Bob Van Voris

October 06, 1999 | Law.com

Think of the U.S. Justice Department's lawsuit against the tobacco industry as a legal moonshot: complex, unprecedented, historic - an undertaking that sets some of the government's best minds to a task of national importance. That's because the huge-stakes lawsuit against the five major U.S. tobacco companies and two industry groups is based on three federal statutes that have never been used in precisely the way the government needs to use them to win.

By Bob Van Voris

7 minute read

November 04, 1999 | Law.com

By BOB VAN VORIS

7 minute read

November 07, 2001 | Law.com

An Ohio woman can sue Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for allegedly hiding evidence that the company knew about accidents similar to the forklift accident that killed her husband, according to a decision from the Ohio Supreme Court. The decision is the latest in a string of cases involving damning documents that the company allegedly failed to turn over in lawsuits, which lawyers and others later dug up on their own.

By Bob Van Voris

4 minute read

October 26, 1999 | Law.com

Jury selection may be a little like picking a brain surgeon: All things being equal, the smart thing to do is to get someone who's done it before. The impact of prior jury service on juror attitudes is one key revelation of the 1999 National Law Journal/DecisionQuest Juror Outlook Survey. Among other findings -- potential jurors are startlingly ignorant even about well-publicized cases. And litigators appear to face an uphill battle in weeding out socially unacceptable prejudices.

By Bob Van Voris

7 minute read

April 18, 2000 | Law.com

U.S. District Judge Jack B. Weinstein appears to be trying to put an end to the tobacco wars -- a quest at which 50 state attorneys general, countless private lawyers and the U.S. Congress have failed. Writing that "the time for bringing a close to tobacco litigation is nigh," the Brooklyn, N.Y., judge Tuesday ordered eight federal tobacco cases in his court consolidated for purposes of settlement discussions.

By Bob Van Voris

3 minute read

September 28, 2001 | Law.com

The airline bailout bill will likely prevent an unseemly rush to file lawsuits on behalf of those killed and injured in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, lawyers say. But the law, rushed through Congress less than two weeks after the attacks, left many lawyers wondering exactly how it will actually work. As one lawyer puts it, "This is a real mess."

By Bob Van Voris

6 minute read

November 13, 2000 | Law.com

To in-house lawyers and outside defense counsel, the 2000 NLJ-DecisionQuest Annual Juror Survey holds some disquieting results. Many of the potential jurors polled sound like people who have just come from a double feature of "The Insider" and "Erin Brockovich." In other words, they're not exactly inclined to trust corporations.

By Bob Van Voris

6 minute read

September 14, 2001 | Law.com

From telecommunications to immigration, the nation's legal landscape is expected to undergo swift and significant changes as a result of the terrorist attacks on American soil. Many expect that for most Americans, the balance on security and freedom has shifted after September 11. Some predict that changes will come primarily in three areas: airport security, the ability to monitor Internet communications, and border security.

By Marcia Coyle and Bob Van Voris

8 minute read

June 02, 2000 | Law.com

May 25 was a bad day for Wal-Mart. In a Texas courtroom, one of the company's top in-house lawyers apologized for Wal-Mart's "misguided conduct" in a case in which the judge threatened to fine Wal-Mart $18 million for discovery abuses. Later that day, a federal judge in Illinois ordered Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott to answer questions in his court, after saying a Wal-Mart employee lied in a Tennessee case.

By Bob Van Voris

6 minute read

October 19, 2001 | Law.com

When a company makes a product that, its critics claim, has injured hundreds of people, you can expect it to be the target of many lawsuits. Indeed, a handful of ambitious lawsuits charge the anthrax vaccine made by BioPort Corp. is unsafe and possibly ineffective. But the suits face a difficult road, since BioPort Corp. is the sole supplier of a product that the military deems essential to national security.

By Matt Fleischer-Black and Bob Van Voris

9 minute read