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14.5 Million Dollar Jury Verdict Awarded Against State Farm Insurance
Legal News |
2011/07/03 00:16
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A six-week trial in Hamilton County Court ended yesterday afternoon with the award of a $14.5 million jury verdict for Joseph Radcliff and his restoration company, CPM Construction of Indiana, against State Farm Insurance.
State Farm had filed suit for insurance fraud and RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) claims against Radcliff and CPM.nbsp; The case arose out of work done by Radcliff and CPM following the April 2006 hailstorm.nbsp; Radcliff and CPM’s allegations were that after State Farm received negative publicity in the Indianapolis media for denying hail damage claims, State Farm made unfounded claims of fraud against Radcliff and instigated the filing of felony charges against him.nbsp; Those charges were dismissed by the Marion County Prosecutor, but the negative publicity resulted in Radcliff’s personal reputation and business being destroyed.
Not only did the jury find that State Farm’s claims against Radcliff were baseless, but they also found that the Radcliff’s allegations of being defamed by State Farm were true. The jury ordered State Farm to pay Radcliff $14.5 million.
Radcliff was represented by Will Riley, lead trial counsel of the law firm Price Waicukauski amp; Riley, LLC along with attorneys Joe Williams, James Piatt and Jamie Kendall of the same firm and Mark McKinzie, Partner in the law firm Riley Bennett amp; Egloff LLP.
Riley stated, “It was a tribute to the American jury system that one man can take on the largest insurance company in the nation and win.”nbsp; McKinzie agreed, stating “This sends a strong signal to Bloomington, Illinois that Hoosiers will not put up with this sort of conduct.” Radcliff commented “I am grateful to those who believed in me and helped me get the true facts before the jury and to the jury for giving me, and my failed company, justice.”
Price Waicukauski amp; Riley, LLC is a law firm known for its representation of clients in complex litigation. Riley Bennett amp; Egloff, LLP is a law firm known for advising and representing businesses and their owners in various litigation matters. |
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Former Wyoming governor joins law firm
Legal News Feed |
2011/07/02 00:17
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Former Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal has joined the international law firm of Crowell amp; Moring as senior counsel.
Freudenthal says in a telephone interview with The Associated Press that the firm will open an office in Cheyenne, where he will be based. He will work for the firm's Environment and Natural Resources Group.
He says he will advise clients on issues that he handled during his two terms as governor, including minerals, natural resources development and environmental permitting.
Freudenthal says he will continue to teach at the University of Wyoming College of Law and serve on the Arch Coal Inc. board of directors.
Crowell amp; Moring has nearly 500 lawyers with offices in Washington, New York, Los Angeles, London, Brussels and elsewhere. |
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Law school enrollment in Missouri lags as legal jobs dry up
Legal Line News |
2011/07/01 00:17
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Missouri law schools expect fewer students in the fall after several years of significant enrollment growth both regionally and nationally.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported this week that the University of Missouri's flagship campus in Columbia has received 17 percent fewer applications this year. Applications at Washington University dropped 13.3 percent, while St. Louis University is seeing a nearly 20 percent decline.
A national group that tracks law school enrollment says that applications are down more than 10 percent overall compared to this time last year.
The economic downturn means that law school graduates can no longer count on landing lucrative jobs straight out of college. The declining interest comes one year after many schools reported record enrollment.
The stories about the legal market have certainly dampened some people's enthusiasm, said Paul Pless, assistant dean for admissions and financial aid at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Law. Applications at Illinois are down nearly 8 percent so far this year.
Melissa Hamilton, 35, is a recent University of Missouri law school graduate still looking for a job. She's applied for a few government positions but is waiting until she passes the bar exam before making a stronger push. She's also looking into jobs where she could also use her master's degree in social work. |
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Toyota class action suit to start with Utah case
U.S. Court News |
2011/06/24 22:41
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The first lawsuit to go to trial in a massive class action against Toyota Motor Corp. over acceleration problems that led the company to recall 14 million cars will involve a crash that killed two people in western Utah, a federal judge said Friday.
U.S. District Judge James Selna told attorneys the case of 38-year-old Charlene Jones Lloyd and 66-year-old Paul Van Alfen, whose Toyota Camry slammed into a wall in Utah in 2010, is scheduled to go to trial in February 2013.
The case - Van Alfen v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. - will be the first of several bellwether lawsuits, intended to determine how the rest of the litigation will proceed.
Selna wrote in a tentative order that he hoped the selection would markedly advance these proceedings.
The Court believes that selection of a personal injury/wrongful death case is most likely the type of case to meet that goal, Selna said.
Toyota said it welcomes the Utah case as the first suit to reach court.
We are pleased that the initial bellwether will address plaintiffs' central allegation of an unnamed, unproven defect in Toyota vehicles, as every claim in the multi-district litigation rests upon this pivotal technical issue, the company said in a statement.
Toyota has previously argued the plaintiffs have been unable to prove that a design defect in its electronic throttle control system is responsible for vehicles surging unexpectedly. It has instead blamed driver error, faulty floor mats and sticky accelerator pedals. |
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