Magistrate OKs IP Address Turnover to Sony for All Visitors to Unauthorized PlayStation 3 Site

It isn’t just George Hotz who may soon be feeling the heat from his publication of a “jailbreak” encryption key and software tools on his website that allow PlayStation 3 owners to run their own programs on the consoles. A federal magistrate judge in the Northern District of California has…

Mar 7, 2011 7:08 PM CST

9th Circuit Says Law Firm Must Pay $311K to Man From Whom It Sought to Collect Less Than $10K

Corrected: An attorney representing a Montana consumer was jubilant today over news that a $311,000 verdict for his client, who was initially pro se in a collection case brought by a law firm over an old credit card debt of less than $5,000, had been upheld by a federal appeals…

Mar 5, 2011 12:42 AM CST

Law Exempting Lawyers from ‘Red Flags Rule’ Makes ABA Suit Moot, DC Circuit Says

An ABA suit challenging application of identity theft regulations to lawyers is moot as a result of an exemption granted by Congress last December, a federal appeals court has ruled. The ABA had lobbied hard for the congressional action. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled (PDF)…

Mar 4, 2011 4:52 PM CST

Judge Refuses Class Action Status for Suit Claiming ‘Time Bomb’ in Law Firm Software

A federal judge in New Jersey has refused to grant class action status to a lawsuit that claims law firm management software contained a hidden “time bomb” that caused it to shut down. The suit by New York intellectual property law firm Kalow & Springut claimed that software made by…

Mar 3, 2011 5:23 PM CST

More than Five Years After Reversed $10.1 Billion Judgment, Illinois Tobacco Case Is Revived

An Illinois appeals court helped revive a dismissed Illinois tobacco class action case that resulted in a $10.1 billion judgment in 2003. More than five years after the state supreme court dismissed Price v. Philip Morris Inc., the case was given another chance in the Fifth District Appellate Court of…

Mar 2, 2011 7:57 PM CST

Website Gives Lawyers Another Way to Offer Class Action Updates

Mar 1, 2011 11:00 AM CST

FCC Nears Ruling on Signal Boosters

Mar 1, 2011 10:22 AM CST

Prolific Colo. Consumer Attorney Filed Two-Thirds of State’s FDCPA Cases Since 2007

Depending on which side of the dispute you’re on, lawyers who sue creditors under statutes such as the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act are either knights fighting for often-violated consumer rights or opportunists pursuing profitable technical violations on behalf of deadbeats. But there’s one thing that’s clear to all…

Feb 28, 2011 10:58 PM CST

Ind. Judge Orders 711 People to Come to Court to Explain Why They Didn’t Complete Jury Questionnaire

An Indiana judge has created a stir by ordering 711 people to come to court to explain why they didn’t fill out jury questionnaires. In fact, it appears that some did turn in the forms belatedly, and others may have moved out of state to go to school or work.…

Feb 23, 2011 4:20 PM CST

To Resolve $145.88 Dispute, Sheriff Retains Law Firm, Winds Up with $5,370.67 Legal Bill

The amount at issue was less than $150, representing part of the amount paid by Beaufort County, N.C., for a gym membership for a sheriff’s deputy. When asked to reimburse the department after he was fired, Tony Keech refused. And, by the time the largest law firm in North Carolina…

Feb 22, 2011 7:17 PM CST

Wi-Fi Users Are At Risk for Widespread Hacking, New York Times Says

Think the password to your social networking account keeps your information secure? Think again. Especially for those who use unsecured Wi-Fi networks in public, but even for those who have wireless Internet connections at home, there is a big issue. It is now remarkably easy for even unskilled hackers, in…

Feb 19, 2011 12:59 AM CST

Diabetic Sues Restaurant for All-You-Can-Eat Restrictions

A diabetic has sued a California sushi restaurant for disability discrimination after its owner told him he had to eat his rice if he wanted the all-you-can-eat offer. Plaintiff David Martin is seeking at least $4,000 for “humiliation, embarrassment and mental anguish” suffered as a result of the alleged bias…

Feb 18, 2011 1:20 PM CST

2nd Judge Insured by State Farm Steps Aside in $350M Case

Attorneys for both sides reportedly looked at each other in disbelief this week as a Texas judge hearing a $350 million case against State Farm asked whether it would be a problem that she had her own personal policies with the insurer. That’s because the same issue arose in September,…

Feb 18, 2011 1:27 AM CST

US Agencies Raise Value of Life by Millions of Dollars, Justifying Tougher Regs

In the last few years, several U.S. agencies have raised the value of human life by millions of dollars, a calculation that justifies tougher regulations in a cost-benefit analysis. The New York Times lists the higher values. The Environmental Protection Agency set the value of human life at $9.1 million…

Feb 17, 2011 1:55 PM CST

Many Usernames Can Be Used to ID and Track Individuals, Researchers Say

If you have the same username on eBay, Google and MySpace, there’s a good chance you may be identifiable. French researchers at the National Institute for Computing and Automation Research in Grenoble have found that about half of the individuals who use the same moniker on multiple sites like these…

Feb 17, 2011 1:28 AM CST