Daniel Fisher News
Doctor's failure to answer phone wins wrongful-death plaintiff a new trial
WARREN, Ohio (Legal Newsline) - An Ohio court wrongly dismissed a lawsuit over a 79-year-old woman’s death from heart failure, an appeals court ruled, giving plaintiffs another chance to convince a jury the woman’s cardiologist was to blame because he didn’t immediately answer pages and phone calls.
Delaware loses some claims against oil companies but can proceed with disinformation lawsuit
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - Delaware has presented enough evidence to proceed with its lawsuit accusing BP, ExxonMobil and several other oil companies of misleading consumers about the dangers of global warming, although it can’t sue over damages stemming from out-of-state emissions, a state court judge ruled.
Phoenix may have to pay for police officer's COVID death
PHOENIX (Legal Newsline) - The City of Phoenix has to defend itself against claims by the widow of a police officer that he contracted a fatal case of COVID-19 at work, an appeals court ruled, reversing an administrative ruling that denied benefits for lack of evidence.
Beer run by frat member not the cause of 4-year-old's death, court rules
FRANKFORT, KY. (Legal Newsline) - A Kentucky court was correct to dismiss a lawsuit against a college student who participated in his fraternity’s beer run the day before another frat member struck and killed a little boy with his car, an appeals court ruled.
Rape ruling: Washington State Univ. had no duty to protect student off-campus
OLYMPIA, Wash. (Legal Newsline) - Washington State University had no legal duty to protect a freshman from being raped by a fellow student at an off-campus party, the Washington Supreme Court ruled, rejecting the plaintiff’s argument the school’s “special relationship” with students should extend past the campus borders.
Texas can thank Republicans for home-court advantage in Google antitrust trial
AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline) - A three-word change to federal law pushed by Republicans in Congress has ensured that the State of Texas will be in friendly territory when it faces off against Google in a multistate antitrust case scheduled to begin trial next year.
No study, no problem: Court allows experts to link any cancer to diesel exhaust
SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) - There’s no need for expert witnesses to point to a specific study showing a substance causes a disease as long as they have a reasonable basis for believing the two are connected, a California appeals court ruled, reversing a trial judge’s disqualification of experts who linked diesel exhaust to blood cancer.
Time limit on Ohio med-mal cases applies to wrongful death claims, split decision says
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Legal Newsline) - A four-year time limit on filing lawsuits over “medical claims” includes wrongful-death claims based on medical malpractice, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in a decision opposed by trial lawyers and three of the court’s justices.
Attorney-client privilege protects emails on client's work server, Oregon court rules
SALEM, Ore. (Legal Newsline) - A man who communicated with his lawyers on his company email system and left the messages behind after he left can claim the attorney-client privilege, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled, rejecting arguments the privilege was waived because his employer could read the emails.
Bright yellow padding no barrier to trial over skier's death at Sun Valley
BOISE, Idaho (Legal Newsline) - The famous Sun Valley ski resort must face a lawsuit by the widow of a man who died after crashing into a snowmaking machine on a beginner run, the Idaho Supreme Court said, ruling a jury must decide whether the padding met the standard for warnings.
Woman who blackmailed boss for $12M in Bitcoin and cars must pay up
LAS VEGAS (Legal Newsline) - A woman who blackmailed her former boss and lover into handing over $12 million worth of Bitcoin and valuables, including a Ferrari automobile, is subject to a multimillion-dollar default judgment after failing to show up in court, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled.
Delaware court revives opioid lawsuit against AmerisourceBergen directors
DOVER, Del. (Legal Newsline) - Delaware’s highest court revived a derivative lawsuit against the officers and directors of AmerisourceBergen, saying there was plenty of evidence to support a claim they either fostered “a culture of non-compliance” or ignored “a tidal wave of red flags” suggesting it was distributing millions of suspicious orders for opioid pills.
Long Island cities lose challenge to N.Y. law that killed their opioid lawsuits
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - A collection of Long Island cities that challenged a New York law ending their separate lawsuits against the opioid industry vowed to appeal a federal judge’s decision dismissing their case, saying they have been denied their share of the multibillion-dollar opioid settlement pot.
Law firm sued for malpractice fails to raise venue argument in time
JACKSON, Miss. (Legal Newsline) - A law firm sued by its former client in Mississippi over an unsuccessful lawsuit over the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill can’t move the case to its home turf in Florida because the firm didn’t raise the question of improper venue in time, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled.
Pattern of neglect by Colo. district attorney helps accused murderer get lesser charge
DENVER (Legal Newsline) - A trial judge was justified in reducing a homicide suspect’s charges from first-degree murder to second-degree as punishment for the district attorney’s repeated violations of discovery orders, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled.
Parents suing Minnesota schools must prove racial imbalance caused education gap
ST. PAUL, Minn. (Legal Newsline) - Parents who sued the State of Minnesota over racially imbalanced schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul must show the racial differences caused educational shortfalls in order to prove a violation of the state constitution, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled.
Tennessee sues BlackRock for 'deceiving consumers' with ESG strategy
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Legal Newsline) - Grabbing a page from the climate-litigation playbook, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has accused asset-management giant BlackRock of violating state consumer protection laws by failing to inform investors about how widely it has adopted Environmental, Social and Governance principles that can hurt investment returns.
Virginia teacher fired for avoiding pronouns entirely can sue school district
RICHMOND, Va. (Legal Newsline) - The Virginia Supreme Court ruled a teacher can sue the school district that fired him for calling a transgender student by his preferred names but avoiding using third-person pronouns at all, saying the disciplinary action may have violated the teacher’s religious rights.
Opioid defendant wants Motley Rice disqualified, citing government work
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - Optum Rx has moved to disqualify the prominent law firm Motley Rice from representing plaintiffs in pivotal upcoming opioid trials, saying Ohio ethics rules prevent the lawyers from using information they learned working as “special assistant attorneys general” for states in private litigation.
Law passed to help with medical malpractice insurance rates struck by Washington justices
OLYMPIA, Wash. (Legal Newsline) - Answering a question posed by a federal court, the Washington Supreme Court said an eight-year time limit for filing medical malpractice suits passed by state legislators in 2006 is unconstitutional because it takes away the right to sue from some plaintiffs while leaving it in place for others.