Verdicts & Settlements

Feinberg OKs payment for 50 deaths from $400M GM ignition fund; compensation starts at $1M

Attorney Kenneth Feinberg, retained by General Motors to oversee a $400 million compensation fund for death and injury claims linked to faulty ignition switches in the automaker’s vehicles, has approved 50 death claims for payment so far. Compensation for deaths starts at $1 million, according to the Associated Press and…

Jan 27, 2015 12:05 PM CST

SCOTUS, 6th Circuit agree judge was immune from suit over affair with party in case

The nation’s top court has declined to review a federal appeals court decision that a Detroit judge was immune from suit even though he had an affair with a woman seeking child support in a case on his calendar. A three-judge panel of the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of…

Jan 26, 2015 3:45 PM CST

Former lawyer has 237 years to pay off malpractice judgment

A payment schedule imposed by Connecticut judge gives a former New Haven solo 237 years to pay off a malpractice judgment. Judge Trial Referee John Flanagan found that former lawyer Terence Hawkins owed $431,000 under an agreement to settle the malpractice case, payable at the rate of $35 a week…

Jan 22, 2015 10:40 AM CST

S&P to pay nearly $80M to settle claim over 2011 ratings of mortgage securities; bigger deal looms

Standard & Poor’s has agreed to pay nearly $80 million to resolve claims that it failed to disclose a loosened approach to rating commercial mortgage-backed securities after the 2008 financial crisis, even as the ratings agency negotiates a bigger deal over its behavior before the downturn. The settlement resolves allegations…

Jan 21, 2015 2:00 PM CST

Woman who sued US over imposter Facebook page gets $134K settlement

The United States has agreed to pay $134,000 to settle a lawsuit by a woman who claims the Drug Enforcement Administration created a fake Facebook page in her name using photos from her cellphone. The government does not admit liability in its settlement with Sondra Arquiett of Watertown, New York,…

Jan 21, 2015 8:49 AM CST

Record fine of up to $1.6M imposed on Southwest over planes sitting for hours on tarmac

In the stiffest penalty yet imposed over passenger-filled airplanes stranded for hours on the tarmac during stormy weather, the U.S. Department of Transportation on Thursday announced a fine of up to $1.6 million against Southwest Airlines. However, as part of an agreed consent decree, the government agreed to credit against…

Jan 16, 2015 12:30 PM CST

Lawyer convicted of helping client launder proceeds from stolen equipment gets 2 years

A long legal battle is ending with a two-year federal prison sentence for a former California prosecutor and defense attorney convicted of helping an ex-client launder $120,000 he obtained by selling stolen computer equipment. Rejecting a bid by Jamie Harley for home confinement, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh did, however,…

Jan 16, 2015 5:45 AM CST

Judge says top Penn State lawyer didn’t represent ex-officials, clearing way for obstruction trial

In a Wednesday ruling that clears the way for an obstruction case against three former Pennsylvania State University officials to proceed to trial, a Dauphin County judge held that Penn State’s then-general counsel did not represent the trio as individuals during their grand jury testimony about Jerry Sandusky. Judge Todd…

Jan 15, 2015 1:00 PM CST

‘Serial’ podcasts downplayed info supporting murder conviction, prosecutor says; DNA testing sought

A popular podcast series raised doubts about the evidence used to convict Adnan Syed of murder without any significant basis for doing so, the Intercept says, relying on information from the prosecutor in the case. Nonetheless, inspired by the podcast Serial, the Maryland Innocence Project at the University of Virginia…

Jan 15, 2015 11:15 AM CST

Lawyer persuades jury that accused bank robber, 66, simply wanted to open an account

A 66-year-old man who was convicted of burglary a decade ago didn’t rob a New Jersey bank in 2013, a jury decided Tuesday. After two hours of deliberation, the six-man, six-woman panel acquitted Henry Kidd, apparently persuaded by his lawyer’s argument that Kidd had simply been trying to open an…

Jan 13, 2015 3:30 PM CST

Former lawyer convicted in condo-eviction slaying gets 45 years

A former Wyoming lawyer convicted last year in Florida of fatally shooting a maintenance man during a 2010 eviction from a South Beach condominium was sentenced Tuesday to 45 years in prison. “Your actions turned what should have been a routine eviction into a tragedy,” Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Marisa Tinkler…

Jan 13, 2015 2:40 PM CST

Federal judge nixes appeal bond for former Virginia governor sentenced to 2 years

A federal judge has refused to OK an appeal bond for a former Virginia governor sentenced last week to two years for trading the influence of his office for gifts, loans and perks. That means Robert “Bob” McDonnell, who also served as the state’s attorney general, could be imprisoned on…

Jan 13, 2015 10:50 AM CST

Lawyer doesn’t have to turn over Aaron Hernandez cellphone in murder case, top state court says

As jury selection continues in one Massachusetts murder case against Aaron Hernandez, the state’s top court has agreed with defense lawyers that the former New England Patriots star is not required to turn over cellphone evidence in a second murder case. Because Hernandez gave the cellphone to one of his…

Jan 12, 2015 2:55 PM CST

Federal judge sanctions prosecutor’s office for bad faith in police misconduct case

A federal judge has sanctioned a former assistant state prosecutor and her office for bad faith in connection with a Chicago police misconduct case. At issue were files maintained by the Cook County state’s attorney’s office concerning misdemeanor arrests of a Chicago man that he and his lawyer sought to…

Jan 12, 2015 1:50 PM CST

Former judge pleads guilty, admits taking bribe to cut jury verdict from $5.2M to $1M

A former Arkansas judge waived indictment and pleaded guilty Friday to a federal criminal information (PDF) charging him with accepting a bribe for reducing a nursing home negligence verdict from $5.2 million to $1 million. Michael A. Maggio, 53, admitted being “improperly influenced” in the nursing home case by campaign…

Jan 12, 2015 12:05 PM CST