Spotlight

• After parking garage collapses, attorneys join together to help injured workers

Recent Cases

Admiralty

• Negligent operation of boat where woman injured in rough waves
• In limitation act proceeding, proper stipulations allow claimants to try liability issues in state court

Attorneys

• Opinion work product is free from fraud exception where attorney is unaware of client misconduct
• Failure to make timely IRS claim to obtain seized fees bars suit under sovereign immunity

Automobile Accidents

• Negligent entrustment where vehicle strikes car from behind
• Negligent entrustment where motorcycle hit by SUV in intersection
• Failure to observe road, control car
• Driver has duty to passengers to prevent foreseeable harmful conduct
• Improper lookout

Civil Rights

• Claim of racial discrimination survives summary judgment under indirect burden-shifting test
• Forfeiture proceedings are actions at law, entitling party to jury trial

Commercial Litigation

• Vertical minimum resale price fixing should be evaluated using rule of reason
• Antitrust violations, monopoly of market where casino gaming company sues rival to reduce competition

Consumer Protection

• Arbitration clause in form contract with take-it-or-leave-it provision is unconscionable
• Claims may proceed where manufacturer fails to disclose alleged defect to consumers

Damages

• Federally chartered credit unions are not immune from punitive damages awards

Employment Law

• ERISA violations where company reported false revenues to employee investors
• Disability discrimination, failure to accommodate where correction officer terminated after injury
• Equal Pay Act, Title VII violations where Hispanic, female employees paid less

Evidence

• Causation not established where expert testimony was not sufficiently reliable

Family Law

• Indirect contributions may entitle noninheriting spouse to portion of inherited property

Government Liability

• Feres doctrine does not bar FTCA suit by off-duty marine injured on base
• County may be sued over damaged stop sign

Insurance

• Workplace injury suit not precluded by “completed operations” exclusion in insurance contract
• Bad faith where automobile insurer refuses to settle lawsuits after accident

Intentional Torts

• Defamation where church accuses parishioner who fell during spiritual rally of insurance fraud

Medical Negligence

• Failure to provide medical care to inmate
• Improper treatment of finger fracture
• Failure to properly treat heart attack patient
• Untimely diagnosis of breast cancer
• Failure to diagnose mononucleosis
• Late diagnosis of benign brain tumor
• Negligent suturing after removal of ovarian cyst

Negligence

• Passengers in car that hit motorcycle had duty to seek emergency aid for injured motorcyclist
• Battery, negligent infliction of emotional distress where store security guard attacks, detains patron
• Salon customer burned by highlights solution
• Leash law violation where unleashed dog approaches woman, causing her to fall

Practice & Procedure

• Parties who could not make filing due to court computer malfunction are deemed to have filed

Premises Liability

• Dangerous condition where man slips on ice in parking lot
• Failure to perform background check where woman allegedly raped in apartment by maintenance man
• Failure to place runners, warning signs about water in movie theater causes woman to slip, fall

Products Liability

• Defective design of ankle-locking device
• Defective design of valve, alarm device in firefighters’ breathing masks
• Failure to adequately warn of drugs’ cancer risks
• Federal law does not preempt deceptive trade claims over “light” cigarettes
• Insufficient sunroof frame strength, defective seatbelt in SUV
• Manufacturing defect in motorcycle tire
• Plaintiffs’ discovery requests for information from manufacturer were not overly broad
• Proof of defect by preponderance of evidence sufficient to rebut nondefectiveness presumption

Professional Negligence

• Sexual abuse of parochial school student
• Sexual abuse by priests
• Law firm claim that included FDCPA notice as part of summons and complaint did not violate statute
• Understaffing, negligent care in nursing home
• Unlicensed facility is not protected by medical negligence law’s notice provisions
• Failure to precertify treatment of patient who attempted suicide

Railroads

• FELA violations where truck boom strikes carman in head

Schools

• Deliberate indifference to need for oversight of football recruitment may be Title IX violation

Toxic Torts

• State law recognizes medical monitoring claim

Workplace Safety

• State workers’ compensation insurer is “person” under § 1983 and is thus not entitled to immunity
• Negligent operation of bulldozer where worker is trapped between bulldozer, rig
• Negligent inspection, maintenance where worker injured when tractor-trailer brakes fail

In this Issue

• Articles
• Updates
• Court Documents
• 2007 Annual Index