I’m a trial lawyer for injured people and businesses at The Beasley Firm. Founded in 1958, we have recovered over $2 billion for our clients through hundreds of verdicts and settlements in excess of $1 million. We’re listed in Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers in America, U.S. News’s Top Lawyers, [...]
More Wealthy, Well-Advised Suckers
Hot on the heels of a billionaire who didn't understand his settlement comes the widow of a fantastically wealthy real estate developer who also didn't understand her fee agreement or her settlement: A 40 percent contingency fee negotiated by a Manhattan law firm retained by the widow of a real estate developer involved in a multimillion-dollar estate dispute was not “unconscionable on its face,” an appeals court ruled yesterday. The court said that “at first blush,” the 40 percent fee — worth about $42 million — that was claimed by the law firm, Graubard Miller, from Alice Lawrence, the 83-year-old ... Continue Reading
Who “Saves” Money By Prohibiting Lawsuits?
From a Bloomberg article: Business's Agenda After the 2002 congressional elections, when Republicans bolstered their control of Congress and President George W. Bush vowed to fix what he called ``out-of-control'' litigation, corporate lobbyists drew up an agenda seeking to eliminate asbestos lawsuits, cap medical-malpractice payouts and curb class-action cases. The plan, which might have resulted in savings of tens of billions of dollars in damages, court costs and legal fees, mostly failed, and the more lawyer-friendly Democrats returned to power in last year's elections."The plan, which might have resulted in savings of tens of billions of dollars in damages ..." ... Continue Reading
JDS Securities Trial: Defense Wins Unanimously
I guess those dumb average citizens filled with resentment at the wealthy who can't understand business don't automatically become a runaway jury: OAKLAND, Calif., Nov 27 (Reuters) - Four former executives of JDS Uniphase Corp (JDSU.O: Quote, Profile, Research) did not commit securities fraud or engage in insider trading when they sold more than $350 million in JDSU stock before its price plunged in 2001, a U.S. jury said on Tuesday. The jury gave its verdict after two days of deliberation in U.S. District Court in Oakland, California, where it heard nearly three weeks of testimony from witnesses including the ... Continue Reading
Associates Beware: Big Law Feels No Loyalty To You
Given the endless whining and hand-wringing over the recent bump in biglaw associate starting salaries, one would think those managing partners would seek to avoid seasoning their piety with a splash of hypocrisy. Not so: We just got off the phone with Paul Tvetenstrand, managing partner at Thacher Proffitt. As reported on Above the Law, his law firm today notified 24 associates in the real estate and structured finance groups that unless the market improves substantially, they will almost certainly be laid off in January. Also, first-year associates in those groups are being offered buyouts with four months of severance. ... Continue Reading
Amazon Kindle: Scourge of the Devil
I like Amazon: it made books available on a far wider scale than anything since the Carnegie libraries. In case you're not sufficiently geeky, Amazon released it's e-book device, the Kindle (a name I like). I'm not linking to it, though, because apparently it's downright evil. Though I would prefer native support for PDFs and the like, and I would prefer not to pay a subscription fee for the same blogs I can read on the Internet, I can see the legitimate business reasons for both, and I hope the free market comes up with new solutions that correct these ... Continue Reading
Billionaire Didn’t Understand Terms of Settlement
Sam Wyly, Texas billionaire, apparently didn't understand he was settling a big case: Sam Wyly, the colorful Texas billionaire, has sued Milberg Weiss and three other plaintiffs’ firms over their handling of a 2003 settlement of shareholders class-action lawsuit against Computer Associates. Wyly’s beef? He claims that Milberg and the others left billions on the table by prematurely settling a case so they could bank some $40 million in attorneys fees. The suit was filed in state court in Manhattan and alleges legal malpractice, fraud, unjust enrichment and breach of fiduciary duty. Here’s the story from Newsday. Newsday reports that ... Continue Reading
Choose Your Words Carefully (An Example)
Really. Then again, the title garnered plenty of attention. ... Continue Reading
Brad Pitt and the Requirement Plaintiff Mitigates Damages
Brad Pitt may have walked out of a film and into a lawsuit: Brad Pitt faces possible legal action after pulling out of a movie. The 43-year-old was to have played the part of an investigative reporter in a big screen adaptation of the British TV miniseries State of Play. Production was to have started earlier this month. Universal says it's keeping the option open of suing Pitt if his part can't be recast in time to keep the other actors in place. The other stars of State of Play include Edward Norton, Helen Mirren, Rachel McAdams, Jason Bateman and ... Continue Reading
Pfizer Wins: Only Has to Defend Thousands of Cases
See, the headlines say it was a win: "Pfizer wins big Celebrex ruling" "Judge Breyer Hands Pfizer Win In Celebrex Lawsuits" Except that, from what I can tell, the Court actually (1) prevented plaintiffs from introducing evidence that 200mg/day of Celebrex increased the risk of heart failure and stroke (2) allowed plaintiffs to introduce evidence that 400mg/day or more of Celebrex increased the risk of heart failure and stroke. From reading parts of the opinion, it appears the evidence presented to the Court for 200mg risk was seriously deficient. I guess it's a "big" "win" if you presume that courts ... Continue Reading
Facts Are Stubborn Things: The Bride / Florist Lawsuit
Another day, another 'frivolous' lawsuit that's actually an interesting factual dispute: Elana Elbogen, a litigator at Kelley Drye in New York, married David Glatt at Cipriani 42nd St. this summer. She wasn’t happy with the floral arrangements. So she sued. In a breach-of-contract lawsuit filed Friday against Posy Floral Design Studios in New York state court, Elbogen alleges that the florist substituted pastel pink and green hydrangeas for the dark rust and green hydrangeas that she had specified for the centerpieces. Other issues, says the lawsuit: “using wilted and/or browned flowers, leaving the event without filling half the centerpiece vases ... Continue Reading
