This decision from a federal judge in Pennsylvania will cause excitement throughout the tort bar: he ruled for a plaintiff who worked to protect assets from a claimed ERISA subrogation interest by having the proceeds of a settlement go from the defendant to a special needs trust. Law.com published this article…
The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear arguments in the following cases that are of interest to tort lawyers in Knoxville on September 6: Konvalinka v. Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority – (Swiney, author) (Susano & Lee) – 1. Whether the Court of Appeals erred in holding attorneys John Konvalinka and Jennifer Lawrence in…
Sylvius von Saucken, a partner in the Garretson firm, has written this analysis of the opinion in Murphy v. United States, released by D.C. Court of Appeals on July 3, 2007. The case addresses the taxability of damage awards in cases alleging emotional distress. Here, in bold, is his analysis…
The Michigan Law Review has published an interesting article called "Doctors & Juries" by Philip G. Peters, Jr. Here is a synopsis of the article: "Physicians widely believe that jury verdicts are unfair. This Article tests that assumption by synthesizing three decades of jury research. Contrary to popular belief, the…
Ken Shigley has an interesting post listing some poll results that have been circulated in AAJ materials in recent days.
Former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Penny White, former Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Joe Riley and I are sponsoring our annual "Justice Programs" seminars again this Fall. Here is the schedule for this two-day, fifteen-hour program. First Day 8:00 – 8:30 Registration 8:30 – 10:15 Tort Law / Comparative Fault…
I have been in Chicago for the last four days, attending the Board meeting of the National Board of Trial Advocacy and spending time with my son , MIchael. We saw the Cubs beat the Astros Saturday afternoon and took in a street fair in Chinatown yesterday. It was a…
The highest court of New York has ruled that a "high-low" agreement must be disclosed to the judge and to non-settling defendants. This is what the Court said: To ensure that all parties to a litigation are treated fairly, we hold that whenever a plaintiff and a defendant enter into…
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has released an en banc opinion in Murphy v. Internal Revenue Service, No. 05-5139 (July 3, 2007). The summary of the opinion as prepared by the Court: "Marrita Murphy brought this suit to recover income taxes she paid on the compensatory damages for emotional…
Put this is the "You ain’t gonna believe this" department. A New Jersey firm admitted "that an associate — with two partners’ knowledge — asked a bank representative whether a client, Kennedy Funding Inc. of Hackensack, could purchase the personal mortgages of the attorney suing Kennedy Funding in four federal…