Verdicts & Settlements

Owners Blame Cities for Bad Homes

As builders throughout the country rushed to profit in the recent construction boom, a number of homes and developments went up that were badly built or otherwise created problems. But in the resulting blame game, many homeowners are now saying municipalities large and small gave builders free rein instead of…

Jul 7, 2007 12:39 AM CDT

Young Trial Atty Wins Big Katrina Case

A renowned trial lawyer on the Mississippi gulf coast who had a big influence in the life of novelist John Grisham, attorney Will Denton made a name for himself as a plaintiff lawyer after Hurricane Camille hit the state in 1969. He didn’t live to see the devastation wrought on…

Jul 6, 2007 9:41 PM CDT

Davis Wright to Get $1 M ‘Pro Bono’ Fee

Davis Wright Tremaine won a racial discrimination case against Seattle’s public school district fair and square. But the $1 million fee the well-known firm is getting for its work in the “pro bono” case strikes some as an unfairly big bite into the city’s tax revenue. In fact, the firm…

Jul 5, 2007 9:18 PM CDT

Slain Victim’s Kin Own OJ Book Rights

A highly controversial book authored by fallen football hero O.J. Simpson that some considered his confession to the 1994 murders of his former wife, Nicole, and a male companion, Ron Goldman, is now likely to be published after all. But if so the profits will go not to O.J. Simpson’s…

Jul 3, 2007 6:52 PM CDT

Philadelphia Fee-dom

The 3rd Circuit tackles settlements that leave clients wanting, insurers burning

Jul 1, 2007 8:06 PM CDT

Settlement: More ATMs to Talk to Blind

A settlement has been announced in litigation brought by the National Federation of the Blind to make it easier for persons with limited vision to use automated teller machines. Under an agreement announced Wednesday, the nation’s biggest non-bank ATM provider, Cardtronics Inc., will have half of its approximately 29,000 machines…

Jun 29, 2007 2:35 AM CDT

Video Rivals Settle Patent Dispute

Netflix has settled a suit that alleged Blockbuster stole its business method to charge subscribers a monthly fee to rent videos online. Blockbuster revealed the settlement in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. Details of the agreement were not disclosed. A…

Jun 28, 2007 8:39 PM CDT

Court Bars Secret High-Low Deals

New York’s highest court has ordered a new trial for an asbestos defendant because it was not told that a co-defendant had reached a high-low agreement with the plaintiff. The New York Court of Appeals said all parties in multiple defendant cases should be notified of such agreements, the New…

Jun 28, 2007 1:16 PM CDT

Bad Faith Settlement a Pa. Record

An insurance company has agreed to pay $20 million to settle a suit claiming it acted in bad faith when it refused to settle a claim within the policy limit. The settlement is the largest to date in a Pennsylvania bad-faith insurance case, the Legal Intelligencer reports. Princeton Insurance Co.…

Jun 28, 2007 12:57 PM CDT

Big, Big Bucks at Issue in ‘Big Dig’ Case?

Attorneys on both sides are still jockeying for position in the so-called Big Dig tort case in Boston. But plaintiff lawyers reportedly could be seeking a settlement in the neighborhood of $500 million in a tort claim over a woman crushed to death when the ceiling of the ill-fated tunnel…

Jun 27, 2007 10:06 PM CDT

Judge Loses Pants Lawsuit (Updated)

The administrative law judge who sought $54 million from a dry cleaners has lost his lawsuit. Roy Pearson Jr. sued Custom Cleaners for losing his pants, saying the establishment did not live up to a posted sign claiming “Satisfaction Guaranteed.” He first sought $67 million but later lowered his demand…

Jun 25, 2007 7:12 PM CDT

Civil Rights Lawyer Convicted

A crusading civil rights lawyer convicted of tax evasion and other charges could be sentenced to more than six years in prison. Stephen Yagman of Venice, Calif., was convicted of tax evasion, bankruptcy fraud and money laundering on Friday, the Los Angeles Times reports. Prosecutors had claimed Yagman hid money…

Jun 25, 2007 3:10 PM CDT

Another Big Defense Win in Paint Case

Now is apparently the time to be a defense lawyer representing a paint manufacturer in big-bucks litigation over injuries allegedly caused by lead-based products manufactured decades ago. Hard on the heels of recent defense victories in lead paint lawsuits in Missouri and New Jersey, a jury in Milwaukee, Wisc., found…

Jun 23, 2007 1:41 AM CDT

Fee Suit Scores Own Goal: $7 M to Client

It’s a common belief among attorneys that suing a client over unpaid fees is a dangerous practice, and a recent decision by a New York jury shows why. Filing suit to collect unpaid legal fees from a client partnership cost a now-defunct New York law firm a $7 million judgment,…

Jun 20, 2007 9:48 PM CDT

Judge Questions BAR/BRI Deal

Incentives that would be paid to class representatives have temporarily derailed a proposed settlement in a suit against a bar review course. U.S. District Judge Manuel Real of Los Angeles expressed concerns about the incentive awards on Monday, the National Law Journal reports. The $49 million deal would give class…

Jun 20, 2007 1:27 PM CDT