Articles Posted in Miscellaneous

I have reported on a number of spoliation cases in this blog recently, but this is the first on against an attorney.  Plaintiff argued that Plaintiff’s counsel had failed to inspect or secure evidence in the possession of the plaintiff’s decedent’s employer in the underlying products liability action.  Plaintiff also filed a spoliation claim against the employer.  Both claims were dismissed, and Plaintiff appealed.

The Arkansas Supreme Court noted that a first-party spoliation claim is not recognized in Arkansas.  After reviewing law from across the nation on point, the Court said that "we believe it would be inconsistent for us to hold that a third party,  who is not a party to the underlying action, could be liable for damages, including the possibility of punitive damages, for the same conduct that would not be actionable if committed by a party to the lawsuit. Furthermore, we cannot recognize a new tort as a means to deter third-party spoliation of evidence when the result of such a tort would create potentially endless litigation over speculative loss. A victim of third-party spoliation should seek a remedy in a means other than an individual tort claim."  [Citation omitted.]

Read Downen v. Redd, NO. CV-2004-107 I (Ark. S. Ct. 11/02/06) here.  Use the "Search" function to find other spoliation cases on this blog.

Almost everyone knows that Millberg, Weiss, at one time the country’s leading class action law firm, has been indicted.  The allegation is that the firm paid plaintiffs be serve as class representatives.

I have followed the story for several years but this article in Fortune  (and posted on money.cnn.com) caught my eye while I was searching for something to read on an airplane.  You will not believe how it came to be that largest class action firm in the country got into so much trouble.

I do not know if the firm violated the law; I give it the same presumption of innocence I try to give everyone charged with a crime.  But if the facts set out in this article are true, the firm has got a problem.  A real problem.

Chris Nearn correctly pointed out that my post Saturday had incorrect dates for programs in Memphis and Nashville.   I don’t know how I messed that up.   Thanks Chris.  Here is a corrected post.

Thursday and Friday I was in Chattanooga for the first Justice Programs seminar of the year.  We doubled our attendance over that of 2005 and put together a solid seminar program (if I do say so myself).  The Reed House is a good venue.

Unfortunately, something has happened with my wireless card in my notebook computer and I was unable to post  yesterday. 

Well, I was wrong about the identity of the person who sent me the t-shirt.  It turns out it was a lawyer from Tennessee, a regular reader who is an ND fan (but not an ND grad).

Thanks again.

No, I’m not dead, just a little tired.  I have been in Cincinnati the last two days, preparing a witness one day and attending his deposition on the second day.  I did not get home until 8:15 last night and am feeling the effects of spending two long days on the road.

Today I play catch-up until I hit the road at 3:00 to go the Knoxville for the UT – LSU game tomorrow afternoon. 

I will be back next week with information you can use to better serve your clients.

Here is another blog on tort reform.

The introduction:  "Tort reform” has become a staple of Republican politics. Limits on lawsuits are offered as a solution to everything from the health care crisis and economic stagnation to America’s moral decline. Americans overwhelmingly believe that the nation is awash in frivolous lawsuits.

And that’s just where The Tortellini comes in. Because most of what you’ve heard about “lawsuit abuse” is wrong. The majority sentiment on legal reform comes courtesy of a long disinformation campaign by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other big business sponsors like the tobacco, insurance and automobile industries. These folks have managed to convince voters from to Hawaii to Maine that plaintiffs in civil actions are whiners, hustlers, and layabouts, and that their attempts to win the “lawsuit lottery” have created a “litigation explosion.”

The Davidson County jury list includes an unusual entry this week.

Each prospective juror is supposed to complete a questionnaire and then a jury list is completed with includes  the stated employment of the juror and the juror’s spouse.  One juror listed his employment as "Professor."  He listed his wife’s employment as "Disciple of Satan."

Turns out they are going through a divorce.

Notre Dame beat Navy, just like they have done every year since 1963. 

I guess if you beat a team 43 years in a row you have a reason to be proud . . . of the person who negotiates your football schedule.

The passing game coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys has sued McDonalds after his family found a 6-inch rat in a salad.

Appparently "rat salad" was not on the menu.

The rat was not discovered until the salad was taken home.  Some of the salad was consumed  by the coach’s wife and a live-in babysitter before the rat was discovered.

I drove to Atlanta last night so that I could attend two days of meetings preparing for an upcoming class certification hearing in St. Louis.  We are going to work at polishing our team’s arguments for the hearing and testing our visual aids. 

On Thursday night I will be coming back to Nashville because we have a mediation in a medical negligence case set for Friday.  Then off to Cincinnati next week to defend a deposition in a business litigation matter.

That, added to the top of spending three days in West Tennessee and two days in Dallas last week, has me dragging a little bit.  Travel doesn’t have the excitement it once did.