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Mass. court reprimands judge libeled by newspaper
Attorney Blog News |
2008/12/19 09:16
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| Massachusetts' top court has publicly reprimanded a judge who wrote threatening letters to the publisher of the Boston Herald after he won a $2 million libel judgment against the paper.pThe Supreme Judicial Court's punishment for Judge Ernest Murphy is slightly less severe than the public censure and $25,000 fine recommended by the state's Commission on Judicial Conduct. The SJC did order Murphy to reimburse the commission for its costs./ppThe case began in 2002, after the Herald published a series of stories depicting Murphy as soft on crime. Several quoted Murphy as saying a young rape victim should get over it./ppMurphy won his lawsuit, then wrote threatening letters to the Herald publisher demanding payment./ppMurphy agreed in August to step down from the bench, citing health problems brought on by the stress of the case. /p |
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Appeals court rejects DC missing pants case
Law & Court News |
2008/12/18 09:17
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| An appeals court on Thursday turned down a request for a new trial from a former District of Columbia judge who sued his dry cleaners for $54 million over a lost pair of pants.pThe D.C. Court of Appeals rejected the request from Roy L. Pearson to overturn a 2007 ruling that denied him damages. Pearson had argued that Custom Cleaners failed to live up to its promise of Satisfaction Guaranteed./ppThree appellate judges agreed Pearson failed to show the store's advertising amounted to fraud and said his argument defied logic./ppPearson can still ask the entire nine-judge appellate court to review the case or appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court./ppPearson did not immediately respond to an e-mail or telephone message seeking comment./ppJin Chung, the dry cleaner owner, said through his lawyer that his family is very very happy with the decision. The family said they hope Pearson won't take any further action./ppThe American Tort Reform Association lauded the court's move, saying the city's easily exploited consumer protection law should be reformed./ppThe case has taken its toll on both sides. The Chungs have sold the dry cleaning shop, citing a loss of revenue and the emotional strain of defending the lawsuit. Pearson lost his job when a D.C. commission voted not to reappoint him. /p |
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Court: No obligation for company to give teen drug
Legal Blog News |
2008/12/17 09:15
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| A pharmaceutical company does not have to provide an experimental drug to a Minnesota teen who is terminally ill with a rare form of muscular dystrophy, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday in reversing a lower court decision.pThe ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia was a blow to 17-year-old Jacob Gunvalson, who suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy./ppThe court ruled that U.S. District Judge William J. Martini in Newark erred in his August ruling that PTC Therapeutics of South Plainfield, N.J., must provide the drug to Gunvalson. That decision had been stayed pending the company's appeal./ppI just think it's really unfair that these drug companies get all these benefits from the federal government, said Jacob's mother, Cheri Gunvalson. And then they're allowing boys to fall through the cracks and die. She said she would not give up her fight but didn't know what the next step would be./ppIn its ruling, the appeals court said it was sympathetic to the plight of Jacob and his family, but that the lower court abused its discretion in ordering PTC to supply the drug to Gunvalson./ppThe Gunvalsons, who live in Gonvick, Minn., maintained that the company led them to believe that Jacob could participate in a clinical trial of the drug, which is being investigated as a possible treatment — and that the company then went back on its word./p |
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Oregon bank bombing suspect charged with murder
Law & Court News |
2008/12/16 09:05
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| Police arrested a suspect late Sunday in the Oregon bank bombing that killed two officers and critically injured a police chief, authorities said.pSheriff Russ Isham of Marion County declined to release the suspect's name, saying it would jeopardize the integrity of the investigation and the safety of officers still working the case./ppWe do believe the person responsible for the bombing is in custody, Deputy District Attorney Courtland Geyer said late Sunday./ppThe suspect was arrested in Salem, located just south of Woodburn, the small city south of Portland where Friday's bombing occurred./ppOfficers made the arrest shortly after Sheriff Russ Isham of Marion County released surveillance photos of a person of interest. Geyer would not say if a tip led to the arrest./ppHe also wouldn't disclose if the man in the photos, apparently taken with a security camera, is the same person in custody./ppIsham would not release the precise location where the arrest took place, and said the suspect's name likely wouldn't be released until Monday afternoon./ppI'm really proud of those who tirelessly worked to get us to this point and am humbled by the community's support, Isham said. We know there is still a lot of hard work ahead of us, but this development will help bring relief to the local community and the officer's families./p |
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Court raises hopes of Hanford radiation plaintiffs
Attorney Blog News |
2008/12/16 09:04
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| A U.S. Supreme Court decision Monday raised hopes that as many as 2,000 plaintiffs could be compensated for health problems they blame on radiation from a Washington state nuclear site instrumental in the Manhattan Project and the Cold War.pThe court issued a one-line denial of an appeal by contractors who worked at the Hanford nuclear reservation. The contractors — E.I. Du Pont De Nemours amp; Co., General Electric Co. and UNC Nuclear Industries Inc. — were challenging a lower-court ruling last spring that sided largely with the plaintiffs./ppThe people exposed to radiation lived in eastern Washington, eastern Oregon and Idaho, downwind of Hanford, as the U.S. government was developing atomic bombs in the 1940s./ppThe government did not disclose until 1986 that radiation had been released at the site, and since then the downwinders have sought compensation for thyroid cancer and other conditions they believe were caused by the exposure./ppThis is very exciting for us, Richard Eymann, one of the plaintiffs' lawyers in the long-running case, told The Spokesman-Review of Spokane. With a new administration coming in, we want a serious look at compensation for these people after years of litigation./ppSo far, the plaintiffs have not agreed to a settlement offer by the contractors that would compensate them based on the amount of radiation they likely received and the illnesses they have, said Kevin Van Wart, lead attorney in Chicago for the Hanford contractors./p |
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