Verdicts & Settlements

Judge says investigative files for ‘In Cold Blood’ murders can be published by investigator’s son

In 2012, a Kansas judge ruled that records kept by a man who investigated the murder of four family members portrayed in a famous Truman Capote book could not be published, sold or used as the basis for a book. But Shawnee County District Court Judge Larry Hendricks has since…

Dec 1, 2014 5:20 PM CST

Top Texas court strikes law allowing warrantless alcohol test, says it violates 4th Amendment

A Texas law that allows law enforcement officers to test drivers for alcohol use without their consent and without a warrant is unconstitutional, the state’s top criminal court said in a Wednesday ruling. “We hold that a nonconsensual search of a DWI suspect’s blood conducted pursuant to the mandatory-blood-draw and…

Nov 26, 2014 2:55 PM CST

Top state court nixes lawyer’s drunken-driving conviction over blocked effort to consult counsel

Arrested under suspicion of drunken driving in 2013, an Iowa family law attorney tried to consult with a criminal defense lawyer before taking a Breathalyzer test to determine his alcohol level at the Polk County Jail. But when David Hellstern asked the arresting officer to let him speak privately over…

Nov 26, 2014 12:35 PM CST

Posner: ‘Outlandish’ attorney fees in glucosamine settlement were part of a ‘selfish deal’

A nationwide class-action settlement calling for the payment of $1.93 million in attorney fees represented “a selfish deal” between class counsel and a company that makes glucosamine pills, a federal appeals court has ruled in an opinion by Judge Richard Posner. The settlement by NBTY and its subsidiary Rexall Sundown…

Nov 25, 2014 10:03 AM CST

Prominent lawyer accused of assaulting employee after a night of drinking takes misdemeanor plea

Initially accused of driving a law firm employee home after a work-related event and raping her, a prominent Pennsylvania attorney has taken a no-contest plea to a misdemeanor. Because of a lab report misread by Montgomery County prosecutors, the case against Robert Kerns is now being pursued by the state…

Nov 24, 2014 4:30 PM CST

10 years after fatal accident, conviction is reversed; GM knew its car was to blame but kept quiet

Convicted of negligent homicide in a fatal 2004 crash that killed her fiance, a Texas woman has lived with guilt and public disapprobation and worried about her limited career options for nearly a decade. But on Monday, almost exactly a decade after the accident, a Van Zandt County judge granted…

Nov 24, 2014 12:05 PM CST

Law firm chief convicted in $13M loan-modification scheme, faces up to 70 years

A California attorney at the helm of a law firm accused of defrauding 3,261 homeowners of $13 million through a mortgage modification scheme has been criminally convicted by a federal jury in San Diego. Dean Chandler, who served as president and CEO of 1st American Law Center, was convicted Thursday…

Nov 21, 2014 3:35 PM CST

County clerk fined $500 for using government Wi-Fi during his re-election campaign

A longtime court clerk in suburban Chicago used personal electronic devices when he was attending to matters related to his re-election campaign. But County Clerk Jack Cunningham did some campaign work on those devices while using the Kane County’s Wi-Fi system, leading to an investigation of Cunningham by a special…

Nov 21, 2014 5:45 AM CST

9th Circuit says paroled sex offenders don’t have to provide their Web names and addresses to police

Agreeing with a trial judge, a federal appeals court has refused to enforce provisions of a California ballot measure that require registered sex offenders to provide law enforcement with all Internet names and addresses they use in social media, instant messaging and Web posts. The overbroad Californians Against Sexual Exploitation…

Nov 19, 2014 12:30 PM CST

Fired manager is awarded $186M in pregnancy bias suit against AutoZone

Federal jurors in San Diego have awarded nearly $186 million to a fired store manager at AutoZone who claimed she was told pregnant women can’t handle the job and then demoted after she gave birth. Rosario Juarez, 43, was awarded about $873,000 in compensatory damages on Friday and $185 million…

Nov 19, 2014 10:13 AM CST

Jury awards $638K to mom who sued over claimed sex abuse of adult daughter; defense argued consent

A jury has awarded $638,000 to the plaintiff in an unusual Connecticut lawsuit filed by a mother over claimed sexual abuse of her highly intelligent but mentally ill adult daughter. The first time around, the jury in the Stamford Superior Court case reached a defense verdict for Craig Martise, a…

Nov 18, 2014 3:39 PM CST

Google wins SLAPP motion, has constitutional right to list search results as it wishes

Unhappy about search-engine results that put its website way down in the list of results, the owner of CoastNews sued Google, alleging antitrust law issues and seeking some $5 million in damages. But the search-engine Goliath not only prevailed but did so in a motion to dismiss under California’s SLAPP…

Nov 18, 2014 2:30 PM CST

Passengers get $2,500 for 10-hour ordeal on cold subway during 2010 snowstorm

Passengers who spent 10 hours stuck on an unheated New York City subway train without food or water during a major 2010 snowstorm are getting paid about $250 an hour for doing so. A settlement reached between the Metropolitan Transit Authority and 38 passengers calls for each to get a…

Nov 18, 2014 11:35 AM CST

Man who fell out of reclining chair during deposition loses negligence case against law firm

A New Jersey law firm was not liable for damages claimed by a man who fell out of a chair while attending his wife’s deposition, a state appeals court has ruled, affirming a summary judgment dismissing the case. At issue was whether Wolff Helies Duggan Spaeth & Lucas had a…

Nov 17, 2014 10:25 AM CST

Judge orders parents to pay estranged daughter’s $16K annual college tuition

Caitlyn Ricci is no long on speaking terms with her parents. However, the 21-year-old not only wants them to pay her college tuition but has won a New Jersey court judgment requiring them to do so. Their share of her educational costs is $16,000 per year, the Daily Caller and…

Nov 14, 2014 4:30 PM CST