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Benchmarks: Mo. court reinstates $28M punitive award for fatal plane crash 

By: Pat Murphy
Published: May 20, 2013

Tags: aviation litigation, product liability, punitive damages

The third time apparently is a charm. After an award of $28 million in punitive damages in a product liability case over a fatal plane crash twice failed to pass judicial scrutiny, a Missouri appellate court sitting en banc decided that the jury had it right in the first place.

Benchmarks: Indiana Supremes restore cap on punitive damages 

By: Pat Murphy
Published: May 16, 2013

Tags: clergy sex abuse, damage caps, punitive damages, right to jury trial, separation of powers

The Indiana Supreme Court has overturned a lower court ruling that the state’s $50,000 cap on punitive damages violated a personal injury plaintiff’s right to a jury trial.

Benchmarks: Coca-Cola could require employee to undergo mental exam 

By: Pat Murphy
Published: May 13, 2013

Tags: ADA, AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, medical exam, mental examination, workplace safety

A federal court of appeals has decided that Coca-Cola didn’t violate the Americans with Disabilities Act when it required an employee to undergo a psychiatric fitness-for-duty evaluation.

Benchmarks: YouTube video sinks defense in child murder case 

By: Pat Murphy
Published: May 8, 2013

Tags: child abuse, murder, video evidence, YouTube

A Delaware man accused of murdering his infant daughter wanted jurors to believe that he was absolutely devastated by what he claimed was a tragic accident.

Unfortunately, the “grieving” father made the mistake of posting a video on YouTube showing him yukking it up as a participant in a silly radio contest.

Benchmarks: Ohio ruling on text solicitations draws mixed reviews 

Published: May 7, 2013

Tags: lawyer advertising, text messaging

Last month, Ohio became the first state to give the green light to lawyers sending text messages to solicit prospective clients.

But at least one expert says it makes no sense to treat text message advertisements differently from a lawyer making a direct phone call solicitation, which is universally deemed a violation of professional rules of conduct.

Benchmarks: N.Y. top court deals with roaming cow 

By: Pat Murphy
Published: May 3, 2013

Tags: automobile accident, livestock, negligence

When one thinks of New York State, it’s hard not to think of New York City with its millions of people crammed among towering concrete and steel boxes.

But anyone who has actually driven through the state knows the landscape is dotted with farms, thousands of them.

That’s why it seems odd that it wasn’t until yesterday that New York’s top court addressed the rather mundane issue of a cow wandering into the path of a motor vehicle.

Benchmarks: Croc-wearing nurse gets comp for idiopathic fall 

By: Pat Murphy
Published: May 2, 2013

Tags: Crocs, idiopathic injury, workers' compensation

A nurse will be receiving workers’ compensation benefits for an unexplained fall at work after the Tennessee Supreme Court turned a blind eye to the fact that she was wearing Crocs in violation of workplace rules.

Benchmarks: Connecticut law firm could be sued in Arizona 

By: Pat Murphy
Published: April 30, 2013

Tags: legal malpractice, long-arm jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction

A Connecticut law firm subjected itself to being sued in Arizona courts when it accepted a $50,000 fee for issuing an opinion letter supporting a tax shelter being considered by an Arizona resident.

Benchmarks: Cooper Tire must pay $33M in fatal van rollover 

By: Pat Murphy
Published: April 29, 2013

Tags: Cooper Tire, product liability, rollover, tires, tread separation

An Iowa court last week upheld a $32.8 million verdict in favor of plaintiffs who alleged that tread separation in a Cooper Tire product was the cause of a 2007 van rollover that killed one person and injured five.

Rulings give lawyers roadmap for suing drug makers for marketing fraud 

By: Sylvia Hsieh
Published: April 26, 2013

Tags: In Re: Neurontin Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, Neurontin, off-label promotion, RICO, Thomas Greene

In the first ruling of its kind, a federal appeals court upheld a $142 million jury verdict against drug maker Pfizer for fraudulent marketing based on statistical evidence that its marketing campaign caused doctors to prescribe epilepsy drug Neurontin for unapproved uses.