Daniel Fisher News
Michigan AG tries - so far unsuccessfully - to separate her PFAS claims to stay out of federal MDL
CHARLESTON, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is fighting a federal judge’s order sending one of the state’s lawsuits over groundwater pollution by the chemical PFAS to the judge overseeing multidistrict litigation, arguing it can separate claims associated with commercial firms from those stemming from spills of military-spec firefighting foam.
Jehovah's Witnesses could be liable for forcing woman to listen to recording of her rape
SALT LAKE CITY (Legal Newsline) - Utah’s high court reinstated a lawsuit by a young woman who accused Jehovah’s Witnesses elders of forcing her to listen to audio recordings of her own rape as part of an investigation into whether she was guilty of premarital sex.
A court victory for cops who left dead man's genitals exposed during shootout
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - Cops who left a man’s body with pants down and genitals exposed for eight hours in a trailer park while police searched for his killer aren't liable for causing emotional distress to family members, a California court ruled.
SCOTUS rejects Chevron appeal in revived climate change case that was once tossed by judge
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Chevron’s appeal of a Ninth Circuit decision reviving a climate-change lawsuit by the City of Oakland, ending a short-lived period of hope for the oil industry that they could either have such litigation dismissed or at the very least shift it to more favorable federal courts.
Tennessee's $750K cap on pain-and-suffering is absolute
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Legal Newsline) - Tennessee’s high court ruled that state law caps noneconomic damages at $750,000 for all plaintiffs, following up on a 2020 decision that found the damages cap is constitutional.
Pain clinic doc loses court challenge after CVS shuts off supply
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A physician who was cut off by CVS after his hydrocodone prescriptions surged nearly fivefold lost his bid to force the pharmacy chain to fill his scrips, after a California appeals court said he has to seek redress from state regulators first.
After SCOTUS ruling, Connecticut's climate change lawsuit still sent to state court
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - The oil industry’s recent victory at the U.S. Supreme Court over climate-change litigation proved short-lived, as a federal judge remanded Connecticut’s lawsuit against ExxonMobil back to state court, ruling the company failed to make a compelling argument the case raised exclusively federal issues.
Smoke-break injury happened on-the-job, court rules
OKLAHOMA CITY (Legal Newsline) - Oklahoma’s highest court reinstated a workers’ compensation claim by a school cafeteria employee who tripped in the parking lot while returning from a smoke break and claimed her injuries occurred “inside” the facility while she was performing work-related duties.
Compressor maker liable for 60% of huge asbestos verdict despite 14 other defendants
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A California appeals court upheld a jury verdict assigning 60% of the responsibility for a man’s mesothelioma to a compressor manufacturer even though the plaintiff identified 14 other defendants including the U.S. Navy that allegedly contributed to his disease.
Yellowstone Electric hit with sanctions in defense of driver who killed 10 cows
HELENA, Mont. (Legal Newsline) - A Montana utility was ordered to pay attorneys’ fees and sanctions for its behavior in defending a lawsuit by farmers who sued after an employee of the electric company plowed his vehicle into a herd of cows, killing 10.
Prominent class action law firm slapped for behavior in securities case
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - A federal judge in New York accused lawyers at the prominent class-action firm Robbins Geller of making false statements in a securities lawsuit in order to locate it in a venue convenient to its Long Island office.
The South Carolina Supreme Court has unleashed a 'now-unrestrained menace,' justice warns
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - A teacher who claims school administrators engaged in a civil conspiracy to have her fired for reporting a student to the police will have another shot at proving her case after the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned its own precedent.
Major plaintiffs firm will have to disclose ethics info in failed thalidomide litigation
PHILADELPHIA (Legal Newsline) - Prominent plaintiffs’ law firm Hagens Berman can’t use the attorney-client privilege to shield information it gave to an outside ethics expert hired to defend the firm against claims it improperly pursued thalidomide claims despite strong evidence they were barred by the statute of limitations.
Bachelor party argument over going to a strip club devolves into fight, then lawsuit
DES MOINES, Iowa (Legal Newsline) - A man who sued several partygoers including the guest of honor after getting into a drunken brawl on a bus that was used for a rolling bachelor party lost his bid to overturn a jury verdict against him after an Iowa appeals court agreed he failed to prove his case.
GM chief executive to be questioned in Georgia wrongful death lawsuit - despite lack of knowledge
ATLANTA (Legal Newsline) - Family members pursuing a wrongful-death lawsuit in Georgia can subject GM Chief Executive Mary Barra to questioning even though she has no specialized knowledge about the automotive part that allegedly failed and caused the victim’s death.
Lawsuit over manhole cover made wrong claims, Connecticut court rules
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - A man who sued a city snowplow driver for knocking loose a manhole cover and causing an accident lost his case after an appeals court ruled he sued the City of New Haven under the wrong statute.
Whistleblower: Firm partly owned by lawyer paid employees to recruit, puff up sexual abuse claims against Boy Scouts
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - A former employee of a firm that processed thousands of sexual-abuse claims submitted to the court overseeing the bankruptcy of the Boy Scouts says recruiters were offered bonuses to sign up claimants and sometimes changed their forms to make the claims more viable, though a lawyer and part-owner of the company calls her claims "completely unbelievable."
Highlights of the deposition of an Ohio mayor who hired contingency-fee lawyers to sue Netflix and Hulu
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - The mayor of Maple Heights, Ohio, decided to sue Hulu and Netflix for cable-TV franchise fees after a bowling-alley owner connected her with outside lawyers and she held a 30-minute discussion with the city’s legal director.
Third trial ordered for girl who was struck by dad's lawnmower and sued John Deere for her injuries
SALEM, Ore. (Legal Newsline) - Deere & Co. must go to trial for a third time over claims it sold a riding lawnmower with a “visibility defect” that caused a man to back over his daughter because he didn’t realize he had to turn his head to check if she was there.
Big Oil gets win at SCOTUS in climate change litigation
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Ruling on a narrow question of procedural law, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed an appeals court’s decision that sent the City of Baltimore’s climate lawsuit to Maryland state court, giving oil companies a second chance to try to keep the case out of a plaintiff-friendly venue.