Civil Litigation

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Interesting times ahead as Imerys filed a chapter 11 petition in an effort to try to manage the mesothelioma and ovarian cancer claims against it and other entities.  The petition and a related declaration list the top 30 plaintiff firms, which includes numerous plaintiff firms that are not “regulars” in chapter 11 asbestos cases, as well as some firms who are regulars. The list of “regulars” includes Motley Rice and the Simmons firm. The declaration…
Tate Reeves should be the one having a good time in Washington, D.C. today. He should have taken the appointment to replace Thad Cochran and fought off Mike Espy’s campaign in 2018. He should be in Washington learning, building relationships and biding his time. It might not be ideal, but it’s not too late. For the good of Mississippi, Tate Reeves should withdraw from the governor’s race and instead run for U.S. Senate in 2020.…
In the case of Leight v. Univ. of Pittsburgh Physicians, No. 2018 Pa. Super. 359 (Pa. Super. Dec. 31, 2018 Bender, P.J.E., Lazarus, J., and Musmanno, J.) (Op. by Musmanno, J.), the Plaintiffs appealed from a dismissal of their personal injury claims under the Mental Health Procedures Act against the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and other physicians who had treated a mentally ill person that had injured the Plaintiff in a shooting incident.   The Plaintiffs filed suit…
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This action started in 2014.  A motion was made in 2017 after two of the defendants passed way. U & Me Homes, LLC v County of Suffolk, 2019 NY Slip Op 01119, Decided on February 13, 2019. Appellate Division, Second Department: “Generally, the death of a party divests a court of jurisdiction to act, and automatically stays proceedings in the action pending the substitution of a legal representative for the decedent pursuant to CPLR 1015(a)”…
This action started in 2014.  A motion was made in 2017 after two of the defendants passed way. U & Me Homes, LLC v County of Suffolk, 2019 NY Slip Op 01119, Decided on February 13, 2019. Appellate Division, Second Department: “Generally, the death of a party divests a court of jurisdiction to act, and automatically stays proceedings in the action pending the substitution of a legal representative for the decedent pursuant to CPLR 1015(a)”…
David F. Johnson, lead writer for the Texas Fiduciary Litigator blog, presented his paper on “Saving Your Damages Award Via Temporary Injunctive Relief” to the State Bar of Texas’s Damages in Civil Litigation Course in Dallas, Texas, on February 8, 2019.  In addition to a general discussion of issues concerning obtaining temporary injunctive relief, the presentation included a discussion of injunctive relief targeted at securing a defendant’s assets and protecting against dissipation activities. The…
On February 11, 2019 a specially appointed Hinds County Chancellor (Judge James Bell) rendered a $55,000 verdict in Tyrone Lewis v. Lewis et al. You can view the Court’s ruling at this post on Jackson Jambalaya. JJ states: Former Hinds County Sheriff Tyrone Lewis won a defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife, Tony Davis, and several other defendants in Hinds County Chancery Court yesterday. Hinds County Sheriff Tyrone Lewis sued in June 2015 for an…
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Well, Dr. Jason Bull has done it again. He’s managed to snag a high-dollar client without trying, solve a mystery mid-trial, maneuver the person on trial into pleading the Fifth Amendment, and have a romantic rendezvous with his married ex-wife, all within a single episode. This guy needs a nap. This week’s episode, “Prior Bad Acts,” has a few sub-plots, which makes it kind of fun to watch, but harder to critique. For those who…
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In the Post-Koken case of Singer v. State Farm Mut. Ins. Co., No. 2015-CV-2859 (C.P.  Lacka. Co. Jan. 24, 2019 Gibbons, J.), the court addressed a Plaintiff’s post-trial motion for a new trial after the entry of a zero verdict by the jury. According to the Opinion, the Plaintiff had previously settled with the third party tortfeasor and this matter involved a jury trial on the Plaintiff’s claims against the UIM carrier.  The Plaintiff asserted…
Velarde v. GW GJ, INC., Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit, February 5, 2019: “In Glatt v. Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc., 811 F.3d 528 (2d Cir. 2015), we addressed the application of certain federal and state employment laws to activities performed in a commercial setting by temporary “interns.” We applied a “primary beneficiary” test: if, under certain enumerated circumstances, the intern is the “primary beneficiary” of the relationship, then the host entity is not the intern’s…