Steve Korris News
Dodd-Frank reform law invites new litigation opportunities against mortgage lenders
Taft WASHINGTON -- Homeowners gained leverage for litigation against mortgage lenders through the financial reform law Congress passed this summer.
Oil spill judge to hold hearing on his investments
Barbier NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, responsible for 77 suits from five states over the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, plans a Sept. 16 hearing on his own investments in defendants Halliburton and Transocean.
Oil spill judge meets with plaintiffs lawyers
Barbier NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, responsible for all oil spill suits filed in federal court, met privately with hundreds of plaintiffs attorneys on Friday.
Rand's asbestos report shows lucrative outcome for lawyer trust fund managers
Kazan SANTA MONICA, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - Giants of asbestos litigation hold half the power in seven trust funds that paid $2.4 billion in claims in 2008, according to tables in a new Rand Corporation report.
Bi-State awaits Ill. SC decision on statute of limitations
Cueto SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (Legal Newsline) - Bi-State Development Agency commissioners anxiously wait for the Illinois Supreme Court to decide whether the agency enjoys the same protections from personal injury claims as cities and counties.
Mistrial declared in Illinois asbestos trial
Wylder BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (Legal Newsline) - Two mesothelioma sufferers fell short of a unanimous jury verdict on their claim that a conspiracy among corporations caused their disease.
Texas high court reverses $1.25M award in cattle rustling case
Willett AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline) - Jurors in San Saba County took cattle theft too seriously when they awarded $1.25 million in exemplary damages against a rancher for taking 13 head that strayed across a dry river bed, the Supreme Court of Texas ruled on June 25.
Attorneys can't switch sides, W.Va. SC rules
Davis CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - Pittsburgh attorneys who represented the coal companies of Jim Justice can't switch sides and represent a client suing his companies, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has ruled.
Crazy claims no reason to reject class action, lawyer says
Thompson CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) -- Ludicrous claims shouldn't have caused U.S. District Joseph Goodwin to reject a class action over economic damages from heart medicine Digitek, according to Fred Thompson of Motley Rice.
Medicare kicked off injury suit recovery in '09
West BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Kicking off a campaign to recover proceeds of personal injury suits, lawyers for Medicare claim a share of a $300 million settlement of chemical contamination claims in Anniston, Ala.
Judge calls asbestos litigation against CSX 'bizarre'
Recht WHEELING, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - As Ohio County Circuit Judge Arthur Recht looked back over six years of asbestos litigation against CSX Transportation, the picture disturbed him.
Medicare soon to go after liability settlements
WASHINGTON - By finally enforcing a law requiring the reporting of all injury payments, Medicare can begin getting reimbursed for payments made to individuals who later settled liability claims.
Judge rejects Digitek class action
Goodwin CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - U.S. Judge Joseph Goodwin sternly rejected a consumer class action over Digitek heart medicine on Tuesday.
1,400 asbestos cases dismissed
Peirce CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - In a clean sweep, Ohio County, W.Va., Circuit Judge Arthur Recht disposed of about 1,400 asbestos suits that Robert Peirce of Pittsburgh filed against CSX Transportation.
Lead counsel picked in Toyota class action
SANTA ANA, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - Daniel Becnel of Reserve, La., pushed all his persuasive powers on a judge picking leaders for a national class action over Toyota accelerators, but Becnel didn't make the cut.
W.Va. justices reverse ruling in Halliburton wrongful death case
Workman CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - Circuit Judge John Madden thought he found an easy way out of a wrongful death case with feuding defendants, but the ustices of the West Virginia Supreme Court expect him to work harder on it.
Massey, union team up against MSHA
Blankenship CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - Owners of Massey Energy and leaders of the United Mine Workers seldom agree, but an explosion that killed 29 miners has united them in mistrust of the U. S. Mine Safety and Health Administration.
Fall at W.Va. coal mine not company's fault
Davis CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - Former driller Kyle Ramey can't blame his employer for an 80-foot fall at a Logan County coal mine, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ruled on April 15.
Pa. company is 89th to collapse under asbestos claims
PHILADELPHIA (Legal Newsline) - Durabla Manufacturing, a Pennsylvania company that made sealing products, collapsed under the weight of 108,000 asbestos suits.
W.Va. SC says Maynard's e-mails shouldn't have been public
Davis CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - Private communications of government employees don't belong to the public, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals decided on Nov. 12.