Tort Law

Bomb Image in Business Fax a Bad Idea

Among the new causes of action and subjects of potential claims constantly developing in the ever-changing American legal arena, add one to the list that some might consider a no-brainer – faxing an image of a bomb in an internal business communication. A faulty fax containing such an image, from…

May 31, 2007 6:37 PM CDT

Blogging Defendant Unmasked

A physician accused of malpractice agreed to a substantial settlement after he admitted on the stand that he was the pseudonymous blogger writing about a trial with striking similarities to his own. Pediatrician Robert P. Lindeman admitted he was blogger “Lindeman Flea,” who revealed defense strategy and criticized opposing counsel…

May 31, 2007 4:35 PM CDT

Suits Target 401(k) Fees

Several major corporations are facing lawsuits claiming they charged hidden, excessive or high fees to employees participating in 401(k) plans. Among the companies named as defendants are The Boeing Co., Kraft Foods Inc., Bechtel Group Inc., General Motors Corp., and Radio Shack Corp., according to the National Law Journal. Schlichter,…

May 31, 2007 12:42 PM CDT

Med Mal Creates Unlikely Safety Teams

Stereotypically, those injured or killed by medical errors and their family members sue for redress. But some victims and their relatives are banding together in partnership with representatives of the very medical facility where the problems occurred, seeking to improve the situation for other patients. Sorrel King, for instance, and…

May 30, 2007 9:52 PM CDT

ACLU Sues Boeing Subsidiary re U.S. Rendition Aid

A subsidiary of airline giant Boeing Co. has been sued by the American Civil Liberties Union for allegedly aiding “extraordinary rendition” efforts by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. The suit, which the ACLU says it is filing today in federal court in California, claims Jeppesen Dataplan Inc. provided transportation for…

May 30, 2007 8:02 PM CDT

A $2.6 Million Verdict in Accutane Suit

An Atlantic City jury warded an Alabama man $2.62 million yesterday in his lawsuit against the makers of acne drug Accutane. The verdict against Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. of Nutley, N.J., is the first in a case claiming the drug causes inflammatory bowel disease, according to the Associated Press. Plaintiff Andrew…

May 30, 2007 4:13 PM CDT

$6.6 M in Chicago Priest Abuse Cases; Settlements Total $50 M+

A $6.65 million settlement has been announced in a Chicago archdiocese priest sex abuse case, reportedly bringing the total of all such settlements paid by the Chicago archdiocese to more than $50 million. The $6.65 million resolves lawsuits brought by 15 plaintiffs in 2005 and 2006 concerning a dozen allegedly…

May 30, 2007 1:26 AM CDT

Court Orders Review of Rollover Award

The U.S. Supreme Court today ordered California courts to re-evaluate a multi-million dollar award in a Ford rollover case. Benetta Buell-Wilson was paralyzed when she swerved to avoid hitting a metal object and her Ford Explorer rolled over. A jury originally awarded her $369 million, but appeals courts cut the…

May 14, 2007 5:40 PM CDT

Lawyer Liable for Nightclub Assault

A Dallas lawyer has been ordered to pay $1.3 million in damages for assaulting a nightclub owner. Earlier this month, a jury had found Jerry W. Mooty Jr. liable for $3 million, but a high-low agreement capped the award at the lower amount, according to Texas Lawyer. The incident occurred…

May 14, 2007 1:17 PM CDT

No Damages, No Legal Malpractice

A New Jersey judge has dismissed a malpractice suit against a tort lawyer that alleged a conflict of interest, saying the plaintiff had shown no damages. Plaintiff Miguel Herrera had claimed he was in the hospital recovering from injuries from an auto accident when lawyer Jeffrey Hark of Cherry Hill,…

May 10, 2007 1:27 PM CDT

Asbestos Insurers’ Pre-emptive Strike Strikes Out

A Manhattan judge has refused to limit liability for two asbestos insurers in an unusual pre-emptive class action suit. Continental Casualty Coverage and American Casualty Co. had sought a declaratory judgment that they owed no more than the $8.7 million already paid under liability policies. The judge refused, saying the…

May 10, 2007 1:06 PM CDT

Class Action Curbs Defeated in Calif.

A bill to restrict class action suits has been defeated in the California legislature. The bill would have allowed defendants to appeal decisions to certify a class and to contact each class member to offer a settlement, according to the Recorder. It also would have switched responsibility to pay for…

May 10, 2007 12:40 PM CDT

Lawyer Disappointed in Tobacco Punitives

A $250,000 punitive damages award was something of a victory for two tobacco companies in the retrial of a suit filed by a smoker who later died. Madelyn Chaber, who represented the smoker’s family, was disappointed in the amount, according to the Recorder. “It needed at least another comma and…

May 10, 2007 12:29 PM CDT

350-Plus Seroquel Suits May Be Pressure Tactic

Patients who took the anti-psychotic drug Seroquel filed more than 350 lawsuits last month in Delaware state courts. The filings could be an effort to force drug maker AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals L.P. into an early settlement of cases in the fast-track state, according to the National Law Journal. That could influence…

May 9, 2007 12:14 PM CDT

Subprime Loan Frenzy Spawns Litigation Storm

As Lelon DeWitt was undergoing quadruple bypass heart surgery in Elkhart, Indiana in 2004, a subprime mortgage broker caught up with his wife, in the hospital waiting room. It was now or never if the couple didn’t want to lose their loan, she remembers him saying. She left the hospital…

May 9, 2007 1:25 AM CDT