Trials

  • March 01, 2024

    Tort Report: $42M Med Mal Award; Hot Coffee Suit In The Air

    A suit over hot coffee spilled at 40,000 feet and the affirmation of a $42 million medical malpractice verdict in Illinois lead Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.

  • March 01, 2024

    Judge Doubts Drowsy Juror, Mask Rules Warrant New VC Trial

    A California federal judge expressed doubts Friday over claims that self-described "millennial" venture capitalist Michael Rothenberg deserves a new trial because of a drowsy juror and the court's COVID-19 mask rules, saying he disagrees that the juror was asleep and "welcomes" the Ninth Circuit's guidance on courtroom-masking requirements.

  • March 01, 2024

    Judge Pauses Sale Of Miami Official's Home In $63.5M Case

    A Florida magistrate judge on Friday paused the sale of a Miami city commissioner's house and ordered briefing on whether his homestead exemption claim — which would shield the property from being used to satisfy a $63.5 million judgment — is legitimate.

  • March 01, 2024

    A 'Loud Bang,' Then Chaos: 'Rust' Director Recalls Fatal Shot

    The director of "Rust" took the stand Friday during the involuntary manslaughter trial of film armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, describing a chaotic scene inside a New Mexico church in the moments before and after the on-set shooting death of the film's cinematographer.

  • March 01, 2024

    Pool Co. Hit With $15M Verdict On Rival's False Ad Claims

    A swimming pool equipment manufacturer is on the hook for nearly $15 million after a North Carolina federal jury found it liable on Friday for false advertising and unfair business practices, but it otherwise escaped infringement claims stemming from the use of its rival's trademarks on Amazon product listings.

  • March 01, 2024

    Del. Jury Deadlocks In Roundup User's Cancer Death Trial

    A Delaware state jury deadlocked Friday after an 18-day trial on a South Carolina woman's suit blaming Monsanto Corp.'s Roundup herbicide for causing her husband's fatal cancer and seeking millions in damages.

  • March 01, 2024

    Ga. Judge Will Rule Within 2 Weeks On Bid To DQ Fulton DA

    The Fulton County, Georgia, judge overseeing the election interference case against former President Donald Trump said Friday that, after days of salacious testimony about District Attorney Fani T. Willis' alleged improper relationship, he wants to hear legal arguments about whether the prosecutor should be disqualified.

  • March 01, 2024

    Fired Boston Top Cop Says 'Destroyed Reputation' Merits Trial

    A Boston police commissioner fired after decades-old allegations of domestic abuse surfaced told a federal judge he is entitled to his day in court for his defamation suit, saying the city's former mayor "destroyed" his reputation in the press.

  • March 01, 2024

    IT Firm Workers' $70M Race Bias Verdict Scrapped

    A Texas federal court on Friday wiped away a $70 million jury verdict that 10 former information technology company workers won in a race discrimination suit, saying the evidence didn't back up the hefty damages award.

  • February 29, 2024

    Trump Says 'Fair' Docs Case Trial Must Happen After Election

    Donald Trump on Thursday asked a Florida federal court not to schedule a trial in the criminal classified documents case against him until after this year's presidential election, arguing that a fair trial "cannot be conducted this year in a manner consistent with the Constitution."

  • February 29, 2024

    Don't Trust Trump, Carroll Says, Fighting Pause Of $83M Win

    Writer E. Jean Carroll urged a New York federal judge on Thursday to reject Donald Trump's effort to pause enforcement of an $83.3 million award in her defamation suit, saying the former president is asking the court to trust that the "least trustworthy of borrowers" is good for the money.

  • February 29, 2024

    DOJ Says Court Rehab Means Ga. Bid Rig Case Must Move

    Construction at Savannah, Georgia's federal courthouse means three men accused of conspiring to rig bids for millions of dollars' worth of ready-mix concrete contracts will have to be tried in a college town a couple of counties over, according to the DOJ.

  • February 29, 2024

    Avery Dennison Hit With Fees For Dragging Out Patent Suit

    An Oregon federal magistrate judge has granted Adasa Inc.'s motion for $650,000 in attorney fees against Avery Dennison, which was already found to infringe Adasa's patent on radio frequency identification tags and ordered to pay tens of millions of dollars.

  • February 29, 2024

    Palo Alto Seeks Ax Of $151.5M Patent Verdict For Centripetal

    Palo Alto Networks has urged a Virginia federal judge to discard a $151.5 million jury verdict against it for infringing Centripetal Networks cybersecurity patents or order a new trial, saying some patents cover only abstract ideas and that improper evidence "infected the entire trial."

  • February 29, 2024

    11th Circ. Backs Film Producer's Crypto Scam Sentence

    An Eleventh Circuit panel on Thursday confirmed a nearly six-year prison sentence for an Atlanta-area film producer who admitted to running a short-lived cryptocurrency fraud, ruling his move for a lesser sentence was not justified based on the scheme's sophistication and his failure to take responsibility for the crimes.

  • February 29, 2024

    Epic, Google Are At App Store Antitrust Remedies 'Impasse'

    Epic Games Inc. and Google LLC told a California federal judge on Wednesday that they are at an impasse over the potential changes Google will have to make following the Fortnite game developer's jury trial win on antitrust claims related to Google Play Store and Android apps.

  • February 29, 2024

    Baldwin Played Part In 'Unsafe' Film Set, 'Rust' Jury Hears

    A New Mexico state jury in the involuntary manslaughter trial of "Rust" film armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed saw behind-the-scenes footage Thursday depicting what an expert witness for the prosecution described as "unsafe" gun handling on set, as well as "nerve-wracking" behavior from actor Alec Baldwin.

  • February 29, 2024

    Black Ex-Davis Polk Atty To Appeal Loss In Retaliation Suit

    A Black former associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP will appeal a jury's finding that the firm and two other defendants didn't retaliate against him after he raised concerns about racial bias and diversity.

  • February 29, 2024

    Ga. Man Convicted In $11M PPP Fraud Case Wants New Trial

    An Atlanta man convicted on dozens of charges stemming from an $11 million pandemic loan fraud scheme has asked a Georgia federal judge for a new trial.

  • February 29, 2024

    Mich. Judge Floats Sanctions If Doc Review Wastes Her Time

    A Michigan federal judge on Thursday warned attorneys for a water engineering firm accused of prolonging lead exposure in the Flint water crisis not to waste her time by improperly withholding unprotected documents related to its public relations strategy around the case.

  • February 29, 2024

    Feds Want To Ask Trump Jurors If 2020 Election Was 'Stolen'

    Florida federal prosecutors want to ask potential jurors in Donald Trump's classified documents case if they believe the 2020 election was "stolen" and if they hold opinions about how the FBI executed a highly publicized search warrant at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

  • February 29, 2024

    Medtronic Says 3 Years Of Tax Returns Under IRS Audit

    Three years of medical device company Medtronic's federal income tax returns are being audited by the Internal Revenue Service, the company said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

  • February 28, 2024

    Brothers' 20-Year Calif. Real Estate Battle Ends In $7B Verdict

    A Los Angeles jury has awarded four brothers an estimated $7 billion verdict, finding that a fifth brother breached their contracts and his fiduciary duty to them by wrongly pushing them out of various business partnerships that included thousands of units of apartment buildings and a diamond venture. 

  • February 28, 2024

    Fla. Judge OKs $43.5M Deutsche Bank Deal In Ch. 15 Case

    A Florida bankruptcy judge on Wednesday approved a $43.5 million settlement between Deutsche Bank AG and liquidators for a group of Caribbean-based companies to resolve claims against the bank for its alleged role in a real estate Ponzi scheme targeting rich South Americans.

  • February 28, 2024

    Sbarro Worker Appeals 'Prejudiced' Verdict On Rape Claims

    A former Sbarro employee asked the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday to order a retrial on her allegations that she was sexually assaulted multiple times by a manager and co-workers, claiming a jury verdict favoring the company resulted from a trial tainted by prejudicial assertions, improper evidence and defamatory comments toward her and her counsel.

Expert Analysis

  • Questions Awaiting Justices In 'Repugnant' Verdicts Hearing

    Author Photo

    In McElrath v. Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the double jeopardy clause bars retrial when a jury reaches a so-called repugnant, or logically contradictory, verdict — with the ultimate resolution resting on how this narrow issue is framed, say Brook Dooley and Cody Gray at Keker Van Nest.

  • Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence

    Author Photo

    Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • 1st Tax Easement Convictions Will Likely Embolden DOJ, IRS

    Author Photo

    After recent convictions in the first criminal tax fraud trial over allegedly abusive syndicated conservation easements, the IRS and U.S. Department of Justice will likely pursue other promoters for similar alleged conspiracies — though one acquittal may help attorneys better evaluate their clients' exposure, say Bill Curtis and Lauren DeSantis-Then at Polsinelli.

  • Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes

    Author Photo

    Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.

  • Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys

    Author Photo

    Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.

  • Reconstruction-Era Laws Show Jan. 6 Cases Are Not Political

    Author Photo

    The renewed use of Reconstruction-era laws in indictments stemming from the Jan. 6 insurrection demonstrates that these statutes serve as a bulwark against erosion of the federal system, and provides a counterpoint to the public accusations that certain prosecutions are politically motivated, say Solomon Shinerock and Annika Conrad at Lewis Baach.

  • Series

    Playing In A Rock Cover Band Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Performing in a classic rock cover band has driven me to hone several skills — including focus, organization and networking — that have benefited my professional development, demonstrating that taking time to follow your muse outside of work can be a boon to your career, says Michael Gambro at Cadwalader.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Espinosa On 'Lincoln Lawyer'

    Author Photo

    The murder trials in Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” illustrate the stark contrast between the ethical high ground that fosters and maintains the criminal justice system's integrity, and the ethical abyss that can undermine it, with an important reminder for all legal practitioners, say Judge Adam Espinosa and Andrew Howard at the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court.

  • A Closer Look At Evolving Early Release Programs

    Author Photo

    As the implementation of the First Step Act continues to progress and the U.S. Sentencing Commission amends its guidelines, white collar defense attorneys should understand the many mechanisms that can help reduce a client’s prison sentence early on in any case, say attorneys at Abell Eskew.

  • Teach Your Witness About 'Good' And 'Bad' Testimony Words

    Author Photo

    To ensure honest and accurate testimony in trials and depositions, attorneys must take care to educate their witnesses about the problematic words opposing counsel may use, such as “always” and “must,” and the effective words they can use in response, like “potentially” and “depends,” say Steve Wood and Bill Kanasky at Courtroom Sciences.

  • Unearthing The Lesser-Known 'Buried Facts' Doctrine

    Author Photo

    A New York federal judge’s recent suggestion that the “buried facts” doctrine may be applicable in the fraud trial of FTX cofounder Sam Bankman-Fried should serve as a reminder to attorneys in all kinds of cases involving corporate disclosures that this lesser-known rule could torpedo their defense, say Corban Rhodes and Li Yu at DiCello Levitt.

  • Opinion

    Newman Suspension Shows Need For Judicial Reform

    Author Photo

    The recent suspension of U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman following her alleged refusal to participate in a disability inquiry reveals the need for judicial misconduct reforms to ensure that judges step down when they can no longer serve effectively, says Aliza Shatzman at The Legal Accountability Project.

  • 5th Circ. Ruling Shows Need For Proffer Terms Negotiation

    Author Photo

    The Fifth Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Shah decision, holding that a defendant breached his proffer agreement, illustrates why defense attorneys should insist on negotiating the terms of such agreements with prosecutors to protect their clients at trial, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • How And Why Your Firm Should Implement Fixed-Fee Billing

    Author Photo

    Amid rising burnout in the legal industry and client efforts to curtail spending, pivoting to a fixed-fee billing model may improve client-attorney relationships and offer lawyers financial, logistical and stress relief — while still maintaining profit margins, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

  • Opinion

    Judicial Independence Needs Defense Amid Political Threats

    Author Photo

    Amid recent and historic challenges to the judiciary from political forces, safeguarding judicial independence and maintaining the integrity of the legal system is increasingly urgent, says Robert Peck at the Center for Constitutional Litigation.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Trials archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!