News from Across the Country


 


February 26
Overly Punitive?
The Supreme Court overturns a big tobacco verdict.

February 21
Justices Overturn Tobacco Award
The Supreme Court yesterday overturned a nearly $80 million verdict intended to punish the Philip Morris tobacco company for endangering the lives of smokers, and the justices set limits on how jurors can decide to make big business pay for wrongdoing.

February 08
Bush renews call for tort reform
President's criticism of suits is rejected by lawyers association

February 01
Physician lobby shifts strategy on medical-liability reform
Although physician lobbyists recognize that their years-long quest for a federal law capping medical-malpractice lawsuit awards is unlikely to be fulfilled by the Democratic Congress, they are taking the long view.

January 04
Class-Action Settlement Size Is Surging
While the number of cases declines, payouts -- and investor losses -- climb.

November 22
Many Police Officers Fear Being Sued More Than Being Murdered
U.S. law enforcement agencies are struggling with the threat of lawsuits regarding the conduct of officers.

November 21
Paulson Says Business Is Over-Regulated
Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. yesterday criticized the nation's "ever-expanding rulebook" and its burdensome legal system for constraining the economy but rejected wholesale revisions to a corporate accountability law under attack from business groups.

October 30
Class-action firms irate over proposed legal curbs
Prominent plaintiffs' attorneys Monday lashed out at proposals by private-sector groups that would make it tougher to bring shareholder lawsuits against corporations.

October 24
Op Ed: First, Rename all the Lawyers
If a rose would smell as sweet by any other name, will trial lawyers smell better with a new one? That's the question posed by the impending self-reinvention of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.

October 24
Four Supreme Court Cases for Small Businesses to Watch
The U.S. Supreme Court is back to business this fall term as it decides several important cases impacting employment, punitive damages, patent and antitrust laws.