Verdicts & Settlements

4946 ABA Journal Verdicts & Settlements articles.

Tenn. Law Firm Bookkeeper Is Accused as Ky. Law Firm Bookkeeper Is Sentenced

Partners of a Tennessee law firm apparently didn’t immediately notice that a bookkeeper allegedly was issuing herself five-figure checks from an escrow account. But after an auditor for Harwell Howard Hyne Gabbert & Manner focused on two $50,000-plus checks to bookkeeper Claire Thurman, she was charged in an arrest warrant…

Aug 12, 2009 5:52 PM CDT

$500M Gov’t Settlement Could Aid 200K Social Security-Eligible Individuals

A federal judge in San Francisco gave preliminary approval today to a plan by the Social Security Administration to pay $500 million to settle a class action brought on behalf of 80,000 recipients who lost their benefits, starting in 2007, after being classified as individuals using government benefits to flee…

Aug 11, 2009 11:10 PM CDT

Madoff Aide Pleads Guilty, Says ‘It Was All Fake,’ Judge Nixes $2.5M Bond Deal

After Frank DiPascali pleaded guilty today to carrying out one of the biggest frauds on Wall Street with the help of unidentified “other people” who put together its fictitious books and investment statements, the plan was for the cooperating witness and longtime aide to convicted $65 billion Ponzi schemer Bernard…

Aug 11, 2009 10:21 PM CDT

Woman Can Sue Sister Over Alleged Oral Pact to Split $500K Powerball Win

An 83-year-old woman can take her 87-year-old sister to trial over an alleged 1995 oral agreement that they would split the winnings if either one ever hit the jackpot, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled today. It upheld an intermediate appellate court decision that a trial judge erred in granting a…

Aug 11, 2009 7:14 PM CDT

La. Judge Rejects Guilty Verdict in A.M., But Jury Gives 2nd ‘C-Murder’ Rap in P.M.

After getting a guilty verdict this morning from a jury hearing a second-degree murder case against rapper Corey “C-Murder” Miller, a Louisiana judge told the panel in the Jefferson Parish case to try again. 24th District Court Judge Hans Liljeberg ruled the verdict invalid, saying he believed one member of…

Aug 11, 2009 5:53 PM CDT

N.C. Attorney is Accused of Altering Court Documents in Plea Deal

Updated: A North Carolina lawyer has been criminally charged with altering court documents, obstruction of justice, forgery and uttering concerning a plea deal she allegedly changed in a speeding case. Janet Pittman Reed, 47, declined to comment, saying that her lawyers had advised her not to do so, reports the…

Aug 11, 2009 5:12 PM CDT

Judge to Appoint Guardian Ad Litem for Jackson’s 3 Children

Following news of a $60 million deal to make a feature-length film of hundreds of hours of Michael Jackson concert rehearsal footage, a Los Angeles judge said today that he will appoint a guardian ad litem to oversee the financial affairs of the deceased pop singer’s three children. Superior Court…

Aug 11, 2009 12:02 AM CDT

Fed’l Judge Balks Again, Further Delays Ruling on SEC’s $33M Pact With BofA

A proposed $33 million settlement by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve allegations that the Bank of America didn’t disclose to investors that it was to pay $3 billion in executive bonuses when acquiring Merrill Lynch & Co. “might be approvable,” a federal judge said at a hearing…

Aug 10, 2009 11:22 PM CDT

‘Garbage’ New York Fair Housing Suit Leads to Landmark Settlement

A lawsuit initially dismissed as “garbage” by officials in the well-to-do New York City suburb of Westchester County has now led to what the New York Times describes as a landmark settlement. Without admitting liability concerning claims that the county misrepresented when obtaining federal funds that it had complied with…

Aug 10, 2009 7:34 PM CDT

Blank Rome Settles Malpractice Case for $20M Without Admitting Liability

Without admitting liability, Blank Rome has agreed to settle for $20 million a malpractice claim brought by a former client’s trustee in bankruptcy. Trustee George Miller, who also sued the company’s former officers and directors, was reportedly seeking more than $700 million in compensatory damages from the law firm and…

Aug 10, 2009 5:14 PM CDT

Supporters of Slain Russian Journalist to Seek Justice Elsewhere

Supporters of slain Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya plan to ask the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to pursue those responsible for her murder, after a Moscow court refused Friday to halt a controversial retrial of three relatively minor figures and order a new investigation that was also requested…

Aug 7, 2009 11:19 PM CDT

Law Firm Won Tax Case, But Says Ex-KPMG Partner Still Owes $1.3M Bill

A law firm is suing a former KPMG partner, saying that he hasn’t paid $1.3 million of the legal bill that Kostelanetz & Fink racked up while successfully defending him in a high-profile criminal tax case concerning illegal tax shelters. Although Richard Smith obtained a settlement from KPMG that was…

Aug 7, 2009 6:04 PM CDT

Promoter’s Insurance Against Jackson Concert No-Show Excluded Illegal Drugs

As Michael Jackson geared up earlier this summer for a series of planned London concerts, a $17.5 million Lloyd’s policy insured promoter AEG Live against his non-appearance “resulting from accident.” But it also contains a provision excluding “any loss directly or indirectly arising out of, contributed to, by or resulting…

Aug 7, 2009 5:02 PM CDT

Judge Asks Whether Taxpayers Would Fund $33M BofA Settlement with SEC

A federal judge has refused to approve an agreement by Bank of America to pay $33 million to settle allegations by the Securities and Exchange Commission that the bank misled investors about plans to pay bonuses to executives of Merrill Lynch. Judge Jed Rakoff set a Monday hearing to examine…

Aug 7, 2009 12:43 PM CDT

Ex-AIG Chief Issues ‘Defiant Statement’ After Settling with SEC for $15M

Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, the former CEO of the American International Group, has agreed to pay $15 million to settle a complaint by the Securities and Exchange Commission accusing him of overseeing an accounting fraud at the insurer. The amount is one of the largest settlements against an individual in a…

Aug 7, 2009 12:08 PM CDT

Read more ...