A selection of the need-to-know civil justice news for the week of Sept. 6-12.
Radio Shack Coupon Settlement Gets Static From Appeals-Court Judges
Daniel Fisher | Forbes
Lawyers trying to defend a class-action settlement with Radio Shack endured withering — and sometimes hilarious — questioning before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals as judges questioned why the lawyers should be paid $1 million in cash for a deal that gives their clients coupons worth a fraction as much.
NJ Supreme Court Mulls New Bad Faith Insurance Standard
Joshua Alston | Law360
Attorneys for two motorists told the New Jersey Supreme Court on Tuesday to create a new judicial standard around bad faith claims in insurance coverage disputes, arguing current standards give insurers free rein to reject arbitration awards and discourage insureds from pursuing claims.
Stuart Rabner Could Make History as Longest-Serving Chief Justice of N.J. Supreme Court
Salvador Rizzo | The Star-Ledger
You don’t see him on TV or lighting fires on social media. But Chief Justice Stuart Rabner of the New Jersey Supreme Court is likely to become one of the most influential legal minds of his generation — leading a court known for its groundbreaking decisions and writing authoritative opinions that often become models for states far beyond Jersey’s borders.
Rabner Makes Mark on N.J. Supreme Court with Rulings on Eyewitness Testimony, Electronic Privacy
Salvador Rizzo | The Star-Ledger
At his reconfirmation hearing this year in the state Senate, Chief Justice Stuart Rabner was hammered for hours as a symbol of a “liberal” and “activist” court blindly pouring billions of tax dollars into stunted public schools.
Companies Get New Weapon to Fight Deal Lawsuits
Liz Hoffman | Wall Street Journal
Good news out of Delaware for companies in merger mode. In a ruling late Monday, a judge handed boards of directors a tool to corral the stampede of shareholder lawsuits that follow nearly every corporate deal.
Dad Files $4.5M Suit Over ‘Defective’ T-ball Set That Left His Boy With 300 Stitches
John Marzulli | New York Daily News
The father of a Staten Island youngster has filed a $4.5 million lawsuit against the maker of a plastic T-ball bat that came apart and caused a horrific laceration to the boy’s face, requiring more than 300 stitches.
Court OKs Arbitration Clause Minus Ban on Treble Damages
Mary Pat Gallagher | New Jersey Law Journal
A New Jersey appeals court held Sept. 8 that an arbitration clause should be enforced in a state Consumer Fraud Act case, even though it conflicts with the statutory provision for treble damages.
Minimum-Wage Fights Create Rift Among Cheerleaders
Eric Morath | Wall Street Journal
National Football League cheerleaders pushing for fair wages won an initial victory last week, but not all of their former colleagues are rooting them on.
NJ Ruling On Gym Slip Could Weaken ‘Hold Harmless’ Clauses
Joshua Alston | Law360
A recent New Jersey appellate decision revived a premises liability suit against a gym despite a broad “hold harmless” clause, and even though the court stressed the ruling’s narrow applicability to health club facilities, experts say it could erode exculpatory clauses in consumer contracts beyond the fitness industry.
New Verdict in Landmark Remittitur Case Survives Appeal
Mary Pat Gallagher | New Jersey Law Journal
The case that spawned a landmark New Jersey Supreme Court decision allowing trial judges greater leeway to remit jury verdicts might have finally come to a close as the result of a Sept. 2 appellate court holding that affirmed the damages awarded in a second jury trial.
BP Gets Support From U.K. Government in U.S. Lawsuit Over Spill
Will Kennedy | Bloomberg
BP got support from the U.K. government in its U.S. court fight over the level of compensation required under a settlement of lawsuits stemming from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Lawmakers Express Desire to Increase Judges’ Retirement Age
Michael Booth | New Jersey Law Journal
New Jersey lawmakers appear closer to taking another step toward increasing the mandatory retirement age of the state’s judges.
Fla. Lawyer’s Pro Hac Vice Admission Denied in ADA Case
Charles Toutant | New Jersey Law Journal
A Newark federal judge has denied pro hac vice admission to a disability lawyer from Florida based on his frequent use of that mechanism to practice in the District of New Jersey.
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