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, [...]
The Third Circuit’s 1:1 Punitive Damages Ruling: The Lingering Complications of State Farm v. Campbell
On Christmas Eve, the Third Circuit issued its opinion in Jurinko v. The Medical Protective Company and The Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error (MCARE) Fund, a fascinating insurance bad faith claim arising from the failure to tender policy limits in a medical malpractice case, prompting an article in yesterday’s Legal Intelligencer and a flurry of twitter and blog activity. Perhaps it’s a lesson to all of us in the limitations of twitter and blogs and other rapid-response social media. Bob Ambrogi’s tweet “3rd Circuit imposes 1-1 ratio for punitive to compensatory damages” was technically correct, as was this ... Continue Reading
Breaking! Newspaper Doesn’t Like Biography of Trial Lawyer Who Beat Them
The Philadelphia Inquirer published a review of the just-released biography of Jim Beasley, the founder of my firm: Legendary Philadelphia trial lawyer Jim Beasley achieved national fame - and vast wealth - by magically spinning humdrum details into compelling courtroom drama. Former Inquirer reporter Ralph Cipriano's account of Beasley's life, unfortunately, too often does the opposite. ... Part of the problem is structural. The original book idea was for Beasley and Cipriano to write about Beasley's big cases, which are world-class: Epic battles against The Inquirer on behalf of Dick Sprague; Beasley versus boxing impresario Don King; Beasley winning a ... Continue Reading
“Quinn Emanuel Hit With Malpractice Suit” — More Business Contingent-Fee Madness
The American Lawyer describes the case: Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges has been hit with a malpractice lawsuit that claims the firm botched a $48.8 million settlement even as it took in some $12 million in contingency fees. ... The complaint against Quinn Emanuel highlights how -- as a result of a contingency agreement that essentially guaranteed Quinn Emanuel half of any amount recovered up to $20 million and 20 percent thereafter -- the firm has received approximately $12 million in fees for representing Kurtin. That amount is equal to what Kurtin himself has gotten to date from the ... Continue Reading
No One Wants To Be A Plaintiff: The Tragedies of The Santa Gunman
From the Associated Press: Pardo's downward slide ended Christmas Eve, when the 45-year-old electrical engineer donned a Santa suit and massacred nine people at his former in-laws' house in Covina, where a family Christmas party was under way. He then used a homemade device disguised as a present to spray racing fuel that quickly sent the home up in flames. Pardo had planned to flee to Canada following the killing spree but suffered third-degree burns in the fire — which melted part of the Santa suit to him — and decided to kill himself instead, investigators said. His body, with ... Continue Reading
Happy Newtonmas!
In the New York Times: Some years ago, the evolutionist and atheist Richard Dawkins pointed out to me that Sir Isaac Newton, the founder of modern physics and mathematics, and arguably the greatest scientist of all time, was born on Christmas Day, and that therefore Newton’s Birthday could be an alternative, if somewhat nerdy, excuse for a winter holiday. Think of the merchandise! Newton is said to have discovered the phenomenon of gravity by watching apples fall in an orchard. (His insight came after pondering why they always fall down, rather than upwards or sideways.) Newton’s Birthday cards could feature ... Continue Reading
“Loser Pays” Again In The Wall Street Journal — A Stealth Plan for Closing the Courthouse Doors to Individuals
Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal included an editorial by Dan Slater (who runs the WSJ Law Blog) called "The Debate Over Who Pays Fees When Litigants Mount Attacks," suggesting reconsideration of the “English Rule,” in which unsuccessful litigants are required to reimburse their opponent's legal fees and costs (a/k/a the “loser pays” system), as contrasted to the “American Rule,” in which each party bears their own legal expenses: Legal experts think a loser-pays system cuts down on frivolous suits. Those clearly hurt the U.S. The nation's tort system cost $245.7 billion in 2003, amounting to about 2.2% of total gross domestic product, according ... Continue Reading
How Not To Spend $120 Million In Hourly Fees On A Single Trial: A Few Questions for Robertson v. Princeton
Yesterday we discussed the outrageous attorneys fees in the Robertson v. Princeton suit, which amounted to $80 million in pre-trial litigation costs and $40 million in projected trial costs. Based on those fees, it seems each side had a team of 6 lawyers working all day, every day, for all 6.5 years of the litigation, all for a case more comparable in size to a complicated personal injury / wrongful death case than a major commercial or business case. It's time to ask some basic business / commercial litigation questions. Did the lawyers engage in 'total war' litigation? Did the ... Continue Reading
$120 Million In Hourly Billing For A Single Trial: What Happened In Robertson v. Princeton?
The blog "How Appealing" has plenty of links on the $90 million settlement of the donor-intent suit brought against Princeton University by the heirs to the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (and now A&P supermarket) fortune, alleging misuse of a 1961 donation of $35 million which had swelled in value to over half a billion dollar. The case was scheduled to go to trial in New Jersey state court in January. Pretrial litigation costs were $40 million for each side. Princeton expected its own trial costs to reach $20 million; it's fair to assume that the Robertson's trial costs would have ... Continue Reading
The Epidemic Breaches of Fiduciary Duty Behind The $50 Billion Ponzi Scheme
Thomas Friedman misses the boat: I have no sympathy for Madoff. But the fact is, his alleged Ponzi scheme was only slightly more outrageous than the "legal" scheme that Wall Street was running, fueled by cheap credit, low standards and high greed. What do you call giving a worker who makes only $14,000 a year a nothing-down and nothing-to-pay-for-two-years mortgage to buy a $750,000 home, and then bundling that mortgage with 100 others into bonds — which Moody's or Standard & Poors rate AAA — and then selling them to banks and pension funds the world over? That is what ... Continue Reading
“The Stupid Call,” A Standard Defense Lawyer’s Trick
Cal Biz Lit tips us off in a great how-to post for defense lawyers about an early step in the process: This first step is not unique to California, and not unique to product liability cases. In fact, Phone the phrase “stupid call” wasn’t even invented in California. As far as I know, the phrase was invented by a friend of mine who practices product liability nationally but is based in Montana. The elements of the first step are incredibly simple: 1. Pick up telephone; 2. Dial number of plaintiff attorney; 3. Engage him or her in pleasant, or at ... Continue Reading
