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A handful of Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) subscribers have asked a federal appeals court to overturn a $27.2 million class-action settlement that they say unfairly gives plaintiffs' lawyers over $8 million in fees for bringing suit over the marketing agreement the movie service company entered into with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT).

Allegations of faulty car design are at the center of a lawsuit by an injured Fresno teen against Ford Motor Co. Shaela Warkentin, 16, suffered serious head and facial injuries a year ago when the 2000 Ford Mustang she was riding in was rear-ended by a pickup. Shaela's head was pinned against the rear edge of the car's roof, and rescuers had to cut the roof from the car to free her. The injuries cost the girl her eyesight and left her hospitalized for weeks. Fresno attorney Warren Paboojian filed the suit Friday on behalf of Shaela and her sister,...

A lawyer for the Washington Legal Foundation said the Obama administration "tends to favor the interests of plaintiffs' lawyers who want more opportunities to sue corporations." Richard Samp made the remarks following the U.S. Supreme Court's rejection ...

PHILADELPHIA (Legal Newsline) - A roundtable of federal and state judges from across the country will convene at the posh Ritz Carlton on Feb. 9 to address topics such as "Can MDL's keep up with state court trial settings;" "Priority of deposition examination;" "State and federal cooperation;" and "Forum non conveniens." Sponsored by Mass Torts Made Perfect, the event is open to plaintiff and defense lawyers. It is not, however, open to the media. Since public servants are convening to discuss public issues (mass torts dramatically affect the economy and the court systems), should the conference be open to the...

PHILADELPHIA (Legal Newsline) - Pennsylvania is known as the Quaker State and Philadelphia as the Quaker City because both were founded by William Penn, who was a member of the Society of Friends - also called Quakers. Quakers hold to "a belief in the possibility of direct, unmediated communion with the Divine." Some would suggest, however, that Philadelphia's courts are anything but divinely inspired. The January edition ...

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Friday that attorneys fees in a class action lawsuit against Kia Motors America were inappropriate. Kia Motors America, an automobile manufacturer, lost a class action lawsuit for breach of express warranty. The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed the ...

WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Independent scientific research institutes whose work influences the policies of the U.S. government as well as governments abroad, also impacts litigation in the states, an economics professor says. "The information from these think tanks does bubble up," said Professor Alex Tabarrok, chair of the Economics Department at George Mason University in Virginia. And one such organization is the Collegium Ramazzini, an independent international academy founded in 1982 by Irving J. Selikoff, Cesare Maltoni and other scientists. Selikoff is credited as a pioneer in field of asbestos research, having established a link between the inhalation of asbestos...

In New York, they call it the Bronx Jury Effect. Here, it's called the South Philadelphia Jury Effect, which looks something like a wealth redistribution scheme, according to a legal observer. "Philadelphia's courts have been bad for years," said James Copland, Director of the Manhattan Institute's Center for Legal Reform. Copland said the effect is a net result of juries that will award exorbitant amounts to plaintiffs who are suing anyone - such as doctors or large corporations - they perceive as being able to pay and that they believe should pay out large amounts. Empirical data exists that indicates...

With so much at stake for businesses weighted down by litigation costs, can juries in asbestos cases be trusted to render fair and just verdicts? While there is general agreement on some pieces of the scientific puzzle - for example there's no dispute that amphibole fibers cause mesothelioma - there are differences among highly regarded scientists about the effects of chrysotile fibers. Two Philadelphia lawyers, one a plaintiffs attorney the other a defense attorney, were asked how they address asbestos science in the courtroom.

WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - There are some who say all forms of asbestos are unsafe and to be exposed to any amount is hazardous, while others say that one form of asbestos can be handled safely. Then there are some who are not sure. Some of the leading scientific researchers, experts in the field of mesothelioma research and occupational medicine, have divergent opinions on the nature of the hazards caused by asbestos. Four scientists were asked four questions about asbestos. Each one of them has distinguished ...

Buried in the text of President Obama’s jobs bill is a provision named the “Fair Employment Opportunity Act,” which would make it illegal for employers to discriminate against the unemployed. At a recent town-hall event, the president singled out this provision as a much-needed federal safeguard against businesses’ reluctance to hire, in the words of one softball questioner, “really good candidates that suffered from a downward trend in their credit history due to lack of job opportunities.” Like many of the policies outlined in the president’s plan, the measure sounds like a well-intentioned effort to help the 9 percent of...

WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Asbestos litigation has become a multibillion-dollar industry -- bankrupting large corporations, enriching lawyers and courts and providing much needed relief to victims of the deadly diseases that exposure to some types asbestos in specific amounts will cause. Asbestos has been called by U.S. Rep. Trent Franks "the worst occupational health disaster in U.S. history." But Franks, R-Ariz., condemned much of the legal process of those who are suing to recover damages caused by some of these substances. There is much about asbestos that is unknown. It is not all settled science. There is general scientific concurrence...

The practice of making duplicate claims from asbestos tort and trust systems was hammered by Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) during a House subcommittee hearing Friday. Franks said that asbestos litigation has long been - and continues to be - rife with deception and exploitation, negatively effecting asbestos victims, the legal system and the employment of American workers. He noted that it has been five years since Congress provided oversight of asbestos litigation. At the time, widespread fraud in mass asbestos screenings was uncovered. "This massive fraud turned the worst occupational health disaster in U.S. history into one of the country's...

If you can judge a political candidate by the enemies he makes, Texas Gov. Rick Perry stands pretty tall. For example, the national tort-lawyer lobby is set to spend millions to try to stop the GOP presidential hopeful in his tracks. No wonder: Perry, in his 10 years as Texas governor, has managed to implement serious tort reform in a state that even a top litigator concedes was once “the golden goose” for high-end jury verdicts. Don’t think for a moment, though, that the tort bar is gearing up in the names of truth, justice and the American Way. As...

Politico: Trial Lawyers Prep for War on Perry Bryan Preston August 22, 2011 Trial lawyers really don’t like Rick Perry, and one whose name should be familiar to PJ readers is gearing up to go after Perry as he runs for president: Democratic Houston trial lawyer Steve Mostyn — who, along with his wife, Amber, donated nearly $9 million to Texas candidates and party committees in the 2010 cycle — said he’s in the process of forming “some federal PACs” to take on Perry. That will likely include a federal super PAC that could take in the kind of massive...

Texas has successfully implemented tort reform on the state level, saving businesses billions of dollars in the long run, and Rick Perry deserves a significant amount of credit for its conclusion. He pushed through a final 2003 reform act that made Texas a model for tort reform, the finale of a long effort to transform the state from a “golden goose” for trial lawyers to a pro-business model. Even trial lawyers admit that the state needed some reform, as Politico reports, but now plan to fight hard against a Perry nomination or candidacy: John Coale, a former trial lawyer who...

America’s trial lawyers are getting ready to make the case against one of their biggest targets in years: Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Among litigators, there is no presidential candidate who inspires the same level of hatred – and fear – as Perry, an avowed opponent of the plaintiffs’ bar who has presided over several rounds of tort reform as governor. And if Perry ends up as the Republican nominee for president, deep-pocketed trial lawyers intend to play a central role in the campaign to defeat him. That’s a potential financial boon to a president who has unsettled trial lawyers with...

Washington D.C., Jun 22, 2011 / 02:37 am (CNA).- The Catholic University of America says its plan to house men and women separately will withstand any legal challenge from John Banzhaf, known for his lawsuits over fast food and women's bathrooms. In a June 21 statement provided to CNA, the university said it “has not received service of any legal proceedings from Professor John Banzhaf regarding the University’s plan to phase in single-gender residence halls.” Earlier this week, a Fox affiliate in the District reported that Prof. Banzhaf had issued the school an “intent-to-sue” notice because of the plan. The...

Leave it to democrats to always push filling the coffers of their biggest contributors. It’s “full employment” antics for both of them. So they collude to find warm and fuzzy labels for draconian legislation. They may as well tell us, “Oh, Joey and Addie are just moving people around to create employment opportunities,” as we collectively recoil from the horrors of Josef Stalin and Adolf Hitler. And, so, the “Sunshine in Litigation Act” has re-entered the legislative calendars of both the House (HR 592) and Senate (S 623).

The powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is expanding its investigation of possible ethics violations by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, including improper "backdoor communications" between the panel and trial lawyers suing major banks over subprime investments, IBD has learned. The Democrat-appointed commission, tasked with examining the "root causes" of the crisis, used its subpoena power to extract millions of pages of confidential memos and emails from banks. Those documents were posted on the Web and are now being used in major litigation against these banks. Some documents posted on the FCIC site include correspondence with federal regulators that...