Daniel Fisher News
Lawyers for hospital in medical malpractice case went too far in closing arguments
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Legal Newsline) - A defense attorney who urged jurors to reject a lawsuit against a children’s hospital so it could continue to take in “the sickest kids” crossed the line into illegal argument, the Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled, ordering a new trial over a premature baby’s injuries.
Wrongful death suit over cop's fatal shortcut rejected by Nebraska Supreme Court
LINCOLN, Neb. (Legal Newsline) - Road construction contractors can’t be held liable for the death of a police officer who steered around multiple barricades before slamming into a parked crane, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled, rejecting arguments a jury should have been allowed to decide whether additional warning signs would have prevented the deadly accident.
First lawyer loses case after client switches firms, files lawsuit
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A lawyer who sued another firm for interfering with his fee agreement with a former client was properly blocked from proceeding under California’s anti-SLAPP law, an appeals court ruled.
Plaintiff loses bid to blame referring doctor for pelvic mesh failure
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - A woman who sued her doctor as well as Boston Scientific over an unsuccessful pelvic-mesh implant operation properly lost her case against all of the defendants, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled, upholding the rule that only the doctor performing a procedure must obtain informed consent from the patient.
Texas can be sued after sniper accidentally kills undocumented immigrants hiding under tarp
EDINBURG, Texas (Legal Newsline) - The Texas Department of Public Safety can’t escape a lawsuit over an incident in which two undocumented immigrants were fatally shot in the bed of a speeding pickup from a police helicopter circling overhead.
Lawsuit over bloody circumcision doomed by late filing of expert report
HELENA, Mont. (Legal Newsline) - A woman who lost a lawsuit against the doctor who performed a circumcision on her son won’t get another chance to sue after the Montana Supreme Court ruled her expert’s opinion that the doctor did something wrong was properly excluded from the case.
Teacher who emailed pictures of used diapers to fifth-grader gets Louisiana school board in legal trouble
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - A Louisiana school board was inappropriately dismissed from a lawsuit by the mother of a child who accused his special education teacher of taking him to weekend outings and e-mailing pictures of diapers and “guys at bars,” an appeals court ruled.
Woman determined to gamble with broken shoulder loses lawsuit over fall in parking lot
TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) - A woman who fell while trying to cross a median in the parking lot of a Pennsylvania casino didn’t have enough evidence to proceed with her slip-and-fall lawsuit, a New Jersey appeals court ruled.
Seven-figure verdict affirmed in man's pain-in-the-butt lawsuit
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - A Connecticut appeals court upheld a multimillion-dollar verdict for a man who argued a nurse with improper enema technique tore a hole in his rectum, leading to a severe infection and multiple hospitalizations.
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Court reverses $42.5 million tobacco verdict over juror's thoughts on addiction
MIAMI (Legal Newsline) - A Florida appeals court reversed a $42.5 million verdict against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, ruling the trial judge should have excused a juror who said she believed cigarettes are addictive.
Lying to doctor then suing him doesn't work out for drug-user with heart infection
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Legal Newsline) - A man who told an emergency room doctor he didn’t use drugs, refused further treatment and then suffered a heart infection caused by injecting drugs had no case, a Kentucky appeals court ruled, agreeing a trial court properly dismissed the lawsuit.
Lawyers asking for $4.4 million for negotiating $575K settlement turned down by Fifth Circuit
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a $4.4 million fee award to lawyers who negotiated a settlement over defective toilet tanks that could result in less than $600,000 in benefits to their clients.
Social Security lawyers earned $1,600 an hour, Second Circuit rules
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - A law firm that specializes in Social Security cases deserved its large hourly rate for quickly and efficiently winning disability benefits for its client, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, reversing a lower court decision that declared a 25% contingency fee to be excessive and a “windfall” for the lawyers.
Appeals court upholds sanctions against Lieff Cabraser in State Street case
BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - Lieff Cabraser lost its hard-fought battle to reverse sanctions a judge imposed against the firm for submitting an inflated fee request in the State Street securities class action, after the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the penalty was merited for “materially misleading” behavior.
Jogger avoiding homeless can't sue property owner after being hit by car in bike lane
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A jogger who says she was diverted into the road by a homeless encampment and struck by a car has no case against the owner of the property where the squatters set up camp, a California appeals court has ruled.
Judge ignores objectors, awards $180 million in fees to Flint water lawyers
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Legal Newsline) - Ignoring objectors who said private lawyers were claiming too much of a $625 million settlement to be paid almost entirely by Michigan taxpayers, a federal judge awarded some $180 million in fees to plaintiff attorneys in the Flint lead pollution litigation.
Alaska Supreme Court rejects climate suit over state's oil policy
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Legal Newsline) - The Alaska Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit claiming the state’s young residents had a constitutional right to block oil and gas development in the state in order to reduce human-induced global warming, saying the elected branches, not the courts, were the place to decide energy policy.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers win lawsuit over traffic accident in Louisiana
BATON ROUGE, La. (Legal Newsline) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers football team isn’t liable for an accident caused by an off-duty motorcycle policeman who collided with a sheriff’s deputy while escorting team buses to the airport, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled, overturning lower court decisions that could have exposed the NFL team to damages.
Camera in bathroom has Banana Republic in trouble
SALEM, Ore. (Legal Newsline) - Banana Republic can be sued for hiring a worker who placed a secret camera in an employee restroom, an Oregon appeals court ruled, reversing a trial court’s decision that damages for emotional distress are available only if there was physical contact with the plaintiff.
Talc lawyers fed Reuters confidential documents, Johnson & Johnson says
TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) - Johnson & Johnson has asked a federal bankruptcy judge to block Reuters from publishing details of internal documents it says a plaintiff lawyer gave the news service in violation of a court confidentiality order.