Verdicts & Settlements

Lawyer known as ‘DWI Dude’ is convicted for shakedown of Colombian drug clients

A Texas lawyer who markets himself as the “DWI Dude” has been found guilty on federal corruption charges for a scheme to shake down three Colombian drug clients.

Oct 31, 2019 7:30 AM CDT

Law firms settle suit accusing them of civil RICO conspiracy to collect ADA settlements

Two California law firms have resolved a lawsuit accusing them of engaging in a civil RICO conspiracy by filing multiple lawsuits against small businesses for alleged violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Oct 29, 2019 10:46 AM CDT

Federal judge vacates $16M settlement after parties claim press release violated secrecy provision

A federal judge in Chicago has tossed a $16 million settlement between Kraft Foods Group Inc. and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission after Kraft Foods claimed that the CFTC’s public statements about the deal violated its confidentiality provision.

Oct 25, 2019 12:39 PM CDT

Motion accuses judge of ‘partisan glee’ after $8B Risperdal verdict

A Philadelphia judge is accused of showing “partisan glee” after jurors awarded $8 billion in punitive damages in a case brought by a man who contended his childhood use of the drug Risperdal had caused him to grow breasts.

Oct 22, 2019 10:10 AM CDT

4 drug companies agree to $260M opioid settlement with 2 Ohio counties

Four drug companies have agreed to a $260 million opioid settlement with two Ohio counties—Cuyahoga and Summit counties—that contended that the companies misled the public in their opioid marketing and created a public nuisance that endangered health.

Oct 21, 2019 11:02 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Judge died from fentanyl and heroin; $117M pelvic mesh settlement announced

Johnson & Johnson and subsidiary to pay $117M settlement in multistate pelvic mesh case Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Ethicon have agreed to pay nearly $117 million to settle claims over alleged deceptive marketing for transvaginal surgical mesh devices. Forty-one states and Washington, D.C., will share in the settlement.…

Oct 18, 2019 4:11 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Jurors award $8B in Rispderdal case; most minority partners have nonequity status

Jurors award $8B in punitive damages in Risperdal case Jurors in Philadelphia found Johnson & Johnson liable for $8 billion in punitive damages Tuesday in a case brought by a man with autism, who said the drug Risperdal had caused him to grow breasts. Nicholas Murray had taken the drug…

Oct 9, 2019 4:48 PM CDT

LSAT will change for all would-be lawyers as a result of blind man’s lawsuit settlement

Corrected: The current analytical reasoning section of the Law School Admission Test will eventually be dropped as a result of a settlement in a lawsuit by a legally blind man who said he was unable to draw diagrams to help him answer the questions.

Oct 9, 2019 2:11 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: MGM to pay up to $800M in Vegas shooting; 141 partner promotions announced

MGM agrees to pay up to $800M settlement in Vegas mass shooting MGM Resorts International has agreed to pay up to $800 million to settle claims of alleged negligence in the October 2017 mass shooting by a guest at the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas. Fifty-eight people attending a…

Oct 3, 2019 4:28 PM CDT

College grad banned from AmeriCorps position for anxiety counseling wins reforms

A national service program for young adults has agreed to revise its health screening process after the American Civil Liberties Union alleged a violation of disability law.

Sep 18, 2019 12:18 PM CDT

Opioid sellers say judge must recuse because he pushed settlement; 1 defendant files for bankruptcy

Some opioid defendants contend that the federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation should recuse himself partly because his zeal for settlements has created the appearance of bias.

Sep 16, 2019 12:06 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Judge threatens to toss prison officials in hot cells; $37M award in baby powder suit

Texas corrections chief testifies after judge threatens to lock up officials in hot prisons Texas Department of Criminal Justice Executive Director Bryan Collier acknowledged in court Tuesday that the agency had failed to record prison temperatures in seven of eight prisons covered by a settlement in a suit over stifling…

Sep 12, 2019 4:57 PM CDT

$572M verdict against Johnson & Johnson in opioid suit is based on Oklahoma’s unusual public nuisance law

An Oklahoma judge ruled Monday that Johnson & Johnson is liable for $572 million for the public nuisance it created when it engaged in a marketing campaign that promoted opioid use.

Aug 27, 2019 10:37 AM CDT

New rule would override Flores settlement, allow detention of immigrant families for more than 20 days

Updated: A new rule unveiled by the Trump administration on Wednesday would override the so-called Flores settlement that caps the detention of immigrant children at 20 days before their release or transfer to a licensed facility. The rule, set to be published in the Federal Register this week, eliminates the…

Aug 21, 2019 11:40 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Client convicted in lawyer’s attempted murder; attorney liable for bad cannabis advice

Woman convicted in attempted murder of her bankruptcy lawyer A Louisiana woman has been convicted of attempted second-degree murder for showing up at her bankruptcy lawyer’s office with a loaded shotgun and raising the weapon when he questioned her. The woman, Patricia Currie, was 75 at the time of the…

Aug 19, 2019 4:15 PM CDT