Lawyers USA Online » fraud

Homeowners can’t sue over denial of HAMP application

Pat Murphy — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:08:38 +0000

Homeowners could not pursue state-law claims for the alleged wrongful denial of a mortgage modification under the federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in affirming a dismissal.

Congress authorized the U.S. Department of the Treasury to implement HAMP to help struggling
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Pfizer must pay $142M over Neurontin marketing

Pat Murphy — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:05:56 +0000

Drug maker Pfizer violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act by engaging in a fraudulent marketing scheme promoting the epilepsy drug Neurontin for “off-label” uses, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in affirming judgment.

In 2005, several Kaiser health plans sued Pfizer for fraudulently marketing Neurontin
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Architect wins in first trial under expanded Va. whistleblower law

Peter Vieth — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:29:58 +0000

An architect fired by the city of Alexandria, Va., has won the first case under a new whistleblower law that allows state and local government workers to sue for retaliatory job actions under the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act.

Attorney Zachary A. Kitts of Fairfax, Va., is using the law,
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HOLA doesn’t preempt fraud claim against lender

Pat Murphy — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:51:03 +0000

Federal consumer protection law does not completely preempt state-law claims brought by a plaintiff who allegedly she was fraudulently induced into accepting a home loan, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in reversing a dismissal.

The plaintiff sought a loan to pay off the land installment contract
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Employment bonus excluded from bankruptcy estate

Pat Murphy — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 16:20:15 +0000

A debtor’s bankruptcy estate did not include an employment bonus she received after filing for Chapter 7 protection, the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in reversing judgment.

The debtor worked for IBM. At the time she filed for bankruptcy, the debtor was
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Prenup obtained by fraud unenforceable, N.Y. court says

Pat Murphy — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:24:38 +0000

A wife was not bound by a prenuptial agreement that she claimed she signed in response to false promises by her husband, the New York Appellate Division has ruled in affirming judgment.

The husband sought to enforce a prenuptial agreement when the wife filed for divorce. The wife argued that
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Benchmarks: Comp recipient didn’t forfeit benefits by ‘working’

Pat Murphy — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 15:18:34 +0000

An employer thought it had caught a supposedly disabled employee dead to rights when a private investigator’s surveillance video showed the employee working at her boyfriend’s herbal remedies store.

But a state top court decided Friday that her workers’ compensation benefits were safe because she hadn’t “knowingly” engaged in fraud.

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Md. top court erases $1B punitive award in Exxon case

Pat Murphy — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 17:43:00 +0000

Residents who claimed their groundwater was contaminated by an underground gasoline leak could not recover punitive damages from Exxon Mobil for fraud, Maryland’s highest court has ruled.

The plaintiffs are residents of Jacksonville, Md. who lived in the vicinity of an Exxon Mobil-owned gas station. In 2006, the leak detection
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Benchmarks: Attorney suspended for hiding assets from wife

Pat Murphy — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:39:16 +0000

The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday suspended an attorney who failed to disclose two pending contingent fee cases as assets in his divorce.

“An attorney who commits fraud responding to discovery and testifying in a court proceeding – even if the proceeding involves only a personal matter – necessarily damages
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Fraud claim must be arbitrated in real property dispute

Pat Murphy — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 19:01:00 +0000

An action for fraud was within the scope of an arbitration provision in a contract for the purchase of real property, the Florida Supreme Court has ruled in reversing judgment.

The plaintiffs purchased a 1.5-acre parcel of undeveloped property from the defendants. The plaintiffs intended to build 27 low-income housing
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