Bob Van Voris

February 23, 2000 | Law.com

Wal-Mart's reputation for take-no-prisoners litigation precedes the retail giant -- at least in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In a premises liability case before the court, a lawyer for Wal-Mart's co-defendants requested a settlement conference from the court's mediator. The reply: "...[W]e have stopped scheduling conferences in cases involving Wal-Mart Stores because we have found them unwilling to negotiate settlements in cases on appeal and we hate to put anyone through a useless exercise."

By Bob Van Voris

2 minute read

June 28, 1999 | Law.com

A Massachusetts state court judge has hit drug maker American Home Products Corp. (AHP) with potentially damaging sanctions for destroying e-mail evidence in a fen-phen wrongful death case.

By Bob Van Voris

2 minute read

May 08, 2000 | Law.com

A federal judge's proposal for negotiations aimed at a global tobacco settlement was rejected by the major U.S. cigarette manufacturers. In letters to Brooklyn, N.Y., judge Jack B. Weinstein, and in a closed-door meeting in his chambers, industry lawyers declined, courteously but firmly, to negotiate.

By Bob Van Voris

3 minute read

June 21, 1999 | Law.com

By Bob Van Voris

2 minute read

April 03, 1999 | Law.com

More than 2 1/2 years after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued sweeping regulations covering nicotine and tobacco, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will hear the appeal of a controversial decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit striking the rules down. Some of the advertising restrictions -- including bans on cartoon characters and billboard ads -- were voluntarily agreed to in last year's $206 billion settlement with 46 states.

By Bob Van Voris

2 minute read

November 13, 2001 | Law.com

By Dan McAllister and Bob Van Voris

3 minute read

June 07, 1999 | Law.com

Philip Morris Inc. thinks it has found a loophole to help take the sting out of an $80 million punitive damages award to the family of an Oregon man who died of cancer. Lawyers for the largest cigarette manufacturer in the United States point to a recent piece of Oregon tort reform legislation that calls for 60% of punitive damages to be paid to the state rather than to the plaintiffs. The catch: Philip Morris says the state can't collect under the terms of the $206 billion national settlement.

By Bob Van Voris

3 minute read

June 14, 1999 | Law.com

Closing arguments are imminent in what may be the biggest lawsuit against the tobacco industry to date. But nearly a year after jury selection began, few people are even paying attention. Filed in state court in Miami in 1994, Engle v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 94-08273 (Fla. Cir. Ct., Dade Co.), is a class action pitting Florida smokers against five U.S. tobacco companies and two industry trade groups. Closings were set for June 21.

By Bob Van Voris

3 minute read

November 29, 2000 | Law.com

Potential changes to the ABA's Rules of Professional Conduct allowing a lawyer to reveal client confidences in certain situations could prove contentious. A new rule proposed by the ABA's Ethics 2000 Commission would allow attorneys to reveal confidences to prevent death or bodily harm or to prevent or rectify a client's financial fraud, but the ABA has already rejected similar proposals twice in the past 20 years.

By Bob Van Voris

3 minute read

June 12, 2000 | Law.com

Less than two weeks after an Illinois federal judge accused a Wal-Mart employee of lying to cover the company's tracks in an unrelated Tennessee case, the retail giant convinced the judge that he was wrong. "While Mr. Lance's testimony before this court was less than clear, there is no indication of an ulterior motive on his part," wrote Judge Michael M. Mihm.

By Bob Van Voris

2 minute read