Lawyer - News

A judge has ordered Mercedes-Benz USA to pay $482,000 in damages and legal fees to a Wisconsin customer who was sold a defective car and not given a refund on time. The customer's lawyer said he believes the judgment is the largest involving a single car under a state "lemon law," which protects consumers who are sold junk cars. A Mercedes-Benz spokeswoman said the company is strongly considering an appeal. No comments

The Florida Supreme Court was asked Thursday to decide issues that may dictate the handling of hurricane claims, insurance payouts and deductibles. The case in dispute involves an $8.1 million federal verdict won by a Florida condo association against Australia-based QBE Insurance over its handling of a claim after Hurricane Wilma in 2005. The main issues: Does Florida recognize a claim for breach of implied warranty of good faith and fair dealing? If so, must the claim be brought after the fact like a bad faith claim? No comments

The D.C. Court of Appeals has granted an en banc hearing in the case of a man who is seeking the right to sue for emotional damages after he was misdiagnosed with HIV. The plaintiff, who spent five years believing he had HIV after he was falsely diagnosed, said he suffered severe depression. The case could give the court a chance to rethink a longstanding precedent in medical malpractice cases, which holds that courts can only grant damages for emotional distress if the plaintiff had been in a "zone of physical danger." No comments

Forty-seven years since "My Boyfriend's Back" hit No. 1 on the music charts, a New York appellate court last week restored two of six claims accusing F.G.G. Productions, which produced the song, of failing to honor its contract to pay royalties. The lawsuit was brought by Phyllis Sirico, one of two sisters who sang backup for the Angels, and Peggy Davison, the group's lead singer on "My Boyfriend's Back." No comments

A New York lawyer previously charged with stealing $700,000 from real estate investors is now facing an attempted bribery charge after allegedly trying to pay off a Nassau County clerk to expedite his request for information on a property he was trying to close on. According to prosecutors, Frederic Powell put a $100 bill on the clerk's counter and asked "if the process could be sped up." When he was told it could not, he put another $100 bill on the counter, which was again rejected. No comments

The adage "It's not what you say, but how you say it" is true. In interviews you need to effectively communicate your professionalism both verbally and nonverbally. Valerie Fontaine and Roberta Kass discuss the importance of body language -- both yours and your interviewer's. No comments

With the KB Home case, prosecutors hope to improve their dismal trial record in stock-options backdating cases. Of the five cases that have gone to trial, one ended in acquittal, one collapsed, and one of the three convictions was reversed. Prosecutors are focusing the case on CEO Bruce Karatz's profit from the backdated options. It's a relatively new strategy that emerged last month in the government's retrial of former Brocade CEO Gregory Reyes, whose prior conviction was reversed on appeal. No comments

A Manhattan law firm committed a "veritable 'perfect storm' of mistakes, errors, misdeeds and improper litigation practices" in trying to collect a debt from a woman, a New York state judge has ruled in ordering sanctions against the firm. Eltman, Eltman Cooper was ordered to pay $14,800 for a series of ethics rules violations, including "disobeying" a court order dismissing the case by making "harassing" phone calls to the defendant. A firm spokesman said that an appeal is under consideration. No comments

Opponents of Chicago's handgun ban in McDonald v. Chicago argued that the high court should solely rely on secondary sources and not digital searches of original material that aim to prevent "Barbie dolls in the archeological dig," where advocates read modern facts into the historical record. No comments

An Illinois federal judge has refused to dismiss a suit against former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld by two Americans who claim they were detained in Iraq. David Vance and Nathan Ertel, who went to Iraq in 2005 to work for a security firm, also sued the U.S. government, alleging they were interrogated by the military due to suspicions that their company was providing arms to insurgents. They claim they were put in cages, strip-searched and questioned using "coercive tactics" before being released weeks later. No comments