Tort Law

Dateline NBC Faces Lawsuits

Dateline NBC is facing lawsuits in connection with a program that exposed would-be predators who thought they were meeting underage kids for possible sexual encounters. One suit has been filed by the sister of a former district attorney who shot himself after he was caught by the sting, the Dallas…

Aug 14, 2007 4:42 PM CDT

OJ Simpson Book to be Published

A book by O.J. Simpson that reportedly contains a hypothetical account of how he might have murdered his former wife, Nicole, if he had actually done so, will soon be in bookstores nationwide after all. Withdrawn from publication last year, following a firestorm of criticism, it has been accepted anew…

Aug 13, 2007 8:18 PM CDT

3 Fen-Phen Lawyers Jailed Pending Trial

Updated: Seeking a several-month delay of a criminal fraud trial for allegedly bilking clients of $64 million in diet drug litigation settlement proceeds has cost three lawyers their freedom. Melbourne Mills, 76, William Gallion, 56, and Shirley Cunningham Jr., 52, were jailed after their bond was revoked today by U.S.…

Aug 10, 2007 9:27 PM CDT

Lopped Fees Vex Plaintiffs Lawyers

Hostility to contingent fees can mean financial disaster for law firms, if the people who are hostile are judges. Yesterday, Austin, Texas, plaintiffs lawyer George Fleming told of his contingent fee battle after he won lawsuits over defective polybutylene pipe on behalf of thousands of clients. Fleming spoke at the…

Aug 10, 2007 12:29 PM CDT

Is Possible MN Bridge Design Flaw Nat’l?

Defective construction components known as gusset plates may have helped cause last week’s bridge collapse in Minneapolis, raising concern about other bridges constructed with the same components nationwide. Hundreds of gusset plates, steel parts that connect bridge girders, were used on the Interstate 35 bridge, and they may not have…

Aug 9, 2007 9:34 PM CDT

San Diego Sues Willkie Farr

San Diego’s city attorney has filed a malpractice suit against Willkie Farr & Gallagher. It claims that the high-powered New York City-based law firm overbilled and exceeded the scope of its agreed representation to help a consultant and municipal audit committee prepare a report on the city’s financial failures. After…

Aug 9, 2007 5:16 PM CDT

Makers of Katrina Trailers Sued

More than 500 hurricane survivors living in government-issued trailers are suing the manufacturers, claiming their use of substandard materials exposed them to dangerous levels of formaldehyde. The suit seeks to force the manufacturers to remove materials containing formaldehyde from the trailers, the Associated Press reports. The complaint claims the companies…

Aug 9, 2007 2:49 PM CDT

Company Charged in ‘Big Dig’ Death Case

A grand jury has charged with involuntary manslaughter the Brewster, N.Y.-based company that provided the glue that is being blamed, in part, for the collapse of the “Big Dig” tunnel in Boston last summer. A passenger in a car underneath was crushed to death when the roof of the Interstate…

Aug 8, 2007 8:48 PM CDT

Firm Loses Fee Appeal

A New York judge has ordered a law firm to return legal fees for an appeal and collateral litigation because the original fee agreement never specified additional payment beyond a one-third contingency. Katz & Associates had taken a fee of about $870,000 out of a $1.7 million judgment for its…

Aug 8, 2007 11:51 AM CDT

Son to Get $250 K of $28 M Jail Award?

Lawyers for the son of a man who died in 1995 after 28 years in prison, serving a sentence for a murder he didn’t commit, told a federal judge in Boston yesterday that that her $28 million award to Louis Greco’s estate isn’t going to accomplish what she apparently intended.…

Aug 3, 2007 10:53 PM CDT

Bloomberg: Insurers Aren’t Paying Claims

Despite having had to cover Hurricane Katrina, the worst U.S. disaster in the history of insurance, carriers are earning record profits. One reason why is that many don’t pay claims to the extent promised in insurance policies, a news agency says. “Insurers often pay 30-60 percent of the cost of…

Aug 3, 2007 8:47 PM CDT

Blame Game Begins in Bridge Tragedy

Although it’s too early to know exactly what caused Wednesday’s horrific rush-hour collapse of the Interstate 35-W bridge in Minneapolis, fingers are pointing in various directions, and some are thinking about possible litigation. Likely potential targets would include state and federal government entities and private contractors responsible for constructing and…

Aug 3, 2007 7:50 PM CDT

Judge OKs, Adds to Pedophile Injunction

Two Santa Clarita lawyers who sought an injunction to protect their daughters and other local children from associating with a self-admitted pedophile got everything they sought from a California judge today—and more. They had asked for a temporary restraining order to prevent Jack McClellan, a 45-year-old who admittedly is sexually…

Aug 3, 2007 7:15 PM CDT

Milberg Sued Over Kickback Claims

Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman is facing a lawsuit over allegations it paid kickbacks to plaintiffs to help it secure lead counsel status in securities class actions. The suit was filed by six class members in a number of securities suits in which Milberg Weiss served as lead counsel, the…

Aug 3, 2007 6:15 PM CDT

Taser Talks Tough, Settles Quietly

Taser International Inc. talks a tough game concerning its litigation strategy in cases brought over its controversial stun guns. “The word has gotten out: Taser doesn’t settle,” said the company’s general counsel, Doug Klint, in an April interview with Bloomberg. “Anyone who sues us is in for a fight.” But…

Aug 2, 2007 8:02 PM CDT