Failure To Prevent Bullying Can Prove Costly To School Districts

Wed, 08 May 2013 16:09:00 -0400

As awareness of school bullying increases, so do parents' expectations of school districts. With supervisory power over children all day, school districts obviously have a special responsibility to keep children safe from injuries, including harm that can come from other children. School districts are seeing a rise in lawsuits stemming from such injuries.

Recently, a Duval County, Fla., jury returned a $100,000 verdict for a minor who was violently attacked by a known school bully in S.B., by and through her Natural Parent and Guardian, Beverly Cox, v. Duval County School Board

Nintendo Must Pay More Than $30 Million For 3DS Video Game's Infringement Of Patent

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:11:00 -0400

Tomita Technologies International, Inc. owns U.S. Patent No. 7,417,664 issued in 2008 relating to stereoscopic 3-D images on-screen for viewing with the naked eye. Tomita International granted an exclusive license to the patent to Tomita Technologies USA, LLC. In 2011, Nintendo Co., Ltd. and its subsidiary, Nintendo of America, Inc., began selling the Nintendo 3DS at their retail store, Nintendo World. Nintendo advertised the 3DS as providing "incredible gameplay featuring real 3D graphics, with no need for special glasses." It also touted its product as a "breakthrough in portable entertainment" and a "truly cutting-edge piece of hardware."

On June 22, 2011, Tomita sued Nintendo in the United States District

Federal Judge Upholds $368 Million Patent Infringement Verdict Against Apple, Inc.

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:09:00 -0400

On Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013, Texas Federal District Judge Leonard Davis denied Apple, Inc.'s motion for post-trial relief from a substantial verdict that had been awarded to plaintiff VirnetX in November of 2012 (VirnetX, Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc., et al., No. 6:12-cv-00855-LED; 6:10-cv-00417-LED, E.D. Texas).

The suit, which was filed in the Eastern District of Texas in August of 2010, involved a number of infringement claims relating to VirnetX's patents for virtual private network (VPN) technology. VirnetX claimed that several companies, including Cisco Systems, Inc. and Apple Inc., infringed on the claims. Judge Davis had granted the motion for separate trials against the Apple and Cisco defendants, with

So Sorry You Just Spent A Decade In Jail For A Crime You Didn't Commit. Can We Make It Up With A Million Or So Dollars?

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 14:06:00 -0400

We'd like to believe that everyone who ends up in jail deserves it. After all, there are safeguards in place - a professional police force to investigate, an impartial judge to oversee the case, and a jury of peers to review the evidence. Unfortunately, sometimes the accused's protestations of innocence are true and not just a hardened criminal's routine stance.

So it is that, after years, even decades, newly discovered evidence or newly uncovered corruption leads to freedom for a wrongfully accused inmate. Now free, even with a cleared record, means that the inmate has lost possibly years in the workforce, in relationships, and in living. Is there any way to make up for that?

The answer is most probably, no, there is no way to truly make

Inadequate Security Cases Involving Third-Party Crimes Yield Favorable Results

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:07:00 -0400

For plaintiffs' lawyers, premises liability actions can be tricky when it comes to trying to prove liability. The ordinary slip and fall cases hinge on whether or not a plaintiff is able to prove that the property owner/business owner had actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition. Trying to prove that an owner knew or should have known about a puddle of water on the floor can be....well, slippery. That problem becomes somewhat simplified when what you are trying to prove knowledge of crimes or criminal activity. In recent cases involving claims of inadequate security, plaintiffs' attorneys have been able to prove this point, as well as damages, in a big way.

In 2011, a $4,255,280 jury verdict was rendered in favor of plaintiff Yahtavian Bellamy, who was a business invitee on Oct. 8, 2006, at Boomers!, a children's entertainment and fun park in Dania Beach, FL. Plaintiff was shot at around 12:50 a.m. as he was trying to leave an argument between

Suggested Verdict Form In Florida Personal Injury Cases Creates Potential For Ambiguous Results, Additur Awards

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 16:59:00 -0400

Florida personal injury attorneys are familiar with the jury verdict form regularly used. Specifically, the question asked to jurors, leading into a plaintiff's entitlement to non-economic damages, generally reads "Did the plaintiff sustain a permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability as a result of the incident complained of?" The jury is required to answer the question yes or no in order to determine whether or not to move onto the section that would award damages for non-economic losses such as pain and suffering. However, an interesting issue arose recently in Margaret Catinella v. Kevin Boyles, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Stanley L. Lowery, Deceased, a Circuit Court case out of Palm Beach County, Fla., Case no. 50-2009-CA 23523, 47 U.S.C.S. Section 227(e)(5). But for consumers, the Act offers a private right of action, including $500 in damages per violation, which can be trebled at the discretion of the court upon a finding of a knowing or willful violation. See

$26 Million Settlement Reached In Mortgage-Backed Securities Shareholder Class Action

timothy.raub@lexisnexis.com (Timothy Raub) — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 13:21:00 -0400

NEW YORK - (Mealey's) Lead plaintiffs in a securities class action lawsuit against The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and others have agreed to settle their claims for more than $26 million, according to court documents filed July 31 in a New York federal court (Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi v. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., et al., No. 09-1110, S.D. N.Y.).

(Motion for preliminary approval of settlement available. Document #57-120813-066B.)

According to

Lathrop & Gage Wins $13.49 Million Jury Verdict For Munchkin Inc. In False Advertising Dispute Against Playtex

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 15:21:00 -0400

California jury finds that Playtex deliberately deceived consumers regarding odor control abilities of its Diaper Genie Elite

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Lathrop & Gage LLP on July 26 announced that it won a significant jury verdict on behalf of its client, baby products maker Munchkin Inc., in a false advertising dispute with Playtex Products LLC over false and misleading claims that Playtex made regarding the odor-concealing effectiveness of its Diaper Genie Elite diaper pails (Munchkin, Inc. v. Playtex Products, LLC, No. 11-0503, C.D. Calif. [verdict summary available to lexis.com subscribers]).

In what has been called a David versus Goliath case, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled in favor of Los Angeles-based

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds 'ObamaCare,' Reversing Federal District Court Decisions

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 11:46:00 -0400

By the LexisNexis Jury Verdicts and Settlements Team

On Thursday, June 28, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the individual mandate set out in the "ObamaCare" health insurance reform bill, more properly known as the Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act (ACA), 26 U.S.C.S. § 5000A (National Federation of Independent Business, et al. v. Sebelius, et al., No. 11-393, U.S. Sup. [enhanced version available to lexis.com subscribers]).

This was probably the most anticipated and politically momentous judicial ruling since Gore v. Bush determined

The Cost Of Environmental Damage: Refineries, Pesticide Manufacturer Pay Out $150 Million In Recent Settlements Of Separate Suits

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 21:04:00 -0400

While the Gulf Oil Spill has communities and government agencies focusing on mitigation and prevention, not to mention restitution, the United States is joining with states around the country to ensure that environmental laws are being enforced for everyday actions. In the past several weeks, the LexisNexis Jury Verdicts and Settlements staff has noted the settlement of two large environmental cases. The most recent settlement involved clean water claims brought by various municipalities in the Midwest against pesticide manufacturer, Syngenta, with the other action involving federal clean air enforcement claims against the Hess Corporation.

The Clean Air Act imposes several burdens on industry, requiring permits for major modifications as well as establishing emissions limits. While transgressions may be relatively minor, in and of themselves, they do add up. And the U.S. Department of Justice has remained active in enforcement. Several recent cases have led to settlements

Calif. Appeals Court Strikes Down $577M Judgment In Breach Of Contract, Fraud Suit Against Boeing, Boeing Satellite Systems International

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:02:00 -0400

On April 13, 2012, The Boeing Company and a subsidiary, Boeing Satellite Systems International, Inc., successfully wiped out a $577,000,000 judgment that ICO Global Communications, Ltd. had obtained in 2008. 2012 Jury Verdicts LEXIS 4281. In an unpublished unanimous decision by the California Court of Appeals, Second District, the court found that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Emile H. Elias had erred in denying Boeing's motions to set aside the jury's verdict completely. Although Judge Elias had reduced the original jury verdict by $120,000,000, the appellate court found that there was insufficient evidence to support any award at all.

The suit, which was originally filed by Boeing in 2004, arose out of satellite manufacturing and launch contracts between ICO Global Communications and Boeing's predecessors

Mortgage Meltdown Litigation Pays Hundreds Of Millions To Injured Plaintiffs

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 12:19:00 -0400

The economy seems to be heading at last into recovery territory, and the mortgage crisis that began in 2007 is starting to seem like old news. But the effects of the lax underwriting standards and other questionable loan practices that spawned the crisis continue to play out in courts across the country. According to cases being covered in the LexisNexis Jury Verdicts and Settlements, a recent uptick in settlements is occurring. With sometimes staggering losses sustained by some of these plaintiffs, they are choosing to resolve their legal claims and move forward, often with substantial sums of money put back into their pockets. The amounts, and the legal claims underlying the settlements, vary from plaintiff to plaintiff and jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but the theme seems to be one of moving forward and getting back to business.

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