Verdicts & Settlements

Ex-Judge, Now a N.H. Lawyer, is Censured for ‘Double-Dipping’

A former New Hampshire judge who resigned from the bench after she was suspended for three years without pay earlier this year is in ethical hot water again. Patricia Coffey has accepted a censure from the New Hampshire Supreme Court’s Judicial Conduct Committee, which found that she had exceeded a…

Oct 7, 2008 7:51 PM CDT

Calif. Judge Bans Anna Nicole Smith Breast Surgery Videotape

In the latest ruling in a steady stream of medical privacy cases, a California judge has nixed a Texas doctor’s claimed right to distribute videotapes of the 1994 breast augmentation surgery he performed on celebrity Anna Nicole Smith. After granting a preliminary injunction against Dr. Gerald Johnson last year, Los…

Oct 6, 2008 9:10 PM CDT

Bank of America to Modify Countrywide Mortgages in $8.6B Deal

Bank of America will agree to modify loan terms, where possible, for up to 390,000 borrowers who took out subprime loans serviced by Countrywide in a deal that could be worth more than $8.6 billion, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. The deal, expected to be announced today, would…

Oct 6, 2008 1:24 PM CDT

O.J. Simpson Appeal to Target Jury Selection

O.J. Simpson, convicted of kidnapping and armed robbery late Friday, has some strong arguments for his planned appeal, according to his lawyer. Yale Galanter told the Associated Press that his client is being isolated from other prisoners for his own safety in a county jail where he will be held…

Oct 6, 2008 10:43 AM CDT

Missing Millionaire’s Plane Found After Hiker Seeks Lawyer’s Help

After a California hiker found identification and $1,000 in cash in a remote area on Monday, he asked an attorney for help. The name “Fossett” on the ID meant nothing to his client, Preston Morrow, says attorney David Baumwohl. But it rang a bell with some of his friends and…

Oct 2, 2008 4:18 PM CDT

Another Recruiter’s Suit Against a Law Firm Gets Resolved

Epstein Becker & Green has settled a lawsuit filed by an Atlanta recruiting firm that contended the law firm failed to pay its total fee. The recruiter, Counsel Search, was seeking more than $169,000 in damages in the Atlanta lawsuit, the American Lawyer reports. Counsel Search claimed Epstein Becker owed…

Oct 2, 2008 3:29 PM CDT

Final Answer for Victim’s Family in Boston ‘Big Dig’ Death: $28M

The family of a 38-year-old woman who was crushed to death in 2006 when a portion of the so-called “Big Dig” tunnel ceiling collapsed in Boston will get $28 million in settlements, after reaching an agreement with the remaining defendants in the wrongful death case. “Milena Del Valle’s family agreed…

Oct 1, 2008 8:06 PM CDT

Texas Law Firm Takes $840K Plea, Profited from Auto Accident Scheme

A law firm in Dallas has agreed to pay $840,000 restitution in exchange for an agreed sentence of probation in a federal mail and health care fraud conspiracy case. The case was sparked by an alleged scheme to stage auto accidents involving almost 30 defendants, including two legal assistants. Officers…

Oct 1, 2008 3:05 PM CDT

Florida Family Files Tort Claim Over Delayed Worker’s Comp Benefits

Blinded in a workplace shooting four years ago that killed several others, 34-year-old Jamie Dolan also reportedly suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and panic attacks. He has been awarded $1,300 a month in worker’s compensation benefits, plus medical expenses. But getting the latter has been a struggle, according to the…

Sep 30, 2008 6:35 PM CDT

Federal Judges Ax Case, Sanction N.Y. Lawyer for Trial Conduct

A New York civil rights practitioner was sentenced to two years of probation on Friday in a criminal contempt case that resulted from the way she handled a federal court employment discrimination trial. Ruth Pollack, who practices in Mineola, N.Y., on Long Island, also was suspended from practice for 45…

Sep 29, 2008 7:26 PM CDT

Japanese Businessman Faces US Trial in Alleged Conspiracy to Murder Wife

A Japanese businessman who is fighting a court battle on two fronts to avoid being tried on charges related to the 1981 murder of his wife has seemingly lost another round. Although Kazuyoshi Miura “was cleared of his wife’s killing by a court in Japan in 1998 following a marathon…

Sep 29, 2008 4:53 PM CDT

Held in Solitary Over 35 Years, Albert Woodfox Wins Habeas Petition

One of the nation’s longest-serving prisoners has just won another round in his ongoing appellate battle. Albert Woodfox, 61, who contends he was framed for the 1972 murder of a Louisiana prison guard, won a favorable final ruling yesterday on his habeas corpus petition from a federal district judge. He…

Sep 26, 2008 9:32 PM CDT

Add Ticket Spats to Sign Dispute Sparked By Chicago Cubs’ Success

As fans of the Chicago Cubs eagerly await the playoffs and the team’s possible participation in baseball’s World Series, the situation is testing once-amicable sharing arrangements among groups of season-ticket holders. A lawsuit was filed yesterday in Illinois state court by two business partners who claim an 84-year-old fan reneged…

Sep 26, 2008 5:50 PM CDT

Fla. Teen Who Copied Movie Characters is Convicted of First-Degree Murder

Rejecting an insanity defense, a Florida jury last night convicted a teenager who was 14 at the time he admittedly stabbed a middle school classmate to death of first-degree murder. Assuming that the conviction stands, Michael Hernandez, who is now 18, is expected to spend the rest of his life…

Sep 25, 2008 10:13 PM CDT

Controversial Fla. Lawyer is Disbarred; Jack Thompson Alleges ‘Enemies List’

Updated: Going beyond previous sanctions imposed on a controversial Florida lawyer, the state supreme court today has permanently disbarred Jack Thompson in agreement with a referee’s report (PDF) issued in July that said Thompson repeatedly attempted to harm his opponents’ reputations “with utter disregard to the administration of justice and…

Sep 25, 2008 8:10 PM CDT