Dan Fisher News
Greenpeace can’t escape trial over violent Dakota Access Pipeline protests
Greenpeace USA is scheduled to go to trial next February over claims it played a central role in violent protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline, which a federal judge once described as “mindless and senseless criminal mayhem.”
Bar not to blame over killing of man it bounced an hour earlier
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - Parents of a man who was killed after encountering his assailants from an earlier fight can’t recover money from the bar where the initial fracas occurred, a California appeals court ruled.
FTC chief Khan has well-funded cheering section for Amazon antitrust attack
When the Federal Trade Commission files its long-expected antitrust lawsuit against Amazon – possibly as soon as this week – it will come only after FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan has prepared the ground with the help of a wave of publicity financed by some of the deepest pockets in progressive politics.
New York's incredible shrinking lawsuit against Exxon could mean trouble for Massachusetts
New York’s surprising decision to drop half its case against ExxonMobil in the closing arguments of a closely watched trial over climate-fraud claims was unusual and probably indicates the state never had the evidence it needed, said an experienced litigator who has handled environmental lawsuits for government clients.
'Wholly inadequate': Lawyers seek more opioid money by avoiding global settlement process
A proposed “negotiation class” to settle all opioid litigation by U.S. cities and counties could be in deep trouble, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit considers an appeal of the order creating the controversial class and lawyers in two states with big claims urge their clients to opt out before a Nov. 22 deadline.
Purdue Pharma gets six-month reprieve from lawsuits as legal fees explode
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - The judge overseeing Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy granted the OxyContin maker and its controlling Sackler family a six-month stay of opioid litigation as they try to negotiate a $10 billion-plus settlement of all outstanding claims.
New York scores January trial date for its opioid lawsuit
A New York judge has scheduled a Jan. 20 trial for opioid lawsuits by New York State and two counties, setting a short timeline for the companies to settle or face potentially crippling liability.
Massachusetts' lawsuit against ExxonMobil is 'dangerous' attack on free speech, professor says
BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - The sweeping lawsuit Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has filed against ExxonMobil represents a serious attack on the First Amendment by accusing the company of expressing views about science the state disagrees with, said a law professor prominent in the field of freedom of expression and corporate speech.
New York's climate change case against Exxon seems to be annoying the judge hearing it
Compounding the state’s problems is a series of courtroom miscues by its lawyers that have led Supreme Court Judge Barry Ostrager to criticize and belittle them multiple times since trial began Oct. 22.
'Nobody's sure if it will work or how': A review of how a Cleveland judge is handling 2,000 opioid lawsuits
'Nobody's sure if it will work or how': A review of how a Cleveland judge is handling 2,000 opioid lawsuits
New York court strikes down $7M talc/asbestos verdict, says plaintiff's evidence was lacking
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - In an encouraging sign for talcum powder manufacturers facing a new wave of asbestos litigation in New York, a state appeals court has thrown out a 2017 jury verdict in a talc case because the plaintiff’s experts failed to explain how she could have contracted cancer from the cosmetic powder.
At opioid trial, Johnson & Johnson moves to strike Oklahoma witness as 'de facto member of State's legal team'
NORMAN, Okla. (Legal Newsline) - Johnson & Johnson has asked the judge overseeing the first in an expected wave of trials against the opioid industry to strike the testimony of Dr. Andrew Kolodny, a psychiatrist who plays a central role in the State of Oklahoma’s case by linking narcotics marketing to opioid addiction and overdose deaths.
Why did a public defender bill $400K in a $300M class action settlement? Boston judge wants answers at hearing
BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - The federal judge who ordered a wide-ranging investigation into the fee practices of Labaton Sucharow and a Massachusetts law firm in the $300 million State Street Bank & Trust case isn’t done asking questions yet.
Monsanto says $80M Roundup verdict was product of made-for-litigation testimony, asks judge to reconsider
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - Monsanto has asked a federal judge to throw out an $80 million jury verdict over its Roundup herbicide, saying the plaintiff failed to present any admissible scientific evidence the product caused the plaintiff’s cancer.
Mass Roundup settlement could test the limits of tort law
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) In a court hearing earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria announced he had hired Kenneth Feinberg to oversee mediation talks between Bayer AG and lawyers for thousands of plaintiffs claiming the popular herbicide Roundup causes cancer.
Nevada AG's old law firm can make up to $350 million on his opioid lawsuit; GOP decries 'cronyism'
CARSON CITY, Nev. (Legal Newsline) - Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford’s former law firm stands to earn as much as $350 million in fees under a generous contract to handle the state’s opioid lawsuit that also provides for the separate reimbursement of expenses.
Dissent in Sandy Hook decision says Conn. SC misread federal law, victims shouldn't be allowed to sue Remington
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - The Connecticut Supreme Court has said family members of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre can sue the manufacturer of the Bushmaster rifle used in the assault under a theory the company’s advertising violated the state consumer protection statute.
Purdue Pharma calls Massachusetts opioid suit 'oversimplified scapegoating,' seeks dismissal
BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - Purdue Pharma is asking a Massachusetts court to dismiss the state’s lawsuit against it, calling sensational allegations of wrongdoing by company executives and members of the founding Sackler family “oversimplified scapegoating based on a distorted account of the facts.”
Trial lawyers are paying millions to a handful of experts necessary to push their talc cases
A small group of highly paid experts, one of whom recently testified his firm has made $30 million offering mostly pro-plaintiff testimony, are the key ingredient for more than 10,000 lawsuits claiming talcum powder is laced with deadly asbestos, forming the tip of an inverted pyramid upon which the rest of the cases depend.
Billing records for Texas opioid cases show wildly varying costs among lawyers
May 15 was a busy day for the name partners at the Tyler, Texas-based Martin Walker law firm. Each billed 14.5 hours at $750 an hour, for a total of $21,750, to review lawsuits six Texas counties were preparing to file against opioid manufacturers and distributors that day.