Litigation roundup
Settlement insurance, a new litigation-finance mechanism, can have the unintended result of casting light on just how little benefit some class actions provide to consumers [Ted Frank, CEI] Yet...
View ArticleLester Brickman retires
A giant in legal ethics and torts scholarship, Lester Brickman is retiring after 51 years teaching [Cardozo School of Law, his Wikipedia entry and tag here] Tags: asbestos, ethics, law schools, tort...
View Article“Law firm ‘bonuses’ tied to political donations”
After initially resisting, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has agreed to return nearly $130,000 in donations she and her PAC received from the Boston-based Thornton Law Firm, known for asbestos...
View Article“Smoker dies of lung cancer, family wins $12.5M after blaming asbestos”
“The family of a man who claimed his lung-cancer death was caused by asbestos exposure was awarded $12.5 million by a Manhattan jury — despite the fact that he smoked two packs of cigarettes a day.”...
View ArticleAsbestos roundup
Investigation of asbestos claiming in Hampton Roads, Virginia, a major center of such litigation, finds plenty of double-dipping and related problems [Chamber Institute for Legal Reform; Richard...
View ArticleLitigation reform moving fast through House of Representatives
With both Congress and White House now in Republican hands, the U.S. House of Representatives is moving with dispatch to consider a series of litigation reform measures, some stalled for years by...
View Article“The Story of Asbestos Litigation in Texas and Its National Consequences”
Texas was once the largest center of asbestos litigation in the U.S., with mass recruitment of workers claiming injury from past exposure although displaying no symptoms. Now, more than 40 years after...
View ArticleLiability roundup
“Torts of the Future: Addressing the Liability and Regulatory Implications of Emerging Technologies” [U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform] “After paying out millions, Detroit pushes new law...
View ArticleBankruptcy trusts yield evidence of asbestos double-dipping
North Dakota and Mississippi have become the third and fourth states to enact laws requiring more transparency of the trusts formed to administer companies declaring bankruptcy amid asbestos litigation...
View ArticleLiability roundup
Entrepreneurs launch plaintiff’s insurance to cover costs of pursuing litigation, not quite same thing as the “legal expense insurance” commonly found in loser-pays jurisdictions [ABA Journal] More on...
View ArticleLiability roundup
“The Impropriety of Punitive Damages in Mass Torts” [James A. Henderson Jr., forthcoming Georgia Law Review/SSRN via Stephen McConnell, Reed Smith/JD Supra] “Will SCOTUS Ruling Affect Philadelphia...
View ArticleLiability roundup
Another dubious lawsuit blaming terrorism on social media from law firm with phone number for a name [Tim Cushing] Courts reverse two big talc/baby powder jury verdicts against Johnson & Johnson...
View ArticlePeter Angelos wants a special law for his asbestos lawsuits again
Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos has often succeeded at moving special “Angelos bills” through the Maryland legislature. Will Annapolis lawmakers do his bidding again next year? [Daniel Fisher,...
View ArticleDecember 20 roundup
Craft brewery regs, Peter Angelos has another special bill in Annapolis, county council vetoes on development, and more in my latest Maryland roundup [Free State Notes] Oh, that pro bono: celebrity...
View ArticleThe Claire’s asbestos scare
How a plaintiff’s expert consultant, working with others associated with the litigation biz, helped touch off a cosmetics panic. “Jewelry store Claire’s said [Jan. 4] that lab results certified its...
View ArticleLiability roundup
In “race to the courthouse,” lawyers urge Texas counties to sue over opioids [Marissa Evans, Texas Tribune] “Leading Pain Doctors Face Scores of Opioid Lawsuits” [Roger Parloff, who edits newly...
View ArticleAn elusive asbestos memo
Now you see it, now you don’t: a famous “Preparing For Your Deposition” memo for asbestos plaintiffs, which I wrote about back when, is not quite so easy to lay one’s hands on or read about these days,...
View ArticleLiability roundup
NFL alleges its billion-dollar concussion settlement fund has drawn hundreds of millions in fraudulent claims [Nicholas Malfitano, Penn Record; Andrew Beaton, WSJ] After the mass shootings: “We’ve all...
View ArticleLiability roundup
“Now the Personal Injury Lawyers Have Scooters in Their Sights” [Anousha Sakoui and Edvard Pettersson, Bloomberg] Jury orders Rams to pay $12.5 million for Reggie Bush injury [AP/Valley Morning News;...
View ArticleFeds: we’ll be watching for asbestos-bankruptcy chicanery
For well over a decade it’s been apparent that the distinctive arrangements by which asbestos plaintiff’s lawyers acquire control of the bankrupt remains of defendant corporations they’ve sued, and...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....