Daniel Fisher News
Judge who wanted to 'do something' about opioid crisis now deciding who pays
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - A two-week bench trial to determine how much three national pharmacy chains must pay to solve a “public nuisance” of opioid abuse in two Ohio counties began with a fundamental dispute over what that nuisance is.
Judge's Facebook comments force him off opioid case
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Legal Newsline) - A Tennessee judge who ordered harsh sanctions against an opioid manufacturer and later boasted about it on Facebook should have recused himself for the appearance of bias, an appeals court ruled, reversing the sanctions and ordering the judge off the case.
Man who moved pallet covering manhole falls in, wins $87,500 from Providence
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Legal Newsline) - A man who dragged away a wooden pallet covering a manhole and then fell into it won $87,500 from the City of Providence after the Rhode Island Supreme Court reversed a trial judge’s determination that the jury verdict wasn’t supported by the facts.
Woman stuck with $85K settlement after claiming bus accident left her with 'foreign accent syndrome'
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A woman who claimed she was left with “foreign accent syndrome” after a Hilton shuttle bus hit her can’t rescind an $85,000 settlement because her lawyer supposedly coerced her into accepting the deal, a California appeals court ruled.
Unhappy customer can't sue Facebook over misleading ad
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act shields Meta from lawsuits over deceptive ads on Facebook, a federal court ruled, dismissing a lawsuit by a customer who said she was ripped off on a “toddler activity board” that turned out to be a cheap wooden puzzle instead.
Judge asked not to hide names of clients as asbestos lawyers' business practices probed
ERIE, Pa. (Legal Newsline) – A bankruptcy judge expressed sympathy for insurance companies that say the names of asbestos claimants should be made public in an upcoming trial over whether a bankruptcy trust funded by Honeywell is paying out on fraudulent and inconsistent injury claims.
Out-of-state crime no reason to deny pistol permit, court rules
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - The Connecticut Supreme Court ordered the state to issue a pistol permit to a man who was denied because of a drug conviction in New York, ruling that state law doesn’t include prohibitions on firearms permits over out-of-state misdemeanors.
Indian housing authority hit with $3 million verdict over boiler explosion
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Legal Newsline) - An Alaska housing authority must pay $3 million to a man and his family because the authority didn’t continue to inspect a boiler in a house after the man had fully paid for it, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled.
San Diego can use private lawyers on contingency fee to sue, court says
SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) - A California appeals refused to boot contingency-fee lawyers from a lawsuit by the City of San Diego against Experian, rejecting the company’s argument the private lawyers violated the public prosecutor’s duty of neutrality by working for a share of any money they won in the case.
Suspect who rammed pedestrian with car during police chase loses motion
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - A man who was shot at least four times after leading police on a high-speed chase during which he rammed a pedestrian and hit another police officer lost his bid to win a civil lawsuit against the city on summary judgment, after a federal court said there were enough disputed facts to take the case to trial.
Former Riverside prosecutor can question district attorney in lawsuit
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A California appeals court ruled that a former prosecutor now suing Riverside County for wrongful termination can question the current district attorney over whether the county tried to pressure the DA into lying about whether his predecessor was unethical.
Asbestos plaintiff who named 800 John Does gets to add brake company
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - A woman who waited to name an air-brake manufacturer in an asbestos lawsuit until after her husband’s death got a second chance to sue the company after a California appeals court ruled her case was improperly dismissed for failure to name the defendant in time.
New York's high court tosses once-huge talc verdict, citing lack of evidence
ALBANY, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - New York’s highest court threw out a $16.5 million jury verdict against a talc manufacturer, saying plaintiff experts failed to prove a woman’s cancer death was due to inhaling asbestos fibers in the talcum powder she claimed to have used daily for more than 20 years.
Free samples table could be liable for injuries all across Costco
SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) - A company that set up a table offering free samples inside a Costco warehouse store is potentially liable for customer slip-and-falls anywhere inside the building, a California appeals court ruled, overruling a trial court that found the vendor’s contract limited liability to within a 12-foot radius of the table.
Flint water judge rejects Napoli Shkolnik's call to DQ rival lawyer
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Legal Newsline) - The federal judge in charge of litigation over the Flint water scandal refused law firm Napoli Shkolnik’s request to disqualify a rival lawyer for simultaneously representing clients who approved of a $600 million settlement and those who wanted it to fail, saying the lawyer probably violated ethics rules but it wasn’t worth removing him from the case.
Ninth Circuit sends big-money global warming cases back to state court
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - Three California counties will be able to continue their lawsuits against the oil industry in their home courts, after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments their claims based on global warming raised issues of federal and international law that required them to remain in federal court.
Hawaii hotel not in trouble after employee recommends beach where guest became paralyzed
HONOLULU (Legal Newsline) - The Fairmont Kea Lani Resort isn’t liable for the injuries of a hotel guest who says he went to a beach several miles away at an employee’s recommendation only to become paralyzed in the surf, a Hawaii appeals court ruled.
Plaintiff who cribbed 'facts' from another lawsuit can try again
DENVER (Legal Newsline) - A Colorado appeals court gave a man another chance to sue over the 2017 merger of CenturyLink and Level 3 Communications, reversing a district court decision that dismissed his case without the option of amending the complaint.
Seeing scorpions: UPS right to fire employee over marijuana use, court rules
PHOENIX (Legal Newsline) - A UPS sales manager who told coworkers he saw scorpions and repeatedly asked the same question can’t claim protection under an Arizona law that prohibits companies from firing employees if they test positive for marijuana, an appeals court ruled.
Univ. of Colorado grads can't sue for alleged $1 billion mismanagement of funds
DENVER (Legal Newsline) - A group of disgruntled University of Colorado graduates didn’t have standing to sue a foundation that supports the school for mismanagement they said resulted in $1 billion in lost income, an appeals court ruled.