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Sunday, October 20, 2019

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Congress should not normalize private attorney actions with law enforcement, witness says at PFAS hearing

By Ann Maher | Sep 10, 2019

WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Collaboration between private attorneys and law enforcement in environmental litigation is perverting the justice system, said a witness at today's House Subcommittee on Environment hearing, and if a Democratically-controlled Congress chooses to normalize it today - someday conservative interests this body doesn't favor will use the same tactic.

Second Circuit seeks answers to questions in pesticide lawsuit by foreign banana workers against Occidental

By Colin Froment | Sep 10, 2019

NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – A federal appellate court has sent questions to the New York Court of Appeals in a lawsuit filed by more than one hundred former plantation workers and owners allegedly injured by the use of a pesticide across banana plantations in Central and South America for two decades.

‘Business decision’: Former DEA official works for opioid lawyers but set standards for how many pills were made

By John O'Brien | Sep 3, 2019

Now, Rannazzisi is helping private lawyers pin the blame squarely on manufacturers and distributors of opioids, as well as pharmacies. A post-DEA alliance with trial lawyers has been worth six figures for Rannazzisi, who has been hailed as a whistleblower by those cheering attempts to prosecute the opioid industry for the nation’s addiction crisis.

Battle between states and cities for opioid money escalates as Ohio AG makes play for control of litigation

By Daniel Fisher | Aug 30, 2019

CINCINNATI (Legal Newsline) - Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has asked a federal appeals court to halt or dismiss the first two bellwether trials in opioid multidistrict litigation, in a major escalation of the long-brewing fight between state AGs and cities/counties seeking their own share of opioid lawsuit proceeds.

She quit, then sued for wrongful termination; New Jersey courts aren't buying her lawsuit

By Scott Holland | Aug 29, 2019

TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) – The Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey has upheld the dismissal of a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by a woman who resigned from her position.

Mississippi Supreme Court rejects appointment of special master in AG Hood's Hurricane Katrina lawsuits

By Marian Johns and Scott Holland | Aug 29, 2019

JACKSON, Miss. (Legal Newsline) – The Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled a circuit court abused its discretion in the assigning of a special master and in the reassignment of a case involving Hurricane Katrina insurance and the state's Homeowner Assistance Program (HAP).

Delaware judge: Not enough evidence provided by widow in asbestos lawsuit against Union Carbide

By Marian Johns | Aug 28, 2019

WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) – A Delaware court has ruled that a woman whose husband allegedly died from asbestos exposure injuries did not offer enough proof in her case against Union Carbide Corp. (UCC) and granted UCC's motion for summary judgment.

Contract confusion costs former cosmetic company VP in Delaware lawsuit

By Marian Johns | Aug 28, 2019

WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) – Delaware's Court of Chancery has ruled that a former cosmetics company vice president of sales and business development failed to prove there is a valid contract in an equity dispute case that involves the parties allegedly each signing two different drafts of a contract.

Maine Supreme Court rules woman's slip-and-fall lawsuit against therapy facility is not medical negligence claim

By Marian Johns | Aug 28, 2019

PORTLAND, Maine (Legal Newsline) – The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has agreed with a lower court's ruling that a woman's premises liability personal injury suit against the owners of a therapy facility where she slipped and injured herself is based on negligence and is not a health care services claim.

Oklahoma judge feeds the 'monster' with $572M opioid ruling against Johnson & Johnson

By Daniel Fisher | Aug 27, 2019

Sixteen years ago in a case involving gunmaker Sturm, Ruger & Co., a New York appeals court refused to apply public nuisance law against the manufacturer of a legal product, saying that doing so would transform nuisance law “into a monster that would devour in one gulp the entire law of tort.”

Defamation lawsuit must move forward even though criminal case pending, Md. court rules

By Marian Johns | Aug 27, 2019

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (Legal Newsline) – The Court of Appeals of Maryland has reversed a Court of Special Appeals ruling that allowed a former Maryland dental office manager to stay her defamation civil suit until the end of her related criminal case.

After sexual assault case, lawyers fight for sanctions against clients who allegedly didn't pay their fees

By Marian Johns | Aug 27, 2019

LANSING, Mich. (Legal Newsline) – A Michigan law firm has been denied its appeal for sanctions in a fee dispute involving the case of a couple whose family member sexually assaulted several of their foster and adoptive children.

Michigan court rules injured bus passenger failed to establish Detroit was negligent

By Marian Johns | Aug 27, 2019

LANSING, Mich. (Legal Newsline) – The Michigan Court of Appeals has reversed a trial court's denial of a partial summary disposition in favor of the city of Detroit in a case involving a woman who fell while getting on a city bus and alleged the driver's efforts to help her caused additional injuries.

School union reps can't be paid with taxpayer funds, New Jersey appeals court rules

By Scott Holland | Aug 27, 2019

TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) – A state appeals panel has ruled that a contract calling for a school board to pay salaries and benefits for two teachers elected to serve as union leaders is unenforceable.

Johnson & Johnson will appeal $572 million verdict: 'Can't sue your way out of opioid crisis'

By Kayla Elder | Aug 26, 2019

“We are disappointed and disagree with the judge's decision. We believe it is flawed,” said attorney Sabrina Strong, a partner at O'Melveny and Myers during a press briefing after the verdict was read.

Private lawyers stand to make $90 million as judge hits Johnson & Johnson with $572M opioid ruling

By Daniel Fisher | Aug 26, 2019

NORMAN, Okla. (Legal Newsline) - A state judge in Oklahoma has blamed Johnson & Johnson for the state's opioid crisis and ordered it to pay $572 million in damages, extending public nuisance law beyond its traditional boundaries into what may become an all-purpose tool for government lawsuits against product manufacturers.

Landlords have duty to protect infants from radiator burns, some New Jersey Supreme Court justices feel

By Karen Kidd | Aug 23, 2019

TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) – New Jersey landlords had a duty to protect an infant who was severely burned by a hot radiator in 2010, two dissenting justices said in a state Supreme Court decision issued last month in which the majority of justices ruled that the landlords did not.

Ohio Supreme Court determines when class action defendant can raise arbitration issue

By Mario Marroquin | Aug 23, 2019

COLUMBUS (Legal Newsline) – The Supreme Court of Ohio recently reversed and remanded a ruling from the Portage Court of Common Pleas and the 11th District Court of Appeals in an arbitration dispute between an employee and his former employer regarding whether the employee could proceed with his suit as a class action.

Utah Supreme Court says legal malpractice suit filed against attorney who missed filing deadline was timely

By Mario Marroquin | Aug 23, 2019

SALT LAKE CITY (Legal Newsline) – The Supreme Court of Utah reversed a lower court's decision in a malpractice suit filed against an attorney by two clients who alleged they lost the opportunity to collect more than $700,000 in a bankruptcy proceeding because the attorney failed to file the claim in a timely manner.

Montana Supreme Court affirms verdict in doctor's favor in medical malpractice lawsuit

By Mario Marroquin | Aug 22, 2019

HELENA, Mont. (Legal Newsline) – The Supreme Court of Montana recently affirmed a 2018 verdict in favor of a doctor in a medical negligence suit in which lower courts found he was not negligent.