Wal-Mart has always been a target for many people who a monster corporation that strangles local stores and offers low-paying jobs with little benefits to locals. A story, however, in Jackson, Missouri has left many gasping. Wal-Mart has successfully sued Debbie Shank, a brain damaged former employee, for insurance money that she received before an award in a car accident case. Shank is not only struggling to survive but she lost her son recently in Iraq. Continue reading “Big Box, Small Heart: Wal-Mart Wins Judgment Against Brain Damaged Woman to Get Back Insurance Money”
Category: Torts
Virginia Tech massacre is offering $100,000 to each of the 32 families of victims killed in the 2007 shooting rampage of Seung-Hui Cho. The offer is a relatively low given the strong case of negligence by the University and the higher averages for wrongful death awards. Continue reading “Virginia Tech Offers Settlement to Families of Victims in 2007 Shooting”
There is a fascinating case emerging from Oregon. Someone posted a couple of hoax ads on Craigslist that announced that Robert Salisbury had left the area and that all of his possessions were free for the taking, including a horse. Salisbury found people ransacking his home and tried to stop people who had their trucks filled with his belongings. They refused to give them back and in doing so could be (and should be) charged criminally and sued civilly. As for Craigslist, it is notable that this is not the first time this type of hoax has been perpetrated through its site. Continue reading “Craig List Prank Leads to Ransacking of Oregon Home”
Now, this is reality TV at its best. This month, Indians were glued to their television as India’s leading tantrik or black magician Pandit Surinder Sharma tried repeatedly to kill atheist Sanal Edamaruku first with a death-causing tantra and then later with the “ultimate destruction ceremony” on live TV. This display was the result of a high-ranking government official Uma Bharati (former chief minister of the state of Madhya Pradesh) accusing her political opponents of using tantrik to cause disasters in her life. Continue reading “Indian Tantrik Tries to Kill Man on Television with Black Magic”
In our expanding video library of large cats in action, this video is simply astonishing. It shows an attack by a tiger of a man on elephant in India. What is clear is that nature tourism in India is not subject to the same tort liability rules as in the United States. Continue reading “Tourist Trap: Tiger vs. Man and Elephant”
One of the least known dangers for children is pool drains, which can have such powerful suction that they can hold a child under water or even pull organs from their bodies. Abigail Taylor, 6, died this week after struggling with the aftermath of such a nightmare: a wading pool drain at the Minneapolis Golf Club in St. Louis Park, Minn. pulled out part of her intestinal tract. Continue reading “Another Child Dies Due to Pool Drain System”
In yet another police abuse story, two California Highway Patrol officers were found guilty of using excessive force and violating the constitutional rights of 72-year-old Jack Nolan in 2006. What is remarkable is that after a jury found in his favor and issued a very reasonable $75,000 award, the judge reduced its to medical bills alone. Such judicial intervention is precisely why we lack of deterrent for certain forms of government abuses. Continue reading “California Highway Patrol Officers Found Guilty of Abusing 72-Year-Old But Judge Rescinds Most Damages”
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s office is under scrutiny after colleagues of Deputy James Council led him from a possible crime scene without drug or alcohol testing after he killed two bicyclists and almost killed a third. He was seen by witnesses driving erratically before plowing into the Third Pillar Racing Team. Some reported that he seemed in a daze by witnesses. Yet, he was treated in a starkly different fashion for most such potential defendants. Continue reading “Police Officer is Led From Scene by Colleagues after Hitting Line of Bicyclists Without Drug or Alcohol Testing”
An interesting police abuse case has been filed in Nevada. Federal agent Brad Hare is suing the Henderson police department over a beating he allegedly received when officers were called by a disgruntled pool opponent. Continue reading “Law Enforcement Officer Sued City Over Police Abuse”
Kate and Gerry McCann, parents of missing Madeleine McCann, have accepted £550,000 ($1.1 million) in damages for libel and front page apologies from the Daily Express and the Daily Star newspapers for their coverage suggesting that they killed Madeleine. Continue reading “McCanns Win Over $1 Million in Libel Case Against British Newspapers”
Securities trader Stephen Chang could well create new law with his lawsuit in New York. There are copious cases on medical malpractice, legal malpractice, but now he would like to create a law of stripper malpractice after lap dancer negligently swiveled and hit him in the face with the heel of her shoe. This is only the latest addition to a growing number of cases in the area of stripper jurisprudence. Continue reading “Negligent Lap Dance: Man Sues Over Injurious Lap Dance”
Richard “Dickie” Scruggs has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe a judge — a plea that will likely send him to jail and certainly end his controversial but storied career of the “King of Torts.” While another lawyer from his firm also pleaded guilty, his son Zach is still scheduled to go to trial. Continue reading ““Dickie” Scruggs Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Bribe Judge”
A 21-year-old woman, Centava Dozier, has filed a $200,000 lawsuit against American Airlines for alleged negligence that led to another passenger masturbating on a flight next to her and ejaculating in her hair. The case will pit the higher duties of a common carrier against the concept of a superseding intervening act. Notably, this is not the first such attack of this kind — adding to the foreseeability element. Continue reading “American Airlines Sued in Flight Masturbation Case”
There has been much speculation about the expected criminal indictment of former Eliot Spitzer, but relatively little about Client No. 9’s co-conspirator, Ashley Alexandra Dupre (AKA “Kristen”). In reality, she faces not just possible criminal but civil charges while rapidly losing her own ability to sue for defamation and privacy violations. With the reported $1 million deal to pose for Hustler magazine, civil litigation may well be considered to ensure that Dupre does not enrich herself on the scandal.
Continue reading “Call Girl Interrupted: Ashley Dupre Could Face Potential Criminal and Civil Charges”
It appears that the notorious dog vixon Puddles has competition from a golden retriever named Dux — a dog that has torn a family apart and led to a son calling police to arrest his mother, Margareta Doughty. The arrest came after protracted litigation over Dux and his . . . well . . . “doggie essence”. Continue reading “Dux Treat: Mother Arrested Over “Dognapping” After Son Calls Cops”