Daniel Fisher News
Plaintiff firm accused of compiling frivolous mass arbitration claims to extort multimillion-dollar settlements
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Fox Broadcasting’s Tubi unit has sued Keller Postman, accusing the law firm of filing thousands of fraudulent arbitration claims in an effort to extort a $71 million settlement.
Mississippi city immune from lawsuit over fire and heart attack
JACKSON, Miss. (Legal Newsline) - Mississippi law gives Yazoo City absolute immunity against claims its firefighters mishandled a house fire and the resulting damage caused a property owner to suffer a stroke.
Capping contingency fees in Nevada could have unintended consequences
A 20% cap on lawyer contingency fees in Nevada is supported by Uber but few business organizations, perhaps reflecting concern that such measures can end up doing more harm than good.
Tort reform group slams 'referral fee' for W. Va. opioid lawyer, hopes lawmakers will investigate
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - A West Virginia tort reform organization is calling on lawmakers to investigate $141 million in fees being distributed to private lawyers involved in government opioid lawsuits after one attorney sued to collect referral fees for connecting lawyers with municipal officials.
Can't change the rules now, Texas court tells fen-phen lawyer sued by thousands of clients
AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline) - Having convinced a federal court to dismiss a class action by thousands of disgruntled former clients because the cases were different, Texas attorney George Fleming can’t now argue the cases should be dismissed because he won a favorable verdict in one of them.
California extends 'take-home' asbestos liability to case of brother who lived elsewhere
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - A California Supreme Court decision limiting “take-home” asbestos liability to people who live in the same house doesn’t preclude a man from suing over claims he was exposed to asbestos when visiting at his brother’s house.
Med-mal lawyers' failure to include doctor's oath dooms lawsuit
DES MOINES, Iowa (Legal Newsline) - Iowa legislators meant what they said when they passed a law requiring medical malpractice plaintiffs to submit an expert’s affidavit, signed under penalty of perjury and certifying their case has merit, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled.
Opioid lawyer fee fight breaks into open in West Virginia
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - A West Virginia lawyer has sued prominent national firm Morgan & Morgan, claiming he was shortchanged out of $1.6 million in fees stemming from a $940 million opioid settlement.
Court shoots down arbitration over Dexcom diabetes monitor claims
SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) - A manufacturer of glucose monitors can’t enforce “clickwrap” arbitration agreements because they were combined with privacy waivers, a California appeals court ruled, clearing the way for lawsuits by patients who clam they were injured when the devices failed to warn them of dangerous glucose levels.
Shot at work? Workers' Comp covers that
ALBANY, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - An entirely unprovoked assault at work is covered by workers’ compensation, New York’s highest court ruled, rejecting arguments by a medical resident that his shooting wasn’t a workplace-related injury.
Ski waiver doesn't apply to lift accidents, Colorado Supreme Court rules
DENVER (Legal Newsline) - A waiver prohibiting lawsuits over most types of skiing accidents doesn’t apply in the case of a teenager who was left paraplegic after falling 30 feet from a chair lift at Crested Butte, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled, opening a potentially expensive new avenue for trial lawyers to sue ski resorts.
Hospital stuck with immigrant's unpaid bills gets no help from South Dakota law
PIERRE, S.D. (Legal Newsline) - A hospital that provided $75,000 in care to a seasonal worker who skipped his bill and returned to Mexico can’t recover the money from the county where he worked, the South Dakota Supreme Court ruled.
Lawyers hit with $10K in sanctions over 'schoolyard bullying'
SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) - A California law firm must pay $10,000 in sanctions for behavior an appellate judge likened to “the adult equivalent of schoolyard bullying,” including refusing to respond to requests for evidence and sending sneering emails to opposing counsel.
City not liable for unqualified inspector's OK of stairs that caused slip-and-fall
DES MOINES, Iowa (Legal Newsline) - An Iowa city can’t be sued for hiring an unqualified inspector who failed to flag stairs that didn’t meet building code requirements, the state Supreme Court ruled, shutting down an apartment building owner’s attempt to drag the city into a slip-and-fall lawsuit.
FCC's 'name and shame' racial scorecard rule faces court challenge
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - A religious broadcasting group has sued to block a Federal Communications Commission rule requiring all broadcasters with five or more employees to publish information about the racial and ethnic makeup of their workforce.
Police officer loses job over Facebook posts about Milwaukee Bucks player
MADISON, Wis. (Legal Newsline) - A police officer who was fired over offensive Facebook posts after he arrested former Milwaukee Bucks player Sterling Brown doesn’t have a constitutional right to get his old job back, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled.
Oregon hospitals now liable for drugs they 'sell' to patients; AMA warns of side effects from ruling
SALEM, Ore. (Legal Newsline) - In a decision with broad implications for the cost of healthcare in Oregon, the state Supreme Court ruled hospitals can be sued for providing drugs plaintiffs consider defective, spreading potential liability beyond drugmakers to include any entity that administers pharmaceuticals to patients.
'No highways' directive from eye doctor means no money for plaintiffs in hay wagon accident
BISMARCK, N.D. (Legal Newsline) - An eye doctor who warned his patient not to drive on the highway isn’t responsible for a fatal accident that occurred when the patient’s truck rammed a horse-drawn hay wagon on the highway, the North Dakota Supreme Court has ruled.
Mark Zuckerberg has no duty to fix the world, judge rules
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - Mark Zuckerberg may be one of the world’s most powerful people by dint of his control of Facebook owner Meta, but that doesn’t expose him to liability for failing to fix the world’s problems, Delaware’s Chancery Court ruled.
California: Lawyers get $518K in fees for winning client $70K
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - Lawyers who won their client $70,000 in an employment dispute can collect half a million dollars in fees, but no additional interest, a California appeals court ruled