The U.S. Supreme Court today held that state and federal courts sitting in State A lack the power to compel someone who resides outside of State A to answer a lawsuit in State A unless the out-of-stater did something that caused harm in State A. Hurting a person who lives in State A won't do it. You pretty
Law Firm Has No Duty to Squeal on Client, Seventh Circuit Holds
By Barry Barnett on
Does a law firm have a duty in tort to squeal on management to the board of directors?
Not in Illinois, the Seventh Circuit ruled last week. Peterson v. Winston & Strawn, LLP, No. 12-3512, slip op. at 4-5 (7th Cir. Sept. 6, 2013) (affirming dismissal of malpractice complaint).
The panel also cited its doubts that…
Going Mano-a-Monorail: Tort Liability for Bum Design Advice
By Barry Barnett on
You may recall, as Blawgletter fondly does, a Simpsons episode featuring a monorail that an itinerant huckster — Lyle Lanley — convinced the good people of Springfield to buy for $3 million. The money came from a fine the town assessed against power plant owner C. Montgomery Burns for dumping nuclear waste.
The decision to invest in…
BP Securities Cases Land in Houston
By Barry Barnett on
British Petroleum now faces a two-front litigation war.
Yesterday, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation sent to the U.S. district court in New Orleans dozens of cases alleging personal injury, wrongful death, property damage, and other economic loss resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In re Oil Spill by the Oil Rig "Deepwater Horizon" in the Gulf …