A Philadelphia jury has awarded $2.36 million to a boy kicked in the face by a horse at a program famous for involving inner-city youths in horseback riding and polo matches. Plaintiff Pharaoh Williams and Williams’ mother, Callie Williams, of North Philadelphia, sued Work To Ride Inc. — a nonprofit created in 1994 to provide urban youths with activities centered around horses — for the broken jaw and other injuries Williams suffered after he was kicked in the face by a horse being loaded into a trailer.
Posts on ‘October 2nd, 2009’
In Divorce Case, Judge Finds Texas Ban on Gay Marriage Unconstitutional
A judge in Dallas has held that Texas’ constitutional ban on gay marriage violates the 14th Amendment. District Judge Tena Callahan found that she has jurisdiction to hear a suit for divorce of two men legally married in another jurisdiction and struck the plea to the jurisdiction filed by the Texas Office of the Attorney General. Attorney General Greg Abbott, who intervened in the case, says he will appeal the ruling.
Is the iPhone Ready for Law Firms?
IT directors are reluctant to switch from the BlackBerry to the iPhone because the BlackBerry is designed from the ground up to do one thing: transmit e-mail securely. But the iPhone 3GS, along with its 3.0 OS, is now more business-friendly with enterprise-focused improvements.
Federal Judge Orders Cheney Interviews Released
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Thursday ordered the Justice Department to release records of interviews with former Vice President Dick Cheney conducted during its investigation into the Valerie Plame leak. Judge Emmet Sullivan rejected the DOJ’s argument that releasing the interviews would have a chilling effect on future investigations involving White House officials. He found that the government had failed to show that “specific ongoing or reasonably anticipated law enforcement proceedings” would be impacted.
Judge Orders Toyota to Hold All Car-Crash Documents
When crash victims Raul and Diana Lopez settled their claims against Toyota, they had no reason to believe the company had engaged in misconduct, their complaint says — until former Toyota in-house lawyer Dimitrios Biller filed his own lawsuit against the company alleging discovery violations. Because of Biller’s claims, a federal judge in Texas has issued a temporary restraining order in the Lopez case instructing Toyota to put a hold on virtually all communications that may be relevant to car-crash plaintiffs.
New Report Shows Signs of Life in Law Firm Merger Market
The law firm merger market didn’t rebound in the third quarter of 2009, but it showed some signs of life after a sluggish second quarter. Thirteen U.S. firms announced mergers between the start of July and the end of September, according to Altman Weil’s MergerLine report. That’s up from just seven in the second quarter, but down from the 25 announced in the first quarter of the year. However, according to Hildebrandt International’s MergerWatch report, only seven mergers were actually completed in the third quarter.
D.C. Appeals Court Rejects Disbarment Request in Tax Case
The D.C. Court of Appeals on Thursday imposed a five-year license suspension on lawyer Henry Uscinski Jr. for violations tied to a Florida case and remanded the case for further proceedings regarding whether Uscinski’s conviction for tax evasion was a crime involving moral turpitude. The underlying case stemmed from Uscinski’s work involving an F. Lee Bailey client who had been indicted for his role in an international scheme that involved distributing thousands of pounds of marijuana and hash.