Daniel Fisher News
Court: Fall-on-train case would have imposed 'totally impracticable burden'
ATLANTA (Legal Newsline) - The Atlanta transportation authority isn’t responsible for the injuries of a man who fell as one of its trains was leaving the station, a Georgia appeals court ruled, reversing a trial judge’s decision that would have allowed a jury to hear the case.
Settlement ends Honeywell's 'ill-fated' funding of asbestos trust; Company claimed lawyers were bleeding it dry
ERIE, Pa. (Legal Newsline) - Likening the two sides to exhausted boxers or a quarreling couple, a bankruptcy judge approved a settlement between Honeywell and trustees overseeing a fund for paying asbestos claimants under which Honeywell will end its involvement for a lump-sum payment of $1.3 billion.
Woman trapped between wall and treadmill can't sue; She didn't read manual and placed machine in front of TV
LANSING, Mich. (Legal Newsline) - A woman who suffered severe friction burns after getting trapped between her treadmill and the wall has no case against the manufacturer or the contractor who installed the device, a Michigan appeals court ruled, citing both the statute of limitations and the woman’s own failure to read the instruction manual.
Family of opioid overdose victim can't sue as victims of a crime
ATLANTA (Legal Newsline) - The relatives of a woman who died of an opioid overdose can’t take advantage of a Georgia law that extends the statute of limitations for torts in connection with a crime, an appeals court ruled, dismissing a lawsuit against a doctor who was later convicted of illegal prescribing.
Tennis club could be liable for instructor's sexual assault of minor
DENVER (Legal Newsline) - A tennis club may be liable for the sexual assault of a minor girl by one of its instructors, even though she joined under a broad waiver agreement that barred negligence lawsuits of any kind.
Baby dies after swallowing penny; Court rules doctors aren't liable
LAKE CHARLES, La. (Legal Newsline) - Caregivers who spent more than an hour trying to save a 9-month-old who swallowed a penny aren’t liable for his death from a rare complication of the procedure to remove it, a Louisiana appeals court ruled.
Texas court will have to let defendants in $33M carbon monoxide suit actually examine the plaintiffs
AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline) - An apartment company has the right to have its own medical expert examine six family members who claim they were exposed to carbon monoxide gas and are seeking $33 million in damages, the Texas Supreme Court ruled.
'Experience and expertise' claims can violate securities laws, Colorado Supreme Court rules
DENVER (Legal Newsline) - Saying it didn’t want to identify “magic words” that protected securities issuers against fraud claims, the Colorado Supreme Court upheld the reinstatement of a class action against an oil company that boasted about its “experienced and professional workforce.”
Chokehold victim can't sue Brazilian jiu-jitsu organization
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A man who took up Brazilian jiu-jitsu at age 49 and was injured sparring with another man can’t sue the national organization affiliated with the studio where he was hurt, a California appeals court ruled.
San Diego's school COVID vaccine mandate rejected by court
SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) - San Diego can’t impose a Covid vaccine mandate on students because state law governs which vaccinations are required to attend public school, an appeals court ruled, rejecting arguments officials had to act to protect students and the school district from liability.
Lawyers' effort to call a neurosurgeon a 'debt collector' fails at appeals court
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A neurosurgeon who outsources all of his billing to a debt-collection firm isn’t subject to California’s Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, an appeals court ruled, rejecting a lawsuit by a woman who claimed she was harassed over a bill stemming from her husband’s trip to the emergency room.
Key talc/cancer study cited by plaintiffs hid evidence of other exposure, lawyers say
GREENSBORO, N.C. (Legal Newsline) - A scientific study that concluded talcum powder causes cancer -- and helped turn talc lawsuits into a multibillion-dollar enterprise -- is potentially misleading, a federal judge has concluded, allowing defense attorneys to mount more probing cross-examinations of the study’s author.
'Ultimate salesman' must pay contingency fee to his firm after court dispute
MIAMI (Legal Newsline) - A man who refused to pay a contingency fee to Boies Schiller and challenged an arbitrator’s decision requiring him to do so lost in court, with a Florida appeals court agreeing with the arbitrator who called him “the ultimate salesman” willing to say what he needed to save money.
Walmart seeks end to 'smorgasbord' securities suit over opioid disclosures
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - Walmart has again asked a federal judge in Delaware to dismiss a securities class action claiming it misled investors about opioid litigation, saying an amended complaint is even worse than the original.
Tennessee Supreme Court swats away lawsuit by plaintiff lawyers and their government allies against Netflix, Hulu
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Legal Newsline) - The Tennessee Supreme Court rejected the City of Knoxville’s attempt to collect a 5% tax on streaming video services, delivering a death blow to attempts by private lawyers to tap a new fee stream by recruiting municipalities in the state to sue Netflix, Hulu and other video providers.
'Public policy' bars assignment of legal malpractice claim, court rules
CARSON CITY, Nev. (Legal Newsline) - It is commonplace for personal-injury plaintiffs to sign over the proceeds of their lawsuits to third parties, but “public policy” prohibits the same practice in legal malpractice suits, the Nevada Supreme Court has ruled.
Software exec gets new trial over firing from 'boys club' firm
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A woman who said she was fired from a Swiss software company after a high-ranking executive told her she’d never succeed because it was a “boys club” and accused her of being a “bitch” can proceed with her lawsuit, a California appeals court ruled.
Some nurses not covered by New Jersey medical-malpractice reform
TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) - A tort-reform law requiring plaintiffs to submit an affidavit supporting their case before suing medical professionals covers registered nurses but not licensed practical nurses, a New Jersey appeals court ruled, suggesting state lawmakers should amend the statute if they disagree.
D.C.'s 'disinformation' lawsuit against Big Oil sent back to original court
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - A federal judge remanded the District of Columbia’s lawsuit against four major oil companies back to one of the district’s own courts, ruling he had no jurisdiction over D.C.’s claims that a corporate “disinformation campaign” had caused “existential” environmental damage to the 68-square-mile urban area.
Prisoners sent to solitary can't pursue class action lawsuit
RALEIGH, N.C. (Legal Newsline) - The North Carolina Supreme Court upheld the denial of a class action on behalf of thousands of state prisoners subjected to solitary confinement, saying the wide variety in housing conditions and length of stay prevented a court from deciding one single issue for everybody.