Judicial Hellholes reporters have long kept an eye on St. Louis, Missouri, one of the most plaintiff-friendly jurisdictions in the nation. So in the rare instance that a judge there is willing to take even a small stand against the reflexive expansion of civil liability, it’s worthy of kudos
Points of LightATRA Cites Settlement, Coming Garlock Revelations in Urging New Congress, State Legislatures to Pass Asbestos Claims Transparency Laws
Points of LightOn Thursday, October 30th, an Ohio jury delivered a “trick” of their own to frighteningly mischievous class action plaintiffs lawyers who have been running around scaring up unfounded complaints against the washing machine manufacturer, Whirlpool Corp. After a three week trial, the jury found in favor of Whirlpool – that the company’s front loading washing machines did not suffer from a design flaw, leading to mold accumulation.
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightWith a 5-4 decision today, the Washington Supreme Court narrowly but laudably preserved the integrity of the workers’ compensation system by resisting an asbestos plaintiff’s attempt to alter longstanding interpretation of relevant state law
Points of LightIn a rare “Point of Light” in New York, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich has dismissed a commercial class action flimsily based on a claim of “theoretical defect” in heating oil
Points of LightMinnesota’s Supreme Court has laudably resisted the temptation — succumbed to by many other high courts — to expand liability under the state’s consumer protection statute with an appropriately straightforward interpretation of the law
Points of Light, UncategorizedThe California Supreme Court has appropriately held that a business does not owe a duty to its customers to obtain and make available an automated external defibrillator (AED) for use in a medical emergency
Points of LightThe U.S. Supreme Court has opted against hearing the appeal of notorious class action attorneys found liable for looting a $200 million diet drug settlement fund
Points of LightThe Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Exxon Mobil’s motion for summary judgment after the energy giant had found itself in the jaws of litigious neighbors
Points of Light, UncategorizedThe Delaware Supreme Court has upheld a private company’s bylaw that shifts fees for shareholder lawsuits to the losing party
Points of LightWisconsin Governor Scott Walker earlier today signed into law AB 19, asbestos trust fund transparency legislation
Points of LightThe Arkansas Supreme Court this week unanimously reversed a lower court’s $1.2 billion verdict won previously in an off-labeling lawsuit waged by the state’s attorney general against the maker of widely used and effective antipsychotic medication
Points of LightA Baltimore judge has soundly rejected a proposal by the law firm of Peter Angelos to consolidate approximately 13,000 asbestos-related lawsuits involving different products, exposures, and illnesses, along with scores of defendants
Points of LightNew York federal District Judge Lewis Kaplan today issued his long awaited verdict in Chevron v. Donziger and, as expected, it is an encouraging win for the energy giant and a crushing loss for a once high-flying, if conniving, tort kingpin
Points of LightA Florida Senate bill aimed at keeping passive nursing home investors out of the cross-hairs of personal inuury lawyers has passed out of committee on an 8-1 bipartisan vote this week
Points of LightA Nevada judge this week ordered state Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto to pay the legal and discovery costs of a mortgage processing provider she and a private-sector class-action law firm from Washington, D.C., had unsuccessfully sued for fraud
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightLouisiana’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 LightIn an important ruling last Friday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge George Hodges in North Carolina reduced an asbestos defendant’s liability by 90 percent, down to $125 million from $1.4 billion, finding that the larger amount had been based on fraudulent claims by scheming plaintiffs’ lawyers and their clients
Points of LightNot 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 LightWith a bipartisan vote of 23-10, a good-government bill requiring transparency in the state’s hiring of outside counsel on a contingency fee basis cleared its final hurdle in Wisconsin’s Senate yesterday and will soon be singed into law by Gov. Scott Walker
Points of LightGov. Jerry Brown signed into law this past weekend a reform that will serve to rein in an element of California’s infamously shameless personal injury bar that had been using a well-intentioned health and environmental initiative to extort money from small business owners
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