Legal Research

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Supreme Court Strengthens Arbitration in Labor Case Ruling

Legal Times

The Supreme Court's growing embrace of arbitration continued Wednesday with a 5-4 ruling endorsing labor contracts that send age discrimination claims to arbitration rather than to federal courts. In another pro-business decision, the Court said the EPA may use cost-benefit analysis to set standards for power plants under the Clean Water Act. The rulings came a day after the Court dismissed a Philip Morris appeal of a $79 million verdict, leading some to wonder how pro-business the Roberts Court really is.

Judge Dismisses Antitrust Suit Against Fragomen

The American Lawyer

It's strange enough that the Fragomen firm was sued for alleged antitrust violations, a probable first for an Am Law 200 firm. But the suit's resolution was stranger still, with a judge dismissing it Tuesday before discovery. The dispute involves lawyer Ryan Freel, who left Fragomen for immigration consulting firm Emigra, only to return two years later to Fragomen, where Emigra claims he shared confidential information. Emigra sued, claiming the hiring was part of Fragomen's attempt to monopolize immigration work.

Thelen, Heller Face Huge Wage Claims

The Recorder

In the five months since Thelen's dissolution, the firm has managed to avoid bankruptcy and has paid down more than half of the bank debt that forced it to close, a firm representative said Wednesday. But it now must contend with a lawsuit, filed by former employees and certified as a class on Tuesday, that may be worth up to $25 million. In similar straits: fellow defunct firm Heller Ehrman, which was hit in bankruptcy court on Friday with a claim by former employees for $32 million.

Fla. Bar Association Sued Over Ban on Client Testimonials

The National Law Journal

A national consumer advocacy agency has filed a suit against the Florida Bar Association challenging the constitutionality of its ban on client testimonials in attorney advertising. The case stems from a Florida lawyer's use of the online directory Avvo, which gives clients an opportunity to review attorneys listed on the site. Public Citizen's suit argues that the Florida Bar Association's rules violate attorneys' free speech by holding them accountable for client posts on Web sites that the attorneys don't control.

3rd Circuit: Kids Hurt by Vaccines Can't Pursue Design Defect Claims

The Legal Intelligencer

The 3rd Circuit has ruled that children allegedly injured by vaccines are barred from pursuing any design defect claims because Congress expressly prohibited such suits in an effort to guarantee immunity to manufacturers. By rejecting the analysis of a recent ruling from the Georgia Supreme Court, the 3rd Circuit ruling creates a direct split between the federal courts and a state's highest court on the question of how broadly courts should read the pre-emption clause in the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act.

Fee-Sharing Agreement Found to Apply to Enhanced Award

New York Law Journal

An attorney who initiated a med-mal claim is entitled to one-third of enhanced fees awarded to two other attorneys who contended they did the bulk of the work in settling the case for $6.7 million years later, New York state's high court has ruled. "Where ... an agreement 'is complete, clear and unambiguous on its face [it] must be enforced according to the plain meaning of its terms,'" Judge Eugene F. Pigott Jr. wrote, adding it is not a court's job to weigh parties' respective contributions in valid fee-splitting arrangements.

Madoff Clients Make Push for Involuntary Bankruptcy

The American Lawyer

Lawyers at Milberg and Seeger Weiss filed a motion Wednesday afternoon seeking court permission to push Bernard Madoff into involuntary personal bankruptcy in an attempt to stake out a claim to the assets of the admitted Ponzi scheme mastermind. Jonathan Landers, a Milberg bankruptcy partner, says a separate trustee for Madoff's personal assets could more easily go after funds that might have been transferred to other people.

The Justice Souter Bobblehead, With Bling

Legal Times

The David Souter bobblehead, the latest in the series of Supreme Court bobblehead dolls created by the unconventional law review The Green Bag, will soon be in the hands of a lucky few. As with the previous bobbleheads, every facet of the doll has meaning, drawn from the justice's jurisprudence or personal history. The most prominent features of the bobble-Souter? The justice has a gold chain around his neck and is seated on a lifeguard stand. And another thing: This bobblehead has audio.

Sperm Banks Can Be Sued Under Product Liability Laws, Federal Judge Rules

The Legal Intelligencer

In the first decision of its kind, a federal judge has ruled that a sperm bank may be sued under product liability laws for failing to detect that a sperm donor had a genetic defect. The ruling clears the way for a 13-year-old mentally retarded girl from Pennsylvania to sue a New York sperm bank under the theory that the sperm used to conceive her had a defect known as "Fragile X," a mutation known to cause a syndrome of maladies that include mental retardation and behavioral disorders.

Polio Victim's 30-Year Crusade Garners $22.5 Million Award

New York Law Journal

In 1979, Elizabeth Tenuto brought her infant daughter, Diana, to her pediatrician for her second dosage of an oral polio vaccine. A month later, Ms. Tenuto's husband, Dominick, contracted polio, apparently by touching Diana's stool while changing her diaper. Now, three decades after becoming paralyzed, Mr. Tenuto has won a $22.3 million verdict against Lederle Laboratories, the pharmaceutical company he claims negligently manufactured the vaccine Orimune and failed to adequately warn doctors of its dangers.

Former Law Firm Partner Draws Prison Term in KPMG Tax Shelter Scandal

New York Law Journal

Federal Judge Lewis Kaplan denied leniency Wednesday for the three men convicted in the KPMG tax shelter scandal. The judge sentenced former Brown & Wood partner Raymond Ruble to 6 1/2 years in prison for his role in providing opinion letters that endorsed the shelters and helped KPMG's wealthiest clients claim bogus losses to offset massive capital gains. Also, Kaplan sentenced former senior KPMG executives John Larson and Robert Pfaff to respective terms of 10 years and one month, and eight years and one month.

Giving New Meaning to Fee Fight, Client Says Award Is Owed Him, Not Lawyer

New Jersey Law Journal

A lawyer who prevailed in a Title VII suit three years ago has been engaged since then in an unusual fee fight -- against her own client, who says his pro se work entitles him to keep the fees awarded. Even worse for the lawyer, the client is asserting his right to the $144,462 in fees and interest -- now sitting in a court registry -- through a malpractice counterclaim that a federal judge on Monday refused to throw out.

3rd Circuit Takes Broad View on When CAFA Cases Can Move to State Court

The National Law Journal

A recent precedent-setting 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opinion takes a broad view of when Class Action Fairness Act cases can move to state court from federal court. The ruling analyzed two separate issues of first impression related to CAFA's so-called local controversy exception. The opinion by 3rd Circuit Judge D. Brooks Smith found that the local controversy exception doesn't require every class member to assert a claim against the local defendant in order to exempt the case from federal jurisdiction.

Judge Orders Lawyers to Give Up Attorney Fees

Daily Business Review

Retired Miami cruise ship injury lawyer Jerrold Wingate and former associate Peter Sotolongo have been ordered to return almost $450,000 in fees collected under a secret deal after Wingate withdrew from dozens of personal injury cases amid bribery allegations. The secret fee arrangements arose after Royal Caribbean alleged that Wingate employees were paying off cruise line investigators in exchange for inside information about confidential settlement terms that were being considered by the company's lawyers.

Former Home Depot Executive Sentenced in Kickback Scheme

Fulton County Daily Report

The first of three former Home Depot executives caught in an ongoing international kickback investigation by federal authorities was sentenced to 63 months in prison Wednesday and ordered to pay more than $1 million in restitution. James P. Robinson is one of three former executives who have pleaded guilty to receiving millions of dollars in kickbacks from foreign suppliers in return for placing their products in Home Depot stores across the United States.

Technology Transforms the Litigation Game

Legal Tech Newsletter

Today's litigators take depositions via videoconferencing, scour social networks for dirt on the opposition, and communicate with opposing counsel via BlackBerry. A successful litigator tempers the tension between the benefits of new technologies and the loss of face-to-face interaction.

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Madoff Scandal Spotlights the Securities Investor Protection Corp.

Special to Law.com

Bernard Madoff's multibillion-dollar fraud has been front and center in the media and the minds of both those fallen victim and those left unscathed, and likely will remain so for quite some time as the massive Ponzi scheme continues to unfold. One of the ways in which Madoff victims are seeking relief is through the Securities Investor Protection Corp. But what is SIPC? Attorneys Harold K. Gordon and Tracy V. Schaffer answer some basic questions about SIPC's purpose and functions.

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How to Handle Awkward Moments With Laid-Off Colleagues

Fulton County Daily Report

The Snark astutely notes that the current economic crisis has added another awkward social situation to Big Law life: How do you interact with the recently or soon-to-be laid-off colleague? One challenge, given all the stealth layoffs, may be recognizing who has been axed, so you may want to avoid the typical elevator opener, "Hi, how are you?" The Snark tackles other sticky situations, such as whether to admit you know someone has been laid off. Avoidance may be the best policy to avoid awkward moments.

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