Verdicts & Settlements

Top Virginia court nixes alimony for woman now cohabiting in same-sex relationship

If Samantha Cucco, after her 2008 divorce, had been in living with a man in a relationship analogous to marriage, she would have forfeited the alimony her ex-husband agreed to pay for eight years. So, under a landmark U.S. Supreme Court same-sex marriage decision last year, it was only right…

May 3, 2016 7:45 AM CDT

Sued after posting video of brawl with neighbor, law partner loses bid for SLAPP protection

The chief of Sedgwick’s cybersecurity practice has lost a round in personal litigation over a brawl with a neighbor. In an opinion last week that contained a “Reader Discretion Advised” disclaimer because of “an abundance of obscene language,” the California Court of Appeal, Second District, said partner John Stephens can’t…

May 3, 2016 6:15 AM CDT

Disbarred lawyer says he will continue to practice while appealing the order

Following a jury trial, Texas attorney Mark A. Cantu was disbarred in an April 11 court order, effective immediately, over his conduct in personal bankruptcy cases. But he says the order doesn’t bar him from continuing to practice while appealing and he intends to do so, reports the Monitor. “I’m…

Apr 29, 2016 2:45 PM CDT

Disbarred Illinois lawyer gets 57 months in mortgage-rescue fraud case

A disbarred Illinois lawyer was sentenced Wednesday to 57 months in federal prison for her role in a Chicago-area mortgage-rescue fraud and ordered to pay $239,550.48 in restitution. Avalon Betts-Gaston, now 47, was convicted by a jury last year of two counts of wire fraud. Betts-Gaston had formed a suburban…

Apr 29, 2016 11:00 AM CDT

Judge says Amazon must refund parents for in-app purchases made by children

A federal judge on Tuesday agreed with the Federal Trade Commission that Amazon.com Inc. didn’t do enough to disclose to parents that children could potentially make in-app purchases while playing “free” games such as Pet Shop Story on electronic devices. So, granting a summary judgment sought by the FTC, U.S.…

Apr 27, 2016 4:55 PM CDT

Real-estate heir Robert Durst takes 7-year plea deal in gun case, but unrelated murder case ongoing

The son of a New York real estate mogul has taken a plea in a Louisiana firearm case that involves a prison term of a little more than seven years. However, that won’t be the end of a complex criminal-case saga for Robert Durst, now 72, who will also be…

Apr 27, 2016 3:26 PM CDT

Baltimore judge holds election hearing on sidewalk and in parking garage, due to courthouse fire

A Tuesday hearing at a Baltimore courthouse on whether to extend the time that some polls would be open to voters that day was moved to a nearby sidewalk and parking garage after a fire erupted in the courthouse basement and required the evacuation of the building. But Baltimore City…

Apr 27, 2016 1:15 PM CDT

Judge reverses conviction of man who shot neighbor outside home, says prosecutor misstated the law

For the second time in 25 years on the bench, he says, a Washington state judge has granted a defense motion for a new trial. This time, the case involved the Nov. 25 felony assault conviction of a former graduate teaching assistant at Western Washington University. Hearing unusual noises outside…

Apr 27, 2016 8:35 AM CDT

Sanctions of $18K against defendant lawyer and his counsel are upheld by New York appeals court

A defendant attorney in a business dispute and his counsel must each pay $9,000 for their deposition conduct, a New York appeals court ruled last week. Upholding the $18,000 in sanctions imposed by a commercial division judge in 2013 opinion (PDF), the Appellate Division, First Department said the trial court…

Apr 26, 2016 10:57 AM CDT

Former law school CFO takes theft plea; he will get probation and owe $24K in restitution

A former chief financial officer of Barry University’s law school in Orlando, Florida, has taken a plea in a grand theft case. John LaTorre, 57, had been accused last year of charging $50,000 in personal expenses on a corporate American Express account for the institution and of writing another $50,000…

Apr 25, 2016 3:15 PM CDT

2nd Circuit upholds NFL decision, says Tom Brady must serve 4-game ‘Deflategate’ suspension

Noting that substantial deference is granted to labor arbitration awards, a divided federal appeals court panel on Monday reinstated a four-game suspension imposed on New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady by the National Football League concerning the so-called Deflategate scandal. Reversing a federal district court, the 2nd U.S. Court of…

Apr 25, 2016 1:55 PM CDT

Cleveland will pay $6M in death of Tamir Rice, shot by police while playing with toy gun

The city of Cleveland has agreed to pay $6 million to settle a suit in the 2014 death of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy shot by police in what prosecutors called “a perfect storm of errors.” The settlement, which requires probate court approval, was reached after a mediation session overseen…

Apr 25, 2016 9:58 AM CDT

Judge publicly reprimanded for jailing domestic-violence witness who recanted

A Louisville judge who admitted that she made a mistake when she ordered a balking witness in a domestic violence case jailed without a hearing last year should be publicly reprimanded, a Kentucky legal ethics panel has decided. In determining the penalty, the Judicial Conduct Commission said it took into…

Apr 22, 2016 2:30 PM CDT

Uber to pay up to $100M to settle claims of misclassification by drivers in 2 states

With a June trial looming in a California class action by 240,000 current and former drivers who claimed they were misclassified as independent contractors, Uber Technologies Inc. agreed on Thursday to settle the case for as much as $100 million. The settlement of that federal suit, which was brought in…

Apr 22, 2016 1:28 PM CDT

Volkswagen settlement details should be kept secret until filed, judge says after news report

A federal judge in San Francisco fears the public can be misled by stories about diesel emissions litigation against Volkswagen that are published before the tentative agreement is completed. In court on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said he would order parties in the litigation over Volkswagen’s emissions software…

Apr 22, 2016 7:41 AM CDT