Georgia’s High Court Rules Reasonably on Asbestos Liability
In contrast to two recent high court decisions in the currently ranked top two Judicial Hellholes, the Georgia Supreme Court
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightTwo Terrible Asbestos Decisions by New York’s High Court Uphold NYCAL’s ‘Judicial Hellholes’ Reputation
As expected, New York’s highest court Tuesday upheld two plaintiff-favoring trial court decisions from the New York City Asbestos Litigation court, better known as NYCAL, assuring that the jurisdiction will again be ranked among Judicial Hellholes when ATRA issues its annual report this coming December
Judicial Hellholes
Thanks to Governor Nixon’s Vetoes, Missouri Remains the ‘Show Me Your Lawsuits State’
Owned and operated by personal injury lawyers, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon yesterday vetoed two bipartisan tort reform bills that could have helped make civil litigation a little more fair in his notorious Judicial Hellhole
Judicial HellholesFlorida’s Strengthened ‘Expert Testimony’ Standard Working, But Still under Threat by State’s High Court
Joining several state trial and appellate courts in doing so, a unanimous Florida appeals court yesterday embraced a more exacting standard for expert testimony which, believe it or not, may yet be struck down by the Sunshine State’s notoriously plaintiff-friendly Supreme Court
Judicial Hellholes, Points of Light‘Gateway to the West’ Becomes the ‘Gateway to the Courts’ for Dubious Science and High Damage Awards
St. Louis juries have twice levied hefty multi-million dollar damage awards against Johnson & Johnson since February on behalf of out of state ovarian cancer victims. Questions remain as to whether the scientific evidence supported such large verdicts. Johnson & Johnson is appealing both verdicts.
Judicial HellholesFlorida’s Plaintiff-Favoring High Court Strikes down Another Thoughtful Legislative Reform
The Florida Supreme Court’s plaintiff-friendly 5-2 majority has once again shown its willingness to substitute its own public policy views for those of the legislature with a late-April decision invalidating a statutory schedule for lawyers’ fees in workers’ compensation cases
Judicial HellholesEvidentiary Rulings Favor Plaintiffs, Lead to Half-Billion Dollar Verdict against J&J in MDL Bellwether
Plaintiff-favoring and highly prejudicial evidentiary rulings by a federal judge in Texas led last week to a nearly half-billion dollar jury verdict against Johnson & Johnson subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics in the second bellwether case in multidistrict litigation over allegedly defective hip prosthetics
Judicial HellholesNew Orleans Personal Injury Lawyer Candidly Promotes ‘Forum Shopping’ in Website Video
Those who tend to be put off by personal injury lawyers might find much to dislike about New Orleans-based auto-accident specialist Greg DiLeo, but no one can fault him for a lack of candor when it comes to the “forum shopping” made easy by Louisiana’s lax venue laws
Judicial HellholesFederal Prosecutors Allege Silver’s Corruption of Albany Included Government Favors for Mistresses
A prosecution document unsealed last Friday purports to show that convicted former New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver had two extramarital affairs that further corrupted state government, one with a lobbyist who frequently represented clients interested in pending legislation and another with a woman who was hired at a succession of state jobs for which critics say she was under qualified
Judicial HellholesDespite Corruption Conviction of Their Man in Albany, NY’s Unabashed Trial Lawyers Still Buying Influence
An ATRA ally, the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York (LRANY), this week unveiled the latest of its annual “Power of Attorney” reports, analyzing the considerable spending of New York trial lawyers on lobbying and political campaigns
Judicial HellholesTwice in March, Florida’s Plaintiff-Friendly High Court Erodes ‘Engle’ Compromises
Twice last month the plaintiff-friendly Florida Supreme Court gave personal injury lawyers new incentives to keep the state’s tobacco litigation chain smokin’
Judicial HellholesCalifornia High Court Lets Employees Sit Down on Job, Risking Productivity & Health
California employers have taken a kick to the keister once again and will now be forced to let employees sit on theirs. (And some economists wonder why productivity growth has stalled.)
Judicial HellholesNow Officially Disbarred, Length of Prison Sentence Only Outstanding Question for Convicted Felon Silver
Long since deposed from his powerful position as speaker of the New York State Assembly, convicted felon Sheldon Silver was finally disbarred this week by a state appeals court
Judicial HellholesFlorida Needs New Class Action Forum at Miami Law Like It Needs a Category 5 Hurricane
With an apparent desire to ensure in perpetuity Florida’s status as a perennial Judicial Hellhole, three locally based class action law firms have donated $1 million to the University of Miami School of Law to fund an annual forum on complex mass torts and multidistrict litigation
Judicial Hellholes9th Circuit Overrules Dismissal of Yogurt Labeling Case to Wait for FDA Definition of ‘Natural’
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit last week overruled a lower court’s perfectly sound dismissal with prejudice of a food labeling class action against Chobani yogurt
Judicial HellholesFlorida Judge Who’d Repeatedly Taken Baseball Tickets from Slip-and-Fall Lawyers Resigns
A Florida judge who had been charged with ethics violations for repeatedly seeking Major League Baseball tickets from a plaintiffs’ law firm is “Out!”
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightBucking National Trend, California Appeals Court Allows Discredited Asbestos Exposure Theory
Seemingly determined to keep California atop the Judicial Hellholes rankings, an appeals court there last week ignored precedent requiring trial judges to function as “gatekeepers” when it comes to the scientific validity of expert testimony and instead upheld a decision to let jurors play that critical role in their acceptance of a discredited theory of asbestos exposure
Judicial HellholesADA Shyster Caught on Video Disciplined by Federal Judge, Not So Much by State Bar Court
A California McDonald’s franchisee last month successfully beat back a fraudulent Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) case after a security camera caught the plaintiff’s lawyer visiting the premises and collecting evidence instead of his client
Judicial HellholesSouth Florida Lawyer Forges Judges’ Signatures on More than 100 Structured Settlement Documents
Florida lawyer Jose Manuel Camacho is facing 14 counts of forgery for allegedly signing the names of seven different judges on more than 100 structured settlement documents
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightOut-of-State Plaintiff Scores $72 Million Talcum Powder Verdict in Missouri
Another outlier verdict in the “Show Me Your Lawsuits State” this week serves to further Missouri’s growing reputation among the nation’s worst Judicial Hellholes
Judicial Hellholes3rd Circuit Tells Super Bowl Ticket Plaintiff ‘It’s Over’
New Jersey’s sorest loser, who asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit for an en banc rehearing of his proposed class action over high-priced Super Bowl tickets, was finally sacked and put out of the game this week
Judicial Hellholes