DeBeers, the diamond behemoth, limited supply of and fixed prices on sparklies for years and years and in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. But it sold to only a small group of outfits, none of which dared sue the font of their mercantile wealth.
That didn't stop indirect purchasers from bringing cases
A lawyer who takes a case on a bet that she will win a judgment or settlement risks more than do colleagues who bet nothing on the outcome. We call the latter hourly lawyers. And, more than ever after today, we may deem the former gougers or worse.
For on yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court
A panel of the Seventh Circuit extended the court's status as the circuit that puts the most hurdles in the way of class certification under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. It held that district courts "must conclusively rule on any challenge to the expert's qualifications or submissions prior to ruling on
A lawyer who takes a case on an hourly basis expects to collect her lodestar — hours times hourly rate — no matter the outcome.
The same lawyer, when she works on contingent fee basis, plans to earn more than her lodestar if she wins. The bonus rewards her for sharing the client's risk.
So
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 got its start as a subclause in the Contract with America. Congress overrode a veto by President Bill Clinton to pass it.
Has it panned out? The WSJ cast light on the question today.
The item focused on how much some class action law firms give to
Texas law gives a price break on title insurance to people who refinance their home equity loans in less than seven years. Many don't know about their right to a discount. Title insurers don't always tell them.
In Sims v. Stewart Title Guaranty Co., No. 09-10127 (5th Cir. Dec. 9, 2009), John and Lucy Mims and Helen
Yesterday, the Supreme Court peppered Merck's lawyer with hot questions. Before he started, at least, the advocate likely harbored hope that he could convince Their Honors that the two-year statute of limitations under 28 U.S.C. 1658(b) starts running before the plaintiff could have alleged enough facts to survive a motion to dismiss under the tough pleading standards of Bell Atl. Corp.
Attorney Lionel Hutz graduated from Princeton School of Law. He seldom won and cobbled shoes to pay the bills.
The Third Circuit today affirmed orders that awarded about $567 million in "common fund" fees. The money goes to law firms that helped win $6.44 billion in settlement funds. The claims asserted that Wyeth's weight loss drugs, fen-phen (fenfluramine