John O'Brien News
Feds, lawyers and insurers among critics of J&J's massive talc settlement
HOUSTON - Some insurers and personal injury lawyers have found themselves in a rare position - allied in court.
Fourth climate change case against Big Oil tossed out of state court
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (Legal Newsline) - Another state court judge has thrown out a climate change lawsuit brought against the fossil fuel industry by government officials who have hired private lawyers hoping for jackpots.
Talc lawyers fighting J&J's $9B plan get to grill lawyer holding 1,500 key votes
HOUSTON - A court-ordered deposition of a lawyer next week should produce plenty of fireworks, as he explains why 1,500 of his clients suing Johnson & Johnson changed their minds on whether to accept the company's massive settlement proposal.
NYC loses - again, in a different court - its climate change case against Big Oil
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - Government officials allied with private lawyers hoping for climate change jackpots wanted their cases heard in various state courts, but yesterday a third state judge tossed their claims at an early stage.
J&J appeals now-$39M Carolina talc verdict, says trial judge was hostile
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - South Carolina's asbestos judge took more than $16 million off of Johnson & Johnson's share of a huge talcum powder verdict, but that isn't stopping the company from seeking total relief from the state's appeals courts.
Protections for minority teachers affirmed, as Minn. court says taxpayers can't challenge
ST. PAUL, Minn. (Legal Newsline) - A taxpayer can't challenge a Minnesota school district's preference for helping minority teachers keep their jobs, the state Supreme Court has ruled.
SCOTUS declines to hear Big Oil's appeal of Hawaii climate change ruling
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - The U.S. Supreme Court will let stand a ruling in Hawaii that paves the way for government officials represented by contingency fee lawyers to sue the oil industry over the effects of global warming.
D.C. judge will lead the way as MGM accuses FTC of unconstitutional conduct
LAS VEGAS (Legal Newsline) - A Nevada federal judge has somewhat stepped away from a dispute between MGM Resorts and the Federal Trade Commission over a data breach FTC commissioner Lina Khan was personally involved in.
Australian's Qatar injury claims against Oxy fail in Texas
HOUSTON - Occidental Petroleum and its Qatar wing have defeated a globe-spanning lawsuit in Texas concerning on-the-job injuries sustained by an Australian man.
Judge won't step down from lawyer fight over J&J talc bankruptcy
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Legal Newsline) - A federal judge won't recuse himself from litigation involving lawyers bickering over Johnson & Johnson's proposed multibillion-dollar plan to resolve lawsuits alleging its talcum powder causes cancer.
Big Oil makes last push for SCOTUS intervention in climate change case
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Oil companies have made their final plea for help from the U.S. Supreme Court as they battle a Hawaii ruling that kept alive a lawsuit that seeks to hold them liable for the effects of climate change.
Class action asks Arby's where the rest of our French fries are
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - A class action lawyer with a knack for coming up with novel theories - and sometimes angering judges with them - is suing Arby's, complaining the fast-food chain is giving customers less while charging them more.
Judge awards PFAS lawyers almost $100M from Tyco, BASF settlements
CHARLESTON, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - It's nearly $100 million for lawyers pushing PFAS lawsuits on behalf of public water systems, as a federal judge has approved their request for fees from settlements with BASF and Tyco.
'Judicial Hellholes' report: Philly No. 1, but South Carolina asbestos court moving up
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - South Carolina's asbestos court is now the No. 3 "Judicial Hellhole" in the country, the American Tort Reform Association announced, handing the docket its highest ranking since it first appeared on the annual report in 2020.
Ala. Supreme Court won't let lawyer charge contingency fee in alimony case
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Legal Newsline) - An attorney hoping to extend contingency-fee agreements to areas of the law they aren't allowed has received an adverse ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court.
'Wrecking ball' class action lawyer might be in mess in Kroger case
CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) - Kroger wants a controversial class action lawyer punished for bringing a case over "farm-fresh" eggs that was recently thrown out by a Chicago federal judge.
DOL probe gets green light as company argues it would ruin its business
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Legal Newsline) - A company hoping to show the Department of Labor is wrecking its business with an investigation that would involve its clients has gotten very little help from a federal judge.
$97M brain damage verdict struck; Plaintiff lawyer's 'rhetoric paints attorneys in a poor light'
DES MOINES, Iowa (Legal Newsline) - Iowa's highest court has struck a nearly $100 million verdict in favor of a family who blamed doctors for a baby's brain injuries, and its chief justice delivered a smackdown of the plaintiffs' lawyer for ridiculing the defendants' arguments to the jury.
Airlines' teamwork won't help customers, First Circuit rules in DOJ antitrust case
BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - A federal appeals court has affirmed a ruling that put an end to the so-called "Northeast Alliance" between American Airlines and JetBlue - an arrangement the companies claimed would help customers.
Class action lawyer, facing penalty, says Ricola was the one keeping case alive
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (Legal Newsline) - A class action lawyer called a "wrecking ball" by a federal judge is defending his choice to continue his cough drop case, as he faces a potential $60,000 penalty for doing so.