News from February 2020
Arkansas Supreme Court affirms $225K attorneys fees award against City of Little Rock
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Legal Newsline) - The Arkansas Supreme Court has affirmed a six-figure attorneys fee award against the City of Little Rock after the city was accused of imposing illegal traffic court fees.
W.Va. lawmakers introduce bills that would monitor, regulate use of PFAS in state
CHARLESTON – Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation that would require companies that recently have used PFAS to monitor the discharge of those chemicals into water sources.
Judge denies Mountaire Farms' motion to dismiss groundwater pollution lawsuit
A Delaware Superior Court judge has denied Mountaire Farms' motion to dismiss all claims brought against them based on negligence.
Former N.Y. political heavyweight Sheldon Silver to be re-sentenced on corruption convictions
Former New York State Assembly leader Sheldon Silver will be re-sentenced after an appeals court upheld four of seven counts of bribery, extortion and money laundering.
Judge: Talc lawyers harassed Johnson & Johnson by leaking info to Reuters
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - The prominent asbestos law firm Simmons Hanly Conroy has been sanctioned by a New York judge for violating a protective order after it leaked the deposition of Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky to reporters at the Reuters news service.
Ninth Circuit hears jurisdiction arguments in landmark global warming lawsuits against Big Oil
PASADENA, Calif. – A potentially precedent-setting hearing on Wednesday saw Northern California communities seeking relief against oil companies whose fossil fuel emissions plaintiff attorneys contend are damaging residents with rising sea levels and environmental degradation.
Pennsylvania's Supreme Court loses no sleep after bending the law to help personal injury lawyers
The message to legislators is clear: We can do whatever we want to the laws you come up with.
World Wide Processing Group faces CFPB action alleging noncompliance with investigation
BUFFALO, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) — The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection has filed a petition to enforce investigative demands for its inquiry into World Wide Processing Group's alleged violation of federal debt collection law.
Law firm files lawsuits against states that forbid trade names
NEW YORK — A Salt Lake City-based law firm is alleging New York's Rule of Professional Conduct relating to law firm advertising and using a firm's "trade name" is unconstitutional.
New talc front for Johnson & Johnson: Shareholder lawsuits
TRENTON, New Jersey — A Johnson & Johnson shareholder is claiming its board and officers schemed to defraud investors by concealing information about the company’s talc and baby powder.
Attorneys to net $30 million in Yahoo data breach settlement; Small amounts to millions of class members possible
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Attorneys can expect a $30 million payday once the dust finally settles in Yahoo's $117.5 million settlement of a data breach class action, approved by a federal judge in California last summer.
HOLLAND & KNIGHT: An Evening with New Jersey Banking Commissioner Marlene Caride
Holland & Knight invites you to attend the New Jersey State Bar Association's update on the health of the financial services market in New Jersey with Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI) Commissioner Marlene Caride.
PEPPER HAMILTON LLP: Legalweek 2020 Leadership Academy, 'ediscovery Bootcamp - Emerging Tech and Trends'
Pepper Hamilton LLP issued the following announcement on. Jason Lichter, the director of discovery services at Pepper Hamilton, will be speaking at the Legalweek 2020 Leadership Academy workshop titled "eDiscovery Bootcamp - Emerging Tech and Trends."
BRADLEY ARANT BOULT CUMMINGS: Bradley Partner George Parker Selected as Alabama Law Foundation Fellow
Bradley is pleased to announce that George R. Parker, a partner in the firm’s Montgomery office, has been selected for membership as a Fellow of the Alabama Law Foundation.
BRADLEY ARANT BOULT CUMMINGS: Bradley Partner Anna Manasco Named to BBJ's 2020 "NextGenBHM"
Bradley attorney Anna Manasco was named to the Birmingham Business Journal’s (BBJ) 2020 “NextGenBHM,” which highlights the emerging leaders and executives shaping the future of the Birmingham economy and key industries like construction, banking, real estate, law and technology, among others.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION: Norfolk Southern to Pay $350,000 to Settle EEOC Age Discrimination Lawsuit
Norfolk Southern Corporation, a transportation company that operates a 19,500-mile freight railroad system in 22 states and the District of Columbia, has agreed to pay $350,000 and take substantial non-monetary action to settle an age discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced.
New York comptroller may audit medical providers without written patient permission, state's high court rules
ALBANY, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) – Written permission is not required for the New York's Comptroller's Office to subpoena a medical provider's records to audit state-issued payments, the state's highest court has ruled.
Divided Mississippi appeals court reverses $744K verdict against hospital
JACKSON, Miss. (Legal Newsline) – A sharply divided Mississippi appeals court reversed a 2017 damages award against a Bolivar County hospital in the death of a renal patient, agreeing with the hospital that a plaintiff expert's testimony had been speculative.
Law firm can't enforce arbitration agreement with departing attorney, Mississippi appeals court rules
JACKSON, Miss. – A law firm based in Florida and Mississippi cannot enforce an arbitration clause in its employment agreement with a departing attorney, a Mississippi appeals court ruled in overturning a lower court's 2017 judgment otherwise.
Expert's altered testimony didn't harm woman's malpractice case, according to Indiana appeals court
INDIANAPOLIS – A lower court didn’t err when it denied a woman’s motion to exclude expert testimony in her case against a physician whom she said misdiagnosed her and performed unnecessary surgeries.