A selection of the need-to-know civil justice news for the week of August 8-14.

 

Who win$ di$crimination law$uit$? The lawyer$, of cour$e.

The Employer Handbook | Eric B. Meyer

About 3 years ago, after a 6-day trial, a Colorado federal jury concluded that a plaintiff had been retaliated against for participating in a discrimination complaint process. But, the jury didn’t award her much: $14,000 for out-of-pocket expenses, and $5,000 for emotional distress, pain, suffering, embarrassment, humiliation or damages to reputation. Then, her lawyers filed a motion for attorney’s fees and costs. They requested $575,683.83.

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NJ High Court Poised To Reshape Arbitration Disputes

Martin Bricketto | Law360

A 2014 New Jersey Supreme Court decision upping requirements for consumer arbitration agreements has made it easier for some plaintiffs to pursue claims in court and spurred companies to retrofit their contracts. Now, almost a year after Atalese v. U.S. Legal Services Group LP, the justices are considering another arbitration case that could bring even more changes.

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Essex County to Get Relief From Judge Shortage

Matt Friedman | Politico New Jersey

Essex County is about to get some judicial relief. The state Senate on Monday confirmed eight new Superior Court judges who are likely to be assigned to the county, which for years has suffered from a severe judge shortage.

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Lawyers Divided Over NJ Ruling Letting Schools Sue Bullies

Charles Toutant | New Jersey Law Journal

After a school district that was sued by an ex-student for bullying was granted permission to pursue third-party claims against some of the alleged bullies, the idea of a school district pursuing legal claims against students who misbehave is getting mixed reviews from lawyers.

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Roche Still Perfect In Accutane Appeals With Defiant Tactic

Sindhu Sundar | Law360

Hoffmann-LaRoche Inc.’s defeat of a $25 million verdict over its Accutane drug extends its perfect record challenging judgments in the long-running consolidated litigation, marked by what attorneys say is the drugmaker’s unusually aggressive strategy of whittling down suits and challenging trial losses rather than capitulating to a settlement.

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I Got a Bad Pedicure, and Now I Can’t Have Sex!

Kathianne Boniello | New York Post

And this little piggy . . . limped all the way to court. A Manhattan man claims a botched pedicure at a Harlem nail salon has made him paranoid and unable to walk normally or have sex — after a worker cut his pinky toe with a prohibited tool, leaving him with a painful limp, according to a lawsuit.

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Uber Gets a Class-Action Tutorial

Wall Street Journal

Hipsters in the Internet economy like to think of themselves as progressives, but we wonder how they’re enjoying being mugged by reality. The plaintiffs lawyers who finance progressive politicians are now assailing Web start ups with class actions the way they do the rest of business.

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Neighbors Sue Parents of Portage Bay Girl Who Feeds Crows

David Ham | KIRO

Earlier this year a story about an 8-year-old Seattle girl’s relationship with crows went viral. Gabi Mann started feeding crows daily two years ago and the birds would leave her trinkets. However, her Portage Bay neighbors said the murder of crows would caw and leave droppings throughout the neighborhood.

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