Daniel Fisher News
Washington Supreme Court orders judges to assume racial bias In verdicts
OLYMPIA (Legal Newsline) - Litigants who claim a jury verdict was tainted by racial bias are entitled to a hearing where the judge must assume they are correct, the Washington Supreme Court ruled, placing the burden on the other side to prove that bias didn’t affect the decision.The high court’s ruling came in a routine car accident case where the victim, a Black woman, claimed she suffered whiplash and exacerbated symptoms of Tourette’s Syndrome requiring $3.5 million in damages.
In case of high-dive drowning death, Ohio recreational district not liable
An Ohio recreational district is immune from claims it caused the death of a 15-year-old who disappeared after diving off a platform and failed to come back up to the surface, an appeals court ruled.
Ruling will keep papers Biden donated to University of Delaware private
DOVER, Del. (Legal Newsline) - A judge upheld the University of Delaware’s refusal to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request for papers President Joseph Biden donated to his alma mater, finding the school had provided sufficient evidence to conclude they weren’t purchased or stored with state funds.
Judge: Facebook didn't defame John Stossel by putting 'partly false' labels on his videos
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - John Stossel wasn’t defamed when Facebook called one of his videos “partly false” and said another was “missing context,” a federal judge ruled, tossing the conservative journalist’s lawsuit against Meta Platforms and a French scientific fact-checking organization.
Defendant: Doggie Dailies class action cites irrelevant studies
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - The manufacturer of Doggie Dailies Hip & Joint Supplement for Dogs has asked a judge to throw out a proposed class action, saying the plaintiff based her false-advertising claim on irrelevant scientific studies and her own subjective conclusion that the supplements don’t work.
Ohio justice fears 'misguided' decision will discourage appeals by defendants
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Legal Newsline) - Plaintiffs who win a case involving punitive damages can recover the legal fees they incurred defending the judgment on appeal, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled, in a decision a dissenting justice said will discourage defendants from exercising their right to appeal.
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LG can be sued in Mississippi over exploding vape battery
JACKSON, Miss. (Legal Newsline) - Korean electronics manufacturer LG Chem Ltd. can be sued in Mississippi over a lithium battery attached to a vaping device that exploded in a woman’s pocket, the state’s highest court ruled, reversing a lower-court decision dismissing the case for lack of jurisdiction.
New trial for case that exposed insurers to billions in damages
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A California appeals court ordered a new trial for a lawsuit that produced a state Supreme Court decision exposing life insurance companies to billions of dollars in damages, by ruling a 2013 law applied to retroactively to every policy sold in the state.
Father can sue over death of daughter he hadn't seen in four decades
LAKE CHARLES, La. (Legal Newsline) - A Louisiana man is the rightful plaintiff in a lawsuit over the death of his mentally disabled daughter even though he didn’t visit her for more than 40 years, a Louisiana appeals court ruled in a decision hinging upon the meaning of “abandonment” under the state’s civil code.
Racial imbalance in schools doesn't violate Minnesota Constitution, court rules
MINNEAPOLIS (Legal Newsline) - Racial imbalance alone doesn’t violate the Minnesota Constitution’s guarantee of a “general and uniform system of public schools,” a state appeals court ruled, potentially defeating a class action by parents who argued Minneapolis and St. Paul Schools were illegally segregated.
Sex-abuse plaintiffs can't revive lawsuit after defendant refuses to pay
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - Two men who accused a prominent Connecticut businessman of sexually abusing them when they were children can’t revive lawsuits they settled even though the defendant stopped making agreed-upon payments, an appeals court ruled.
Strategy to declare bankruptcy to resolve debts before suing doesn't work
SALEM, Ore. (Legal Newsline) - A woman who waited until after she went through personal bankruptcy to sue her employer properly had her case dismissed, an Oregon appeals court ruled, rejecting her explanation it was an “honest and understandable mistake.”
Ambulance company may be liable for patient who jumped out of vehicle
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - An ambulance company may be liable for the injuries of a young woman who undid the safety belts holding her in a gurney and jumped out the back of the moving vehicle, a California appeals court ruled, rejecting comparisons to a nearly identical case where a woman also jumped out of an ambulance and was hit and killed in traffic.
Estate slammed with $22 million verdict can't get Allstate's records
LAKELAND, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - The estate of a woman whose car hit and paralyzed a motorcyclist can’t get personnel records and other documents from Allstate Insurance to prove its case the insurer rejected settlement offers in bad faith. After lawyers for the motorcyclist couldn’t reach agreement within the woman’s insurance limits, they took the case to trial and won a $44 million jury verdict.
Lead lawyers in opioid MDL make case for millions in fees from colleagues in state court
CINCINNATI (Legal Newsline) - Plaintiff lawyers leading federal opioid litigation dismissed as premature a challenge by their rivals in state court to a judge’s order that could steer hundreds of millions, or even billions of dollars in fees their way.
Colorado can't sue Juul officials personally over e-cig marketing
DENVER (Legal Newsline) - Colorado can’t sue individual JUUL officers over their company’s nationwide e-cigarette marketing practices, the state’s highest court ruled, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s longstanding doctrine limiting personal jurisdiction over out-of-state defendants.
CFPB's loosening of rules 'arbitrary and capricious'
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau acted in an “arbitrary and capricious” manner when it quadrupled the number of mortgages lenders must make before being subject to detailed reporting requirements designed to detect racial discrimination, a federal court ruled.
Drug company must tell doctors how to prescribe, Alabama court rules
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Legal Newsline) - Pharmaceutical manufacturers can be liable for failing to give doctors proper instructions on how to use their drugs, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled, in answer to a question from a federal appeals court. The state’s high court rejected defense arguments the learned-intermediary rule limited manufacturers’ duty to warning doctors about the potential risks of a medication.
Lawsuit over how CVS, Walmart stock their shelves gets green light
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - An organization that says it is dedicated to “defending science and critical thinking” can sue CVS and Walmart for placing homeopathic remedies next to Food and Drug Administration-approved medicines, a District of Columbia appeals court ruled.
Child abuse victim can't sue authorities for violating reporting law
SALEM, Ore. (Legal Newsline) - A victim of child abuse can sue the police for failing to protect him from his stepfather but not for violating specific duties under Oregon law, the state’s highest court ruled in an advisory opinion for a federal judge.