Free Republic

SAGINAW, MI — The mother of Milton Hall, a homeless Saginaw man shot and killed by Saginaw police officers in 2012, has settled her federal wrongful death lawsuit against the city and nine police officers, her attorneys say. Jewel Hall on Friday, March 14, settled her case in U.S. District Court in Bay City, according to a press release sent from Hall's Detroit attorneys. Hall settled the case for $725,000, according to her Saginaw attorney, Debra Freid. Hall's "primary motivation was to make sure that this never happens to another family," Freid told The Saginaw News. The dollar amount is...

An appeals court on Wednesday upheld a product liability verdict against Ford Motor Co. for $8 million in compensatory damages and $42,050 in punitives, despite the plaintiff's contention that the award was lopsided because Ford's lawyer was allowed to tell jurors about the carmaker's financial straits and layoffs. The appeals panel in Zakrocki v. Ford Motor Co., A-5769-06/5799-06, did not discuss whether the defense attorney was wrong to mention the potential impact of punitives on Ford employees but it upheld the trial judge's decision to limit evidence about Ford's finances. A Monmouth County, New Jersey, jury found that a defective...

The Texas jury that ruled the prescription drug Vioxx was responsible for the death of a 59-year-old jogger, Robert Ernst, may have been duped by a questionable scientific theory introduced by the plaintiff's attorney, Mark Lanier. The theoretical sequence of events concocted by him to link Vioxx to Ernst's death -- a blood clot leading to a heart attack and then to a fatal arrhythmia... -- was contrary to Ernst's autopsy.... The jury's verdict shows that our system is failing to provide justice reliably in medical cases. The remedy? Specialized state medical courts, where judges stop lawyers and hired-gun witnesses...

<p>The U.S. Supreme Court put new limits on punitive damages, striking down a $145 million award State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. was told to pay a Utah couple in a dispute over an accident claim.</p> <p>The 6-3 ruling said the U.S. Constitution in most cases limits punitive damages to 10 times the harm suffered by the plaintiff. The punitive award against State Farm was 145 times the $1 million the couple had won for mental anguish they suffered when the insurer wouldn't settle a claim against them.</p>

<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) A jury awarded a record-shattering $28 billion in punitive damages Friday to a former smoker who sued Philip Morris Inc. for fraud and negligence.</p> <p>The Superior Court jury awarded the amount to Betty Bullock, 64, who started smoking when she was 17 and was diagnosed last year with lung cancer that has since spread to her liver.</p>

Reuters Company News L.a. Jury Awards $28 Billion in Punitive Damages Against Philip Friday October 4, 1:40 pm ET L.A. JURY AWARDS $28 BILLION IN PUNITIVE DAMAGES AGAINST PHILIP MORRIS (NYSE:MO - News)

UNION SPRINGS, Ala. (AP) - A jury ordered General Motors to pay $122 million in a lawsuit alleging a defective door was to blame for the severe brain injuries suffered by a 12-year-old boy in a car wreck. An Alabama law limiting punitive damages automatically cuts the award to $82 million, said GM spokesman Jay Cooney. He said the car's design met or exceeded every federal safety standard, and the automaker will appeal. Thursday's verdict stemmed from a two-vehicle collision in 1999. Jeffrey Jernigan was in the front seat of a 1993 Oldsmobile Delta 88 with his seat belt on...