Verdicts & Settlements

Judge Sides With Nudists in Calif. Swimsuit Case

Nudists who for three decades have reportedly been frequenting a beach in San Diego County without any significant public objection can continue to let it all hang out a while longer. An Orange County judge says administrative law is on the nudists’ side, so state parks officials can’t require them…

Aug 20, 2008 6:36 PM CDT

As ‘Girls Gone Wild’ Founder Sues Over Settlement, Bigger Legal Troubles Loom

The founder of the “Girls Gone Wild” videos has announced he is filing suit to rescind a settlement agreement reached with three underage girls after he was jailed by a federal judge in Florida. The Los Angeles suit claims U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak of Panama City sided with a…

Aug 20, 2008 1:58 PM CDT

Malpractice Suit Against Kirkland & Ellis Claims Errors in Patent Case

A technology company says in a lawsuit that it would not have needed to settle an infringement case for $18.75 million if its law firm, Kirkland & Ellis, had discovered prior art and misconduct that called a patent into question. Magnetek Inc. sued the law firm last week in county…

Aug 20, 2008 11:29 AM CDT

Judge Sides With MIT Students, Lifts Gag Order in Transit Case

A federal anti-hacking law wasn’t intended to prohibit the disclosure of public information about computer security flaws and hence doesn’t prohibit three MIT students from discussing with fellow academics how they learned to circumvent the Boston transit fare system, as part of a class project. That’s what a federal judge…

Aug 19, 2008 8:31 PM CDT

Parole Hearing Transcript Gives Details of John Lennon’s Murder

In his parole hearing earlier this month, the convicted murderer of John Lennon describes in his own words what happened on Dec. 8, 1980. Asked by the New York parole board to confirm that he called out Lennon’s name as the ex-Beatle and his wife, Yoko Ono, returned to their…

Aug 19, 2008 8:01 PM CDT

Another Perry Mason Moment in LA, as Police Testimony is Contradicted

For the second time in little over a month, contradicted testimony by a Los Angeles police officer has given a criminal defense lawyer the opportunity to take a dramatic Perry Mason approach at trial. Detective David Friedrich was a key prosecution witness in the attempted murder trial of Saul Eady,…

Aug 19, 2008 6:08 PM CDT

Visiting Cousin in Psych Ward Gets N.Y. Lawyer Suspended for 5 Years

A former chief counsel for the New York fire department’s bureau of legal affairs has been suspended from practice for five years. His offense against legal ethics was visiting a cousin in a psychiatric unit in 2002, in order to complete the paperwork for the sale of the cousin’s home…

Aug 19, 2008 5:38 PM CDT

Mexican Man Awarded $550k Over Pot-Laden SUV Sold By US Customs

A Mexican man who was convicted and jailed in his home country after a search revealed that the SUV he and his business partner had purchased at a U.S. Customs auction was stuffed with marijuana, has been awarded more than $550,000 in compensation. Francisco Javier Rivera Agredano and the partner…

Aug 19, 2008 4:53 PM CDT

Lawyer Must Pay $1.5M Verdict for Affair With Client’s Wife

Solo practitioner Ronald Henry Pierce of Mississippi will have to pay a $1.5 million verdict against him for having an affair with a client’s wife, the Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled. The court affirmed the verdict for intentional infliction of emotional distress, breach of contract and alienation of affection in…

Aug 19, 2008 2:47 PM CDT

Non-Lawyer Disbarred By Federal Court in N.D.

A non-lawyer who apparently tricked a federal court in North Dakota into admitting him to practice there, by claiming to be licensed in California, has been disbarred. Howard Kieffer now admits that he is neither an accredited law school graduate nor a member of any state bar, and U.S. District…

Aug 18, 2008 9:56 PM CDT

Latest Twist in Detroit Mayor Saga: Judge Says City Can’t Remove Him

The city council doesn’t have the power to remove Detroit’s embattled mayor from office, a Michigan judge has ruled. However, today’s decision by Wayne County Circuit Judge Robert Ziolkowski doesn’t derail a planned Sept. 3 hearing on Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick by the state’s governor, reports the Associated Press. Kilpatrick has…

Aug 18, 2008 7:08 PM CDT

Once Cleveland’s Top Municipal Lawyer, Cornell Carter May Lose Law License

Convicted in a felony case concerning the misuse of a former employer’s credit card, the onetime director of the municipal law department in Cleveland agreed to a deal that would save his law license. Cornell Carter, 41, entered a one-year diversion program that could have resulted in the case being…

Aug 15, 2008 6:41 PM CDT

Pastor’s Wife Didn’t Assault Flight Attendant, Houston Jury Decides

Defended by a high-profile Houston trial lawyer in the trial of a Continental Airlines flight attendant’s lawsuit claiming that she had been assaulted by the wife of a well-known televangelist, Victoria Osteen exclaimed “Thank you Jesus!” yesterday as she learned that the jury had believed her side of the story.…

Aug 15, 2008 5:27 PM CDT

Texas Judge is Convicted of Perjury, Gets 30-Day Jail Term in Groping Case

A Texas judge accused of fondling a temporary worker and exposing himself to her has been convicted of perjuring himself in a related investigation. A Kleberg County jury found Willacy County Judge Eliseo Barnhart guilty yesterday of two counts of aggravated perjury, and the judge in the case sentenced the…

Aug 15, 2008 3:41 PM CDT

Fish & Richardson Settles Suit Against Ex-Partner Over Patent Sale

Fish & Richardson has settled its lawsuit against ex-partner Scott Harris that claims he breached his duties to the firm by selling his inventions to patent trolls, one of which sued a firm client. Fish & Richardson had claimed an ownership interest in the patents Harris sold and alleged he…

Aug 15, 2008 12:42 PM CDT