Ann Maher News
Disruptive tech sector advised to self-regulate while policy makers and regulators try to catch up
MENLO PARK, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes laid out terms of an accord with innovators of the U.S. tech industry on Wednesday, advising them that self-regulation will go a long way in keeping law enforcers away.
Poll shows consumers against patchwork of state data breach laws
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Democrats, Republicans and Independents don't agree much on which direction the country should go in these days, but one thing they have in common is support for a single national standard for data breach notification.
Bayer exec: Growth of MDLs has resulted in meritless claims
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Have the benefits of processing mass tort injury claims through multidistrict litigation (MDLs) worn thin?
Romney: Legal system needs to encourage innovation
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney took aim at an ineffective Congress that he says lacks the will to tackle perpetual challenges including the national debt, income inequality, poverty and foreign threats. Yet, he said he remains optimistic.
AG Madigan sued over refusal to fight work comp claims brought by 'personal assistants'; CMS director says millions have been improperly paid
Over the past five years, more than 200 personal assistants have received $5.8 million in workers' compensation benefits, according to a spokesperson with Illinois Central Management Services, which averages $29,000 per claim.
Asbestos filings in Madison County down from 2013
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (Legal Newsline) - Madison County, Ill., asbestos filings in 2014 were down from the previous record-setting year by approximately 20 percent.
Two of 207 Madison County asbestos claims set for trial this week filed by in-county plaintiffs
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (Legal Newsline) - Among the 207 asbestos cases set for trial in Madison County, Ill., this week, just two of the plaintiffs are from Madison County.
Consumers will pay and 'lawyer barons' will get pay day; Stakes are high in Karmeier retention, professor observes
KarmeierEDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (Legal Newsline) - A law professor who studies the effects of lawyer contingency fees on the civil justice system said the real focus of the movement to oust Justice Lloyd Karmeier from the Illinois Supreme Court is to restore a $1.1 billion judgment against State Farm Insurance.
Lead paint decision now in hands of judge
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) -- Whether childhood lead poisoning in 10 California cities and counties can be blamed on one-time lead paint and pigment manufacturers is a decision that rests solely in the hands of Santa Clara Superior Court Judge James Kleinberg after a six-week trial that concluded in closing arguments Monday.
In closing arguments, defendant companies say lead paint plaintiffs failed to prove case
UPDATED: SAN JOSE (Legal Newsline) - Attorneys for one-time lead paint and pigment manufacturers argued during closing arguments Monday that plaintiffs failed to prove their case brought on behalf of 10 California cities and counties.
Judge again asks sides to settle in Calif. lead paint case
SAN JOSE (Legal Newsline) - Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James Kleinberg on Monday ended proceedings in a 13-year-old case against paint companies by admonishing both sides, again, to settle.
Lots of data to process for Calif. lead paint judge
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) -- A watershed decision expected before the end of the year may come down to how one individual processes volumes of complex analyses of complex data relating to the use, promotion and manufacture of lead paint in the last century and its impact on children today.
Sides rest in Calif. lead paint trial
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) -- Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James Kleinberg on Thursday praised lawyers prosecuting and defending a 13-year-old lead paint public nuisance case after both sides rested at trial.
White lead not from Sherwin Williams, historian testifies
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) -- Historian Dr. Colleen Dunlavy testified Wednesday in Santa Clara County Superior Court that if someone has white lead carbonate on their California painted wall it did not come from a Sherwin Williams product.
There's no lead paint 'public nuisance,' spokeswoman says
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) -- Proving that lead paint manufacturers created a public nuisance in 10 California cities and counties is difficult for plaintiffs on a number of fronts, according to former Iowa attorney general and spokeswoman for paint manufacturers Bonnie Campbell.
Lead paint defense witness attacks plaintiffs witness' research
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) -- Defense witness Dr. David Garabrant on Tuesday continued to try to discredit research conducted by a key plaintiff witness in the lead paint public nuisance trial now into its sixth week in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
Doctor says lead paint knowledge has changed 'radically'
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - Defense witness Dr. Peter English, testifying in the sixth week of a public nuisance trial under way in Santa Clara County Superior Court, said that knowledge of the risks of lead paint evolved in the 20th century -- and changed "radically" in the 1970s.
Calif. judge denies Sherwin Williams motion in lead paint trial
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) -- A California judge denied paint maker Sherwin Williams' motion for summary judgment at the opening of trial Monday in Santa Clara County Superior Court.