Verdicts & Settlements

School district wins civil case after arguing that girl, 14, could consent to sex with teacher

A rape-shield law is supposed to prevent sexual abuse victims from being questioned about their sexual history in California criminal trials. But it doesn’t apply in civil cases. That allowed an attorney for the Los Angeles Unified School District to argue before a jury last year that a 14-year-old middle-school…

Nov 14, 2014 12:22 PM CST

Family of Ebola patient initially not admitted has settled with Dallas hospital

The family of a man whose Ebola wasn’t initially diagnosed by a Texas hospital has settled a potential claim against the facility over his delayed treatment for an undisclosed amount. However, attorney Les Weisbrod, who represents the survivors, called the agreement a “very good deal” that will not only provide…

Nov 12, 2014 1:15 PM CST

Lawyer shot by Vegas cop after traffic stop is convicted of felonies, jailed to await sentencing

A lawyer shot by a Las Vegas police officer in 2009 after being pulled over in a traffic stop has been convicted of three felonies. Raymond James “Jim” Duensing was found guilty Monday by a Clark County jury of resisting a police officer, carrying a concealed weapon, and unlawful possession…

Nov 11, 2014 2:56 PM CST

Lawmaker wins election, is convicted of lesser counts in barratry case, then wins a mistrial

Over the past seven days, a Texas lawmaker has been tried in a barratry case, won reelection, been convicted on lesser included misdemeanor counts and seen the verdict thrown out due to claimed juror misconduct. On Monday, a lawyer for state Rep. Ron Reynolds expected to begin the sentencing phase.…

Nov 10, 2014 4:05 PM CST

CEO must pay $995M in divorce case; analyst calls ‘rather small’ award good news for shareholders

In one of the largest divorce-court awards ever, an Oklahoma court has ruled that oil magnate Harold Hamm, 68, must pay his ex-wife more than $995 million. But Sue Ann Hamm, 58, had sought more, and observers say the award in the Oklahoma County case is good news for shareholders…

Nov 10, 2014 2:50 PM CST

Law grad convicted of concealing Israel bombings conviction to get US citizenship

A 67-year-old law graduate and community activist has been found guilty of failing to reveal on U.S. immigration paperwork a 1970 bombings-related military conviction in Israel regarding a fatal supermarket attack in order to get American citizenship. Rasmieh Yousef Odeh, who was released by Israel after serving 10 years and…

Nov 10, 2014 1:20 PM CST

Threatened patent suits amounted to deceptive tactics, FTC alleges; law firm and client settle

The Federal Trade Commission has settled a complaint against a Texas law firm and its client that alleged their threatened patent suits amounted to false or misleading statements. Law firm Farney Daniels and its client MPHJ Technology Investments agreed in a consent order (PDF) to stop making misrepresentations in letters…

Nov 10, 2014 6:15 AM CST

Judge wins re-election but is now too old to serve on bench

The longest-serving judge in Louisiana won election Tuesday to another term of office. But Orleans Parish Criminal Court Judge Frank Marullo is now too old to serve on the bench, under state law. Voters defeated a ballot measure that would have eliminated a state constitution requirement that judges retire by…

Nov 7, 2014 3:35 PM CST

Judge OKs Detroit bankruptcy-exit plan, lets city slash over $7B from its debtload

Less than 16 months after the city of Detroit made history by becoming the largest U.S. city ever to file for bankruptcy, a federal judge has approved a restructuring plan that will allow the municipality to cut over $7 billion from its debt load. The Friday ruling by U.S. Bankruptcy…

Nov 7, 2014 2:00 PM CST

Is an Uber ride covered if an accident occurs? Insurance representatives are dubious

It isn’t just traditional taxi drivers who see a problem with the ride-sharing service offered by Uber. Linking potential customers, via a smartphone application, with private drivers willing to take them to their destinations may result in a fare lower than what a traditional cab company would charge. But it…

Nov 6, 2014 6:05 PM CST

6th Circuit upholds same-sex marriage bans in 4 states; will issue now go to US Supreme Court?

For the first time, a federal appeals court has refused to recognize a constitution-based right of same-sex couples to marry, creating a circuit split and setting the issue up for likely U.S. Supreme Court review. In a 2-1 decision (PDF) on Thursday, the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals…

Nov 6, 2014 4:45 PM CST

UK intelligence may have eavesdropped for years on lawyer-client communications, documents show

As in the U.S., confidential communications between lawyers and clients in the United Kingdom are supposed to be protected by privilege against discovery by the government and others. However, documents were recently made public that show another standard applied to some government agencies. The release of the documents came in…

Nov 6, 2014 1:15 PM CST

Ex-Navy SEAL sues lawyer, says bad advice about best-selling Osama bin Laden book cost him millions

Recently profiled on 60 Minutes, a former Navy SEAL who wrote a best-selling book about the U.S. government raid that killed Osama Bin Laden wound up being federally investigated, his lawyer says. The issue: Whether Matt Bissonnette, writing under the pen name “Mark Owen,” revealed government secrets in violation of…

Nov 6, 2014 10:50 AM CST

Federal judge says lawyer must pay $87K for filing ‘objectively baseless’ suit over Web news posts

A California lawyer has been ordered to pay $87,000 in attorney fees for his litigation opponents because he pursued an “objectively baseless” copyright claim in a federal lawsuit over articles about him that were posted by an Internet news aggregator. Dionne Choyce should have realized, after his initial lawsuit against…

Nov 5, 2014 1:05 PM CST

Feds claim Yankees star A-Rod paid personal assistant $900K to keep quiet

An expensive settlement of a dispute over an employment agreement between New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez and a cousin who worked as his personal assistant came to light when the cousin was criminally charged in a Florida case and claimed to be indigent. In a filing in federal district…

Nov 5, 2014 10:35 AM CST