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Monday, January 20, 2020

Attorneys & Judges News

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From Penn Record

Judge in landmark $8 billion Risperdal case cuts punitive damages award down to $6.8 million

By Nicholas Malfitano | 3 days ago

PHILADELPHIA – After a Philadelphia jury rendered a staggering $8 billion punitive damages verdict at the end of a recent trial surrounding anti-psychotic drug Risperdal in October, the judge who presided over the trial reduced the verdict to $6.8 million on Friday.

Attorneys & Judges

Attorney: PFAS research provided by DuPont settlement is 'really lousy'

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) – Chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been in the headlines a lot lately, from congressional hearings to a new film starring Mark Ruffalo that follows the class action lawsuit against DuPont in the Parkersburg area.

By Kyla Asbury | Jan 6, 2020

Latest News

Dollard Evans Whalin learned lessons in its first year, is looking ahead, partner says

By Karen Kidd | Jan 3, 2020

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (Legal Newsline) – Dollard Evans Whalin LLP, which this month celebrates its first anniversary of opening its doors in the Indianapolis suburb of Noblesville, has faced some tough choices but the toughest was to start at all, firm partner Trampas A. Whalin said during a recent interview.

Attorney: Private lawyers hired by local governments are the 'single greatest threat to attorneys general'

By Karen Kidd | Dec 11, 2019

CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) – City, county and tribal governments' strategy of hiring private plaintiff's attorneys in opioid and other litigation is causing a "misalignment of the values" between those entities and the traditional primacy of state attorneys general, a government litigation expert said.

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From Penn Record

Philadelphia now the top-ranked 'Judicial Hellhole'; Massive verdicts, like $8B Risperdal case, cited

By Nicholas Malfitano | 1 month ago

WASHINGTON – In an annual report of “Judicial Hellholes” released today by the American Tort Reform Association, Philadelphia has claimed the No. 1 ranking – in part due to a historic $8 billion punitive damages verdict rendered this year in litigation connected to Johnson & Johnson’s anti-psychotic drug Risperdal.

Pharmacies feel opioid judge is meeting with plaintiffs lawyers behind their backs

By Daniel Fisher | Dec 9, 2019

CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - Pharmacy companies facing thousands of lawsuits over allegedly improper opioid prescriptions failed to convince the federal judge to prohibit out-of-court discussions with plaintiff lawyers that some defendants believe have affected them unfairly.

The maker of OxyContin is spending over $1 million a week on lawyers while trying to go bankrupt

By Daniel Fisher | Dec 6, 2019

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - The lawyers representing Purdue Pharma in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings have submitted their first two bills to the court and they show how expensive this multibillion-dollar restructuring will be: Nearly $8 million for seven weeks of work, with one partner billing almost a half-million dollars for the month of October alone.

Class action lawyers bicker over how to split $3.7M; One firm couldn't work well with others, judge ruled

By Karen Kidd | Dec 5, 2019

BOSTON (Legal Newsline) – An ugly disagreement over a portion of $3.7 million in attorneys' fees and expenses from the $10 million settlement reached last spring in a class action against Bank of New York Mellon probably won't be decided this year.

Lawyers hire lobbyists to push their PFAS agenda on Congress

By John O'Brien | Dec 4, 2019

WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – Plaintiffs lawyers filing PFAS lawsuits are lobbying Congress as it mulls whether to designate the chemicals as hazardous under the Superfund law – a move that would give those lawyers more companies to target with litigation.

More than 500 cities and counties reject opioid class action, will pursue lawsuits on their own

By Daniel Fisher | Dec 4, 2019

CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - More than 500 cities and counties opted out of the unprecedented “negotiation class” proposed by plaintiff lawyers to settle sprawling opioid litigation, leaving 98% of the 34,458 U.S. cities and counties technically still in the class.

Tort reform head says PFAS issue could cause runaway litigation

By John Sammon | Nov 20, 2019

WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – The president of the American Tort Reform Association told members of Congress on Tuesday that litigation could get out of hand unless federal regulators adopt a commonsense, fair approach to dealing with the PFAS chemicals that activists claim are poisoning the nation’s water supplies.

Oklahoma wanted decades of funding from opioid verdict, but will get only one year's worth

By John O'Brien | Nov 15, 2019

NORMAN, Okla. (Legal Newsline) – Oklahoma’s landmark verdict in its opioid case against Johnson & Johnson does not mean the company must pump billions of dollars into the state over the next 30 years, a judge ruled Friday.

New York's incredible shrinking lawsuit against Exxon could mean trouble for Massachusetts

Nov 15, 2019

New York’s surprising decision to drop half its case against ExxonMobil in the closing arguments of a closely watched trial over climate-fraud claims was unusual and probably indicates the state never had the evidence it needed, said an experienced litigator who has handled environmental lawsuits for government clients.

Fee-fight emerges in Purdue Pharma bankruptcy over paying plaintiffs firms

By Daniel Fisher | Nov 13, 2019

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - Fighting has erupted among creditors in the multibillion-dollar Purdue Pharma bankruptcy, as attorneys representing individual claimants and other creditors object to paying millions of dollars in fees to private lawyers representing governmental claimants - including thousands of municipalities with federal lawsuits against the opioid industry.

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From Penn Record

Somewhere, Tim Robbins is laughing at Philadelphia

2 months ago

"That’s like saying, ‘I want gajillion bajillion dollars!’”

'Wholly inadequate': Lawyers seek more opioid money by avoiding global settlement process

Nov 12, 2019

A proposed “negotiation class” to settle all opioid litigation by U.S. cities and counties could be in deep trouble, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit considers an appeal of the order creating the controversial class and lawyers in two states with big claims urge their clients to opt out before a Nov. 22 deadline.

Purdue Pharma gets six-month reprieve from lawsuits as legal fees explode

Nov 9, 2019

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - The judge overseeing Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy granted the OxyContin maker and its controlling Sackler family a six-month stay of opioid litigation as they try to negotiate a $10 billion-plus settlement of all outstanding claims.

New York scores January trial date for its opioid lawsuit

Nov 7, 2019

A New York judge has scheduled a Jan. 20 trial for opioid lawsuits by New York State and two counties, setting a short timeline for the companies to settle or face potentially crippling liability.

Plaintiffs lawyers welcome judges from litigation hotbeds to conference in Las Vegas

By John Breslin | Nov 4, 2019

LAS VEGAS (Legal Newsline) – Two judges involved in two of the most high-profile series of legal actions in the country were panelists at a Las Vegas conference organized by plaintiff lawyers.

Taxpayers fund 'rambling' testimony as judge looks skeptical of New York's case against Exxon

By Dan Fisher | Nov 1, 2019

NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - New York taxpayers might want a refund on their $500,000 investment in a $1,050-an-hour expert after the judge hearing the state’s closely watched climate lawsuit against ExxonMobil repeatedly interrupted his testimony with skeptical questions about his methodology and assumptions.