Steve Korris News
Plaintiffs committee wants past testimony admitted in BP suits
Roy NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - Plaintiffs attorneys preparing for trial over liability for the Deepwater Horizon explosion seek to admit past testimony of witnesses who now refuse to testify because they might incriminate themselves.
EPA chief went too far, federal judge says
Jackson WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson exceeded her authority by imposing new water quality rules on mountaintop coal mines, a judge has ruled.
Barbier dismisses 66 oil spill suits
Barbier NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - Owners of vessels that fought the fire from the Deepwater Horizon explosion owe nothing to those who suffered damage from the oil spill that followed, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier decided on Oct. 12.
Dickie Scruggs gets testimony unsealed in attempt to vacate guilty plea
Scruggs ABERDEEN, Miss. - Tort king Dickie Scruggs, who disgraced Mississippi on his way to prison, aims to get out early by disgracing his brother-in-law, former U. S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott.
Digitek lawyers broke rules, attorney claims
Goodwin CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - Lawyers for drug maker Actavis broke ethical rules by asking expert David Bliesner about errors in a declaration for a case in West Virginia while deposing him for a case in Oklahoma, according to lawyer Don Ernst.
Ill. SC reverses $43M verdict against Ford
Theis SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (Legal Newsline) - Ford Motor Co. undertook no duty to warn luxury car owners that contents of their trunks could puncture their fuel tanks when Ford helped police prevent punctures in similar cars, the Illinois Supreme Court decided on Sept. 22.
Magistrate wants explanation from rig workers invoking the Fifth
Miller NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - Five Deepwater Horizon workers must explain how they can pursue personal injury claims against rig owner Transocean while they plead Fifth Amendment privilege against self incrimination, U.S. Magistrate Sally Shushan ruled on Sept. 27.
Solyndra bankruptcy trustee proposes taking over if execs keep invoking Fifth
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - U.S. bankruptcy trustee Roberta DeAngelis proposes to take over management of solar panel maker Solyndra if its leaders keep pleading Fifth Amendment privilege against self incrimination.
Solyndra employed no union workers, according to bankruptcy petition
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - President Obama's former favorite green enterprise, solar panel maker Solyndra, employed as many union members as an aircraft plant he won't let Boeing build in South Carolina: zero.
Appellate judges take sting out of Illinois opinion
Castleman SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (Legal Newsline) - Illinois Fourth District appellate judges withdrew a stinging opinion that rejected conspiracy evidence in McLean County mesothelioma trials, and they replaced it with a kinder and gentler rejection.
Plaintiffs lawyers: State Farm bought Karmeier's SC seat
Karmeier SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (Legal Newsline) - State Farm Insurance bought Lloyd Karmeier a seat on the Illinois Supreme Court to escape a billion dollar judgment, according to lawyers who want the billion back.
BP shareholders urge Barbier to keep claims in U.S.
Barbier HOUSTON (Legal Newsline) - BP stands for British petroleum but BP directors should face American justice, shareholders suing over losses from the Deepwater Horizon explosion believe.
Asbestos lawyer, insurer settle defense dispute
Peirce CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - Pittsburgh asbestos lawyer Robert Peirce and Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company settled a dispute over payment for his defense against the fraud and racketeering claims of CSX Transportation.
Link between asbestos trusts, courts hard to pinpoint
Dixon SANTA MONICA, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - Researchers who set out to explore connections between asbestos trusts and asbestos courts returned with guesswork because of a lack of factual evidence.
Feinberg urges oil spill judge to reject call for special master
Feinberg NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - Paying oil spill claims on an honor basis sounds generous to a fault, but Gulf Coast Claims Facility administrator Kenneth Feinberg plans to keep doing it.
Ill. asbestos lawyer seeks rehearing at Fourth District
Wylder SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (Legal Newsline) - Fourth District appellate judges who rejected a verdict in an asbestos conspiracy trial defended Honeywell and Pneumo-Abex better than the companies defended themselves, losing lawyer James Wylder complains.
CSX, asbestos attorneys throw suits at each other
Peirce WHEELING, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) -- Like boxers throwing punches before the referee reaches the ring, CSX Transportation and asbestos lawyers from Pittsburgh sue each other without permission from their judge.
BP stock up 60 percent; Company responds to employee class action
Taylor HOUSTON (Legal Newsline) - While BP employees complain that the company's disregard for safety drove down the value of their stock plans, they watch their stock plans grow.
Sitting justice attacks W.Va. cap on non-economic damages
Workman CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - West Virginia's limits on non-economic damages for victims of medical malpractice violate the state Constitution, Circuit Judge Ronald Wilson argues against a Supreme Court majority that reached the opposite conclusion.
Decision for new trial before Texas Supreme Court
Floyd AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline) - The Texas Supreme Court must decide whether Jefferson County District Judge Donald Floyd fully explained why he overturned a verdict from jurors who rejected an injury claim after watching victim James Levine wash a red Corvette.