Verdicts & Settlements

NY Lawyer Sues Wrong Party, Gets Hit With $13K Bill

A New York attorney who sued the wrong party in an effort to enforce a judgment and then refused to dismiss the suit when the error was brought to her attention has been ordered to pay the defendant $13,287.50 in legal costs. But the result could have been worse for…

Jul 8, 2008 7:30 PM CDT

Termite Lawyer Bugged By Job But Likes the Independence

The life of a termite lawyer isn’t an easy one, particularly when he is new to the job, Pete Cardillo says. And the 50-year-old Columbia Law School graduate should know. Perhaps the only attorney in the nation who practices full-time suing pest control companies over allegedly breached contracts to keep…

Jul 8, 2008 3:40 PM CDT

9/11 Rubble Can Stay in Landfill, Federal Judge Says

A federal judge in Manhattan has dismissed a lawsuit brought by families of victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City. It had sought a court order requiring more than a million tons of rubble that may contain some human remains to be moved from a garbage dump…

Jul 8, 2008 2:37 PM CDT

Ohio Judge Disbarred Over Dealings with Convicted Client

An Ohio judge’s effort to help a former client skirt money-laundering laws and purchase a commercial building from him has ended his legal career. Judge Jeffrey Hoskins of the Highland County Court of Common Pleas was permanently disbarred last week by the Ohio Supreme Court for what it described in…

Jul 7, 2008 4:19 PM CDT

Judge Nixes Execution Date for Longest-Serving Texas Inmate

A state court judge has withdrawn the scheduled July 22 execution date for Lester Bower, Texas’ longest-serving death row inmate, in order to address Bower’s long-standing request for DNA testing of cigarette butts and hair strands found at the scene of the multiple murder of which he was convicted in…

Jul 3, 2008 5:35 PM CDT

Tatum O’Neal Pleads to Reduced Charge in Drug Arrest

Charged after a June 1 arrest with a misdemeanor drug possession count, Oscar-winning actress Tatum O’Neal pleaded guilty to a lesser violation today. O’Neal, 44, was conditionally discharged after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct, reports the New York Post. She must attend two half-day drug treatment program sessions, and pay…

Jul 2, 2008 6:50 PM CDT

‘Real’ Joe Horn Didn’t Shoot & Kill 2 Men

Joe Horn, the Texas retiree that a grand jury declined to indict for killing two apparent burglars outside his home in Pasadena, says he didn’t mean to shoot them and that his “real” self wasn’t the man who acted that day in November 2007. But after hearing the two break…

Jul 2, 2008 3:54 PM CDT

US Court Tells Swiss Bank UBS to Reveal Customer Names

In a reportedly unprecedented court order, a federal judge in Miami has ordered Swiss-based UBS AG to reveal the names of U.S. residents who have been using secret accounts to avoid paying American income tax. “Federal prosecutors have accused UBS of helping American clients hide $20 billion overseas in secret…

Jul 1, 2008 11:15 PM CDT

More eBay Suits Expected Over Sales of Fake Luxury Goods

Lawyers representing eBay are likely to be busy with additional lawsuits over sales of fake luxury goods after a $63 million ruling by a French court this week holding the Internet auctioneer liable for online sales conducted by users of its site. “I expect this ruling to encourage a number…

Jul 1, 2008 10:18 PM CDT

Judge Upholds Order Banning Autistic Boy from Church

A Minnesota judge has upheld a restraining order banning a teenager with autism from his local Catholic church, which contends he is dangerous to other parishioners. “Todd County District Judge Sally Ireland Robertson, in upholding a restraining order, said in her ruling that the parents of 13-year-old Adam Race ‘have…

Jul 1, 2008 6:14 PM CDT

Willful Wal-Mart Worker Violations Could Cost $2B in Minn.

Willful violations by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of wage-and-hour rules in Minnesota could require the mega-retailer to pay $2 billion in penalties for more than 2 million such infractions involving $6.5 million in underpayments to workers, a judge says. The 151-page ruling by District Judge Robert King Jr., in Hastings, Minn.,…

Jul 1, 2008 4:06 PM CDT

Jury Acquits Fen-Phen Lawyer Who Used Drinking Defense in Fraud Case

A jury has acquitted one of three lawyers accused of defrauding their fen-phen clients out of $65 million in settlement proceeds. Jurors acquitted Melbourne Mills Jr. but indicated they have not reached a unanimous agreement regarding the two other defendants, William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham Jr., the Louisville Courier-Journal reports.…

Jul 1, 2008 4:05 PM CDT

‘Enemy Combatant’ Opinion Released: Verifiable, Reliable Evidence Required

Updated: In a 39-page opinion that cites the author of Alice in Wonderland, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit says that verifiable and reliable evidence is required to hold a suspect without trial as an “enemy combatant.” The opinion in the case of Huzaifa Parhat was decided…

Jun 30, 2008 8:50 PM CDT

eBay Must Pay $63M Damages for Unauthorized Sales of Luxe Goods

For the second time in a month, a French court has held Internet auction site eBay Inc. liable for helping to facilitate the sale of luxury goods outside of authorized outlets. This time, a judge awarded $63 million in damages, after finding that eBay had failed to take the necessary…

Jun 30, 2008 4:24 PM CDT

Scientist to Get $5.8M Settlement from DOJ in Anthrax Case

Steven Hatfill, a former Army scientist who says the government violated his privacy rights and damaged his reputation by leaking investigative details to reporters about his role as a “person of interest” in 2001 anthrax attacks, has won a $5.8 million settlement from the Department of Justice. According to court…

Jun 27, 2008 10:30 PM CDT