Blog: Today in Legal Reform
Court to review law allowing foreigners to sue in U.S.
The Supreme Court will determine if corporations can be held liable under the 200-year old Alien Tort Statute, a law that allows foreign citizens to file suits in the American courts for actions that occurred outside the U.S. The Wall Street Journal has more.
California judge calls attorney’s request “unreasonable”
A judge in Los Angeles has denied an attorney’s fee request for $4.7 million in a suit that delivered a settlement value of $3.8 million. The judge called the request “highly unreasonable,” considering the attorney’s work was “narrow and not complex,” the National Law Journal reports.
Leading academic says FCPA needs reform
The FCPA Professor Blog defends efforts to update the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, calling critics of the proposed reforms “simply false and off-target.”
Judge ordered off case over conflict of interest
The Mississippi judge that presided over the largest asbestos verdict in history must recuse himself from the case after the state supreme court found conflicts of interest that jeopardized the judge’s impartiality. The judge’s father had been a plaintiff in another asbestos case against the defendant, Thomson Reuters reports.
Allowing jobless to sue businesses is a bad idea, say Congressman
Representative Sam Graves (R-SC) writes in the Washington Examiner that a proposal to allow the unemployed to sue businesses that don’t hire them would do more harm than good and would “create more business for trial lawyers, not small businesses, by opening the floodgates to increased litigation.”
Litigation Funding
The Wall Street Journal looks at a growing trend where investors front money for litigation in exchange for a share of any winnings. Critics of the practice say that it could put unfair pressure on defendants to settle and bring more frivolous lawsuits to trial.
Chief legal officer pushes tort reform in New York City
In a recent speech, the city’s Corporation Counsel proposed changes to its “anti-government” tort laws, including capping non-economic damages and reforming the law on joint and several liability, where the city must pay all of a plaintiff’s damages regardless of the percent of blame it bears. (Thomson Reuters)
Chief legal officer pushes tort reform in New York City
In a recent speech, the city’s Corporation Counsel proposed changes to its “anti-government” tort laws, including capping non-economic damages and reforming the law on joint and several liability, where the city must pay all of a plaintiff’s damages regardless of the percent of blame it bears. (Thomson Reuters) In a recent speech, the city’s Corporation Counsel proposed changes to its “anti-government” tort laws, including capping non-economic damages and reforming the law on joint and several liability, where the city must pay all of a plaintiff’s damages regardless of the percent of blame it bears. (Thomson Reuters)
Company fights back against unfair laws and government overreach
The CEO of Gibson Guitar has become a “reluctant warrior” as his company pushes back against excessive government regulations. Earlier this year, federal agents raided Gibson factories in Tennessee looking for illegally imported wood. The CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz, has denied the charges and pointed to the raids as an example of harassment that hurts as companies work to create jobs. He will be at ILR’s Legal Reform Summit in October to share his story. (The Hill)
The CEO of Gibson Guitar has become a “reluctant warrior” as his company pushes back against excessive government regulations. Earlier this year, federal agents raided Gibson factories in Tennessee looking for illegally imported wood. The CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz, has denied the charges and pointed to the raids as an example of harassment that hurts as companies work to create jobs. He will be at ILR’s Legal Reform Summit in October to share his story. (The Hill)
Company fights back against unfair laws and government overreach
The CEO of Gibson Guitar has become a “reluctant warrior” as his company pushes back against excessive government regulations. Earlier this year, federal agents raided Gibson factories in Tennessee looking for illegally imported wood. The CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz, has denied the charges and pointed to the raids as an example of harassment that hurts as companies work to create jobs. He will be at ILR’s Legal Reform Summit in October to share his story. (The Hill)
