Daniel Fisher News
Fee? Tax? Missouri city argues both ways to keep DirecTV case in state court
ST. LOUIS (Legal Newsline) - Despite presenting contradictory arguments over whether it was trying to charge a “tax” or a “fee” on video streaming services, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the City of Creve Coeur, Mo., can continue to litigate the question in state court.
Dad v. Son: Lawsuit over fall in yard fails thanks to evidence of alcohol consumption
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Legal Newsline) - A father who sued his son after falling in the son’s back yard lost his bid to revive the case after the Wyoming Supreme Court refused to reverse a jury decision the father argued was tainted by testimony about how much beer he’d had to drink that night.
Louisville to face lawsuit after little boy is sucked through drainage pipe, dies
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Legal Newsline) - Parents of a little boy who was drowned after being sucked 430 feet through a drainage pipe behind his house can sue the local sewer authority despite general statutory immunity from tort suits under state law, a Kentucky appeals court ruled.
Coroner must release records of police officer's suicide, court rules
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - Parents of a San Mateo police officer who question the coroner’s conclusion that he died by suicide can obtain the entire investigative file into his death, a California appeals ruled, reversing a trial judge’s decision allowing some of those records to be withheld.
Family of suicide victim can sue troubled doctor who refused to turn over records
TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) - The family of a New Jersey woman who committed suicide can sue a doctor for medical malpractice without filing a required certificate of merit from an expert because the doctor – who was later stripped of his opioid-prescribing privileges by the state – failed to turn over requested records.
Judge who called election opponent 'morally bankrupt' must recuse himself from case
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Legal Newsline) - A Tennessee judge who called his opponent “a morally bankrupt soul” during a hard-fought election must recuse himself from hearing cases involving the lawyer, an appeals court ruled, but no such restrictions apply to the lawyer’s firm.
Bankruptcy confusion doesn't cost plaintiff the chance to sue over forklift accident
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (Legal Newsline) - A man who lost his leg in a forklift accident didn’t forfeit his right to sue a machinery distributor by denying the lawsuit in a personal bankruptcy filing, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled, upholding an appellate decision reversing a trial court’s dismissal of the case.
Georgia-Pacific wants SCOTUS review of case it says would clog courts with pollution claims
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Georgia-Pacific has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision it says misconstrued the federal Superfund pollution law and will force companies to clog the courts with speculative lawsuits against other potential polluters unless it is struck down.
No evidence to support 'whistleblower' claim against addiction center, court rules
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A would-be whistleblower who was on the job for less than six months convinced California insurance regulators a detoxification center ran up tens of millions of dollars in improper bills but a trial judge was correct to dismiss her claims for lack of evidence, an appeals court ruled.
Appeals court rejects J&J's plan to resolve talcum powder lawsuits
PHILADELPHIA (Legal Newsline) - A federal appeals court rejected Johnson & Johnson’s attempt to resolve thousands of lawsuits claiming talcum powder causes cancer in bankruptcy court, saying a nearly unlimited financial guarantee the pharmaceuticals giant extended to a unit formed for that purpose meant it wasn’t actually insolvent.
Court: Walmart had duty to track down man who used false name to obtain prescription and left without getting it
AKRON, Ohio (Legal Newsline) - A man who was prescribed antibiotics after crushing his finger but never picked them up from Walmart can sue the retailer for failing to track him down and make sure he received the drugs before the damaged finger led to a devastating infection and the loss of both legs, an Ohio appeals court ruled.
California AG sues Amazon over... low prices?
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - California Attorney General Rob Bonta is suing Amazon for harming consumers. Not by charging them too much, but by pushing merchants on its platform to charge the lowest prices available.
Johnson & Johnson sues more experts over 'junk' science in talc lawsuits
TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) - The bankrupt unit Johnson & Johnson set up to handle litigation over cosmetic talcum powder has sued three more plaintiff experts it says published an influential 2020 article linking talc to mesothelioma without disclosing other sources of asbestos exposure among the study’s subjects.
Plaintiff can use Kentucky courts to sue over fatal Mardi Gras party in Indiana
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Legal Newsline) - A woman whose daughter and grandchild were killed in a head-on accident caused by a Sazerac sales representative who left a company party intoxicated can sue in Kentucky, an appeals court ruled, reversing a trial court’s decision to dismiss the case as being brought in the wrong state.
Plaintiff lawyer's silence wins client $241K in lawsuit against Dollar Tree
TACOMA, Wash. (Legal Newsline) - A lawyer who rebuffed Dollar Tree’s repeated attempts to contact him about settling a slip-and-fall case helped his client win $241,000 by default, an appeals court ruled, reversing a trial judge’s decision to set aside the judgment.
Parents of Florida school-shooting victims must risk losing lawsuit against gun companies
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - Parents of a girl who was killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglass High School shooting massacre in 2018 must actually sue gun manufacturers to find out whether a state law will compel them to pay defense costs if they lose, an appeals court ruled.
Employer not liable for worker's accident while running personal errands
AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline) - The Texas Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit by relatives of two men who blamed an oilfield-services company for a fatal accident involving a contract employee who was running personal errands at the time.
Fire extinguisher missing from classroom a 'physical defect,' Ohio Supreme Court rules
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Legal Newsline) - Resolving a question that has divided Ohio courts for years, the state Supreme Court ruled that a missing fire extinguisher in a school laboratory is a “physical defect” even if it wasn’t legally required, allowing students burned by an exploding bottle of alcohol to sue their school district.
Texas law limits damages over bus accident to $100K
AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline) - A man who won a jury verdict for $216,000 in damages after being hit by a bus operated by a county social-services center will have to settle for $100,000 after the Texas Supreme Court ruled that state law limits the power of courts to award any more.
Patient can sue over basketball smackdown in mental hospital
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - A woman who was admitted to a mental institution as “a danger to others” can sue the hospital for injuries she suffered after being slammed to the floor by another patient during a basketball game, a California appeals court ruled.