a federal judge’s order last month that another couple be awarded more than $135,000 in legal fees, the Associated Press reports. The two suits…

Sep 15, 2015 2:15 PM CDT

Insurer not liable for $1M law firm judgment for turning over child’s passport, federal judge rules

A New Jersey law firm’s malpractice insurance carrier doesn’t have to pay a state-court judgment of nearly $1 million that is linked to a parental-kidnapping case, a federal judge has ruled. Granting a summary judgment motion in the declaratory judgment action, U.S. District Judge Esther Salas found that the law…

Sep 15, 2015 6:25 AM CDT

Teen does not have to visit dad, but appeals court suspends child support

Corrected: A Brooklyn judge had discretion to determine that a 13-year-old “vehemently opposed” to visiting his father should not be compelled to do so, a New York appeals court ruled. But, under the circumstances of this case, the judge should have granted the pro se father’s alternative motion to suspend…

Sep 15, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Attorney faces ethics complaint over ‘sham’ contract drafted in campaign-finance case

A lawyer is now facing a legal ethics complaint for drafting what federal prosecutors in a case against a former Connecticut governor called a “sham” consulting agreement. On Sept. 2, the grievance panel for the New Haven judicial district said it found probable cause that attorney Christian Shelton “knowingly participated…

Sep 15, 2015 5:15 AM CDT

RJ Reynolds hit with $34.7M verdict for family of Air Force sergeant who died of cancer

A Florida jury has hit R.J. Reynolds with a $34.7 million verdict in connection with the cancer-related death of a decorated U.S. Air Force sergeant. Law360 (sub. req.) reported Friday that a Pensacola Circuit Court jury awarded $20 million in punitive damages to the family of Garry O’Hara, who died…

Sep 14, 2015 4:30 PM CDT

Once-convicted lawyer turns tables on feds, seeks $215K for defense fees in $52M mortgage-fraud case

Convicted two years ago in a $52 million mortgage-fraud scheme, a New Orleans lawyer won a reversal of his conviction in July from a federal appeals court. Now David Mark hopes to get reimbursement from the government of some $215,000 in attorney’s fees and costs, due to alleged wrongdoing by…

Sep 14, 2015 2:30 PM CDT

Judge says DA intentionally withheld murder trial evidence, but denies defense bid for retrial ban

A Texas district attorney intentionally withheld evidence from defense counsel in a capital murder trial, a state court judge ruled Friday. However, the reason why Williamson County DA Jana Duty did so is unknown, Williamson County District Judge Rick Kennon writes in his 15-page opinion (PDF). Hence, because Kennon did…

Sep 11, 2015 5:00 PM CDT

Lawyer gets 48 months for defrauding estate of $2.3M

A suburban Philadelphia lawyer who diverted more than $2.3 million from a $6 million estate into his law firm accounts was sentenced Thursday to 48 months in federal prison. Randall Scott, 72, pleaded guilty earlier this year to mail fraud and tax charges. Between December 2005 and October 2011 he…

Sep 11, 2015 9:20 AM CDT