Daniel Fisher News
Fried chicken remark doesn't justify firing, Vermont court rules
MONTPELIER, Vt. (Legal Newsline) - A Vermont corrections department worker was unjustly fired for a 30-second exchange in which he asked if a Black colleague was cooking fried chicken, the state Supreme Court ruled, rejecting the state’s argument the firing was justified for his “very racist” remark.
No expert, no case for man who sued over wandering blood filter
LINCOLN, Neb. (Legal Newsline) - A trial judge was justified in dismissing the lawsuit of a man who accused his trauma surgeon of improperly implanting a blood filter but had no expert to testify about the local standard of care, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled.
'Whistleblower' can't regain job for reporting her own incompetence
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - Connecticut’s whistleblower law protects public employees who report mismanagement and incompetence – even their own – but workers must prove they were retaliated against and not merely disciplined for poor performance, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled.
Money well spent: Research from lab costs plaintiff lawyers $2M but drives thousands of Zantac cases
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - A commercial laboratory that the judge overseeing thousands of Zantac lawsuits acknowledges lies at the core of the scientific debate over whether the heartburn medicine causes cancer was paid $2 million for its work, court filings show.
Some weedkiller-causes-cancer cases canned in Delaware
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - Weaving through a maze of different state laws, a Delaware judge dismissed some of more than 150 claims that Syngenta’s paraquat weed killer causes Parkinson’s disease, although other claims remain intact.
Not bad for government work: Opioid lawyers average almost $700 per hour
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - Private lawyers working for state and municipal governments will be paid almost $700 an hour for their work in negotiating some $26 billion in settlements with the opioid industry.
Del. judge departs from federal ruling, allows experts to tell jurors Zantac causes cancer
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - Saying it was not her role to “step into the heart of technical debate between opposing scientists,” a Delaware judge refused to exclude plaintiff expert witnesses vital to some 75,000 lawsuits claiming Zantac causes a variety of cancers.
Fatal fire in Philippines won't spread to Connecticut courts
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - Families of 29 call-center employees who were killed in a fire in the Philippines must sue the Connecticut company that employed them in their home country, an appeals court ruled, rejecting arguments the case would be dismissed overseas.
Del. AG can sue DuPont trust to get half its money spent in her state
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings can sue over the administration of the Florida-based Nemours Foundation established by the DuPont family, an appeals court ruled, upholding a decades-old settlement under which Nemours is supposed to expend half its money in Delaware.
Clinic could be in trouble after doctor uses medical records to advance dating goals
INDIANAPOLIS (Legal Newslne) - A medical clinic must defend itself against claims a doctor accessed the medical records of dozens of women, tracking them down in bars and on social media, hugging them and badgering them to go out with him, an Indiana appeals court ruled.
Student conduct chief reinstated after domestic violence arrest
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - A Connecticut state university must reinstate the director of student conduct, who was fired after he was arrested for domestic violence in an incident where he allegedly threatened to kill himself and his wife and refused to allow police into his home.
Adult children can sue for loss of parents - who are still alive
HONOLULU (Legal Newsline) - Adding a new path for collecting damages in personal injury lawsuits, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled children, including adult children, can sue for the loss of consortium of a parent who is severely injured but still alive.
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.