Verdicts & Settlements

$59M settlement in ‘sewer service’ debt-collection suit; 190,000 default judgments may be vacated

A $59 million settlement has been reached in a federal class-action lawsuit over debt-collection tactics that included alleged fraudulent affidavits and “sewer service” of complaints that alleged debtors never received. In addition to a now-defunct New York law firm and a process server, a debt-buying agency that sent collection matters…

Nov 16, 2015 3:20 PM CST

For-profit education company will pay $95.5M to settle illegal recruiting claim

The nation’s second largest for-profit education company has agreed to pay $95.5 million to settle civil claims it ran a high-pressure boiler sales business in which admissions personnel were paid based on the number of students they recruited. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced the settlement with Education Management Corp. on…

Nov 16, 2015 1:20 PM CST

Appeals court restores $4.9K monthly pension of imprisoned former Penn State football coach

A Pennsylvania appeals court has restored the $4,900-per-month pension of a former Pennsylvania State University assistant football coach who is now serving a hefty prison term for sexually abusing minors. Because Jerry Sandusky had officially retired long before the crimes for which he has been convicted took place, the board…

Nov 13, 2015 2:50 PM CST

Should judge dismiss case because DA didn’t know about FBI witness payments? Court battle continues

Accused by attorney Paul Morgan of withholding exculpatory information, a Texas prosecutor said she had known nothing about a total of $5,000 in relocation assistance arranged by a FBI agent for three witnesses in a murder trial against a co-defendant of Morgan’s client. And on Thursday a state-court judge agreed…

Nov 12, 2015 5:00 PM CST

Ex-BigLaw clerk admits stealing deal info; his law classmate gave tips to broker, then ate the notes

A former managing clerk in the New York office of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has admitted stealing deal information from its computer systems and taken a plea in an insider-trading case. Steven Metro, now 41, is the third of three defendants in the Newark case to do so. None has…

Nov 12, 2015 4:35 PM CST

Reputed ex-mob captain acquitted in trial over 1978 heist portrayed in ‘Goodfellas’

Despite secret recordings of him complaining that he didn’t get his fair share of a record cash heist in 1978 from a cargo terminal of a New York City airport, a federal jury on Thursday found an aging reputed Mafia member not guilty on all charges. In addition to the…

Nov 12, 2015 3:50 PM CST

Federal judge nixes attorney-owned nativity display on courthouse lawn

A federal judge in Arkansas has ruled that a 40-year tradition of displaying a nativity scene on the Baxter County courthouse lawn is unconstitutional. For years, the nativity scene has used figures owned by attorney Rick Spencer, and last year the county leased a small land parcel on which the…

Nov 12, 2015 2:25 PM CST

Man injured by a closing cruise-ship door is awarded $21.5M

An Illinois man injured by a cruise-ship sliding door that closed as he was walking through it has won a $21.5 million verdict that included $16.5 million in punitive damages. The defendant, Holland America, contends the verdict, awarded in late October, is excessive, the Seattle Times reports. The State Journal-Register…

Nov 12, 2015 7:46 AM CST

Lawyer gets probation for forging judge’s name on court order and is disbarred by consent

A Pennsylvania lawyer who admittedly forged a Northumberland County judge’s name on a purported court order settling a client’s case was sentenced Monday to two years of probation and 75 hours of community service. On Tuesday, 63-year-old Stephen Ellwood also agreed to be disbarred by consent, reports PennLive.com. The forgery…

Nov 11, 2015 4:00 PM CST

Federal judge stuns courtroom with probation sentences in $5M mortgage-fraud case

A federal judge stunned five defendants in a Sacramento, California, mortgage fraud case and their lawyers Tuesday by imposing probation sentences instead of the multiyear prison terms sought by the prosecution. “Our jaws just dropped,” attorney Mark Reichel told the Sacramento Bee. Although defense counsel argued that the five were…

Nov 11, 2015 12:10 PM CST

Given 20 days for contempt, lawyer blames judge and says he would like to sanction jurist

A Michigan lawyer has been given 20 days for contempt after a judge said he “defiantly refused to answer” questions on Friday about a loud conversation that took place near a jury room. The sentence is to be served by attorney Tim Barkovic at the conclusion of an ongoing criminal…

Nov 10, 2015 1:05 PM CST

Federal judge imposes $70K sanction on defense attorney over witness gaffe that caused mistrial

A federal judge on Friday imposed a sanction of nearly $70,000 on an attorney representing the city of Chicago in a wrongful-conviction case last year because of a gaffe by a testifying police witness that caused a mistrial. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly said in his opinion that he believed…

Nov 9, 2015 5:00 PM CST

Jury says law firm owes $123K in contingent fees to lawyer; award is then doubled under wage statute

A Connecticut personal injury attorney who claimed his former law firm employer failed to pay him his full share of contingency fees in two cases got a state-court jury verdict for all he was owed, and more. Plaintiff lawyer Robert Healey not only won a jury award for the $123,550…

Nov 9, 2015 10:55 AM CST

Coal company will change disclosures on business risks of climate change to end state AG’s probe

The nation’s largest publicly traded coal company, Peabody Energy Corp., has agreed to change its shareholder disclosures to reflect the business risks associated with climate change and the regulatory response. The agreement, in the form of an assurance of discontinuance (PDF), ends an investigation by New York Attorney General Eric…

Nov 9, 2015 7:44 AM CST

Appeals court didn’t have power to reinstate $10.1B award in cigarette case, top state court says

The Illinois Supreme Court has once again rejected a $10.1 billion verdict against Altria’s Philip Morris USA unit, but didn’t completely shut the door on plaintiffs. The supreme court ruled Wednesday that an Illinois appeals court did not have the authority to reinstate the award, report the Wall Street Journal…

Nov 6, 2015 5:45 AM CST