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Supreme Court declines to hear music downloading case 

Published: May 23, 2012

Tags: copyright infringement, due process, illegal downloading, music downloading

A $675,000 jury verdict against a student who illegally downloaded 30 songs from the Internet was left standing by the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to take the matter up.

Lap-Band weight loss device maker subpoenaed 

Published: May 17, 2012

Tags: Allergan, Department of Health and Human Services, FDA, Food and Drug Administration, gastric lap bands, HHS, lap band, lap bands

Lap-Band maker Allergan has been subpoenaed by the U.S. government over problems with the weight loss device.

Jury blames hospital for using old equipment in baby’s birth 

By: Sylvia Hsieh
Published: May 17, 2012

Tags: birth injury

A jury in Philadelphia has awarded $78.5 million to a mother whose baby was born with quadriplegic cerebral palsy because outdated ultrasound equipment failed to detect the baby’s heartbeat.

Exercises to set goals for your law firm and see them through 

Published: May 15, 2012

Tags: business development

If you have lots of ideas for your law firm but they remain in the realm of the abstract year after year, here are some 10-minute exercises that can help you set specific goals and turn them into reality.

Ruling may save suits against generic drug makers 

By: Sylvia Hsieh
Published: May 9, 2012

Tags: drug litigation, failure to warn, Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, federal preemption, generic drug litigation, generic drugs, PLIVA v. Mensing, preemption, product liability, Wyeth v. Levine

Since last year, when generic drug makers won a victory on the issue of federal preemption before the U.S. Supreme Court, lower courts have been dismissing cases against generic drug makers left and right.

But last week a federal appeals court issued a ruling that gives plaintiffs a long-awaited opening in those suits.

Employees at-will despite requirement of ‘just cause’ for firing 

Published: May 4, 2012

Tags: at-will, collective bargaining agreement

Former DuPont employees cannot sue the company for fraud because they were at-will, even though they were covered by a collective bargaining agreement that said they could not be fired “except for just cause,” the 5th Circuit has ruled.

$74 million birth injury verdict has ‘special meaning’ 

By: Sylvia Hsieh
Published: May 3, 2012

Tags: birth injury, cerebral palsy, Nicholas Rowley

In a case that had personal meaning for the lead trial lawyer, a young couple won $74 million for medical malpractice against the doctor who delivered their daughter with cerebral palsy.

$322 million asbestos verdict becomes $0 on retrial 

Published: April 30, 2012

Tags: asbestos, asbestos litigation, asbestosis, Top Ten Jury Verdicts, Top Ten Jury Verdicts of 2011

In a retrial of the largest single plaintiff’s asbestos award in U.S. history, a second jury came back with a defense verdict and awarded nothing.

Woman wins $4 million in Prempro breast cancer trial 

By: Sylvia Hsieh
Published: April 27, 2012

Tags: breast cancer, drug litigation, hormone replacement therapy, HRT litigation, Pfizer, Prempro, Wyeth

A 65-year-old elementary school principal has won a $4 million verdict in Connecticut federal court against the maker of the menopause drug Prempro for causing her breast cancer.

Study: Jury pool racial makeup has effect on convictions 

Published: April 25, 2012

Tags: juries, jurors, juyr pools

A study has revealed that the racial makeup of the pool from which juries are selected influences conviction rates – and that having even one African-American member in the pool from which a jury is drawn nearly eliminates the difference.