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State Supreme Court
Iowa jurors now need an expert to explain cow management
DES MOINES, Iowa (Legal Newsline) - Iowa jurors no longer can be counted upon to understand the basics of livestock management, the state’s highest court ruled, affirming the dismissal of a lawsuit by a truck driver who was injured after his vehicle plowed into a loose cow.
State Supreme Court
Adult injured at kids' playground cant sue, Nevada court says
LAS VEGAS (Legal Newsline) - A law protecting property owners against lawsuits stemming from “recreational activities” shields a Nevada city from a lawsuit filed by a woman who tripped over the edge of a protective mat under a children’s slide and broke her leg in multiple places.
State Supreme Court
Inmate who refused medicine can sue doctors for malpractice
INDIANAPOLIS (Legal Newsline) - A prison inmate who stopped taking prescription medicine after complaining about side effects can sue his doctors for malpractice and deliberate indifference for refusing to provide an alternate medication, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled, reversing a trial court’s dismissal of the prisoner’s lawsuit.
State Supreme Court
'No punt' football coach wins $200K in lawsuit over email criticizing his paperwork
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - A high school football coach who was demoted after adopting a disastrous “no punt” strategy can keep $200,000 a jury awarded him in a lawsuit over an email criticizing his paperwork skills, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled.
State Supreme Court
Lawsuit struck against doctor who delayed antivenom for snakebite victim
AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline) - Parents who wanted $1 million in compensation for the suffering of their daughter after she was bitten by a rattlesnake have no case against the emergency-room doctor who refused to immediately administer antivenom, the Texas Supreme Court ruled.
State Supreme Court
FirstEnergy bribery suspect facing seizure of $8 million
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Legal Newsline) - A man accused of accepting a multimillion-dollar bribe from FirstEnergy in a scheme that also sent the former speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives to jail may face the seizure of $8 million after the Ohio Supreme Court reversed an appellate ruling striking down a court order attaching his assets.
State Supreme Court
Rape ruling: Washington State Univ. had no duty to protect student off-campus
OLYMPIA, Wash. (Legal Newsline) - Washington State University had no legal duty to protect a freshman from being raped by a fellow student at an off-campus party, the Washington Supreme Court ruled, rejecting the plaintiff’s argument the school’s “special relationship” with students should extend past the campus borders.
State Supreme Court
Time limit on Ohio med-mal cases applies to wrongful death claims, split decision says
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Legal Newsline) - A four-year time limit on filing lawsuits over “medical claims” includes wrongful-death claims based on medical malpractice, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in a decision opposed by trial lawyers and three of the court’s justices.
State Supreme Court
Bright yellow padding no barrier to trial over skier's death at Sun Valley
BOISE, Idaho (Legal Newsline) - The famous Sun Valley ski resort must face a lawsuit by the widow of a man who died after crashing into a snowmaking machine on a beginner run, the Idaho Supreme Court said, ruling a jury must decide whether the padding met the standard for warnings.
State Supreme Court
Woman who blackmailed boss for $12M in Bitcoin and cars must pay up
LAS VEGAS (Legal Newsline) - A woman who blackmailed her former boss and lover into handing over $12 million worth of Bitcoin and valuables, including a Ferrari automobile, is subject to a multimillion-dollar default judgment after failing to show up in court, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled.
State Supreme Court
Parents suing Minnesota schools must prove racial imbalance caused education gap
ST. PAUL, Minn. (Legal Newsline) - Parents who sued the State of Minnesota over racially imbalanced schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul must show the racial differences caused educational shortfalls in order to prove a violation of the state constitution, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled.
State Supreme Court
Virginia teacher fired for avoiding pronouns entirely can sue school district
RICHMOND, Va. (Legal Newsline) - The Virginia Supreme Court ruled a teacher can sue the school district that fired him for calling a transgender student by his preferred names but avoiding using third-person pronouns at all, saying the disciplinary action may have violated the teacher’s religious rights.
State Supreme Court
Plastic surgeon who sued over bad Yelp review loses verdict
TOPEKA, Kan. (Legal Newsline) - A plastic surgeon who won a jury verdict against a former patient who submitted bad Yelp reviews under a fake name failed to prove his reputation took a hit, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled, affirming the reversal of a finding of defamation.
State Supreme Court
Colo. court upholds $40 million verdict over newborn's sepsis
DENVER (Legal Newsline) - A Colorado appeals court upheld a $39.9 million jury verdict in a lawsuit over a newborn baby’s injuries from sepsis, nearly 40 times the statutory limit of $1 million in most malpractice cases.
State Supreme Court
North Carolina Supreme Court justice loses effort to block investigation
GREENSBORO, N.C. (Legal Newsline) - A federal judge has agreed with the North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission that a lawsuit brought by a state Supreme Court justice against it shouldn't be heard in his court.
State Supreme Court
Parents can sue over baby's death they blame on 911 dispatcher
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - The parents of a five-week-old infant can sue a West Virginia county for what they claim is a 911 dispatcher’s bad advice to drive the baby to a hospital instead of waiting for an ambulance to arrive.
State Supreme Court
Ala. court upholds record verdict after thumb injury leads to opioid overdose
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Legal Newsline) - The Alabama Supreme Court upheld a record $10 million in punitive damages against a hospital where a carpenter who went in for a severed thumb ended up dying after being administered dangerously high doses of intravenous opioid painkillers.
State Supreme Court
Class action over patient notification struck down because lead plaintiff was actually notified
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Legal Newsline) - The Arkansas Supreme Court dismissed a class action lawsuit on behalf of more than 2,000 patients of a doctor who was dismissed from his hospital practice, ruling the lead plaintiff couldn’t claim he wasn’t notified of the doctor’s new whereabouts since he obtained the information before filing suit.
State Supreme Court
Ariz. court: No liability for failing to warn mother would drown twins
PHOENIX (Legal Newsline) - Reversing a decades-old precedent in a case involving a mother who murdered her twin boys, the Arizona Supreme Court said mental-health professionals can’t be held liable for failing to warn third parties about the risk of harm from a patient under their care.
State Supreme Court
Police car where man died was still in "use" despite not running, court finds
ATLANTA (Legal Newsline) - A Georgia sheriff will face a lawsuit over the death of a man in the back of a patrol car, finding there is no immunity for him simply because the car was not running.