Daniel Fisher News
SnapChat facing liability for car accident, thanks to 'speed filter'
ATLANTA (Legal Newsline) - Snap Inc. might be to blame for a car accident in which a woman rear-ended another car at 107 mph while using SnapChat’s Speed Filter feature, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled, rejecting arguments companies shouldn’t be liable for the criminal misuse of their products.
Employer not liable for work-at-home shooting by employee's son
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - Two women who were shot at a colleague’s home by her mentally incapacitated son can’t sue her employer, a California appeals court ruled, rejecting plaintiff arguments the company had a duty to provide a safe working environment or should have prohibited employees from working at home.
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Ruling dooms Florida tobacco lawsuits, Supreme Court justice says
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - A decision by the Florida Supreme Court requiring tobacco plaintiffs to identify specific statements that convinced them to smoke will make it “virtually impossible” for such cases to succeed in the future, a dissenting justice said.
Lawyers hoping to cash in on coffee-causes-cancer cases dealt big loss
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal court injunction against lawsuits accusing companies of failing to warn consumers about the cancer risk of acrylamide, agreeing with the trial court that the science was questionable enough that warning labels could mislead consumers.
Teen oblivious to oncoming train can sue over injuries
LANSING, Mich. (Legal Newsline) - A 14-year-old who failed to hear the whistle of an oncoming train because he was listening to music on his earbuds can sue the railroad for failing to stop in time, a Michigan appeals court ruled.
Mets get victory in court fighting case of fan who fell to his death
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - The New York Mets can’t be sued over the death of a man who ignored a barrier and walked down a stopped escalator, only to plunge 50 feet to his death, a New York appeals court ruled.
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Auburn teachers not liable for fatal field trip
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Legal Newsline) - Auburn University teachers who organized a field trip to examine Paleozoic rocks can’t be sued over a fatal accident that occurred after an allegedly intoxicated woman swerved across two lanes of traffic and hit a pair of students on the side of the road, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled.
Eighth Circuit judge skeptical of Minnesota's climate change lawsuit
A federal appeals court judge peppered Minnesota’s outside counsel with questions about the state’s climate lawsuit against ExxonMobil and others in a hearing over whether the case belongs in state court, at one point suggesting the complaint wasn’t drafted carefully enough to avoid federal jurisdiction.
Third Circuit judge criticizes New Jersey AG's probe of Smith & Wesson marketing
PHILADELPHIA (Legal Newsline) - Smith & Wesson can pursue a constitutional challenge against New Jersey’s civil investigation of its marketing practices, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, rejecting the state’s argument that federal courts should stay out of its business.
Does evidence of sex abuse by plaintiff belong in his asbestos trial?
SEATTLE (Legal Newsline) - Evidence a plaintiff sexually abused his daughter and was in an unhappy marriage were properly excluded from a trial over asbestos exposure, a Washington appeals court ruled, rejecting defense arguments the plaintiff “opened the door” by testifying about how his family life was disrupted by mesothelioma.
Personal injury lawyer on hook for legal fees after quitting firm
ATLANTA (Legal Newsline) - A personal injury lawyer who abruptly quit her firm, taking her email and Dropbox passwords with her, is liable for her former employer’s legal fees although she won’t have to pay any damages, a Georgia appeals court ruled.
Appeals court to decide if Minnesota can sue oil industry in its own courts
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments today on whether Minnesota can sue the oil industry over climate change in its own courts, or if the case belongs in federal court.
Sixth Circuit again reverses judge handling massive opioid litigation
CINCINNATI (Legal Newsline) - The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals once again rebuked U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster over his management of multidistrict opioid litigation, saying his court “clearly abused its discretion” by refusing to allow lawsuits by municipalities in Texas and New Mexico to be remanded to state court.
Cases against doctors at SCOTUS weigh heavily on opioid litigation against Walmart
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - A pair of cases now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court might decide whether the government can pursue billions of dollars in damages from Walmart for filling “invalid” opioid prescriptions. At the core of the cases is the question of when a doctor – and by extension, a pharmacist – crosses the line from practicing legitimate medicine to illegally selling drugs like a street-corner pusher.
ABC News to face lawsuit after video of football team chanting N-word gets Black coach fired
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - ABC News must defend itself against a defamation suit by a high school football coach who was fired from his job after a video emerged of his team chanting the N-word at a pregame locker room rally.
Rhode Island opioid case headed toward trial despite no evidence of specific illegal shipment
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Legal Newsline) - Rhode Island can proceed with its lawsuit against opioid manufacturers Teva and Actavis after a judge rejected their motions to dismiss for lack of evidence they broke the law or made any illegal shipments of drugs into the state.
Without releasing billing records, Flint water judge OKs $180 million for lawyers
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Legal Newsline) - A federal judge entered the final judgment approving a $600 million settlement between the State of Michigan and thousands of Flint residents who were exposed to lead-contaminated drinking water, handing a taxpayer-funded $180 million fee award to private lawyers who led the litigation.
Sentenced to life? You can file lawsuits to pass the time
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Legal Newsline) - The Rhode Island Supreme Court struck down a statute that treated prisoners sentenced to life in jail as the equivalent of being dead, reviving negligence lawsuits by a murderer and a man convicted of multiple sexual assaults. The decision drew a dissent from one justice who said it will “open the floodgates to frivolous inmate claims.”
Vermont law keeps Bestwall from turning to short-lived $10M policy for asbestos claims
MONTPELIER, Vt. (Legal Newsline) - Georgia-Pacific’s bankrupt Bestwall unit likely won’t be able to cash in on a $10 million insurance policy that was only in effect for 44 days in the early 1980s after the Vermont Supreme Court ruled state law sharply limits the insurer’s exposure to asbestos liability.
Surveillance videos of plaintiff protected only if ordered by lawyer, Nevada court rules
CARSON CITY, Nev. (Legal Newsline) - An insurance company that took surveillance videos of a woman before she filed a lawsuit over a car accident must turn them over to plaintiff lawyers, a Nevada appeals court ruled, although it sent back to the trial court the question of whether a third video taken after the plaintiff sued must be shared with the other side.