Lawyers USA back issues from January 2008:
Verdicts & Settlements January 14, 2008: Nursing home to pay $54M for resident who bled to death
Jan 14, 2008; ... In the largest personal injury verdict in state history, a NewMexico jury awarded $54 million to the family of a woman who bled todeath in her nursing home. The plaintiff's lawyer, Carl Bettinger of Albuquerque, wasalready well-acquainted with the defendant, having ...
Verdicts & Settlements January 14, 2008: Family of brain-injured boy wins $50M
Jan 14, 2008; ... A Florida jury awarded $50 million to the family of a boy who wasseverely brain-injured when a pickup truck driven by a drunk drivercrashed into his family's car. The award to the family of Mario Ladler II is believed to be thelargest personal injury verdict in Polk County, Fla ....
Verdicts & Settlements January 14, 2008: Exploding water heater brings $50M
Jan 14, 2008; ... An Alabama jury awarded $50 million to the family of a man whowas killed by an exploding water heater, which the plaintiffs'lawyer likened to a "time bomb." Richard Krantz, a 55-year-old real-estate broker in Daphne, Ala.,was critically injured on July 1, 2005, when he attempted to ...
Verdicts & Settlements January 14, 2008: $47.5M Vioxx verdict helps prompt global settlement
Jan 14, 2008; ... Nine months before Merck reached a global settlement withthousands of Vioxx plaintiffs, a New Jersey jury awarded one man$47.5 million for a heart attack caused by taking the painkillerdrug for just two months. Frederick "Mike" Humeston lost his first trial against Merck ...
Verdicts & Settlements January 14, 2008: Nevada woman wins $47.6M in hormone therapy case
Jan 14, 2008; ... Three Nevada women won the biggest verdict to date in the ongoinghormone replacement therapy litigation against Wyeth, convincing ajury that the company knew its drugs caused breast cancer but failedto warn patients about the risks. The Reno, Nev., jury awarded a total of $35 ...
Verdicts & Settlements January 14, 2008: $45M for crash killing unborn child and 9-year-old girl
Jan 14, 2008; ... In a case where the defendant's insurance company rejected asettlement offer for $200,000, a Florida jury awarded $45 millionfor the auto accident death of a woman's 9-year-old daughter andunborn child. Drawing on his engineering degree, plaintiffs' lawyer Weldon"Web" Earl ...
Where are they now?
Jan 14, 2008; ... 1. $216.7 million Navarro v. Carrollwood Emergency Physicians Medical malpractice Oct. 3, 2006, Florida Status: The case was settled for an undisclosed amount. In last year's largest verdict - one of the largest medicalmalpractice verdicts in ...
Total Top Ten verdict awards for 2007 is smallest in 14 years
Jan 14, 2008; ... The nation's largest verdicts just keep getting smaller. After climbing towards the stratosphere from 1997 to 2002, thelargest verdicts to individual plaintiffs have been in a steadydecline ever since. The total Top Ten awards for 2007 dropped 25 percent from 2006 -which was ...
Verdicts & Settlements January 14, 2008: $109 million verdict for brain-injured man
Jan 14, 2008; ... New York jury awarded a brain-injured man and his wife $109million after their lawyer asked for just $18 million. The plaintiffs' lawyer, James Wilkens, said the doctors' failureto treat his client in a timely fashion following a seizure caused abrain abscess that resulted in ...
Verdicts & Settlements January 14, 2008: $102.7M in Florida negligent security case
Jan 14, 2008; ... A Tunisian cruise ship waiter who is paralyzed from the waistdown was awarded $102.7 million by a Florida jury this fall in thelargest negligent security verdict ever. Sami Barrak, 30, was leaving Tootsie's Cabaret, a Miami stripclub, on July 31, 2002, when his friend went back ...
Verdicts & Settlements January 14, 2008: $50M award by L.A. jury sidesteps High Court ruling
Jan 14, 2008; ... In the first major punitive damages award since the U.S. SupremeCourt placed new limits on punitive damages last February, a LosAngeles jury ordered DaimlerChrysler to pay $5.2 million incompensatory damages and $50 million in punitives to a man run overby his own truck. The ...
Verdicts & Settlements January 14, 2008: Private plane crash yields $54M verdict
Jan 14, 2008; ... In a trial where the defense seemed to fold its case after twounsuccessful witnesses, a flight instructor and his student won a$54.5 million verdict for injuries they suffered in a privateairplane crash. The plaintiffs claimed the crash was caused by a faultycarburetor, which ...
Lawmakers report flood of immigration applications
Jan 28, 2008 ... A looming application fee increase and the desire to vote in the2008 presidential election resulted in a more than threefold spikein immigration applications last year. This is something federal authorities should have anticipated,lawmakers told Bush administration ...
National Labor Relations Board launches pilot program for video testimony
Jan 28, 2008 ... The National Labor Relations Board will launch a 2-year "PilotVideo Testimony Program" aimed at making it easer for parties,representatives or witnesses from remote locations to take part inhearings.The Pilot Video Testimony Program will run for a 2-year period. General ...
IRS warns filers against bogus legal arguments
Jan 28, 2008 ... As the 2007 tax filing season begins, the Internal RevenueService has issued a notice to taxpayers warning them against usingerroneous legal positions to try to avoid or lessen their taxpayments. In the Jan. 14 notice, the agency enumerated four specific"frivolous" legal ...
U.S. EEOC releases report on disabled workers
Jan 28, 2008 ... The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued acomprehensive report addressing strategies to reverse the decliningnumber of federal employees with targeted disabilities. The report found that, despite initiatives from numerousadministrations, the percentage of federal ...
Defense bill includes Iraq lawsuit immunity
Jan 28, 2008 ... After President George W. Bush used a "pocket veto" to reject adefense spending bill over a provision he said would expose theIraqi government to expensive lawsuits, the House has approved a newdefense policy bill that includes a pay raise for troops. The bill, passed by a 369-46 ...
2007 busy year for business litigation
Jan 28, 2008 ... In 2007, the policy law firm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerceentered more litigation cases on behalf of businesses than in anyprevious year, the group has announced.The National Chamber Litigation Center, which advocates fairtreatment of business in the courts and before ...
Late-hour tax law change problematic
Jan 28, 2008 ... The biggest problem facing both taxpayers preparing their taxreturns and the Internal Revenue Service this year is the end-of-year congressional vote that changed the tax laws, according to anannual report. The National Taxpayer Advocate said in the report that the IRS isnot ...
U.S. Supreme Court Certiorari Granted: January 28, 2008
Jan 28, 2008 ... CRIMINAL LAW Does a defendant who admitted killing his ex-girlfriend forfeithis right to confront her about her statements on a previousdomestic incident? U.S. Supreme Court. Giles v. California, No. 07-6053. Certiorarigranted Jan. 11, 2007. Ruling below: 40 Cal. 4th 833 ...
New niche for e-discovery: special masters
Jan 28, 2008; ... The increased use of electronic discovery has resulted in a newset of practitioners: e-discovery special masters. A special master is a parajudicial officer appointed to help acourt with its proceedings, and may perform functions such as takingtestimony or advising the court as a ...
Q&A with J. Ric Gass, personal injury atty. at Milwaukee law firm
Jan 28, 2008; ... As most defense attorneys in a personal injury trial can attest,taking the side of a corporation or individual accused of harming aperson can easily put you on the wrong side of juror sympathy. J. Ric Gass, a partner at Gass Weber Mullins in Milwaukee, Wis.,has litigated a a number ...
Florida plaintiff's lawyer says closing argument begins on Day One
Jan 28, 2008; ... Michael A. Haggard, a plaintiffs' lawyer in Coral Gables, Fla.,has won three verdicts of $100 million or more. And for each trial,he started working on his closing argument the day he took the case. "When you get your case and meet your client and hear his story,you've got to be ...
Internet anonymity is tricky subject for courts
Jan 28, 2008; ... Over the last several years, courts have struggled with casesinvolving Internet anonymity, but a recent decision from the ArizonaCourt of Appeals has affirmed that there is something of a consensuswhen it comes to the issue of disclosing the identity of ananonymous defendant ....
Iowa economist launches statistical service to assist medical malpractice lawyers
Jan 28, 2008; ... An Iowa economist has launched a new statistical service aimed atassisting medical malpractice lawyers - for plaintiffs anddefendants alike - in evaluating their cases. David M. Frankel, an associate professor of economics at IowaState University, has created MedMal ...
Commentary: A look at the year to come
Jan 28, 2008; ... Let's start with a quiz. Which lasted longer: a) the War of the Roses, b) the War onDrugs, c) the 50 Years War, or d) the battle over regulating lawyeradvertising? You may think it's a trick question because "b" and "d" are stillraging on. But, let's give the nod to the ...
Employers vigilant as Arizona's new state immigration law takes effect
Jan 28, 2008; ... Employers around the country are closely watching Arizona's newimmigration law - the strictest in the country - which went intoeffect on January 1 and is being challenged in court by a group ofArizona employers. The law is a "two-strikes" measure under which employers ...
U.S. Supreme Court to consider more sentencing issues
Jan 28, 2008; ... The U.S. Supreme Court will decide this term whether repeat drunkdrivers and defendants previously given high sentences because ofrecidivist drug sentencing laws are "career criminals" subject to afederal law that automatically boosts sentences. The federal Armed Career Criminal ...
EEOC issues final rule on retiree health benefits
Jan 28, 2008; ... After several years of uncertainty, the Equal EmploymentOpportunity Commission has released its final rule on retiree healthbenefits. The rule allows employers and labor unions to reduce or eliminatehealth benefits once retirees become eligible for Medicare or acomparable ...
U.S. Supreme Court to decide if evidence from search incident to illegal arrest is admissible
Jan 28, 2008; ... The U.S. Supreme Court recently considered this question in thecase of Virginia v. Moore, No. 06-1082. Officers had probable causeto believe that Virginia resident David Lee Moore was driving with asuspended license. They stopped and arrested him. In a searchincident to the arrest, the ...
U.S. Supreme Court considers reach of arbitration clause
Jan 28, 2008; ... TV's "Judge Alex" Ferrer entered a Washington courtroom recently,but it wasn't to film an on-location episode of his courtroomreality show. Instead, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court tookthe bench, hearing oral arguments in a case stemming from Ferrer'sown legal dispute with his ...
Missouri Court of Appeals says public defender not immune from suit
Jan 28, 2008 ... A public defender is not protected by "official immunity" from atort claim by a former client for breach of fiduciary duty, theMissouri Court of Appeals has ruled in reversing a dismissal. The defender's indigent former client claimed the attorney failedto secure the attendance of ...
U.S. Supreme Court takes on constitutionality of lethal injection
Jan 28, 2008; ... The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments recently in a casethat has kept the nation's lethal injection executions on hold sincelast fall. The Court tackled the issue of whether the three-drug combinationused on death row inmates, which has the potential to causeexcruciating ...
U.S. Supreme Court considers whether retirement plan violates ADEA
Jan 28, 2008; ... The retirement benefit system set up for Kentucky's 267,000 stateand local government employees grants different disability benefitsto employees who chose to continue working after age 55 than tothose who are injured on the job at a younger age. The U.S. SupremeCourt will soon decide if ...
Pennsylvania Supreme Court says consumer law inapplicable to attorney's fraud
Jan 28, 2008 ... A state consumer protection and unfair trade practices actdoesn't provide a cause of action against a lawyer for fraudulentdisbursement of settlement proceeds, the Pennsylvania Supreme Courthas ruled in reversing a judgment for the attorney's clients. The attorney improperly ...
Washington Supreme Court says pre-suit work product is privileged
Jan 28, 2008 ... Attorneys' pre-litigation work product for a government agency ona potential wrongful death suit is privileged under a state publicrecords statute, the Washington Supreme Court has ruled. The attorneys hired an investigator to look into a child's deathduring a school field trip ....
9th Circuit Court says disbarment statute may be applied retroactively
Jan 28, 2008 ... A state law that was amended to require disbarred lawyers to paythe cost of their disbarment may be applied retroactively, the 9thCircuit has ruled. After the plaintiff was disbarred, the state bar filed acertificate of costs for more than $20,000. Two years later, the bar ...
5th Circuit says homestead cap doesn't apply in bankruptcy case
Jan 28, 2008 ... The homestead exemption cap enacted as part of bankruptcy reformlegislation doesn't apply to a homestead interest established withinthe applicable statutory period because the debtor acquired title tothe property prior to that time, the 5th Circuit has ruled. The Bankruptcy Abuse ...
Federal law preempts Amtrak passenger's state law fraud claims
Jan 28, 2008 ... A wheelchair-bound passenger who claimed she was wrongfullyremoved from a train can't sue Amtrak for consumer and common lawfraud because federal law preempts such claims, a U.S. DistrictCourt in Illinois has ruled. The plaintiff, who is confined to a motorized ...
Arizona Court of Appeals says victim of identity theft can sue title company
Jan 28, 2008 ... A victim of identity theft can sue a title company for failing toconfirm her identity before encumbering her property in connectionwith a fraudulent loan transaction without her knowledge, theArizona Court of Appeals has ruled in reversing a summary judgment. A deed of trust was ...
U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania says casino can't be sued by out- of-state resident
Jan 28, 2008 ... A Pennsylvania resident who tripped and fell in a West Virginiacasino cannot sue the casino in Pennsylvania, a U.S. District Courtin Pennsylvania has ruled. The plaintiff fell on a carpeted area of the casino and injuredher hip. She filed suit in Pennsylvania, arguing that the ...
$8M punitives award against insurer upheld by Missouri Court of Appeals
Jan 28, 2008 ... An $8 million punitive damages award against an insurer thatmaliciously prosecuted its insured and her friend for fraud was notexcessive, even though a jury awarded only $410,000 in compensatorydamages, the Missouri Court of Appeals has ruled. The insurer suspected its insured has ...
South Carolina Supreme Court says fertility clinic can't be sued out- of-state
Jan 28, 2008 ... South Carolina courts couldn't exercise personal jurisdictionover a North Carolina fertility clinic on behalf of parents of aDown Syndrome baby who claimed the clinic didn't inform them of theavailability of pre-implementation genetic testing, the SouthCarolina Supreme Court has ruled ....
Federal tolling statute narrowly interpreted by Maryland appellate court
Jan 28, 2008 ... The "tolling" of the statute of limitations on a state claimwhile a federal claim is pending suspends only the effect - not therunning - of the statute of limitations, a Maryland appellate courthas ruled. This means that the 30-day grace period for filing a state actionbegins to ...
California Court of Appeals finds fraud claim against insurer not barred by release
Jan 28, 2008 ... A homeowners' association that settled its earthquake claims withits insurer and released it from future claims can keep the moneyand sue for fraud based on the insurer's failure to inform it of thetrue policy limits, the California Court of Appeal has ruled. The homeowners' ...
Arizona Supreme Court says insurance clients' negligence claims are assignable
Jan 28, 2008 ... Clients' claims for professional negligence against theirinsurance agents are assignable, the Arizona Supreme Court hasruled. The clients purchased business and umbrella policies from theagent for their liquor store. When a wrongful death claim was madeagainst them and their ...
Insurer can't deny coverage, rules California Court of Appeals
Jan 28, 2008 ... State law precludes a health insurer from rescinding coverage formaterial misrepresentations in an application, unless it can provethey were willful or that it tried to ensure the applicant'sinformation was accurate and complete, the California Court ofAppeal has ruled. The ...
Civil rights plaintiff can't recover damages from American Airlines, 1st Circuit Court rules
Jan 28, 2008 ... An airline passenger can't recover damages for a claim that hiscivil rights were violated when he was removed from a flight afterbeing mistaken for a person of Middle Eastern descent and apotential security threat, the 1st Circuit has ruled. The decision vacates a $400,000 jury ...
Officer who prolonged driver's detention sued
Jan 28, 2008 ... An officer who prolonged an investigative stop can be sued underthe Fourth Amendment and is not entitled to qualified immunity atthe summary judgment stage, the 2nd Circuit has ruled. The officer stopped a van on suspicion of terrorist activity,based on erroneous information that ...
11th Circuit says prison officials violated pregnant inmate's Constitutional rights
Jan 28, 2008 ... A pregnant inmate who leaked amniotic fluid for 11 days and whosechild was subsequently stillborn was not required to exhaust theprison's administrative remedies since the prison never informed herof its policies or procedures, the 11th Circuit has ruled inreversing a summary judgment in ...
7th Circuit says plaintiff can sue for malicious prosecution under Sect. 1983
Jan 28, 2008 ... A civil rights plaintiff could sue for malicious prosecutionafter being acquitted of committing battery upon two policeofficers, even though the defendant had probable cause that abattery had been committed against his fellow officer, the 7thCircuit has ruled in reversing a summary ...
Oregon Supreme Court says 'Miranda' warning not required in domestic abuse investigation
Jan 28, 2008 ... Police officers were not constitutionally required to issue aMiranda warning to an assault suspect when they entered his home toinvestigate a report of domestic abuse, the Oregon Supreme Court hasruled in affirming a trial court. A pizza delivery man told police that he had made a ...
Florida Supreme Court says victim's statement at scene of arrest inadmissible
Jan 28, 2008 ... The admission of an abduction victim's statements immediatelyprior to the defendant's arrest violated the Confrontation Clause,the Florida Supreme Court has ruled. Further, said the court, defense counsel's questioning of thevictim at his discovery deposition was not an opportunity ...
10th Circuit says Speedy Trial Act doesn't allow prospective waiver
Jan 28, 2008 ... Even thought a defendant changed counsel five times and at onepoint voluntarily waived his right to a speedy trial, his convictionmust be vacated and his indictment dismissed for violation of theSpeedy Trial Act, the 10th Circuit has ruled. The defendant was indicted on gun and ...
Wisconsin Court of Appeals says blood sample needn't be suppressed
Jan 28, 2008 ... Although a nurse may have violated Health Insurance Portabilityand Privacy Act rules by providing blood sample results to thepolice, the evidence needn't be suppressed because the police aren'tsubject to HIPAA, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled. The defendant ran a red light ...
6th Circuit says officers could search car without warrant
Jan 28, 2008 ... Police officers who had a warrant to search a defendant's homecould search his car that was parked on the street without awarrant, the 6th Circuit has ruled in affirming the denial of amotion to suppress. The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the defendantfor seven ...
Ohio Supreme Court says DNA analysis reports are non-testimonial
Jan 28, 2008 ... DNA analysis reports are non-testimonial business records andadmitting them into evidence doesn't violate the ConfrontationClause, even if an expert who didn't prepare the report testifiesabout its contents, the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled. DNA tests performed on items left at the ...
U.S. Supreme Court to decide if defendant waived right to confront witness
Jan 28, 2008 ... Does a defendant who admitted killing his ex-girlfriend forfeithis right to confront her about her statements on a previousdomestic incident? The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to answer this question. Itwill review a decision from the California Supreme Court. In that case, ...
8th Circuit says evidence from passenger ordered back into vehicle admissible in court
Jan 28, 2008 ... An officer who ordered an automobile passenger back into thevehicle during a traffic stop acted reasonably under the FourthAmendment, the 8th Circuit has ruled. A police officer spotted a man, whose driver license was known tobe suspended, driving a car. He radioed in the car's ...
9th Circuit says evidence from phone call to police is admissible
Jan 28, 2008 ... A phone conversation with police initiated by a suspect who wasin jail for an unrelated offense was not part of a custodialinterrogation, and therefore no Miranda warnings were required, the9th Circuit has ruled. The defendant's ex-wife was found seriously injured from anapparent ...
U.S. Supreme Court to decide if parties must receive notice of upward sentencing variance
Jan 28, 2008 ... Must a sentencing judge give both sides notice in advance ofimposing a criminal sentence that varies upward from the sentencingguidelines? The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to answer this question,reviewing a decision from the 11th Circuit. In that case, the defendant was ...
New Hampshire Supreme Court says fingerprint expert can't testify about peer's review
Jan 28, 2008 ... A fingerprint expert's testimony about a peer's review of hisfindings is hearsay, the New Hampshire Supreme Court has ruled. The defendant was convicted on three counts of arson. At trial, astate fingerprint expert testified he conducted a forensic analysis,known as "ACE-V," which ...
Flashlight search of exposed pocket upheld by Virginia Court of Appeals
Jan 28, 2008 ... A police officer's use of a flashlight to illuminate marijuanathat would have been observable in a defendant's pocket duringdaylight didn't violate his constitutional rights, the VirginiaCourt of Appeals has ruled. The officer approached the defendant at around 8 p.m. in a ...
Pennsylvania Supreme Court says arrest can't be based on transfer of unknown object
Jan 28, 2008 ... A police officer who witnessed an individual transferring moneyto another for an unknown object lacked probable cause to make anarrest, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled. An officer working in a high-crime neighborhood saw the defendantand another individual exchange money ...
California Court of Appeals says observation of marijuana use doesn't justify apartment entry
Jan 28, 2008 ... Police lacked probable cause to enter an apartment without awarrant after seeing the occupants smoking marijuana, the CaliforniaCourt of Appeal has ruled. Two police officers responding to a complaint about a noisedisturbance in an apartment building approached the unit that ...