Daniel Fisher News
Parents fail to drag university into lawsuit over frat suicides
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Legal Newsline) - Parents who accused a Missouri university of consumer fraud for failing to provide a safe environment for their sons after the two young men committed suicide in their fraternity house have no basis to sue, an appeals court ruled.
Drug company must face lawsuit from hired investigators who ended up in Chinese prison
PHILADELPHIA (Legal Newsline) - A couple who were hired by GSK’s China unit to investigate an executive who disclosed a corporate bribery scheme in that country can proceed with their lawsuit in Pennsylvania state court accusing the drug company of misleading them into an assignment that landed them in jail.
Asbestos liability possibly spreading to insurer that inspected W.R. Grace mine
PHILADELPHIA (Legal Newsline) - An insurance company that inspected W.R. Grace’s Montana asbestos-mining facilities and provided industrial hygiene services to workers might be liable for their injuries, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, keeping alive long-running litigation over who pays for the manufacturer’s asbestos liabilities.
Site of plane crash will be site of ensuing lawsuit, over company's objections
RALEIGH, N.C. (Legal Newsline) - The Alabama subsidiary of a Chinese aerospace company can be sued in North Carolina over the crash of a private airplane there, an appeals court ruled, citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision clarifying the extent of state court jurisdiction over out-of-state companies.
Old chalk bought on eBay good enough evidence for mesothelioma case, Maryland court rules
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (Legal Newsline) - A Maryland appeals court overturned a ruling in favor of the manufacturer of powdered chalk, saying the trial judge shouldn’t have restricted evidence a plaintiff expert collected from decades-old bottles purchased on eBay.
A Kentucky court doesn't think hot pavement is an 'open and obvious' risk for people without shoes
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Legal Newsline) - A municipal waterpark may have to pay money to a woman who burned her feet on hot pavement after the Kentucky Court of Appeals overturned a lower court’s grant of summary judgment to the City of Barbourville because the risk was open and obvious.
Clients caught up in lawyer's Social Security scam can get fees for challenging government
CINCINNATI (Legal Newsline) - Two clients of an attorney who scammed Social Security for millions of dollars in a disability fraud scheme can bill the government for work their lawyers did fighting the disallowance of their benefits, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.
Trying to 'cancel' a business on Instagram isn't protected speech; 'Celebrity jeweler' faces defamation case
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A self-described “celebrity jeweler” who brought the wrath of his Internet followers down on a cake shop he accused of botching his son’s birthday cake can’t hide behind a law designed to protect statements made in the public interest, a California appeals court has ruled.
Judge isn't buying arguments by Reno and its hired guns who teamed to sue Netflix, Hulu
LAS VEGAS (Legal Newsline) - A federal judge dismissed the City of Reno’s lawsuit against Netflix and Hulu seeking to impose a 5% franchise tax on streaming video services, saying state law doesn’t allow the charge and Reno didn’t have standing to bring the suit anyway.
Surgeon can be sued for not telling patient she left gallstone in his abdomen
BOISE, Idaho (Legal Newsline) - A surgeon who removed a patient’s gallbladder without telling him she’d left a large gallstone behind can be sued for her lack of candor, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled, in a decision that otherwise affirmed a trial judge’s decision to reject the plaintiff’s expert testimony as too late.
$4.3M verdict stands against rehab clinic after man jumps off roof to his death
SANTA ANA, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - A California drug rehabilitation clinic lost all of its arguments after appealing a $4.3 million jury verdict against it over the death of a patient who committed suicide by leaping from a roof just minutes after a staff member checked in on him.
Lawsuit questioning whether 'prescription' dog food is ripping off customers gets to move forward
TOPEKA, Kan. (Legal Newsline) - A Kansas appeals court overturned the dismissal of a lawsuit claiming dog food manufacturers conspired to drive up the price of “prescription” dog food, which despite the name doesn’t have Food and Drug Administration approval or require a prescription to be sold.
Opioid judge rejects Giant Eagle's motion to dismiss despite 'full compliance' with rules
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - The judge overseeing federal multidistrict litigation against the opioid industry rejected pharmacy operator Giant Eagle’s motions to dismiss, saying that even though the Drug Enforcement Agency found the company in “full compliance” with federal regulations after multiple inspections, only a jury can decide whether it caused a public nuisance by filling too many prescriptions.
Widow gets chance to prove husband's bleeding death 10 days after surgery was fault of doctors
SAN ANTONIO (Legal Newsline) - A woman who sued a doctor for releasing her husband from the hospital while he was still at risk of bleeding to death can proceed with her lawsuit after an appeals court rejected a challenge to the plaintiff’s expert reports.
Dead officer's statements revive lawsuit over car crash already worth $17.4 million
SEATTLE (Legal Newsline) - The statements of a police officer who committed suicide after testifying he wasn’t involved in a car chase aren’t inadmissible hearsay, a Washington appeals court ruled, reviving a lawsuit by a passenger in the vehicle who was crippled in an accident.
Missouri court rejects proposed class action of unharmed workers worried about their lungs
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (Legal Newsline) - An attempt to form a class action seeking medical monitoring for thousands of workers exposed to metalworking fluids failed, as a Missouri appeals court upheld its dismissal because there was no evidence the plaintiffs needed future monitoring for lung disease that typically shows symptoms immediately.
Doctor wins $4.75 million in lawsuit over nurse's alcohol accusation
INDIANAPOLIS (Legal Newsline) - An Indiana appeals court ordered a hospital to pay a doctor more than $4.75 million over claims she was defamed by a nurse who accused her of being drunk but delayed the report until it was too late for the physician to disprove it with a blood alcohol test.
Doctor's apology can't be used against him in malpractice lawsuit
PHOENIX (Legal Newsline) - A doctor’s disputed apology to parents whose child was severely disabled during birth can’t be used as evidence against him in a malpractice lawsuit, an Arizona appeals court ruled, rejecting a constitutional challenge to a state law protecting expressions of sympathy.
Public nuisance theory wins billions despite courtroom failures
Public nuisance may be the most successful legal theory ever to have failed in court
Appeals court tosses Washington AG's lawsuit against Value Village
OLYMPIA, Wash. (Legal Newsline) - Washington Attorney General Robert Ferguson cited the wrong statute when he accused a retail chain of deceiving consumers into thinking they helped charities by purchasing donated goods, an appeals court ruled, finding the state’s consumer protection statute was too broad to cover speech involving charitable donations.