Free Republic

A $744 million jury verdict in Louisiana is at the center of a coordinated legal effort to force oil companies to pay billions of dollars to ameliorate the erosion of land in Louisiana, offset climate change and more. Proponents say the payments are overdue, but critics say the lawsuits will hike energy costs for all Americans and are wrongly supplanting the state and federal regulatory framework already in place. In the Louisiana case in question, Plaquemines Parish sued Chevron alleging that oil exploration off the coast decades ago led to the erosion of Louisiana’s coastline. A jury ruled Friday that...

I have anecdotes only to support this, but it is a New Jersey statewide phenomena. Negligence jury verdicts, i.e. automobile accidents, dangerous condition of property, etc., have increased dramatically in the past few months. So much so, at least one national liability insurance carrier, it is rumored, has remarked that it may just settle cases they would try in the past. Can FReepers from other states comment whether this is going on there as well? I will need to convince a judge that one of these verdicts should be set aside, in part because of a ruling we believe to...

Thompson brothers could be sentenced to anything from probation to life in prison Claire Osborn ASSOCIATED PRESS Thursday, December 11, 2003 A Travis County jury on Wednesday convicted a pastor and his brother in a severe beating that sent a child to intensive care. Joshua and Caleb Thompson, 23-year-old twins, were found guilty of injury to a child and aggravated assault. Jurors, who took about 3 1/2 hours to reach their decision, can sentence the brothers to anything from probation to life in prison. The sentencing phase of the trial starts today. The brothers were silent as they listened to...