2nd Circuit Court

Chevron can sue Patton Boggs over law firm effort to collect $9.5B verdict, federal judge rules

In the latest salvo in a hard-fought international environmental case, a federal judge in New York has OK’d a request by Chevron Corp. to sue a law firm representing the oil company’s opponent in its efforts to collect a $9.5 billion judgment awarded by a court in Ecuador. Although Patton…

Mar 31, 2014 9:24 PM CDT

Jury convicts 5 Madoff staffers; accountant is now last remaining defendant in $17.5B scheme

After the conviction Monday of five employees who helped Bernard L. Madoff perpetrate a massive Ponzi scheme under the guise of a hedge fund, only one defendant still remains to be tried in a criminal case linked to the $17.5 billion swindle. He is Paul Konigsberg, 77, an outside accountant…

Mar 26, 2014 6:55 PM CDT

Workers sue McDonald’s in three states over claimed ‘stolen wages,’ seek class-action status

Already under fire from proponents of higher pay for fast-food workers, McDonald’s was the subject of a litigation attack this week that contends the chain and some of its franchise owners have underpaid workers in violation of wage-and-hour laws. Seven lawsuits filed in three states allege that the defendants denied…

Mar 13, 2014 6:45 PM CDT

TV’s Judge Judy files first lawsuit, says law firm used her name and photo in ads without her OK

Famed television judge Judith Scheindlin says she has never filed a lawsuit before. But “Judge Judy” said she felt she had no choice but to do so when a Connecticut law firm used her name and photo on television and Internet advertising despite her long-standing decision not to endorse products…

Mar 12, 2014 9:34 PM CDT

2nd Circuit says judge abused discretion by denying attorney fees in ERISA case

A federal appeals court says a district court abused its discretion by denying attorney fees in an Employment Retirement Income Security Act case in which an insurance company was found to have been arbitrary and capricious in refusing benefits to the plaintiff, John Donachie. Liberty Life Insurance “ignored substantial evidence…

Mar 12, 2014 8:55 PM CDT

SCOTUS to decide deadline issue in suit over losses in mortgage-backed securities

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a pension system met the time limit to pursue claims against investment banks that underwrote mortgage-backed securities. The Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi argues it met the three-year deadline because it would have been a class member in a would-be…

Mar 10, 2014 5:01 PM CDT

Federal judge rules for Chevron in civil-racketeer case, bans collection of $9B enviro award in US

In the latest blow to the plaintiffs and their lawyers in hard-fought litigation against Chevron Corp. over environmental damage in Ecuador, a federal district court judge in New York has issued a blistering ruling in an unusual civil racketeering case. It blocks their ability to collect, here in the U.S.,…

Mar 4, 2014 9:41 PM CST

Man sues moistened-wipes makers over plumbing bills; defendant stands by product’s ‘flushability’

A New York dentist apparently missed news reports that so-called flushable wipes are responsible for massive “fatberg” formations in a number of municipal sewer systems. However, Dr. Joseph Kurtz is now seeking redress in federal court in Brooklyn, contending that manufacturers’ false claims that moistened wipes can be safely flushed…

Mar 4, 2014 7:35 PM CST

Yale law students help file class action to seek benefits for thousands of Vietnam vets with PTSD

Working at a Yale Law School clinic intended to help U.S. military veterans obtain benefits from the Veterans Administration, law students soon realized they were dealing with a bigger problem. A number of the older veterans who came to the clinic received less-than-honorable discharges because they had been displaying symptoms…

Mar 3, 2014 10:45 PM CST

Seized cellphones led to capture of ‘most wanted’ Mexican drug trafficker, authorities say

The U.S. will seek extradition of the claimed leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel, who was captured over the weekend sleeping in a condo in a Mexican beach resort town in an early-morning raid backed by the American government. Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, 56, said to be the “most wanted”…

Feb 24, 2014 6:30 PM CST

2nd Circuit puts court-appointed monitor back to work in Apple e-book case but limits his duties

A federal appeals court has put a Washington, D.C., lawyer back to work as an $1,100-an-hour court monitor while an appeal of his appointment is pending in a hard-fought New York case in which Apple Inc. was accused of conspiring with publishers to fix e-book prices. However, the role of…

Feb 11, 2014 9:30 PM CST

Despite money-laundering case, Bitcoin evangelist sees bright future for virtual currency

The arrest late last month of 24-year-old Charles Shrem in a federal money-laundering case wasn’t good news for the developing Bitcoin industry. But the founder of BitInstant, an exchange site for the virtual currency, said from his lawyer’s office that he still sees a bright future for Bitcoin, reports the…

Feb 6, 2014 3:05 PM CST

BigLaw ‘partner’ files for personal bankruptcy, lists $800 cash, clothes worth $900 and broken watch

With a BigLaw job in New York that pays him around $375,000 a year, attorney Gregory M. Owens obviously is doing better than many in the legal profession. But career success is relative, and a recent Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition shows the 55-year-old White & Case partner hasn’t been doing…

Jan 28, 2014 12:10 AM CST

Judge nixes ex-wife’s civil racketeering claim against billionaire Steven Cohen, but OKs fraud case

A federal judge in New York on Monday dismissed a civil racketeering count in a fraud case filed against billionaire Steven Cohen by his ex-wife, Patricia Cohen. However, U.S. District Judge William Pauley gave a green light to her fraud case against the hedge fund manager even though Pauley nixed…

Jan 27, 2014 6:30 PM CST

Suspect in JFK airport $5M cash heist portrayed in ‘Goodfellas’ is among 5 indicted by feds

More than 30 years after hooded gunmen stole $5 million in cash from a cargo terminal of John F. Kennedy International Airport, a reputed crime family member is accused of a role in the record-breaking theft in a federal indictment unsealed Thursday. Vincent Asaro, said by the feds to be…

Jan 23, 2014 5:50 PM CST