Trials litigation

Home Daily News New trial motion says lawyer's insults and… Trials & Litigation By Debra Cassens Weiss Posted August 16, 2018, 6:05 am CDT Sirtravealot/Shutterstock.com. A new trial motion filed on behalf of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. argues that a lawyer who sued the company prejudiced jurors through a “steady stream of insults” and “incurable character assassinations.” Goodyear lawyer James Lynch, of Lynch Daskal Emery, filed the motion in New York state court on Aug. 7, the same day jurors awarded $40.1 million to a man who developed mesothelioma after years of working with Goodyear gaskets. The New York Law Journal covered the motion and a July 30 hearing in which Lynch tried, without success, to obtain a mistrial. The plaintiff in the case was an 81-year-old Navy veteran, J. Walter Twidwell. According to a press release, he was exposed to asbestos dust when he manipulated the gaskets while conducting maintenance and repairs in engine and … [Read more...] about New trial motion says lawyer’s insults and ‘incurable character assassinations’ prejudiced the jury

Home Daily News Encouraged by speedier trials in Bronx misdemeanor… Trials & Litigation By Debra Cassens Weiss Posted August 10, 2018, 12:44 pm CDT Shutterstock.com. The Bronx Defenders, a nonprofit public defender group, has agreed to stay a lawsuit claiming lengthy delays in the New York borough’s misdemeanor cases were depriving their clients of a right to a speedy trial. The settlement stays the litigation for four years, though the plaintiffs have reserved the right to reinstate the lawsuit during that period, the New York Law Journal reports. The deal was reached after trial delays were significantly reduced. The agreement requires court administrators to track cases where a person demands a trial and to share data with the plaintiffs, according to a press release. The New York Times also has coverage. Since the filing of the lawsuit, the backlog of misdemeanor cases has been cut sharply. Now only 513 misdemeanor cases have been pending for more than a year, … [Read more...] about Encouraged by speedier trials in Bronx misdemeanor court, plaintiffs agree to stay litigation

Home Daily News Judge decries 'abusive litigation tactics'… Trials & Litigation By Debra Cassens Weiss Posted July 25, 2018, 6:10 am CDT ESB Professional/Shutterstock.com. A federal magistrate judge, who is fed up with a flurry of motions over discovery disputes, is ordering the parties to “work in a cooperative, civil manner” to present their disputes to the court in two joint statements. “The court has indulged the parties’ abusive litigation tactics for long enough,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Koppe of Nevada said in a July 19 order that denied the pending discovery motions and required the joint statements. Law360 has coverage. Koppe said the parties had filed eight briefs on a single motion to compel discovery. A motion to quash subpoenas spurred a similar “briefing odyssey,” including the filing of a “frivolous” motion to strike an errata filed to replace an erroneously filed document, Koppe said. The wrong … [Read more...] about Judge decries ‘abusive litigation tactics’ and ‘overheated rhetoric’ in multiple discovery motions

Home Daily News 9th Circuit denies inmate new trial because… Trials & Litigation By Debra Cassens Weiss Posted June 13, 2018, 7:10 am CDT The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals/vincenzo_mancuso (Shutterstock.com). A federal appeals court refused to grant a new trial to a California inmate serving a life sentence for murder because he was unable to show racism by his appointed lawyer caused a deficient trial performance. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Ezzard Ellis, but did so reluctantly, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The panel said in a June 7 per curiam opinion that it was bound by 9th Circuit precedent involving the same lawyer, Donald Ames, who is deceased. But all three panel members agreed in a concurrence that the decision makes “a mockery” of the right to counsel. Ellis was convicted of murder, attempted murder and robbery in his fifth trial in 1991 for a fatal shooting outside a … [Read more...] about 9th Circuit denies inmate new trial because he can’t show lawyer’s racism affected trial performance

Home Daily News US intends to call Akin Gump lawyer in Manafort… Trials & Litigation By Debra Cassens Weiss Posted May 24, 2018, 10:42 am CDT Lawyers for President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manaoft learned Wednesday that the government plans to call a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld to testify in the trial. The name of the partner, Melissa Laurenza, had been redacted in court documents, Law360 reports. She reportedly helped Manafort submit forms in which he registered as a foreign agent. Laurenza is not accused of any wrongdoing. Government lawyers revealed the lawyer’s name during a federal court hearing in Washington, D.C. During the hearing, Manafort’s lawyers sought to exclude evidence seized from Manafort’s storage unit in Alexandria, Virginia. According to Courthouse News Service and Politico, Manafort’s lawyers faced “an uphill battle” as they pressed the argument during the hearing before U.S. … [Read more...] about US intends to call Akin Gump lawyer in Manafort trial; lawyers seek to block storage unit evidence