Verdicts & Settlements

Bad Debts Earn License Suspension for Missouri Lawyer

A Missouri attorney who was already on probationary status because of being behind on his debt payments has now been suspended from practice for failing to comply with a repayment plan. Derrick R. Williams Sr. of Cape Girardeau was suspended Friday by the Missouri Supreme Court for failing to file…

Jan 9, 2008 9:17 PM CST

N.H. City Says Attorney Malpractice Nixed Insurance

A New Hampshire municipality has sued its former legal counsel for malpractice, contending that he not only failed to appropriately advise the city of Claremont of the legal risks associated with firing the city tax assessor in 2000 but also failed to advise the city that the tax assessor, Steve…

Jan 7, 2008 9:17 PM CST

Boy Injured in China Gets $3.35M Verdict in Mass.

The escalator accident that left a 4-year-old’s hand severely injured, happened in China. But American jurors decided the case, this week awarding $3.35 million after a trial in Massachusetts. In addition to holding the escalator’s Chinese manufacturer liable, a jury in Worcester Superior Court held the U.S.-based Otis Elevator Co.…

Jan 4, 2008 9:37 PM CST

Jury Recalled to Testify About Alleged Race Bias

A judge who oversaw the high-profile trial of a man convicted of murdering fashion writer Christa Worthington has taken the unusual step of calling the entire jury back to testify next week about whether race impacted their deliberations. During a hearing set for Jan. 10 and 11, Barnstable Superior Court…

Jan 4, 2008 5:28 PM CST

EEOC Obtains Record Settlement in Race Bias Case

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has negotiated a record $2.5 million settlement on behalf of a former electrician at Lockheed Martin Corp. The EEOC says the amount is the largest settlement it has secured for an individual in a racial discrimination suit, Reuters reports. The plaintiff, Charles Daniels, had alleged…

Jan 3, 2008 3:27 PM CST

False Arrest Cost Ill. County Sheriffs $15.5M

Federal jurors in Chicago have awarded $15.5 million to the father of a 3-year-old who was abducted in 2004 from her Will County home and later found sexually assaulted and murdered. Investigators focused the girl’s father and extracted a confession. Kevin Fox stayed in jail for eight months until DNA…

Dec 21, 2007 5:04 PM CST

Some Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Contest All-or-Nothing Vioxx Settlement

Several plaintiffs’ lawyers are opposing a controversial provision in a $4.85 billion Vioxx settlement that requires them to recommend the deal to all of their clients if at least one participates. In a motion filed Monday in New Orleans federal court, the lawyers say the requirement would prevent them from…

Dec 21, 2007 4:36 PM CST

Ohio Supreme Court: Surrogate Mom Has No Parental Right to Triplets

In a cutting-edge case that has spotlighted the gap between traditional family law principles and state-of-the-art medical options for dealing with infertility, a Pennsylvania woman who carried triplets to term as a surrogate mother for an Ohio man has been found to have no parental rights over the infants. Because…

Dec 20, 2007 10:49 PM CST

Blogger Settles With Apple Over Think Secret Site

Nick Ciarelli hasn’t yet graduated from college, but the seasoned blogger has already reached what is being described as a favorable settlement with a global computer Goliath. The editor and publisher of ThinkSecret has agreed to shut down his Apple-focused computer gossip site, in settlement of a three-year-old lawsuit brought…

Dec 20, 2007 10:14 PM CST

Conn. Lawyer Gets 16 Months for Tax Evasion

A Connecticut lawyer who worked with a well-known criminal defense attorney was sentenced this week to 16 months in prison for tax evasion. Joseph Richichi, who is in his early 60s, pleaded guilty in April in federal court in Bridgeport, Conn. His sentence this week included a $15,000 fine in…

Dec 20, 2007 5:36 PM CST

Uh-Oh. Overpaid Settlement Plaintiffs Asked to Return Cash

A company that sent $289 million in settlement checks to about 88,000 plaintiffs admits it made a mistake. Because of an administrative error, Gilardi & Co. failed to pay about 2,000 people in the settlement of a fraud suit against Computer Associates International, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.).…

Dec 20, 2007 4:44 PM CST

Jury Swats Ex-Prosecutor Seeking ‘Sopranos’ Consulting Fees

A former prosecutor and judge who contended he is owed consulting fees for assisting the producer of the Sopranos television show has lost his lawsuit. A jury ruled against Robert Baer yesterday after deliberating about 80 minutes, “slightly longer than a Sopranos episode,” notes the New York Post. Baer says…

Dec 20, 2007 2:33 PM CST

Driver With Amnesia Not Competent for Car Homicide Trial?

A Washington state woman found guilty of vehicular homicide concerning an auto accident she can’t remember has filed an appeal seeking to overturn the felony conviction, arguing that she was unable to assist in her own defense. Cleora Swirtz, now 25, also suffered life-threatening injuries in the 2004 accident that…

Dec 19, 2007 7:50 PM CST

New Suit in Duke Lacrosse Rape Case

The fallout continues over a botched investigation and prosecution of an escort service dancer’s allegations—eventually determined to be false—that she was gang-raped in March 2006 by former members of the Duke University men’s lacrosse team. Three former team members who were never charged in the case have filed a 400-page…

Dec 19, 2007 5:15 PM CST

$1.2M Paid in R.I. Lead Paint Suit

More than two years after DuPont agreed to pay $12 million and clean up 600 homes in order to settle a lead paint lawsuit brought by the state of Rhode Island, the first of the money is being distributed. Several children’s health and educational projects will split $1.2 million of…

Dec 18, 2007 11:26 PM CST