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Personal Injury & Medical Malpractice
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March 27, 2024
Plastic Surgeon Must Face Sex Assault Suit, Texas Court Says
A Houston-area plastic surgeon must face claims he sexually assaulted a patient while she was recovering from breast augmentation surgery, a Texas appeals court has ruled, holding that the patient doesn't need expert testimony to show that sexual assault falls outside the bounds of acceptable medical standards.
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March 27, 2024
Marriott Hit With Negligence Suit After Break-In, Sex Assault
An Air Force major and his wife are accusing Marriott International Inc. and owners of a hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina, of negligent security, alleging that a repeat trespasser well known to hotel staff sexually assaulted and robbed the major in his room, according to a newly filed federal lawsuit.
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March 27, 2024
Travis Scott Says He Had No Duty Over Astroworld's Safety
Rapper Travis Scott, the safety director of the 2021 Astroworld Festival and other defendants have asked a Texas judge to free them from a slew of lawsuits stemming from the concert's fatal crowd crush, with roughly two months until the first plaintiff is set to go to trial.
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March 27, 2024
Atty's 'Bare Minimum' Sank Negligence Death Suit, Panel Says
A New Jersey appellate panel has backed the dismissal of a suit accusing a nursing home of negligently failing to prevent a patient's purportedly fatal fall, ruling a trial court was within its discretion in finding the plaintiff's attorney did "the bare minimum" to produce expert reports and the plaintiff fell short of the threshold to reopen discovery.
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March 27, 2024
HR Services Co. May Be Liable In Harassment Suit, Court Says
A Texas appellate court said Wednesday that more fact-finding is needed to determine whether a professional employer organization could be on the hook for a sexual harassment claim brought by a cafeteria worker, but found that the company is, legally, an employer.
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March 27, 2024
LG Chem Mostly Wins Discovery Feud In Vape Battery Suit
A New Jersey appellate court on Wednesday allowed an LG Corp. unit to prevail on 21 out of 22 discovery challenges in a suit over an exploding vape pen battery, saying the majority of the plaintiff's requests were overly broad and not tailored to his claims.
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March 27, 2024
Casino Beats Suit Over Diabetic Customer's Fall
A now-shuttered floating casino that was moored in Lake Michigan can't be held liable for the fall of a longtime patron who injured her hip after tripping in a hallway that connected two boats, an Illinois federal court has ruled, finding the patron couldn't support any element of her premises liability claim.
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March 27, 2024
Ill. Court Revives Med Mal Suit Over Gauze Left In Sinus
An Illinois appeals court has revived a woman's suit against her doctor and SIU Physicians & Surgeons Inc. over gauze that she alleges was negligently left in her sinuses after a procedure, finding there's a factual dispute over when the woman found out about the gauze.
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March 27, 2024
Camden Diocese Insurers Demand Ch. 11 Plan Be Halted
Several insurers of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden told a New Jersey bankruptcy judge Wednesday that the approval of the debtor's third modified Chapter 11 plan stripped the insurers' rights and urged the court to implement a stay on the order.
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March 27, 2024
Fla. Panel Reverses $43M Judgment In Tobacco Suit
Florida's Third District Court of Appeal on Wednesday reversed a $43 million judgment against Philip Morris USA Inc. in a wrongful death case, issuing a split decision stating that hearsay testimony allowed during the trial wasn't offered to prove that the female decedent believed filtered cigarettes were safe.
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March 27, 2024
Feds Say Murdaugh Lied, Broke Plea Deal Over $9M Fraud
Alex Murdaugh, the South Carolina attorney serving a life sentence for killing his wife and son, was dishonest with the government and should potentially face a harsher prison sentence than the one proposed in a plea agreement on federal charges of stealing at least $9 million from clients, prosecutors said.
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March 27, 2024
CoreLogic Sued For Violating NJ Judicial Protections Law
A proposed class action removed to New Jersey federal court on Tuesday accuses property data company CoreLogic of failing to comply with a state law requiring it to delete records of certain public officials, including judges and law enforcement officials.
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March 27, 2024
Insurer Ducks Coverage Of Florida Law Firm Dispute
A personal injury law firm involved in a joint venture dispute has no insurance coverage for the litigation, a Florida federal judge has ruled, finding its policy only provided professional services liability, not anything else.
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March 27, 2024
Atty's Trade Libel Suit Against Family Can Go On, Judge Says
A New Jersey federal judge is allowing class action attorney Carl J. Mayer to move forward with a lawsuit alleging his brother and cousins falsely accused the lawyer of stealing his father's money, ruling that Mayer's claims are not time-barred and that he has pleaded enough facts to support his allegations.
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March 26, 2024
9th Circ. Frees College From Off-Campus Rape Suit
The Ninth Circuit says a Washington university does not need to face claims by a woman who was raped at an off-campus party during her freshman year, as it was expected to do following a state supreme court ruling in the school's favor.
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March 26, 2024
'Landmark' Trans Women Prison Housing Deal Gets Final OK
A Colorado state judge on Tuesday approved a consent decree between the state and a class of transgender women who sued over dangerous housing conditions in state prisons and now hope the plan to accommodate their needs will spread to other states.
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March 26, 2024
Web Designer To Get Atty Fees After High Court Win
A federal judge on Tuesday said a Christian website designer and her company are entitled to attorney fees and costs after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that Colorado can't force her to create wedding websites for same-sex couples.
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March 26, 2024
Insurer Wants $29M Treble Damages Ruling Reversed In NC
An insurer has asked a North Carolina state appeals court to overturn a nearly $29 million ruling penalizing it for failing to defend an employee who crashed a company truck, killing his colleague, citing a policy exclusion for employee injury cases it said the trial court ignored.
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March 26, 2024
Conn. Fertility Doctor Says Law Doesn't Support Distress Claim
A retired fertility doctor facing a lawsuit for allegedly impregnating a patient with his own sperm wants a Connecticut state court judge to dismiss a claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress, arguing that the accusation amounts to medical malpractice and the plaintiff failed to clear a mandatory procedural hurdle.
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March 26, 2024
Baltimore Bridge Collapse: What We Know So Far
The overnight collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, after being struck by a container carrier Tuesday, will trigger multiple inquiries into maritime and vessel safety, as well as bridge design and engineering standards, that experts say will have significant implications for future lawsuits, regulatory actions and infrastructure rebuilding efforts.
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March 26, 2024
Stakes High As Pa. Justices To Mull Gov't Suit Damages Cap
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's recent decision to review the constitutionality of the $250,000 damages cap for personal injury suits against state agencies sets the stage for two extremes: absolute immunity or limitless liability, experts say.
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March 26, 2024
Marriott Guests Call For Sanctions In Discrimination Suit
Marriott Detroit guests claim they are being "improperly" denied discovery in their discrimination and harassment lawsuit against the hotel chain and urged a federal court on Sunday to issue sanctions as a result.
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March 26, 2024
Combat Arms Earplugs Settlement Moves To Final Resolution
More than 249,000 U.S. service members who claimed they suffered permanent hearing loss due to 3M's allegedly faulty combat earplugs have signed onto the $6 billion settlement, boasting "more than 99%" participation, according to a Tuesday announcement by the company.
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March 26, 2024
Opioid Public Nuisance Claims 'Unique,' Ohio High Court Told
Counsel for two Ohio counties that won a $650 million verdict against Walmart, CVS and Walgreens told the Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday that opioids are a "unique" problem during oral arguments about whether the counties' public nuisance claims are blocked by the state's product liability law.
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March 26, 2024
Widow Gets $1.75M Verdict In SC Asbestos Death Suit
A South Carolina jury has awarded a widow $1.75 million in damages from gasket-maker John Crane Inc. in a suit over her husband's death from asbestos-related mesothelioma, finding the company negligent.
Expert Analysis
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5 Management Tips To Keep Law Firm Merger Talks Moving
Many law firm mergers that make solid business sense still fall apart due to the costs and frustrations of inefficient negotiations, but firm managers can increase the chance of success by effectively planning and executing merger discussions, say Lisa Smith and Kristin Stark at Fairfax Associates.
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The Texas Two-Step May Be Losing Steam
The Texas Two-Step is a powerful bankruptcy strategy that has been used in recent high-profile cases, including Johnson & Johnson’s talc unit bankruptcy case, but ongoing debate and legal challenges raise the question of whether this maneuver is losing reliability, say Brendan Best and Justin Allen at Varnum.
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Rethinking In-Office Attendance For Associate Retention
The hybrid office attendance model doesn't work for all employees, but it does for many — and balancing these two groups is important for associate retention and maintaining a BigLaw firm culture that supports all attorneys, says Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.
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Opinion
ALI, Bar Groups Need More Defense Engagement For Balance
The American Law Institute and state bar committees have a special role in the development of the law — but if they do not do a better job of including attorneys from the defense bar, they will come to be viewed as special interest advocacy groups, says Mark Behrens at Shook Hardy.
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Opinion
Despite Its Plan Objections, UST Also Won In Purdue Ch. 11
The Second Circuit’s recent decision approving Purdue Pharma’s reorganization plan is a win even for the dissenting Office of the U.S. Trustee because the decision sets extremely stringent guidelines for future use of nonconsensual third-party releases, say Edward Neiger and Jennifer Christian at Ask.
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Murdaugh Trials Offer Law Firms Fraud Prevention Reminders
As the fraud case against Alex Murdaugh continues to play out, the evidence and narrative presented at his murder trial earlier this year may provide lessons for law firms on implementing robust internal controls that can detect and prevent similar kinds of fraud, say Travis Casner and Helga Zauner at Weaver and Tidwell.
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Vicarious Liability Questions On The Line In Texas Crash Case
A Texas appellate court's recent decision refusing to adopt the so-called admission rule — which rejects the notion of negligent training as an independent claim against an employer — is likely to be appealed to the state's high court, potentially opening the floodgates for plaintiffs to use reptile theory trial strategies, say attorneys at Wilson Elser.
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What Courts Say About Workers' Comp And Medical Marijuana
Whether employers and insurance carriers are required or allowed to reimburse employees for out-of-pocket costs for treating work-related injuries with medical marijuana has spawned a debate, and the state courts that have addressed this matter are split on a number of issues, say Alexandra Hassell and Anthony Califano at Seyfarth.
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Tips For Employers Using OSHA Accident And Injury Data
Since the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently issued two memorandums on enhanced penalties for violations, employers are increasingly looking to reduce their OSHA risks, but they are often unaware of the benefits of data analytics and the readily available public data set that can help companies, says Michael Ryan at Foley & Lardner.
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Firm Tips For Helping New Lawyers Succeed Post-Pandemic
Ten steps can help firms significantly enhance the experience of attorneys who started their careers in the coronavirus pandemic era, including facilitating opportunities for cross-firm connection, which can ultimately help build momentum for business development, says Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners.
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A Brief Primer On Using Web-Archived Evidence
Because the temporal dimensions of web content — i.e., what appeared online, and when — are increasingly critical to all kinds of claims, attorneys should understand how web archives can be used to furnish key evidence, as well as strategies for admitting and authenticating such evidence in court, says Nicholas Taylor at the Los Alamos National Laboratory Research Library.
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Tackling Judge-Shopping Concerns While Honoring Localism
As the debate continues over judge-shopping and case assignments in federal court, policymakers should look to a hybrid model that preserves the benefits of localism for those cases that warrant it, while preventing the appearance of judge-shopping for cases of a more national or widespread character, says Joshua Sohn at the U.S. Department of Justice.
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Perspectives
How Attorneys Can Help Combat Anti-Asian Hate
Amid an exponential increase in violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, unique obstacles stand in the way of accountability and justice — but lawyers can effect powerful change by raising awareness, offering legal representation, advocating for victims’ rights and more, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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Opinion
Congress Needs To Enact A Federal Anti-SLAPP Statute
Although many states have passed statutes meant to prevent individuals or entities from filing strategic lawsuits against public participation, other states have not, so it's time for Congress to enact a federal statute to ensure that free speech and petitioning rights are uniformly protected nationwide in federal court, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Dealing With Dogmatic Jurors: Voir Dire And Trial Strategies
Dogmatic jurors — whose rigid reliance on external authority can inhibit accurate, objective decision making — may be both good and bad for plaintiffs and defense counsel, so attorneys should understand how to identify such jurors in voir dire and how to meet them where they are during trial, say consultants at Courtroom Sciences.