Consumer Law

RIAA Seeks Sanctions for N.Y. Lawyer’s ‘Vexatious’ Blog Posts of Case Filings

A lawyer who is known for defending individuals accused of peer-to-peer sharing of copyrighted works over the Internet is now on the hot seat himself. The Recording Industry Association of America is seeking sanctions against attorney Ray Beckerman in a federal court case in New York, claiming that he has…

Sep 25, 2008 3:47 PM CDT

$700B Bank Bailout Uncertain, Despite Bernanke-Paulson Push

Congressional leaders are hesitating about whether to approve a pricey emergency plan by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to spend some $700 billion to shore up the nation’s severely struggling financial institutions, despite their predictions of dire consequences if the legislation isn’t immediately enacted.…

Sep 23, 2008 9:15 PM CDT

Nonprofits Oppose Jones Day Trademark Suit Over Associate Home Purchase Posts

The Electronic Frontier Foundation and Public Citizen have filed an opposing amicus brief in federal trademark litigation brought by Jones Day over a website’s postings about home purchases by two of the law firm’s associate attorneys. The posts should be considered news reporting, as well as an allowable fair use…

Sep 19, 2008 9:46 PM CDT

Tort Suits Claim Chinese Chairs are Toxic

Sitting in an armchair or lying on a sofa isn’t ordinarily considered a hazardous activity. But for well over 1,000 people in several European countries, it allegedly was. After the Chinese manufacturer of furniture distributed by a French company put extra packets of a chemical mold retardant, customers began reporting…

Sep 19, 2008 6:50 PM CDT

Median Starting Pay for Legal Services Lawyers is $40K, Survey Says

Median starting pay for legal services and public interest lawyers is only a fourth of the highly touted $160,000 that big firm associates make, according to a new study. Median starting pay for lawyers is $40,000 in legal services and $41,000 at public interest groups with issue-driven missions, according to…

Sep 18, 2008 12:33 PM CDT

LA Train Crash Kills 25, Cause Unclear

Amidst conflicting accounts of what may have caused a head-on train collision in suburban Los Angeles that killed 25 and injured more than 130 others on Friday, two teens told a local television station that they had been text-messaging with one of the train engineers just before the crash. Although…

Sep 15, 2008 4:03 PM CDT

$54M Pant Suit Appeal Set for October

The former administrative law judge who lost a $54 million case against a dry cleaners that lost his pants will argue his appeal on Oct. 22. The judge, Roy Pearson, will argue before the D.C. Court of Appeals, Legal Times reports. He is appealing a superior court judge’s decision that…

Sep 15, 2008 3:52 PM CDT

Law Firm Files RICO Suit Over Restaurant’s Menu Claims

A Washington, D.C., law firm has filed a federal class action against the Applebee’s national restaurant chain, contending that its “Weight Watchers” menu items aren’t as healthy as advertised. Independent testing of the Weight Watchers menu choices actually being served at various Applebee’s around the U.S. allegedly showed that “many…

Sep 15, 2008 3:25 PM CDT

Inmates Still at Galveston Jail as Hurricane Ike Nears; Gas Prices Spike

Despite a mandatory evacuation order for Galveston, Texas, as Hurricane Ike was about to strike, there’s one group of residents that, as of 10 a.m. today, hadn’t yet complied—about 1,000 prisoners at the Galveston County Jail on Galveston Island. However, their safety and well-being is paramount, and “will be handled,”…

Sep 12, 2008 8:48 PM CDT

South Florida Developers Winning Cases Brought by Unhappy Condo Buyers

Several buyers of new condos in South Florida who are dissatisfied with their properties are failing to get courts to allow them to cancel the deals. Many condo investors in the state had intended to buy condominium units and flip them for a quick profit, an unlikely prospect now that…

Sep 9, 2008 2:41 PM CDT

Banner Year for Labor Law Expected in 2009

Regardless of who wins the November presidential election, it is expected to result in a lot of work for employment lawyers. Experts predict an “onslaught of legislation” related to employment after the election, creating numerous new rules and potential pitfalls that corporations will have to get up to speed on,…

Sep 4, 2008 8:06 PM CDT

Are High Fuel Prices Accelerating Faked Thefts of Gas Guzzlers?

Blame stratospheric gas prices for fueling what seems to be an accelerating insurance scam. Hard-hit by prices that have more than doubled to nearly $4 a gallon over the past three years, a growing number of owners throughout the country are faking the theft of their gas guzzlers, experts suspect.…

Sep 4, 2008 7:37 PM CDT

An Overwhelmed Lawyer Leads to Md. Suspension for Lemon-Law Founders

The founders of Pennsylvania-based Kimmel & Silverman, the “1-800-Lemon-Law” firm, have been suspended from legal privileges in Maryland for failing to supervise a lawyer there unable to keep up with an overwhelming caseload. Maryland’s highest court suspended Craig Kimmel and Robert Silverman in an opinion (PDF) released yesterday, the Maryland…

Sep 3, 2008 11:24 AM CDT

Naked Naturists Win Another Round in California Park Case

Officials who have for years turned a blind eye to public nudity in an isolated area of San Onofre State Beach, unless someone complained, can’t change that enforcement policy now without a public hearing, a California judge ruled yesterday. Following complaints of lewd behavior, the California Department of Parks and…

Aug 28, 2008 5:31 PM CDT

Joe Biden & Relatives Have Ties to Asbestos Law Firm

An Illinois law firm that specializes in plaintiffs asbestos litigation reportedly has close ties with Sen. Joe Biden, the expected running mate of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, and several of Biden’s relatives. A brother and son of Biden obtained a $1 million investment from SimmonsCooper in 2006, which…

Aug 27, 2008 11:07 PM CDT