February 9, 2010

Florida Smoker's $300 Million Award to Be Reduced

The largest individual award to a Florida smoker will be reduced, Judge Jeffrey Streitfeld (Broward County Circuit Court) ruled Friday. [Here's the story on Law.com]

Judge Streitfeld called the $300 million jury verdict, rendered months ago, "excessive" and "shocking," based on anger (which the judge attributed to poor lawyering tactics on the part of the defense) and not merely on the desire to compensate and punish. The verdict, discussed in POL previously, awarded $56.5 million in compensatory damages and $244 million in punitive damages to Cindy Naugle, an emphysema patient who quit smoking in 1993. Florida law caps punitive damages at three times compensatory damages, absent extraordinary circumstances -- and in the Naug case the compensatories (including millions for pain and suffering) as well as the punitives were challenged as excessive. Under Florida law, judges must reduce jury awards found to be excessive.

The Naug case is currently #1 on the hit parade 8,000 individual suits against cigarette manufacturers that were filed after the Florida Supreme Court decertified struck down a $145 billion punitive class action award on the grounds that smokers must sue individually. That decision held that the class action jury's finding that smoking is dangerous and addictive and causes disease could not be questioned in the individual suits.

Judge Streitfeld did not indicate when he would determine the amount of the reduction.

February 4, 2010

Around the web, February 4

• DOT-'n'-GM Secretary LaHood: Did I say to stop driving Toyotas? Naughty me [Bloomberg, Business Insider, Hodak Value, earlier and more]
• Penn State is doing an Iqbal/Twombly symposium next month [Workplace Prof]
• Plaintiff's prior back injury no bar to sustaining of Bronx jury's $1.5 million award for subway slip [Hochfelder]
• Oklahoma AG Edmondson: Don't blame me for setting up my lawyer friends in chicken farm case, courts threw out the theories on which they'd have gotten rich [Muskogee Phoenix]
• Advocates push for "workplace bullying" law in Massachusetts [Fox]
• Messy divorce between class-actioneer Michael Hausfeld and his former firm, Cohen Milstein [ABA Journal, Hallman, AmLaw Litigation Daily]

February 1, 2010

Around the web, February 1

• Lawyers swarm Toyota [Bronstad, NLJ, ABA Journal, WSJ Law Blog] Feds asked for it, they got it (the damagingly wide recall, that is) and speculation arises as to whether Washington's role as owner-ally of GM might have made a difference [Harner, ConcurOp; Coyote, with comments discussing issue of brakes' role in stopping unintended acceleration] But maybe other theories would also explain the feds taking a hard line. And this new, perfect development: "Lawyers Ask Court To Stop Toyota From Fixing Cars."
• Big plaintiff win in Vivendi securities class action trial could bring billions [10b-5 Daily, LaCroix, WSJ Law Blog]
  
• "Judge Rejects Lerach's Request for European Trip" [California Civil Justice]
• Unions see hopes for card check bill dim with Brown Senate win [In These Times] AFL-CIO instead hopes to get it through NLRB fiat, which could make this week's confirmation hearing on nominee Craig Becker a key one to watch [Carter at ShopFloor, more, yet more] Related: lawprofs for Becker [Workplace Prof]
• Illinois: "GOP gubernatorial hopefuls tout tort reform" [Knef, MC Record]
• Point of Law favorite Richard Epstein will be guestblogging Monday at TortsProf. Update: here's his post.

January 29, 2010

Around the web, January 29

Tour of the states edition:

• "It Is New Jersey, But Business to Business Sex Harassment?" [Michael Fox]
• California as "litigation magnet"? State high court hears asbestos venue case [CalLaw "Legal Pad", Cal Biz Lit]
• New York wins big round in $13 billion wholesale pricing suit against drug makers [Longstreth, AmLaw Litigation Daily]
• Florida state Sen. Dave Aronberg praises trial lawyers' response to drywall problem, three guesses as to what's his day job [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]
• Pennsylvania lawyer: "I like the idea, and I will be shot for this, of a cap on damages'' [Paul Carpenter/Allentown Morning Call]
• Class action connections in the New Mexico AG's office: "Ex-Associate's Suit Proceeds Against Labaton Over Origination Fees" [NYLJ]

January 28, 2010

Adventures in cy pres

As Andrew Trask summarizes the uncanny court ruling: Unclaimed funds left from hotel-fire case, so best cy pres recipient was - Animal Legal Defense Fund? [Russell Jackson]

January 26, 2010

Around the web, January 26

• "The Coming Counter-Reformation in Securities Litigation" [Boris Feldman via Kevin LaCroix] "Could new regs bring more lawsuits?" [CFO.com]
• "Obama's reckless blast at the Court" [Steve Chapman] Related on Citizens United: Jacob Sullum.
• "Workers seek $500 million over benzene vapor release at Texas City refinery" [SE Texas Record]
• Claim: more California lawyers have turned to dishonesty because of economic recession [Above the Law]
• "$165 Million Schering-Plough Class Action Settlement Includes $37 Million in Fees" [NJLJ, securities fraud]
• "Bonus is poison": a tale of financial managers and their incentives [Hodak Value]

January 22, 2010

"Dissecting the Investor Protection Act"

Bruce Carton analyzes the provisions of a House-passed bill that would open up aider and abetter liability, establish securities whistleblower bounties, expand extraterritorial jurisdiction, and stimulate litigation in a variety of other ways.

January 21, 2010

Another law school gets cy pres money

A $75 million class action settlement with American Express over credit card foreign exchange conversion fees includes a $2 million slush fund whose beneficiaries include the University of Miami law school, Legal Services of Greater Miami and children's advocacy groups. [Daily Business Report]

January 14, 2010

Suing over Goldman Sachs' pay

"Marla Singer" at Zero Hedge senses a settlement down the road. More: Hodak Value.

January 8, 2010

Back to aiding and abetting liability?

John Steele at Legal Ethics Forum pulls together links commenting on the possibility that Congress will overturn the landmark securities-law Stoneridge decision.