Daniel Fisher News
Kicking horse lands dude ranch in legal trouble
PHOENIX (Legal Newsline) - An Arizona dude ranch that used a faulty liability release form might be on the hook for a customer’s broken leg, after an appeals court reversed a summary judgment for the ranch.
Trial lawyers haul their mass tort winnings to tax-haven Puerto Rico
On the verge of collecting an outsized share of $2 billion in fees from the $26 billion opioid settlement, attorney Paul T. Farrell did what a growing number of fellow trial lawyers have done: He moved to Puerto Rico.
Grocery store loses challenge to $2.7 million verdict over shopper's injured foot
SEATTLE (Legal Newsline) - A grocery store chain that argued video evidence contradicted the testimony of a woman who won a $2.7 million verdict for an injured foot should have done a better job of challenging the plaintiff’s story at trial, a Washington appeals court ruled.
No money for woman who sued La Quinta over smelly room
DALLAS (Legal Newsline) - A woman who sued La Quinta Inn & Suites after staying in a room she claimed was polluted with the smell of dog urine and cigarette smoke failed to provide any evidence the room made her sick, a Texas appeals court ruled.
Bail bondsmen avoid liability after fatal shootout with family
INDIANAPOLIS (Legal Newsline) - A couple who sued a bail bonding company over the shooting death of their son during a chaotic arrest attempt lost their chance at winning compensation after an Indiana appeals court upheld a jury verdict for the defense.
School district not to blame for student shooting his girlfriend off campus
PHOENIX (Legal Newsline) - An Arizona school district and its employees aren’t liable for a tragic incident in which a student shot his girlfriend and killed himself at a friend’s house after school, the Arizona Supreme Court has ruled.
Arkansas AG pleads for time to fix her troubled opioid lawsuit
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Legal Newsline) - Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, facing a judge’s threat to dismiss the state’s lawsuit against opioid makers Johnson & Johnson and Endo Pharmaceuticals, pleaded for another month to correct its mistakes.
Texas court refuses to dismiss hedge fund-backed 'whistleblower' case
TEXARKANA, Texas (Legal Newsline) - A Texas appeals court refused to dismiss a lawsuit against Baxter International and other drug companies filed by a shell company formed specifically to bring whistleblower cases, saying the fact the federal government opposed the claims doesn’t mean they aren’t valid under Texas law.
When Phoney Lawsuits go wrong: Serial filer on the hook for $286K in defense costs
TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) - A repeat plaintiff who said he once earned a third of his annual income from Telephone Consumer Protection Act claims was tagged with a $286,000 legal bill after his case against a credit card company went badly wrong and an arbitrator accused him of fraud.
$87 million Roundup verdict stands despite 'clearly improper' conduct by plaintiffs lawyers
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - A California appeals court rejected Bayer’s challenge to an $87 million award to a husband and wife who claimed they contracted non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma from spraying Roundup herbicide, saying the jury heard ample evidence to support findings the product not only causes cancer but that the conduct by Bayer’s Monsanto unit deserved punitive damages.
Court spikes injured volleyball ref's suit against school district
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - A volleyball referee came up scoreless after a Connecticut appeals court affirmed the dismissal of his lawsuit against the Newtown School District over injuries he suffered after his viewing platform collapsed.
Indiana politician can't sue his way back into office after anti-Semitic rant
INDIANAPOLIS (Legal Newsline) - An Indiana politician who lost his seat after witnesses said he announced his membership in a neo-Nazi group and unleashed a racist and anti-Semitic tirade at a meeting of county officials also lost his bid to regain his position through the courts.
Judge caps opioid lawyer fees at %15 - unless they worked really hard
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - The judge overseeing federal opioid litigation capped the contingency fees available to private lawyers representing state and local governments at 15% of a proposed $26 billion settlement fund, saying any more would be unreasonable.
After wine bottle shatters in her hand, chef served another chance to sue maker
BOISE, Idaho (Legal Newsline) - A chef who was seriously injured when a wine bottle shattered as she was opening it can proceed with a lawsuit against the Italian manufacturer of the vessel, after the Idaho Supreme Court ruled a lower court applied too strict a test for whether it had jurisdiction over the foreign company.
Is that employee mask mandate to protect you, or the business?
Big employers from Walmart to Starbucks have recently reinstated mask mandates for their workers. The reason could be more legal than scientific...
Reno's power to file opioid lawsuit is questioned by Nevada Supreme Court
CARSON CITY, Nev. (Legal Newsline) - The Nevada Supreme Court granted an opioid manufacturer’s request to halt the City of Reno’s lawsuit against it, saying state law may limit the power of cities to sue companies that are subject to state or federal regulation.
Seattle pot store in trouble for firing 'budtender' after traumatic robbery
SEATTLE (Legal Newsline) - A Seattle-area marijuana dispensary is liable for firing an employee who was zip-tied and held at gunpoint at work and later complained a store employee sexually harassed her, a Washington appeals court has ruled.
Bellwether plaintiff in 3M ear plug MDL drops case, pays $18K in defense costs
PENSACOLA, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - A plaintiff who was chastised by the judge earlier this year for his “unresponsiveness to counsel” dropped his lawsuit accusing 3M of selling defective military earplugs, avoiding a September bellwether trial intended to test the viability of thousands of similar cases.
Oregon AG's lawsuit against 5-Hour Energy is a loser; Court orders State to pay other side's fees
SALEM, Ore. (Legal Newsline) - Oregon must pay the manufacturer of 5-Hour Energy’s legal fees after the state Attorney General’s Office lost a lawsuit accusing the company of misleading consumers, a state appeals court ruled.
5 beers + 6-foot fall = $0 for man who sued his hometown
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - A man who fell off a 6-foot retaining wall after a night of drinking in his local tavern lost his bid to win money from the city that built it, as the Connecticut Supreme Court upheld a jury verdict rejecting the plaintiff’s public nuisance claim.