Personal Injury & Medical Malpractice

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2024

By Emily Field

Some of the top cases for product liability for 2024 include an Ohio Supreme Court ruling on opioids and public nuisance, baby formula trials and an appellate decision in Fosamax litigation.

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Court Opens Window For Patient To Pierce COVID Immunity

By Danielle Ferguson

A Michigan appellate court said Wednesday medical malpractice claims from a patient seeking help for pandemic-related stress were barred because her hospital admittance and alleged injuries had a connection to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the court directed a lower court to consider letting the patient plead a gross negligence exception to the state's pandemic response immunity.

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Feature

Top Pa. Cases Of 2024: Elon Musk, Johnny Doc, Uber Drivers

By P.J. D'Annunzio

This year was a standout for high-profile legal battles in Pennsylvania, from a blockbuster verdict against Monsanto over its Roundup weedkiller to the Philadelphia district attorney's fight with Elon Musk over allegations that he tried to influence the 2024 presidential election with his million-dollar giveaway.

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Analysis

Biggest Illinois Decisions Of 2024

By Lauraann Wood

A U.S. Supreme Court decision narrowing the federal bribery statute caused waves in several high-profile Chicago public corruption cases at every litigation stage, almost instantly making a former Indiana mayor's high court win one of the biggest Illinois cases of the year.

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Analysis

Biggest Colorado Decisions Of 2024

By Thy Vo and Rachel Riley

The Colorado Supreme Court shocked legal experts in 2024 when it walked back a landmark tenants rights ruling based on a technicality. In another case, three justices called for the elimination of peremptory challenges in order to address racial bias in jury selection. Here's a look at some of the biggest Colorado decisions of the year.

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Insurer Gets Out Of Ga. Sperm Bank's Bad Seed Claims

By Chart Riggall

A Georgia federal judge said Allied World Surplus Lines Insurance Co. has no duty to defend a sperm bank that has been sued in Canada and the United States for allegedly selling semen from a donor with genetic abnormalities.

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ENFORCEMENT

Jussie Smollett Atty Scores Exit In Attackers' Defamation Suit

By Rae Ann Varona

An Illinois federal judge on Friday tossed a defamation suit against the Geragos & Geragos attorney who defended actor Jussie Smollett against charges that he filed a false police report on a staged hate crime, saying that a "whiteface statement" she made about Smollett's attackers on national television was substantially true.

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Ga. Atty Disbarred For Battery Of Cop During DUI Stop

By Chart Riggall

An Atlanta-area attorney was disbarred Friday by the Supreme Court of Georgia after pleading guilty to felony obstruction charges for battery and resisting arrest while under suspicion of driving drunk.

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Girardi's Mental Health To Be Evaluated At NC Federal Prison

By Craig Clough

A California federal judge said Friday she will order Tom Girardi to receive a psychiatric evaluation at a North Carolina federal correctional facility after she recently delayed his wire fraud sentencing to determine if he should be committed to a medical facility instead of prison due to his dementia diagnosis.

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Mich. Doc Accused Of Selling Property To Duck $35M Judgment

By MJ Koo

A Michigan doctor fraudulently sold property and sent money to his family members to avoid paying a $35 million forfeiture and $5.2 million restitution related to his healthcare fraud convictions, federal prosecutors alleged Friday.

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LITIGATION

Beasley Allen Fights Bid To Recuse Judge In Talc Fee Suit

By Emily Sawicki

Beasley Allen Law Firm on Friday fired back at The Smith Law Firm PLLC's motion to recuse an Alabama federal judge from Beasley Allen's breach of contract suit because the jurist previously represented the firm, arguing that the request is incompatible with Seventh Circuit precedent.

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Trulieve Wants Quick Win Over Insurer In Wrongful Death Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

Trulieve said it's entitled to a default win against one of the two insurance providers it claims are supposed to indemnify it against a cannabis worker's wrongful death suit, saying the provider failed to respond to its litigation.

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TRANSPORTATION

Suits Over Fatal Connecticut Cessna Crash Shrink

By Brian Steele

The plaintiffs in several related lawsuits arising from a Cessna private plane crash in Connecticut that killed four people and injured others on the ground have dropped claims against a slew of defendants, leaving only the aircraft's manufacturer to face the pending litigation, court records show.

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MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

Buzbee Pans Jay-Z's 'Astonishing' Sanctions Bid In Diddy Suit

By Rachel Scharf

Personal injury lawyer Tony Buzbee urged a Manhattan federal judge on Friday to reject Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter's "astonishing request" to change the rules for a sanctions motion in rape litigation against the rapper and Sean "Diddy" Combs, saying the "rich, famous and powerful" must obey the same restrictions as everyone else.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Series

Fixing Up Cars Makes Me A Better Lawyer

From problem-solving to patience and adaptability to organization, the skills developed working under the hood of a car directly translate to being a more effective lawyer, says Christopher Mdeway at Kaufman Dolowich.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

MoFo, Irell Latest Firms To Unveil Competitive Bonuses

By Aebra Coe & Hailey Konnath

Morrison Foerster LLP and litigation boutique Irell & Manella LLP have joined a chorus of firms announcing associate bonuses that meet or exceed the BigLaw standard for associate bonuses this year, with MoFo offering up to $218,200 and Irell handing its lawyers as much as $175,000.

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Approach The Bench: What Judges Had To Say This Year

By Cara Bayles

Jurists weighed the benefits of partisan elections, praised innovations in telehearings and worried about the future of the profession in nearly a dozen interviews with Law360 this year.

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Gunster $8.5M Data Breach Deal Needs More Info, Judge Says

By Matt Perez

A Florida federal judge this week denied preliminary approval of an $8.5 million settlement in a data breach class action against Gunster and demanded more information on payouts, the plaintiffs' standing in the case and a historical breakdown of settlement rates.

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NJ Bar's Diversity Plan Isn't Biased, Panel Says

By Tracey Read

A New Jersey state appeals court reversed and remanded on Friday a lower court's ruling that found the state bar association's diversity practices to be an unlawful, discriminatory quota system.

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Analysis

How Lawyers May Sue The Trump Administration … Again

By Cara Bayles

During the last Trump administration, BigLaw firms challenged White House policies, focusing on immigration, environmental regulations and healthcare. This time around, attorneys could rely on old tools, and some new tactics, to stall the executive branch.

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Biden Exceeds Trump's Record On Judges By One

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate confirmed on Friday the last two judicial nominations from President Joe Biden, making his total of lifetime judicial appointments 235, just one over President Donald Trump's 234.

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High Court Bar's Future: Williams & Connolly's Sarah Harris

By Katie Buehler

Sarah M. Harris of Williams & Connolly LLP never planned on being a U.S. Supreme Court advocate, or even an appellate one. She stumbled upon that career path after realizing her initial goal of becoming a national security or government lawyer wasn't the right fit.

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Legislators Key To Court Fee Relief, Chief Justices Say

By Cara Salvatore

Two state high court chief justices and a top judicial administrator have told the National Center for State Courts that while they've been able to make significant progress in abolishing unfair court fines and fees, lawmakers have been vital in enacting these changes.

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No, Microsoft Isn't Driving DOJ's Google Antitrust Suit: Judge

By Bryan Koenig

A D.C. federal judge pushed back Friday on Google's efforts to paint Microsoft as the true plaintiff in the Justice Department's search monopolization lawsuit, casting doubt during a hearing that Google should get even more information about Microsoft's relationship with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.

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Feature

Litigator On The Roof: The Acting, Singing Mass. Solicitor

By Chris Villani

The top appellate lawyer in the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General will be ringing in the new year by performing a comical cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, the latest show in a lengthy side career in music.

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Another Texas Judge Exits X's Advertising Boycott Suit

By Lauren Berg

The second Texas judge to oversee litigation filed by Elon Musk's X Corp. accusing the World Federation of Advertisers and others of conspiring to withhold advertising revenue from the company has recused himself from the case.

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Hagens Berman Settles Suit Over Effexor Deal Atty Fees

By Bryan Koenig

A pharmaceutical reseller's in-house counsel and founder moved Friday to drop a Mississippi federal court breach of contract suit accusing Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP of stiffing him on his share of a $13 million attorney fees award from an antitrust class settlement, citing a resolution to the dispute.

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Q&A

A Judge Reflects: West Wing Call, 'Alford Plea?' Early Exit

By Hayley Fowler

When Chief Judge Louis A. Bledsoe III of the North Carolina Business Court hangs up his robes for the last time on Dec. 31, he'll leave behind a white-hot docket of high-profile cases and a profusion of opinions that helped mold the court into a tribunal fit to rival Delaware's Court of Chancery.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Andrea Keckley

This week's Legal Lions leader comes from the public sector, as federal prosecutors secured a $650 million settlement from McKinsey & Co. to resolve a lawsuit over the consulting giant's role in Purdue Pharma's promotion of OxyContin.

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UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Max Austin

This past week in London has seen the University of Southampton sue a drone-maker over the rights to an uncrewed aircraft patent, Importers Service Corp. and its subsidiary ISC Europe take action against a former director who allegedly owes the company over £1.1 million ($1.4 million), and DAC Beachcroft face a fraud claim by a "prolific litigant."

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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