Michael Kunzelman

May 18, 2005 | Law.com

A woman isn't legally responsible for injuries her boyfriend suffered during consensual sex more than a decade ago, a Massachusetts appeals court ruled Monday. The court said her conduct wasn't "wanton or reckless" and can't support a lawsuit. The boyfriend claimed she was negligent when she suddenly changed positions, landed awkwardly on him and fractured his penis. He underwent emergency surgery and has suffered from sexual dysfunction that hasn't responded to medication or counseling, the court said.

By Michael Kunzelman

3 minute read

August 05, 2008 | The Legal Intelligencer

A failed bid to hold the federal government liable for the deaths of three elderly people in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath is scheduled to be heard next month by a federal appeals court.

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

2 minute read

April 19, 2011 | The Legal Intelligencer

Actor Nicolas Cage was arrested after he got drunk in the city's French Quarter and argued in the street with his wife over whether a house they were in front of was theirs, police said Saturday.

By Michael Kunzelman ger

2 minute read

November 20, 2007 | Law.com

A 5th Circuit panel has refused to bar prominent attorney Richard Scruggs from representing a Mississippi resident in a suit against State Farm Fire & Casualty over Hurricane Katrina damage. The panel found that State Farm failed to show "extraordinary circumstances" justifying Scruggs' disqualification based on claims that he improperly used internal State Farm records. The case is one of hundreds Scruggs' firm has filed against the insurer for denying policyholders' Katrina-related claims.

By Michael Kunzelman

2 minute read

March 05, 2008 | The Legal Intelligencer

More than 44,000 people have signed up for shares of a $4.85 billion settlement over the withdrawn painkiller Vioxx, a sign that the deal is on track to go forward, Merck & Co. announced Monday.

By Michael Kunzelman

3 minute read

May 06, 2011 | The Legal Intelligencer

The actress who played Elly May Clampett on the television show "The Beverly Hillbillies" is suing toy manufacturer Mattel Inc., claiming the company used her name and likeness for a Barbie doll without her authorization.

By Michael Kunzelman

2 minute read

March 18, 2005 | Law.com

Lauren Willig, in her second year at Harvard Law School, is finishing her doctoral dissertation in history on the Royalists during England's 17th-century civil war. She's also the author of "The Secret History of the Pink Carnation," a "bodice-ripper" that's been climbing Barnes & Noble's best seller list less than a month after its release. But what's in her future? Life as a litigator.

By Michael Kunzelman

3 minute read

January 02, 2008 | National Law Journal

A powerful Mississippi lawyer charged with trying to bribe a judge is seeking to block State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. from questioning him under oath for one of the hundreds of lawsuits his firm filed against the insurer after Hurricane Katrina. Last month, a federal magistrate ruled that Richard "Dickie" Scruggs can be questioned about his work with two sisters who gave him reams of internal State Farm records while they were helping the company adjust Katrina claims.

By Michael Kunzelman

4 minute read

April 12, 2007 | Legaltech News

Attorneys for homeowners suing State Farm Insurance Cos. after Hurricane Katrina have accused the insurer of pressuring engineers to alter reports on damaged homes so policyholders' claims could be denied. Now, some of these lawyers claim they have evidence -- internal e-mails.

By Michael Kunzelman

4 minute read

February 16, 2007 | Law.com

A couple suing Allstate Indemnity dropped their lawsuit Thursday amid allegations they misrepresented their claims, bringing an abrupt end to the first federal lawsuit tried against an insurance company by a Louisiana homeowner since Hurricane Katrina. Lawrence and Elizabeth Tomlinson, who claimed Allstate underpaid them and acted in bad faith in handling their claims, agreed to drop the suit before jurors could hear closing arguments in the case.

By Michael Kunzelman

4 minute read