Daniel Fisher News
Life is about to get tougher for expert witnesses - and the lawyers who hire them
The committee that sets the rules for federal courts is expected to significantly toughen the standards judges must use to screen out bogus expert testimony, in a move that will make it harder for litigants to put shaky expert testimony before jurors and easier for defendants to get cases dismissed before trial.
Shaq wins $400K court ruling against lawyer who represented shakedown artist
MIAMI (Legal Newsline) - A Florida appeals court has reversed a lower court’s ruling to restore more than $400,000 in sanctions ordered against a former employee of Shaquille O’Neal and his lawyer who pursued a racketeering and invasion of privacy lawsuit against the basketball star despite evidence it was a shakedown.
Opioid judge threatens to abandon MDL process for pharmacies if they don't settle
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - The judge overseeing federal multidistrict opioid litigation said a proposed bellwether trial against Walmart, Walgreens and other pharmacy chains is going off the rails and he might suspend the whole process, sending thousands of cases back to the courts where they originated.
Gun store faces liability for firearms accident after owner destroys evidence
MADISON, Wis. (Legal Newsline) - A gun store must defend itself against claims it assembled a gun incorrectly even after the gun’s owner, once also a defendant in the case, destroyed evidence at the center of the lawsuit and entered into a settlement shifting all remaining liability to the store, a Wisconsin appeals court ruled.
Sue or Séance? Woman chooses court after brother's gravestone falls on her
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Legal Newsline) - A Tennessee woman who was injured when her brother’s gravestone fell on her can sue the monument company for allegedly affixing the headstone with putty, an appeals court ruled, rejecting the defendant’s complaint there was no evidence it was at fault.
Court strikes $500K wrongful death verdict that estimated mom's loss of daughter's household services
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (Legal Newsline) - A mother who won a $500,000 jury award for household services she said she expected to receive from her deceased daughter failed to prove she could reasonably expect the help, the Maryland's highest court has ruled, upholding an appeals court denial of pecuniary damages in a wrongful death case.
Boy Scouts insurers worry lawyers are gobbling up more than half of funds for sexual abuse victims
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - One of the main insurers for the Boy Scouts of America has asked the judge overseeing the organization’s bankruptcy to keep a closer eye on legal and professional expenses, which the company says threaten to consume more than half the $540 million value of the group’s estate.
Strip club not liable after booting drunk customer who was later killed by drunk driver
DES MOINES, Iowa (Legal Newsline) - An Iowa strip club that ejected a drunken patron isn’t liable for his death at the hands of a drunk driver half a mile away, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled, rejecting arguments the club had a duty to make sure the customer caught a cab or was arrested by the police.
.jpg)
Kansas protects docs from lawsuits by parents who say they would've preferred abortion than having disabled child
TOPEKA, Kan. (Legal Newsline) - A law prohibiting “wrongful birth” lawsuits by parents who claim they would have aborted a disabled fetus had they known of its condition doesn’t violate the Kansas Constitution, the state’s high court ruled, because the cause of action was created by the Kansas Supreme Court in 1990.
Third trial's the $6 million charm for dismissed Rite Aid worker
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A Rite Aid worker who sued her former employer for wrongful dismissal and emotional distress won nearly $6 million in a third trial after an appeals court sent two previous verdicts back for reconsideration.
Woman hit by car must take responsibility for jaywalking across five-lane road, California court says
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A California condominium complex that failed to provide enough parking spaces for visitors isn’t liable for the injuries of a woman who was hit by a car after she parked offsite and attempted to cross a busy five-lane thoroughfare, an appeals court ruled.
Judge told to get moving on case that would tell St. Louis police how to handle protests
ST. LOUIS (Legal Newsline) - Citing an influential appellate judge’s declaration that “the era of micromanagement of government functions by the federal courts is over,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has dissolved a proposed class action on behalf of future protestors against the City of St. Louis and put a strict time limit on a temporary injunction limiting how police can enforce unlawful-assembly ordinances.
Mashup of federal and state laws impossible to obey, Johnson & Johnson tells U.S. Supreme Court
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Johnson & Johnson has asked the U.S. Supreme Court hear its appeal of a $70 million jury verdict over its antipsychotic drug Risperdal, saying it is impossible to comply with state and federal law at the same time in such cases.
Employers, colleges not likely liable for COVID vaccination side effects
As colleges and employers increasingly push for mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations, the question rises: Who’s on the hook for the rare, but inevitable bad side effects that go along with the shot?
Ohio city, repped by private lawyers, wants to lead class action against Netflix, Hulu
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - The private lawyers who have recruited cities around the country to try to collect local taxes on video streaming services have asked a federal court to make their Ohio lawsuit a class action on behalf of every municipality in the state.
Lawsuit over Strawberry Pop-Tarts questions whether eaters are misled by red dye; Kellogg says no chance
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - A law firm that has made a cottage industry out of suing food companies over allegedly misleading labels has failed to make a plausible case that consumers might be fooled into thinking Strawberry Pop-Tarts contain nothing but strawberry filling, Kellogg Co. says in a motion to dismiss the potential class action.
California Chamber fights lawyer/science group's request for stay of key Prop 65 ruling
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - The California Chamber of Commerce is fighting a lawyer-backed science group’s attempt to stay a judicial ruling temporarily blocking lawsuits over acrylamide under California’s Proposition 65.
Plaintiff lawyers win again; Court awards fees in dispute over case they dismissed
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A clothing manufacturer’s strategy of suing labor lawyers for malicious prosecution failed badly, as a California appeals court ordered the company to pay them additional legal fees on top of the tens of thousands of dollars they obtained after settling the underlying wage-and-hour lawsuit.
Judge's mistakes void multimillion-dollar lead paint ruling, Seventh Circuit rules
CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed a multimillion-dollar jury verdict against manufacturers of lead paint pigment, saying the trial judge made several incorrect decisions in a case that helped prompt the Wisconsin legislature to pass a law banning such litigation.
Mom's grief no excuse for missing deadline to file lawsuit over son's drug-related death
TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) - A mother who lost her son to complications of intravenous drug use can’t escape New Jersey’s strict, 90-day deadline on notifying the state about potential legal claims, an appellate court ruled, rejecting her claim she was paralyzed by grief until several days after the deadline passed.