Verdicts & Settlements

Costly Collisions: A small-town personal injury case sends a powerful message to the trucking industry

The number of crashes involving large trucks has been rising during the past decade. And as the number of crashes has increased, so has the size of jury awards and settlements, often resulting in what some lawyers call “nuclear verdicts”—multimillion-dollar damages verdicts significantly higher than expected given the injuries in the case, generally in excess of $10 million.

Oct 1, 2021 12:00 AM CDT

Singer R. Kelly is found guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking

Jurors in Brooklyn, New York, have found singer R. Kelly guilty of all nine counts of racketeering and sex trafficking following a six-week trial in which witnesses testified about an abusive scheme to exploit women and underage girls for sex.

Sep 27, 2021 3:45 PM CDT

AG Garland announces limits on federal monitors overseeing police department consent decrees

Monitors overseeing police departments as a result of federal consent decrees and lawsuit settlements will have their powers curbed as a result of changes implemented by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Sep 14, 2021 3:56 PM CDT

Jenner & Block settles with landlord in dispute over rent payments during pandemic

Jenner & Block has settled a rent dispute with the landlord for its Chicago building that stemmed from unused office space during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sep 10, 2021 11:48 AM CDT

Litigator calls ‘trickery’ allegations ‘ludicrous’ in spat with NFL team’s ex-general counsel

The litigator who led a National Football League investigation into sexual harassment at the Washington Football Team is denying a claim by the team’s general counsel that she used “trickery” to learn the details of a 2009 confidential settlement, according to redacted legal filings unsealed Wednesday.

Sep 9, 2021 12:32 PM CDT

Agreement giving lawyers ‘sole discretion’ to settle client’s case violates ethics rules, appeals court says

A California appeals court has voided a provision in a contingent-fee agreement that gave personal injury lawyers the “sole discretion” to settle a client’s case.

Sep 7, 2021 4:12 PM CDT

Judge approves Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan that provides immunity to Sackler family members

A federal bankruptcy judge conditionally approved on Wednesday a settlement that dissolves Purdue Pharma and directs the company’s owners, members of the Sackler family, to turn over $4.5 billion through roughly the next decade.

Sep 2, 2021 2:39 PM CDT

Nearly two-thirds of female multidistrict litigation plaintiffs are dissatisfied with their lawyers, survey finds

A survey of female plaintiffs in multidistrict litigation has found that most were dissatisfied with their lawyers, most didn’t trust their lawyers to act in their best interest, and most were unhappy with lengthy litigation.

Aug 13, 2021 9:14 AM CDT

Zoom agrees to $85M settlement in litigation over privacy and ‘Zoombombings’

Zoom Video Communications has agreed to pay $85 million to settle nationwide litigation alleging misrepresentations and broken promises regarding customers’ security and privacy.

Aug 2, 2021 3:28 PM CDT

Federal appeals court upholds Judicial Watch’s $2.3M judgment against its founder

A federal appeals court has upheld a $2.3 million judgment obtained by the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch against its founder, Larry Klayman.

Aug 2, 2021 1:05 PM CDT

The Chauvin conviction shows why diverse juries matter

When it comes to convicting police officers, clear and convincing evidence is only half the battle. But evidence—visual, circumstantial, forensic—has historically been irrelevant when a police officer is on trial, with law enforcement often accorded the benefit of the doubt and acquitted.

Aug 1, 2021 2:20 AM CDT

Weekly Briefs: Fewer than half of Americans approve of SCOTUS; ex-judge denies raping secretary

Supreme Court approval rating hits 4-year low Only 49% of Americans approve of the way the U.S. Supreme Court is handling its job, according to a July poll by Gallup. The approval rating is the lowest since 2017. Last year, 58% approved of the Supreme Court’s job. Bare majorities of…

Jul 30, 2021 6:25 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: US lawyer sentenced in Hong Kong tussle; Air Force at fault in mass shooting

US lawyer in Hong Kong sentenced to prison Samuel Bickett, a U.S. lawyer in Hong Kong, has been sentenced to four months and two weeks in jail for intervening when he saw a man attacking a commuter. The man Bickett confronted turned out to be an off-duty police officer trying…

Jul 9, 2021 4:24 PM CDT

$37M verdict reversed after lawyer calls makers of tobacco ‘soulless enterprise of death’

A lawyer’s literary references and descriptive comments in closing arguments has doomed a $37 million verdict obtained against two tobacco companies, the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Philip Morris USA Inc.

Jul 8, 2021 3:31 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Boy Scouts of America agrees to $850M settlement; 1st Circuit rejects ERA suit

Boy Scouts of America strikes $850M deal The Boy Scouts of America has agreed to pay $850 million to settle sex abuse claims by about 60,000 people. The group says the deal could allow it to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late this year. But some insurers have raised…

Jul 2, 2021 4:10 PM CDT