Sorry for the lack of a post yesterday; I am at a conference in Florida and the day was a little hectic. I didn’t write the Trial Lawyer’s Prayer, but I wish I had. Read more of Evan Schaeffer’s stuff by clicking here. Trial Lawyer’s Prayer, by Evan Schaeffer Dear…
I know the judge has to render a decision in my case in some time period. What is it? T.C.A. Sec. 20-9-506 requires a judge who tries a non-jury case to render a decision and have the judgment entered within 60 days after completion of the trial. Now, how do…
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has limited Medicaid’s subrogation interest in a tort recovery. Plaintiff received substantial injuries in an auto wreck. She applied for Medicaid coverage and agreed to assign to the state her “right to any settlement, judgment or award” she might receive from any third parties.…
Most tort reform proposals center on limiting damages for people who are found by a jury to have meritorious claims. Insurance companies that sell malpractice insurance want their exposure capped. (Who wouldn’t?) Do doctors and hospitals get lower premiums in return? Well, that depends on if you ask the insurance…
The ABA is hosting a 90-minute teleconference and live audio webcast on how to unearth fact information on the Internet. Carole Levitt and Mark Rosch, authors of the ABA’s The Lawyer’s Guide to Fact Finding on the Internet will be the speakers. They will address issues like locating public records,…
I came across an interesting website from the National Safety Council the other day. The NSC does lots of stuff; one thing it does it estimate the cost of injuries and death in the USA. For example, look at this table: Average Comprehensive Cost by Injury Severity, 2003 Death $3,610,000…
State Farm v. Campbell was feared to be a dramatic change in the law of punitive damages, but some courts have not taken the bait. In Willow Inn, Inc. v. Public Service Mutual Ins. Co. the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed a punitive damage award…
Many of us have attempted to use police officers as expert witnesses at trial. We have also had them used against us. The Delaware Supreme Court has recently ruled that it was reversible error for a trial judge to permit a police officer to testify to the “primary contributing cause”…
The McIntyre opinion permitted fault to be assessed against people who were not a party to the action. From the day McIntyre was released it was clear that a defendant could ask that fault be assessed against a prior defendant who settled before trial. Over the years that followed it…
Our firm is handling Vioxx cases. The MDL Panel has just sent all of the cases to the ED of Louisana for pretrial proceedings. Judge Fallon will be handling the case. The judge has set up a website for pretrial orders and proceedings. Here it is.