Verdicts & Settlements

Convicted in wife slaying, profiled in book and TV miniseries, Robert Marshall dies in prison

A former insurance salesman profiled in a best-selling book and television miniseries about the contract killing of his wife has died in prison. Robert Marshall, 75, was convicted in 1986 for conspiring to murder his wife, Maria, who was shot to death in 1984 at a isolated picnic area off…

Feb 24, 2015 12:10 PM CST

Midwest law firm wins record $62M settlement from Lockheed in suit over 401(k) fees

Lockheed Martin Corp. has agreed to pay $62 million to settle a federal lawsuit by a St. Louis law firm contending that it charged excessive fees and in its 401(k) plans. The amount is a record high settlement for a case of this kind, reports the Wall Street Journal (sub.…

Feb 23, 2015 5:45 PM CST

Angry at 10-year prison term, offender tries to arrange to kill judge and gets another 80 years

Angry at being sentenced to a 10-year prison term in 2013 for failing to register as a sex offender, William Ray Phillips tried to arrange to assassinate the Texas judge who put him behind bars, a state-court jury found Wednesday after less than two hours of deliberation. That solicitation of…

Feb 20, 2015 12:05 PM CST

Class action judge orders lawyer to stop recruiting opt-out plaintiffs in oil royalty suit

An Oklahoma judge overseeing a class action against Chesapeake Energy has ordered a Texas lawyer to stop encouraging class members to opt out of a proposed settlement. Judge Jon Parsley of Beaver County issued a temporary restraining order barring the recruitment by the law firm of Fort Worth lawyer Dan…

Feb 20, 2015 6:53 AM CST

Federal judge nixes TRO on new Chicago Cubs signs sought by rooftop seating companies

A federal judge has declined to issue an injunction on behalf of operators of rooftop bleachers on buildings adjacent to Chicago’s Wrigley Field. Several contended in a lawsuit filed last month against the team owners and chairman Thomas Ricketts that their renovation of Wrigley Field and purchase of other nearby…

Feb 19, 2015 12:20 PM CST

Estate of ‘kung fu judge’ wins $750K in suit over his claimed unlawful confinement in nursing home

A nursing home in New York has agreed to settle a lawsuit for $750,000 that claimed a former Brooklyn judge was confined there against his will for eight months prior to his death in 2008. The case, which was brought by a nephew, also noted that his uncle was in…

Feb 18, 2015 4:20 PM CST

Former state treasurer pleads guilty, admits trying to shake down law firm

A former state treasurer of Pennsylvania pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges that he attempted to extort gubernatorial campaign contributions from an unidentified Philadelphia law firm and a property management company on the other side of the state. A venture capitalist before he entered politics, Rob McCord, 55, repeatedly demanded…

Feb 18, 2015 11:00 AM CST

Top state court declines to intervene in dispute between DA and police department

Pennsylvania’s top court has declined to intervene in a dispute between a district attorney and a local police department investigating a claim that she forged a judge’s signature on a court order reducing bail for a defendant. In an emergency petition, Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller had sought…

Feb 18, 2015 10:15 AM CST

Appeals court: City can be sued over faded crosswalk; will comparative negligence still bar claim?

An Oregon appeals court has reversed a trial judge’s dismissal of a claim against the city of Portland over faded crosswalk stripes, agreeing with the family of a woman killed in a 2009 accident that better maintenance of the crosswalk might have helped prevent the death of Lindsay Leonard, 23.…

Feb 17, 2015 3:35 PM CST

Utah mom pleads guity to murdering 6 newborns, could get life prison term

A Utah woman pleaded guilty to murder on Thursday in the deaths of six of her newborn babies between roughly 1996 and 2006. Megan Huntsman, 39, could get a life prison term on each count when she is sentenced in the Provo case, but prosecutors agreed to recommend that the…

Feb 12, 2015 4:20 PM CST

Double-murder conviction is followed by brother’s arrest after courthouse elevator incident

A Pennsylvania jury conviction Wednesday night in a high-profile double-murder case was quickly followed by the arrest of the defendant’s brother after a courthouse elevator incident. As trial attendees exited the Luzerne County courtroom where 41-year-old Hugo Selenski was convicted of first-degree capital murder, his brother Ronald Thomas Selenski, 34,…

Feb 12, 2015 3:25 PM CST

Captain guilty in Costa Concordia shipwreck that killed 32; gets 16 years

The captain of a cruise liner that capsized in 2012, resulting in the drowning deaths of 32 people, was sentenced Wednesday in an Italian manslaughter trial to 16 years in prison. Captain Francesco Schettino, 54, was not present when the judges’ verdict was read in the theater being used as…

Feb 11, 2015 3:45 PM CST

Lawyer blamed for reversed verdict feels vindicated by appellate ruling that judge abused discretion

A New York judge erred by reversing a jury’s defense verdict based on claimed misbehavior by a lawyer not directly involved in the case, a state appeals court has ruled. Saying that there was no way to determine from the record whether a lawyer attending a dental malpractice trial as…

Feb 11, 2015 12:25 PM CST

Both sides proclaim victory in jury’s $140K award to ex law firm associate, but say they may appeal

Both sides proclaimed victory following a a federal jury’s award Thursday of $140,000 to a former associate of Faruqi & Faruqi, but say they may appeal aspects of the verdict won by Alexandra Marchuk in her sexual harassment case against the law firm and one of its partners. Attorney Scott…

Feb 6, 2015 11:30 AM CST

Ex-associate who sued law firm seeking $2M wins $90K plus undetermined punitives

An ex-associate at a New York law firm who alleged she was sexually harassed by her former employer, in a lawsuit that provided graphic details, has won a jury verdict, but it may not be the award that Alexandra Marchuk had hoped for. Her federal employment discrimination suit had sought…

Feb 5, 2015 4:15 PM CST