Bob Van Voris

November 21, 2001 | Law.com

Stealth tort reform? Some plaintiffs' lawyers think it's coming with terrorism relief. Many bills passed by Congress after Sept. 11 include limits on victims' right to sue airlines, aircraft makers, airports, the city of New York and even Osama bin Laden. Defenders say the limits are a one-time response to the attacks. But some plaintiffs' lawyers fear they may provide a model for proposals to limit civil lawsuits.

By Bob Van Voris

6 minute read

October 24, 2000 | Law.com

Lawyers for a woman whose $2.75 million verdict against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was thrown out by the Arkansas Supreme Court are trying to get the verdict reinstated. Three judges dropped out of the case because they own Wal-Mart stock. But the governor, empowered by law to name non-judge lawyers to the court for the case, chose one who also has connections to the company -- and Wal-Mart won.

By Bob Van Voris

3 minute read

December 22, 2000 | Law.com

In 1995, cooperating with the American Civil Liberties Union, Elizabeth Hubertz, working on insurance litigation by day, took on a case over the constitutional place of prayer in Alabama's public life and one over a judge's plaque of the Ten Commandments in his courtroom. "I did it, I think, because nobody else wanted to," Hubertz says.

By Bob Van Voris

7 minute read

April 19, 1999 | Law.com

Regardless of the advertising jingle, it sure looks like somebody doesn't like Sara Lee. According to figures from the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 100 people became ill, and 21 died, after eating meat from a Sara Lee subsidiary contaminated with the listeria bacterium. At least four lawsuits have been filed on behalf of people who were sickened and families of others who died, and more are expected.

By Bob Van Voris

5 minute read

August 04, 2000 | Law.com

When president Bill Clinton spoke to the Association of Trial Lawyers of America convention in Chicago, he got a reaction the city usually reserves for Sammy Sosa. But an examination of the Clinton tort reform legacy raises questions about why the president got such a warm reception. At least 11 times during his presidency, Clinton signed bills that limit the remedies of injured people and their lawyers.

By Bob Van Voris

8 minute read

January 16, 2001 | Law.com

Stung by bad publicity and dozens of rulings that it has withheld, hidden, or destroyed evidence in cases nationwide in recent years, lawyers for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. insist that the company has taken steps to ensure such obstruction doesn't happen in the future. But after more than a year working on the problem, it's clear that not everybody working on Wal-Mart's 10,000 lawsuits is with the program.

By Bob Van Voris

6 minute read

July 27, 2001 | Law.com

Public debate over Ritalin is robust, but class actions against the drug's manufacturer are not. Judges threw out two of five class actions filed last year against Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., the drug's manufacturer. The cases charge the American Psychiatric Association and Novartis of colluding to endorse a too-broad definition of attention deficit disorder. John Coale and Richard Scruggs, veterans of the tobacco wars, say they've only begun the Ritalin fight.

By Bob Van Voris

6 minute read

April 06, 2001 | Law.com

Families of four men killed in the crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 en route from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, claim they are victims of a cruel scam. Attempting to cash in on multimillion-dollar wrongful-death lawsuits, claimants in Guatemala said the men had all secretly fathered children in that country. The families say the lawyers representing the would-be heirs knew, or should have known, their clients' claims were fraudulent.

By Bob Van Voris

10 minute read

January 11, 2000 | Law.com

Bill Buckley is a documentarian whose images of tragedy and redemption have made him one of the most successful filmmakers in his field. Even so, you've probably never heard of him. Most of Buckley's films are intended for an audience of just a dozen people. Buckley is a pioneer of "day in the life" videos, the short films whose purpose is to document the daily hardships and challenges faced by badly hurt personal injury plaintiffs, in the hope of maximizing damages at trial.

By Bob Van Voris

8 minute read

October 13, 2000 | Law.com

The 2000 National Law Journal/DecisionQuest Juror Outlook Survey shows that even if lawyers manage not to distract jurors with the way they look or dress, they may find jurors don't like the techniques used in court, ranging from impassioned closing statements to computer-aided presentations of the facts to in-your-face cross-examinations of witnesses.

By Bob Van Voris

9 minute read