News & Publications

stay up to speed with our news, and publications page, of the newest cases and events. You deserve to know what's going on around the world legally. So enjoy reading these stories and take your time. Thank you for reading our News and Publications page.

News Item

POSTED FEB 20, 2015 01:30 PM CST

Only a few months ago a Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice announced his retirement, following a scandal over raunchy emails sent from his personal account. Now questions are being asked about another racially insensitive email that may have been sent by a nominee to fill a vacant seat on the state’s top court.

News Item

POSTED FEB 17, 2015 03:35 PM CST

An Oregon appeals court has reversed a trial judge’s dismissal of a claim against the city of Portland over faded crosswalk stripes, agreeing with the family of a woman killed in a 2009 accident that better maintenance of the crosswalk might have helped prevent the death of Lindsay Leonard, 23. She and another woman were fatally struck by a vehicle driven by a grocery store manager, reports the Oregonian. But it isn’t just the city’s potential liability to Leonard’s survivors that could be affected by the appellate court ruling: All defendants had been absolved of liability after a jury decided in 2011 that Leonard herself was 51 percent at fault. Now, at a new trial, her family will be able to try again to win damages against the grocery store and the driver and, if Leonard’s own negligence is deemed to be less than 51 percent, will be allowed to collect.

News Item

Saturday, February 21, 2015

In a recent Mississippi Supreme Court case, trust beneficiaries were not bound by a clause in an agreement between the trustee and an investment advisor. The trustee and an investment advisor entered into a Wealth Management Agreement (WMA) requiring mediation and then arbitration of disputes between them. The WMA contains a clause expressly excluding the conferring of rights or remedies on persons other than the signatories. The beneficiaries filed suit against the trustee and investment advisor alleging breach of duty to manage prudently the trust assets. The trustee and advisor moved to stay, pending arbitration. In Pinnacle Trust Co., L.L.C. v. McTaggart, the trial court denied the motion and the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed on appeal, holding that the WMA expressly excluded non-signatories and that the trust beneficiaries could not be beneficiaries of the WMA which they neither signed nor knew existed. In addition, their rights arise not from the WMA but from the trust terms themselves. Special thanks to William LaPiana (Professor of Law, New York Law School) for bringing this case to my attention.

News Item

POSTED FEB 03, 2015 07:05 AM CST

An Omaha lawyer who accidentally left his $500 pen at a courthouse security kiosk has filed a tort claim with the county over its disappearance. Lawyer John Kerwin says the security office at the Douglas County Courthouse returned his keys, but not the Montblanc Meisterstück ballpoint pen, the Omaha World Herald reports. Kerwin says the pricey pen was a gift from his uncle before his death. Kerwin watched surveillance video and identified the security officer who last touched the pen. “I’m not accusing anyone of stealing anything,” Kerwin told the World-Herald. “He was just the last one who had custody of it.” In his tort claim, Kerwin writes, “I just want my special pen returned to me.” If that’s not possible, he says in the claim, “then I expect the exact model

News Item

POSTED FEB 10, 2015 03:10 PM CST

A lawsuit isn’t officially filed until the full filing fee is paid, Virginia’s top court has ruled.

That means a $2.5 million personal injury suit a law firm tried to file a few days before the statute of limitations expired was correctly dismissed by Powhatan Circuit Court, because the filing fee paid was $2 short of the required total amount, the Virginia Supreme Court held in a Jan. 30 opinion. The law firm sent the complaint in by mail, along with a check, and didn’t find out about the filing-fee issue until the final day the suit could be filed. It mailed the $2 immediately, but the payment wasn’t received and credited until several days later, according to Above the Law and Virginia Lawyers Weekly (sub. req.).