Verdicts & Settlements

Judge nixes $25M settlement because plaintiff’s lawyer was told of jury note before defense counsel

A Chicago-area judge tossed a $25 million settlement agreement Tuesday because the plaintiff’s lawyer in the case was told by a court clerk about the contents of a jury note before the defense heard about it. In the half-hour interim, attorney Mark McNabola settled the case, committing fraud by not…

Jan 20, 2016 12:55 PM CST

Supreme Court rules against company seeking to end class action with settlement offer

A 6-3 U.S. Supreme Court decision on Wednesday is a defeat for companies seeking to fend off class actions with a full settlement offer to the name plaintiff. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion (PDF) for Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez in favor of Jose Gomez, who sued after…

Jan 20, 2016 11:45 AM CST

Convicted man whose request to represent himself was ‘virtually ignored’ gets new murder trial

The Georgia Supreme Court has unanimously reversed the 2010 murder conviction of a defendant who asked to represent himself but then saw his request “virtually ignored” both by the trial court and his own lawyer. A hearing should have been held to determine if Ulysses Wiggins had made a knowing…

Jan 19, 2016 3:45 PM CST

9th Circuit blasts judge who ruled for rancher, boots him from grazing-rights case

A federal appeals court not only vacated and reversed portions of a judgment in a high-profile Nevada grazing-rights case on Friday but booted the trial judge from the case on remand. Saying that U.S. District Judge Robert Clive Jones had displayed bias against the federal government and grossly abused his…

Jan 19, 2016 12:10 PM CST

Reprimand of federal judge for conduct toward court worker ‘far too lenient,’ lawyer says in appeal

A disciplinary group for a federal appeals court was “far too lenient” on a longtime federal judge reprimanded last month for making unwanted sexual advances toward a court employee in 1998, the attorney who made the ethics complaint says. U.S. District Judge Walter S. Smith Jr., who sits in Waco,…

Jan 19, 2016 10:45 AM CST

Monster Beverage Corp. settles copyright cases over Beastie Boys tunes

Monster Beverage Corp. has settled on undisclosed terms two related lawsuits that accused the company of using without permission excerpts from five Beastie Boys songs in a 4-minute video promotion of a Canadian snowboarding event, Reuters reports. The iconic hip-hop group, which does not license its music for advertising and…

Jan 15, 2016 2:55 PM CST

Former top federal prosecutor takes plea after alleged $613K theft from convicted ex-client

A former top federal prosecutor in Connecticut pleaded guilty to mail fraud on Thursday, after being accused of stealing over $600,000 from an ex-client convicted in a racketeering case the government said was linked to organized crime. As the ex-client served time for conspiring to fix prices in the trash-hauling…

Jan 15, 2016 11:20 AM CST

Goldman Sachs OKs $5B settlement of civil claims over toxic mortgage bonds

One of Wall Street’s best-known financial institutions has agreed to pay more than $5 billion to settle claims that it sold toxic bonds based on residential mortgages between 2005 and 2007, as the nation’s mortgage market was about to go into a meltdown. The agreement in principle by Goldman Sachs…

Jan 14, 2016 5:00 PM CST

Debt-collection law firm to pay $3.4M to settle class action

A debt-collection law firm in Texas will pay $3.4 million to settle accusations it practiced law in California without having any lawyers there, according to a settlement approved by a federal judge on Jan. 8. The Austin-based law firm Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson agreed to pay $2 million to…

Jan 13, 2016 8:26 AM CST

Judge’s battle to stay on bench ends at SCOTUS, but ethics case is still ongoing

The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to hear an appeal by a former Florida judge of the state supreme court’s decision to remove her from the bench last year. However, while the denial of former Broward Circuit Judge Laura Watson’s certiorari petition ends her quest to get her judicial job…

Jan 12, 2016 4:45 PM CST

Attorney takes plea deal in marijuana ‘grow house’ case

A Raleigh, North Carolina, attorney accused of playing a role in a marijuana “grow house” operation and using his law office to help prepare fraudulent applications for bank loans has taken a plea deal. Joseph Lee Levinson pleaded guilty Friday to a federal conspiracy count concerning false statements made to…

Jan 12, 2016 2:15 PM CST

Retired judge takes felony plea deal after shooting at police, gets probation and community service

A retired Los Angeles Superior Court judge who was charged with felony assault after shooting at city police at his home last year has pleaded no contest and been sentenced to probation and community service. The case against James Bascue, 75, was prosecuted by the state attorney general’s office and…

Jan 12, 2016 1:40 PM CST

En banc 9th Circuit nixes conviction of vet who wore unearned medals, cites free speech

A federal appeals court has nixed the criminal conviction of an Idaho man who served in the U.S. Marine Corps but never earned medals he later wore, including the Purple Heart. Finding a portion of the Stolen Valor Act unconstitutional under First Amendment standards, an 11-judge en banc panel of…

Jan 12, 2016 12:20 PM CST

Did lawyers use federal court as a ‘bargaining chip’? Irked judge schedules sanctions hearing

A federal judge has scheduled a Feb. 19 hearing to consider whether to sanction lawyers who dropped a federal case and refiled it in Arkansas state court with a proposed class settlement, possibly with the intent to find a court more disposed to approve the deal. U.S. District Judge P.K.…

Jan 12, 2016 8:20 AM CST

State doesn’t owe court reporter $744K, because judge settled sex harassment suit without its OK

Montana taxpayers are off the hook, at least for now, concerning a $744,000 sexual harassment settlement last year between a now-former 16th Judicial District judge and his onetime court reporter. Because their settlement of her sexual harassment claim was made without the state’s consent, Montana is not liable, a Lewis…

Jan 11, 2016 2:00 PM CST