On January 27, 2014, the California Second Appellate District Court held that a negligence claim against a medical-device manufacturer that was based on state law duties that paralleled requirements under federal law was not preempted.
Judicial HellholesLouisiana’s Supreme Court this week landed a solid blow against the state’s notorious “Buddy System,” wherein state Attorney General James “Buddy” Caldwell hires his friends among the personal injury bar to sue deep-pocket corporate defendants on behalf of the state so they can collect big fees and, in turn, generously contribute to his next political campaign.
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightPerhaps inviting a new stampede of speculative and opportunistic litgation on the courts of the former #1 Judicial Hellhole, Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court last week ruled in Lance v. Wyeth that pharmaceutical companies can now be held liable for “negligent design defect” — a theory of liability not previously available to plaintiffs in the Keystone State
Judicial Hellholes, UncategorizedA unanimous U.S. Supreme Court yesterday overturned an appellate court decision that had been heralded as a needed check on so-called “pay-to-play” litigation
Judicial HellholesBP has filed a lawsuit against San Antonio-based tort kingpin Mikal Watts, accusing him of fraudulently ginning up more than 40,000 “phantom” claims on one of the compensation funds BP established to mitigate damages from the 2010 Gulf oil spill
Judicial HellholesNot all news coming out of Judicial Hellholes is bad news, and a decision by the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, rejecting an equitable medical monitoring claim is very good news
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightThe American Tort Reform Foundation issued its annual Judicial Hellholes® report today, naming civil courts in California, Louisiana, New York City, West Virginia, Southwestern Illinois’ Madison and St. Clair counties, and South Florida among the nation’s “most unfair”
Judicial HellholesWatch this space Tuesday, December 17, for the latest addition of the American Tort Reform Foundation’s annual Judicial Hellholes report
Judicial HellholesJustice was served this week in a case involving the D.C. Metro Transit Agency and a Metro rider who had fraudulently sued the agency in a slip and fall case for $15,000 — in part to cover $4,500 in alleged chiropractor bills. But his con was caught on videotape, and he now faces criminal charges
Judicial HellholesNew York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s 2012 income report includes some $350,000-$450,000 from Weitz & Luxenberg, a giant personal injury law firm based in New York City
Judicial HellholesMore bad news this week for residents of California, America’s reigning #1 Judicial Hellhole, in the form of another troubling account of the impact that the state’s runaway litigation has on citizens’ wallets and pocketbooks
Judicial HellholesTom Stebbins, Executive Director of the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York (LRANY) sat down for an interview with Time
Judicial HellholesWinning an automatic Points of Light citation in the upcoming edition of ATRA’s annual Judicial Hellholes report (due out in
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightIn stark contrast to a U.S. Supreme Court decision on the same day upholding an arbitration agreement, Florida’s notoriously trial lawyer-friendly high court yesterday overturned a lower court and threw out such an agreement freely entered into by a hernia patient and his surgeon
Judicial HellholesThe U.S. Supreme Court ruled that plaintiffs’ lawyers may not use confidential DMV records to troll for clients. Plaintiffs’ lawyers may not “acquire highly restricted personal information from state DMV records to send bulk solicitations without express consent from the targeted recipients.”
Judicial HellholesUpdating the pay-to-play action that Nevada’s attorney general is running with some out-of-state plaintiffs’ lawyers, Wall Street Journal editorial writers today urge the state’s high court to end it
Judicial HellholesA letter to the editor published in today’s Wall Street Journal highlights problems with a pending bill that would effectively eliminate the statute of limitations for sexual abuse lawsuits in New Jersey.
Judicial HellholesReacting to news that the Oklahoma Supreme Court has, by a vote of 7-2, struck down a comprehensive package of civil justice reforms enacted by overwhelming majorities of elected lawmakers and the governor in 2009, the American Tort Reform Association today criticized the court majority for “disrespecting both the legislators’ hard-won compromises and the will of voters who had endorsed the judgment of those legislators.”
Judicial HellholesSays Applying Brakes to Runaway Lawyers Good for Consumers, Auto Industry . FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Darren McKinney (202)
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightAn investigative report by a New Orleans television station has turned up the heat on Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell and his so-called “Buddy System,” wherein his big campaign contributors not so coincidentally get the lion’s share of no-bid contracts for litigation work on behalf of the state
Judicial HellholesA recent decision by Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court shows how disturbingly far consumer protection laws have been stretched and contorted beyond their intended purpose by plaintiffs’ lawyers and some courts
Judicial Hellholes