News from May 2022
Judge's Facebook comments force him off opioid case
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Legal Newsline) - A Tennessee judge who ordered harsh sanctions against an opioid manufacturer and later boasted about it on Facebook should have recused himself for the appearance of bias, an appeals court ruled, reversing the sanctions and ordering the judge off the case.
Watchdog files to suit to uncover contributors to conservative political group
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - An elections watchdog has filed a lawsuit against a conservative committee, claiming it failed to disclose its contributors.
Troutman Pepper’s Gary Marsh to Receive 2021-22 Distinguished Adjunct Teaching Award from Emory Law
Troutman Pepper’s Gary Marsh to Receive 2021-22 Distinguished Adjunct Teaching Award from Emory Law.
'Zero benefit' in reclassifying medical contrasts as drugs; Small manufacturer says proposal will kill domestic production
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - A small vendor of Xray dye is facing near-certain extinction if Congress goes through with a proposal to reclassify medical contrast agents as drugs rather than as devices.
Freshwater Smith part of conservative judicial slate with broad appeal
RALEIGH, NC (Legal Newsline) - District Court Judge Beth Freshwater Smith, conservative candidate for the Court of Appeals, has been endorsed by Republican lawmakers, law enforcement, district attorneys, and even some of Chief Judge Donna Stroud’s (Freshwater Smith's opponent in the primary) colleagues on the bench.
Lawyer suing Jets, Giants for playing in New Jersey fights to keep suit going
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – The lawyer suing the NFL for billions of dollars because the Giants and Jets play in New Jersey has hit back at a motion to dismiss, arguing the defendants failed to make a convincing argument.
Man who moved pallet covering manhole falls in, wins $87,500 from Providence
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Legal Newsline) - A man who dragged away a wooden pallet covering a manhole and then fell into it won $87,500 from the City of Providence after the Rhode Island Supreme Court reversed a trial judge’s determination that the jury verdict wasn’t supported by the facts.
Woman stuck with $85K settlement after claiming bus accident left her with 'foreign accent syndrome'
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A woman who claimed she was left with “foreign accent syndrome” after a Hilton shuttle bus hit her can’t rescind an $85,000 settlement because her lawyer supposedly coerced her into accepting the deal, a California appeals court ruled.
Wrongful death lawsuit follows tragedy at Orlando's ICON Park
ORLANDO, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - An Orlando amusement park is facing a lawsuit after a teenager wasn't allegedly safely secured to a drop tower ride and fell more than 100 feet to his death.
Another class action against Amazon
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - Amazon faces another class action lawsuit from unhappy customers, as lawyers at Bursor & Fisher filed suit on May 5 alleging the company unlawfully automatically renews memberships.
Greenberg Traurig Grows Corporate, Private Equity Practices in Northern Virginia
Greenberg Traurig Grows Corporate, Private Equity Practices in Northern Virginia.
Morrisey's office joins federal lawsuit challenging Biden's asylum rule
LAFAYETTE, Louisiana — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has joined a lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s new rule letting asylum officers, rather than immigration judges, decide whether to grant asylum claims at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Former Energy and Commerce senior staff director now lobbying ahead of one-year wait period
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - While it's fairly commonplace for former government workers and even former congressional members to pass through the revolving door to the world of lobbying, certain rules have to be followed, according to a D.C. ethics attorney.
Defense witness refutes testimony of plaintiff witnesses in W.Va. opioid trial
CHARLESTON – Attorneys defending opioid drug companies accused of causing an epidemic in West Virginia brought in a pain specialist doctor to refute the testimony of witnesses for the state who claimed doctors had become reckless in over-prescribing pain pills.
Economist calls climate financial risk plan an abuse of executive power; Usurps Congressional authority
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - An economist has dubbed a government plan that identifies financial risks of climate change as nothing more than an abuse of executive power that usurps Congressional authority.
Trey Allen positioned to bring North Carolina seismic shift in state’s high court
RALEIGH, N.C. (Legal Newsline) - If the Republicans take one of two seats on the state Supreme Court in the November elections, the make-up of the court will shift from 4-3 Democratic to 4-3 Republican.
20 AGs threaten legal action if Disinformation Governance Board is not dismantled
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Georgia, Kentucky, Florida, and Texas are among 20 states whose attorneys general have signed off on a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas demanding that his Disinformation Governance Board be immediately dismantled.
PPT: EPA leadership allowed agency appointee to remain linked to Chinese university
WASHINGTON Legal Newsline) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has allowed a political appointee to maintain an employment relationship with an arm of a hostile foreign government while he works at the federal agency, according to a watchdog group.
Federalist Society panel: Politics influence how civil rights laws are enforced
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - While lawsuits against Title IX university officers who fail to recognize the civil liberties of defendants can be an effective check and balance on enforcement, qualified immunity has hindered the ability of litigants to hold them accountable.
Lawsuit claims hens making Nellie's eggs are confined to sheds by the thousands
ORLANDO, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - An organic egg company is facing accusations its chickens are not free range.