John O'Brien News
Congressional tort reform caucus faces hurdles, observer says
Obama WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - A legal reform proponent says the newly formed Congressional Civil Justice Caucus will have a tough time drumming up support from the current administration.
Attorneys asked for desperation switch, drug stores claim
Glasser ST. LOUIS -– Only after a federal judge called its lawsuit "laughable" and "reprehensible" did a West Virginia firm attempt to switch the case to a different court, a group of drug stores is claiming.
Federal judge strikes down ObamaCare
PENSACOLA, Fla. (Legal Newsline) – A federal judge in Florida has ruled that the mandate in President Barack Obama's health care reform law that requires individuals to purchase health insurance is unconstitutional.
No full review ordered in asbestos firm's fraud case
Peirce RICHMOND, Va. -– A federal appeals court has denied a Pittsburgh asbestos law firm's request for a full rehearing of an issue in the fraud case against it.
Vacation postpones dispute over W.Va. AG's settlement
McGraw RICHMOND, Va. - A family vacation has apparently pushed oral arguments in state Attorney General Darrell McGraw's dispute with the federal Medicaid agency back two months.
AG McGraw says he's not a class action lawyer
McGraw RICHMOND, Va. - Calling some of its arguments "weak" and "absurd," state Attorney General Darrell McGraw has responded to a group of pharmacies that claims his lawsuit against it is a class action.
Asbestos firm wants review of fraud case ruling
Peirce RICHMOND, Va. -– A Pittsburgh law firm accused of conspiring to fabricate asbestos claims wants a full panel of appellate judges to review a ruling that reinstated the fraud case against it.
Drug stores say McGraw case is a class action
McGraw RICHMOND, Va. -- A group of pharmacies is telling a federal appeals court that West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw is acting like a class action lawyer.
Fraud case against Pittsburgh asbestos firm given new life
Robert Peirce RICHMOND, Va. - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has reinstated a fraud case filed by CSX Transportation against a Pittsburgh law firm.
Election briefs filed by Tomblin, Thompson and Tennant
Tomblin CHARLESTON - Three potential candidates for West Virginia's governor's office have filed briefs in lawsuits before the state Supreme Court that request a special gubernatorial election in 2011.
Six AGs, including McGraw, under ATRA microscope
McGraw WASHINGTON -- A tort reform group says, in a new report, that some plaintiffs attorneys have used their relationships with state attorneys general as "a litigious cash cow."
Asbestos defendant seeks $1M in legal fees in fraud case
Daniel Mulholland, of Forman Perry Watkins Krutz & Tardy, litigated the fraud case against the two asbestos attorneys. NATCHEZ, Miss. -- Two attorneys found to have committed fraud during asbestos litigation may be on the hook for nearly $1 million in legal fees incurred by the company that fought them.
McGraw: Feds wrong to take settlement funds
McGraw RICHMOND, Va. -- State Attorney General Darrell McGraw is telling a federal appeals court that the federal government lacked the authority to take $450,000 from one of his settlements with a pharmaceutical company.
Drug stores want McGraw lawsuit stayed
McGraw RICHMOND, Va. (Legal Newsline) -- Six prescription drug retailers want West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw's lawsuit against them stayed, just as a similar lawsuit that was once called "absolutely reprehensible" by a federal judge has been.
Feds make case against McGraw
McGraw RICHMOND, Va. -- The federal government is again making its argument that West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw gave the funds from a 2004 settlement to all the wrong parties.
Judge says West Virginian shouldn't represent Michigan
Brian Glasser GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The state of Michigan's interests won't be served by a West Virginia whistleblower and a West Virginia law firm in a lawsuit against prescription drug retailers, a Michigan judge has ruled.
Asbestos issue leads to bitterness on Miss. SC
Peirce JACKSON, Miss. -- A divided Mississippi Supreme Court has decided a judge was right to buy the story of asbestos attorneys in a "he said, he said" dispute over a private settlement conference, with a group of resentful dissenters lamenting the long-term effects of the decision.
Attorney: Tax break would create more litigation, partnership with feds
Williams HUNTINGTON -- A Huntington defense attorney says a possible trial lawyer tax break that has attracted the attention of 25 U.S. senators would make the federal government partners with plaintiffs attorneys.
Report probes states' Supreme Court spending
WASHINGTON -- The firm of heavyweight Alabama plaintiffs attorney Jere Beasley gave more than $600,000 to a candidate for the state Supreme Court in 2008 without appearing on a list of her contributors, a recent report shows.
CSX: Asbestos firm wants Fourth Circuit 'left in the dark'
Robert Peirce RICHMOND, Va. -- CSX Transportation says the dismissal of 1,400 asbestos cases in West Virginia has everything to do with its fraud case against a Pittsburgh law firm.