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A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint. If the plaintiff is successful, judgment is in the plaintiff's favor, and a variety of court orders may be issued to enforce a right, award damages, or impose a temporary or permanent injunction to prevent an act or compel an act. A declaratory judgment may be issued to prevent future legal disputes.
Edward Davis (Ed) Fagan is a former American reparations lawyer who was disbarred for his conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation. Fagan lost his license in both New York and New Jersey for failing to pay court fines and fees and for stealing client money and escrow trust funds from Holocaust survivors. He currently lives in Boca Raton, Florida.
A Civil Action is a 1998 American legal drama film written and directed by Steven Zaillian, based on the 1995 book of the same name by Jonathan Harr. Starring John Travolta and Robert Duvall, it tells the true story of a court case about environmental pollution that took place in Woburn, Massachusetts in the 1980s. The film and court case revolve around the issue of trichloroethylene, an industrial solvent, and its contamination of a local aquifer. A lawsuit was filed over industrial operations that appeared to have caused fatal cases of leukemia and cancer, as well as a wide variety of other health problems, among the citizens of the city. The case involved is Anne Anderson, et al., v. Cryovac, Inc., et al.. The first reported decision in the case is at 96 F.R.D. 431. Duvall was nominated for an Oscar for his performance.
Attorney's fee is a chiefly United States term for compensation for legal services performed by an attorney for a client, in or out of court. It may be an hourly, flat-rate or contingent fee. Recent studies suggest that when lawyers charge a flat-fee rather than billing by the hour, they work less hard on behalf of clients and clients get worse outcomes. Attorney fees are separate from fines, compensatory and punitive damages, and from court costs in a legal case. Under the "American rule", attorney fees are usually not paid by the losing party to the winning party in a case, except pursuant to specific statutory or contractual rights.
Robert A. Clifford is a Chicago trial lawyer and principal partner at Clifford Law Offices. Clifford's firm specializes in "personal injury, medical malpractice, mass torts, consumer and health care fraud, product liability, and aviation and transportation disasters." He attended DePaul University for both his undergraduate work and Juris Doctorate, finishing in 1976. The firm was founded in 1984 to represent plaintiffs in personal injury and wrongful death cases.
A personal injury lawyer is a lawyer who provides legal services to those who claim to have been injured, physically or psychologically, as a result of the negligence of another person, company, government agency or any entity. Personal injury lawyers primarily practice in the area of law known as tort law. Examples of common personal injury claims include injuries from slip and fall accidents, traffic collisions, defective products, workplace injuries and professional malpractice.
Milberg LLP is a US plaintiffs' law firm, established in 1965 and based in New York City. It has mounted many class action cases on behalf of investors, and has been recognized as among the leading firms in its field by the National Law Journal, RiskMetrics Group, Securities Class Action Services, and Law360. The firm and some of its partners were charged in 2006 with offering improper inducements to plaintiffs. The case against the firm itself was dismissed in 2008, but that same year four partners pleaded guilty to charges, and many others had already left the firm.
Tort reform refers to proposed changes in the civil justice system that aim to reduce the ability of victims to bring tort litigation or to reduce damages they can receive.
Merry-Go-Round was a national clothing retail chain owned by Merry-Go-Round Enterprises, Inc., that thrived from the 1970s through the early 1990s. The chain fell into bankruptcy during the mid-1990s, and eventually ceased operation in 1996. It was famous for its ability to profit from short-lived fashion fads and also owned men's clothing retailers Silverman's, by purchasing 273 stores from Retail Ventures, Inc. (RVI), parent of American Eagle Outfitters, in 1989. In 1993, it purchased the Chess King clothing chain from the Melville Corporation. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1994 and closed in 1996. At its end, the company operated just over 500 locations, primarily in enclosed malls.
Motley Rice LLC is one of the largest American plaintiffs' litigation firms. Founded in 2003, Motley Rice seeks justice and accountability on behalf of people and institutions harmed by wrongdoing and negligence. The firm is currently involved in litigation seeking to hold accountable those who allegedly financed the September 11, 2001, attacks. Motley Rice is headquartered in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, and has offices in eight cities across the United States.
Heller Ehrman LLP was an international law firm of more than 730 attorneys in 15 offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Heller Ehrman was founded in San Francisco in 1890 and had additional offices located in most of the major financial centers around the world including New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., London, Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Jenkens & Gilchrist, P.C. was a Dallas-based law firm, founded in 1951 as Jenkens & Bowens to service the various businesses controlled by Clint Murchison, Jr. The Dallas Morning News was an early client. As a result of the extent of Murchison family holdings, the firm soon developed expertise in corporate transactions.
Recovery of funds from the Madoff investment scandal has been underway since the scandal broke in December 2008. That month, recovery trustee Irving Picard received funds from the Bank of New York account where Bernard Madoff held new investments into his Ponzi scheme. Through legal action against Madoff associates, feeder funds and beneficiaries of the scheme, the trustee has recovered $14.3 billion, of which $13.9 billion has been distributed or committed to victims.
Scott W. Rothstein is a disbarred lawyer and the former managing shareholder, chairman, and chief executive officer of the now-defunct Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm. He was accused of funding an extravagant lifestyle with a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme, one of the largest such in history. On December 1, 2009, Rothstein turned himself in to authorities and was subsequently arrested on charges related to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Although his arraignment plea was not guilty, Rothstein cooperated with the Government and reversed his plea to guilty of five federal crimes on January 27, 2010. Rothstein was denied bond by U.S. Magistrate Judge Robin Rosenbaum, who ruled that due to his ability to forge documents, he was considered a flight risk.
Arnold M. Weiner is an American lawyer in Maryland with the law firm of Rifkin Weiner Livingston LLC. He also represented former Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon, former Maryland Governor Marvin Mandel and former United States Representative Edward Garmatz. He also represented a witness who offered evidence in the case against former Vice-President Spiro Agnew.
The city of Detroit, Michigan, filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy on July 18, 2013. It is the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in U.S. history by debt, estimated at $18–20 billion, exceeding Jefferson County, Alabama's $4-billion filing in 2011. Detroit is also the largest city by population in the U.S. history to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, more than twice as large as Stockton, California, which filed in 2012. While Detroit's population had declined from a peak of 1.8 million in 1950, its July 2013 population was reported by The New York Times as a city of 700,000.
Weitz & Luxenberg P.C. is a large personal injury and medical malpractice law firm headquartered in New York, specializing in asbestos litigation. The firm also specializes in medical malpractice, consumer protection, and environmental protection litigation. Erin Brockovich, the woman made famous by Julia Roberts' portrayal of her in the movie Erin Brockovich, works with the firm on environmental cases as of 2008.
Baron & Budd, P.C. is one of the largest plaintiffs' law firms in the United States, having won "some of the largest tort lawsuits and settlements on record". Founded in 1977, the firm focuses on individuals, municipalities, and entities harmed by environmental toxins, fraud, or disregard for safety, and a variety of other areas. Their work has included representation of victims of the September 11 attacks and of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Opponents of mass tort litigation have criticized the firm for the zealousness with which it represents its clients, and for the political activities of some of its attorneys.
Reid Collins & Tsai LLP is an American law firm established in 2009 with offices in New York City, Austin, Dallas, Washington, D.C., and Montecito. The firm represents plaintiffs in complex civil litigation on a mixed-fee or contingency-fee basis.
Asbestos bankruptcy trusts are trusts established by firms that have filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code to pay personal injury claims caused by exposure to asbestos. At least 56 such trusts were established from the mid-1970s to 2011.
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Weltchek Mallahan & Weltchek - Ernst & Young". Wmwlawfirm.com. Weltchek Mallahan & Weltchek. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
- ↑ Steinhauer, Jennifer (February 3, 1996). "Bankrupt Merry-Go-Round Decides to Go Out of Business". The New York Times . Retrieved September 3, 2013.