Legal Newsline

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Attorneys & Judges News

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From Penn Record

Supreme Court says tort reform law doesn't apply to asbestos lawsuits

By Nicholas Malfitano | 4 days ago

HARRISBURG – According to a new ruling from the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the state’s Fair Share Act is not supposed to apply strict liability lawsuits such as asbestos cases, so verdicts will be evenly divided among multiple defendants rather than split according to the percentage each defendant is found liable.

Attorneys & Judges

Delaware lawyer takes on state's Office of Disciplinary Counsel

A Delaware attorney’s federal lawsuit accuses the state’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel of "harassing and attacking” him for half a decade.

By John Suayan | Feb 17, 2020

Latest News

Manhattan law firm claims former client owes $551K for defense from feds' lawsuits

By David Beasley | Feb 13, 2020

A Manhattan law firm has filed a federal lawsuit against its former clients for $551,913.83 in unpaid legal fees and damages.

Plaintiffs attorney lied about fees to client with bullying lawsuit, court says; He charged $1 per email

By Kyla Asbury | Feb 12, 2020

TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) — The New Jersey Supreme Court held that a retainer agreement should be invalidated because the attorney made oral assurances that were different from what was in the contract he provided to the client.

Watchdog wants emails between anti-Exxon lawyer and New York Attorney General's Office; Company used them in its defense

By Daniel Fisher | Feb 10, 2020

NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - A conservative energy-policy group has sued to unseal parts of ExxonMobil’s defense in a failed climate lawsuit by New York Attorney General Letitia James, saying “the public has an absolute right to know” about communications between the New York AG and a private lawyer pushing potentially lucrative climate change lawsuits around the country.

Former N.Y. political heavyweight Sheldon Silver to be re-sentenced on corruption convictions

By John Breslin | Feb 6, 2020

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

By Daniel Fisher | Feb 6, 2020

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.

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From Penn Record

Pennsylvania's Supreme Court loses no sleep after bending the law to help personal injury lawyers

By The Pennsylvania Record | 20 days ago

The message to legislators is clear: We can do whatever we want to the laws you come up with.

Attorneys to net $30 million in Yahoo data breach settlement; Small amounts to millions of class members possible

By Karen Kidd | Feb 5, 2020

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.

Delaware Supreme Court deciding case of law firm's alleged $66 million mistake

By John Breslin | Jan 30, 2020

DOVER, Del. (Legal Newsline) - Delaware's full Supreme Court has heard oral arguments in a dispute between a software company and a law firm accused of delivering wrong advice that caused the firm to overpay by $66 million in a share buy-back - with a notable disagreement occurring between one justice and the law firm's attorney.

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From Penn Record

SCOTUS declines review, agrees with Third Circuit on abiding by state and federal aircraft design standards without pre-emption

By Nicholas Malfitano | 26 days ago

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court has concurred with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in ruling that abiding by state and federal design standards for aircraft components without federal pre-emption is permissible.

Harvard Law's Exxon protestors could have trouble getting jobs at large law firms

By John Breslin | Jan 27, 2020

BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - Harvard University law students protesting against a firm that represents Exxon are unlikely to be hired by any large practice if they are picking and choosing which clients to work for, according to one lawyer who argues she would never hire them.

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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 | 1 month 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.

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

By Kyla Asbury | Jan 6, 2020

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.

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 | 3 months 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.