Ohio

Jury awards $1.6 million in bellwether case claiming DuPont contaminated Ohio River

An Ohio woman was awarded $1.6 million yesterday in a lawsuit alleging DuPont Co. contributed to her cancer by contaminating the Ohio River, the Associated Press reported. Carla Bartlett’s case was one of two that could influence thousands more from people living along the river at the Ohio-West Virginia border.…

Oct 8, 2015 4:05 PM CDT

Judge’s campaign committee loses 6th Circuit appeal in challenge to fundraising restrictions

A federal appeals court has ruled against a judicial campaign committee that had challenged restrictions on fundraising. The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled (PDF) on Monday against the committee for Colleen O’Toole, an appeals judge who is seeking the Republican party nomination for a seat on the…

Sep 22, 2015 11:13 AM CDT

Disbarred lawyer Stan Chesley sues former fen-phen clients in bid to block collection of about $25M

Former Cincinnati lawyer Stanley Chesley has sued five former fen-phen clients, as well as their lawyer, in a bid to stop collection of a $42 million judgment for which he is jointly and severally liable. The lawyer trying to collect the judgment on behalf of the plaintiffs, Angela Ford, has…

Sep 22, 2015 7:24 AM CDT

Former judge ‘ready to be punished’ gets 2 years in domestic violence case

A former Ohio judge who pleaded guilty last month as trial loomed in a felony domestic violence case concerning his wife was sentenced Wednesday to 24 months in prison. “I make no excuses, I mean, I beat my wife in front of my kids,” Lance Mason told the court during…

Sep 16, 2015 2:15 PM CDT

Dinsmore adds 17-lawyer IP firm

Fast-growing Dinsmore & Shohl has added a Detroit-based intellectual property boutique to the law firm mix. With the 17 lawyers from Gifford Krass Sprinkle Anderson & Citkowski, the firm now has nearly 600 attorneys on its roster, reports the Cincinnati Business Courier. “Last year, we expanded our national footprint with…

Sep 1, 2015 11:55 AM CDT

Ex-lawyer accused of hypnotizing clients for sexual pleasure faces multicount indictment

An Ohio lawyer who agreed to permanent disbarment last week has been indicted on multiple counts, including rape and kidnapping, following an investigation into allegations that he hypnotized clients for sexual pleasure. The indictment of former lawyer Michael Fine, 58, lists six alleged victims, report the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram and the…

Aug 31, 2015 7:25 AM CDT

Judge fines himself for ringing cellphone

A judge in Hillsboro, Ohio, held himself to the same standards as others in his courtroom Tuesday when his cellphone began to ring. Judge Rocky Coss fined himself $25 for the infraction, WCPO reports. Coss has a sign warning all those who enter his courtroom to turn off their cellphones,…

Aug 21, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Suspended judge to get prison time in wife-assault case

A suspended Ohio judge has taken a plea that provides for prison time in a felony domestic violence case. Accused of beating his wife in front of their young children, while the family was driving in a Cleveland suburb a year ago, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Lance Mason pleaded…

Aug 13, 2015 2:05 PM CDT

Prostitution law violates my client’s right to sexual privacy, lawyer says; group takes stand

A lawyer representing a spa manager charged with promoting prostitution is arguing that Ohio’s prostitution law violates his client’s right to sexual privacy. Lawyer Blake Somers says in a motion that Ohio’s law is “denying consenting adults the right to make decisions about sexuality in the commercial market place,” the…

Aug 13, 2015 8:19 AM CDT

Judge is suspended for ogling litigant and losing temper in ‘attorneys are stupid’ tirade

An Ohio magistrate judge accused of ogling a litigant and declaring that attorneys are stupid will be suspended from law practice for two years as a result of action by the Ohio Supreme Court. The judge, Stephen Edwin Weithman, will be suspended as a result of an Aug. 7 order…

Aug 13, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Woman captured 5 days after fleeing courthouse; bailiff allegedly struck by her truck during escape

Sentenced Friday by an Ohio municipal judge to 180 days for stealing from a Walmart store, Stephanie Rybkoski asked for permission to step outside the courtroom to make a cellphone call to her family. She exited the courtroom, followed by a bailiff, and placed the call. Then, while still on…

Aug 12, 2015 4:25 PM CDT

Judges may not refuse to perform gay marriages, Ohio ethics opinion says

Judges in Ohio are violating their obligations to comply with the law if they refuse to perform same-sex marriages based on personal, religious or moral beliefs, according to an Ohio ethics opinion. The Ohio Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Conduct issued the opinion after a handful of judges refused to…

Aug 12, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Acquitted man sues ‘Cold Justice’ producers and sheriff over claimed malicious murder prosecution

Acquitted earlier this year in the 1981 murder of his ex-wife, an Ohio man has filed a federal civil rights suit over a true-crime television show. In portraying the case in August 2014, TNT’s Cold Justice put him in a false light, Steven Noffsinger contends. The suit says that the…

Aug 11, 2015 12:35 PM CDT

Court upholds lawyer’s bribery conviction for civil settlement offers made to rape victims

The proposed deals were termed civil settlements. Two rape victims would be paid a minimum of $50,000 each to settle their civil claims. The only catch, according to witnesses, was that the victims would say something favorable about the criminal defendant at sentencing. Citing those facts, the Ohio Court of…

Aug 5, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Judge tells defendant he would do society a favor by killing himself

A judge in Akron, Ohio, is defending his message to a defendant with a record of multiple arrests. The retired municipal judge from Barberton, who was helping Akron municipal court officials with a heavy arraignment caseload, told the defendant on June 30 that he would do society a favor by…

Aug 4, 2015 7:22 AM CDT