Evidence

Wal-Mart Videos Could Be Boon for Plaintiffs Lawyers

Plaintiffs lawyers are expressing interest in 15,000 videos of Wal-Mart internal meetings being offered by a production company that recorded the company’s events for nearly 30 years. After Wal-Mart abruptly dropped Flagler Productions in 2006, the video company almost collapsed, said co-owner Mary Lyn Villaneuva. Flagler managed to stay afloat…

Apr 10, 2008 4:20 PM CDT

Law Profs Propose New Federal Court for Gitmo Detainees

As the countdown continues toward controversial military trials starting next month for terrorism suspects being detained by the U.S. at Guantanamo Bay, two prominent law professors at major universities are proposing another approach to the problem of providing a fair tribunal yet at the same time protecting national security. In…

Apr 9, 2008 6:12 PM CDT

Lawyer Sanctioned for Filing ‘Frivolous’ Depo Distress Suit

A New Jersey judge has ordered a plaintiffs lawyer to pay $2,500 plus attorney fees for filing a frivolous lawsuit alleging his opponent’s deposition questions caused his client emotional distress. That suit was dismissed last fall, and in late March New Jersey Superior Court Judge Alfonse Cifelli ordered the sanctions…

Apr 9, 2008 11:05 AM CDT

Lawyers Affilliated With Scruggs Barred From Katrina Litigation

A federal judge has ruled that a group of Mississippi attorneys who were once affiliated with disgraced plaintiffs lawyer Richard “Dickie” Scruggs is barred from representing any policyholders in lawsuits against State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. over Hurricane Katrina damage. Ruling in Gulfport, Miss., Friday, U.S. District Judge L.T.…

Apr 8, 2008 4:25 PM CDT

Med-Mal Plaintiffs’ Suit Against Their Own Expert Survives Appeal

A federal appeals court has refused to dismiss a lawsuit by medical malpractice plaintiffs who claim their expert witness breached his duty to them when he changed his mind. The parents of a woman who died after breast augmentation surgery claim their expert, anesthesiologist Barry Swerdlow, was the proximate cause…

Apr 7, 2008 1:33 PM CDT

E-Discovery Rule Changes Boost Legal Outsourcing to India

Changes to federal rules governing the discovery of electronic documents have boosted legal outsourcing to India. E-discovery is producing thousands of pages of documents in lawsuits that require a careful—and potentially expensive—review, Time Magazine reports. The cost of document review by lawyers is only about $1 a page in India…

Apr 4, 2008 2:37 PM CDT

Cigarette Butts and Used Kleenex Become a Crime-Solving DNA Tool

Police are surreptitiously collecting suspects’ DNA left behind on items such as coffee cups, tissues, straws, eating utensils and cigarette butts. In some cases the DNA helps solve crimes, and in others they eliminate suspects from suspicion, the New York Times reports. One suspect, Rolando Gallego, was charged with his…

Apr 3, 2008 1:15 PM CDT

Goodyear Loses Bid to Keep Sealed Deposition Testimony Secret

Lawyers representing Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. could be on the hot seat under a federal judge’s order allowing them to be questioned about deposition testimony in a case that was settled under a confidentiality agreement. The March 18 decision by U.S. District Judge Rudi Brewster of San Diego comes…

Apr 2, 2008 12:05 PM CDT

Making the Case for Change

Recent developments are affecting how commercial cases are litigated in the federal courts

Apr 1, 2008 9:05 PM CDT

Ex-Houston DA Fined $19K for ‘Venomous’ Deletion of E-Mails

A federal judge has ordered Houston’s former district attorney Charles Rosenthal to pay almost $19,000 for his “venomous” deletion of thousands of e-mails. U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt imposed the sanction after finding Rosenthal in contempt of court for violating a subpoena for the e-mail in a civil rights lawsuit,…

Mar 31, 2008 1:04 PM CDT

Ex-Prosecutor Acquitted in 2nd Sex Case, Still Faces 3rd Trial

A former prosecutor in the Boston area has been acquitted in a sex crime case, marking the second time this year that he has won a trial in which he was accused of an actual or attempted rape. However, after the jury verdict in his favor yesterday, Gary Zerola still…

Mar 27, 2008 11:00 PM CDT

Angry Ex-Client Says Med-Mal Case Contradicts Criminal Plea

After pleading guilty to a manslaughter charge and serving a prison term of more than three years for a punch that allegedly caused a neighbor’s death, a Connecticut man is suing his defense lawyer for malpractice. A subsequent medical malpractice case by a surviving relative against the hospital that treated…

Mar 27, 2008 4:10 PM CDT

Misdirected E-Mail Set the Stage for Clear Channel Suits

A misdirected e-mail from Credit Suisse helped set the stage for two lawsuits filed this week by two private equity firms seeking to purchase Clear Channel Communications, the New York Times reports. The suits accuse Credit Suisse and five other banks of breaching a contract to finance the $19.5 billion…

Mar 27, 2008 3:00 PM CDT

O’Melveny & Myers Hit in New Century Report

The bankruptcy examiner who investigated the failure of New Century Financial was irritated by some failures and tactics of the lender’s law firm. A report (PDF) issued by bankruptcy examiner Michael Missal criticized O’Melveny & Myers for discovery delays and witness interviews that could have revealed too much information, the…

Mar 27, 2008 12:34 PM CDT

10 Detroit Lawyers Probed Over $8.4M Claimed Sex Scandal Cover-up

A controversial $8.4 million settlement by the city of Detroit that critics contend was made largely for the purpose of covering up a sex scandal involving Detroit’s mayor has put at least 10 lawyers on the hot seat. They are now being investigated by the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission for…

Mar 26, 2008 6:12 PM CDT