Steve Korris News
Asbestos firm doesn't want CSX talking to former clients
Peirce WHEELING, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - Pittsburgh asbestos lawyer Robert Peirce, facing civil fraud and racket claims from CSX Transportation, doesn't want the railroad contacting his former clients.
Ill. judge hears arguments on asbestos standing order
Crowder EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (Legal Newsline) - Madison County Circuit Judge Barbara Crowder, heir to the biggest asbestos docket of any state court in the nation, must decide the future dimensions of her docket.
Ill. court weighing asbestos conspiracy and 'take home' verdicts out of Bloomington
Knecht SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (Legal Newsline) - Defendants say they will appeal a recent McLean County jury's $90 million verdict in an asbestos conspiracy trial, but for practical purposes they already did.
Insurance issues surface in BP oil spill litigation
Barbier NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - Below the surface of lawsuits blaming oil company BP for the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion, tremors of insurance disputes begin to roll.
Lawsuit-recruiter settles fraud claim with feds
Robert Peirce CINCINNATI (Legal Newsline) - Robert Gilkison, who instigated thousands of asbestos suits against CSX Transportation for a Pittsburgh law firm, cheated the government all the while.
W.Va. SC will hear arguments on med-mal caps
Chief Justice Margaret Workman CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - Winners of a $629,000 judgment in a medical malpractice trial will plead for more at the Supreme Court of Appeals, claiming a cap on their recovery violates the West Virginia Constitution.
Tillery given fresh start on $10 billion tobacco class action
Tillery MOUNT VERNON, Ill. (Legal Newsline) - Illinois Fifth District appeals judges granted Stephen Tillery a fresh start on his $10 billion class action against cigarette maker Philip Morris on Feb. 24.
Garlock lawyers argue for public access in asbestos bankruptcy
Cassada WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - Lawyers for bankrupt gasket maker Garlock Sealing Technologies exceeded a judge's limit for motions in a motion and failed to gain immediate access to spreadsheets on hundreds of thousands of asbestos claimants.
Asbestos exposures contradict in civil and bankruptcy courts, Garlock says
Werkheiser WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - Owners of bankrupt gasket maker Garlock Sealing Technologies claim clients of asbestos lawyers told contradictory stories of exposure in civil courts and bankruptcy courts.
Texas SC ruling protects government doctors in malpractice claims
Hecht AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline) - Doctors who work for public hospitals gained an extra layer of protection from malpractice suits at the Supreme Court of Texas on Jan. 21.
Ill. SC puts Emanuel back on ballot while deciding candidacy
Emanuel SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (Legal Newsline) - Illinois Supreme Court Justices put former White House staff chief Rahm Emanuel back on the ballot for Chicago mayor but haven't decided whether he can run.
AGs steer clear of BP oil spill committee
McDaniel NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - Fifteen states joined Louisiana and Mississippi in resisting representation by the plaintiff steering committee picked by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier to lead litigation over the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill.
Texas Justices disagree with W.Va. colleagues
Johnson AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline) - West Virginia's Supreme Court of Appeals erred in a decision on auto safety last year, according to the Supreme Court of Texas.
7th Circuit again hammers Sears class action attorney
Krislov CHICAGO - Attorney Clinton Krislov has taken a second pounding from the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Sears class decertified at 7th Circuit; Lawyer tactics skewered as 'close to settlement extortion'
Posner CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) - U.S. Seventh Circuit appeals judges accused lawyers Clinton Krislov and Mark Boling of tactics close to extortion in a class action against retailer Sears Roebuck, and they backed up the accusation with a letter from Boling himself.
Texas SC: Crown Cork asbestos suit protection unconstitutional
Hecht AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline) - Legislators improperly granted bottle cap maker Crown Cork and Seal retroactive protection from asbestos lawsuits, the Supreme Court of Texas ruled Friday.
Caldwell: Don't lump Louisiana in with oil spill plaintiffs
Caldwell NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell aims to prevent private lawyers from controlling state oil spill claims and reaping fees from state recoveries.
Manufacturers' president required to testify at Illinois asbestos trial
Radke BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (Legal Newsline) - Illinois Manufacturers Association president Greg Baise must testify at an asbestos conspiracy trial in Bloomington, though his lawyer is at "a bit of a loss" as to why.
DOJ too late to recover share of $300 million class for Medicare, judge rules
Bowdre BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Legal Newsline) - Department of Justice lawyers tried to twist Medicare law in their bid to recover a share of a $300 million class action settlement, U.S. District Judge Karon Bowdre ruled on Sept. 30.
Asbestos defendants face two trials same day, same court in Illinois
Modesitt BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Judges in McLean County plan two asbestos conspiracy trials at the same time against the same defendants.