Thomas Scheffey

September 07, 1999 | Law.com

Stock options and other attractive compensation deals are the hottest thing for employers who want to stimulate employees to take a personal interest in their company's success. But for insurance broker Edward F. Meaney III, discussions about bonus pay have been a rollercoaster of disappointment. In an Aug. 31 Supreme Court ruling, he found he couldn't keep his big jury award. Meaney's lawyer, John Rose Jr., says he plans to request a reconsideration and a rehearing en banc.

By Thomas Scheffey

9 minute read

October 17, 2000 | Law.com

After a summer of controversy, the Connecticut Bar Examining Committee is no longer asking applicants to disclose whether they have been diagnosed with or hospitalized for "clinical depression" in the past five years. Raymond Beckwith, who chairs the CBEC, said the committee decided in its Sept. 22 meeting to remove the offending language from the questionnaire for the upcoming Feb. 2001 exam.

By Thomas Scheffey

4 minute read

January 31, 2002 | Connecticut Law Tribune

In a products liability trial, expert witnesses are vital to both the plaintiff and defense. And in the interest of fair trials, both sides are assured by practice book rules that opposing counsel is told well in advance which experts they will face, on which topics.

By THOMAS SCHEFFEY

4 minute read

November 20, 2001 | Law.com

People refer to their dogs as being "just like a member of the family." But pets that people consider priceless may be all but worthless in the cold eye of the law. Manchester, Conn., lawyer Derek V. Oatis has been pressing to change that view. He's representing a woman whose dog was killed by a neighbor in a suit to recover damages beyond the replacement cost of the dog, which is legally just personal property.

By Thomas Scheffey

4 minute read

August 30, 2002 | Law.com

Allstate Insurance is an adversary that plaintiffs' personal injury lawyers love to hate, due to its hard-nosed settlement positions. But even they were quietly rooting for an Allstate victory at the Connecticut Supreme Court -- a victory Allstate got in its case against a superior court judge. The issue: a litigant's right to a day in court, even in the face of a judge who's adamant that the parties settle.

By Thomas Scheffey

4 minute read

April 27, 2001 | Law.com

Candor, acrimony and pithy insight marked a vigorous debate at Quinnipiac University School of Law over the new federal court procedure that turns judges into gatekeepers for expert testimony. Plaintiffs' proponents said judges are taking away the fact-finding role of the jury -- especially in cases resting on hard-to-fathom science. Others argued that Daubert rules guard against "junk science."

By Thomas Scheffey

5 minute read

November 14, 2000 | Law.com

Most of the time, judges work in open view, with their actions on the bench and their legal opinions open to public examination. But once someone makes a formal complaint about a jurist, the process quickly becomes cloaked in a dark shroud of confidentiality. In most states, once a complaint is made against a judge, it enters an informational black hole, with long odds against it ever seeing daylight again.

By Thomas Scheffey

4 minute read

August 14, 2001 | Law.com

In a rare use of federal search power, FBI agents executed warrants last month at several Connecticut lawyers' offices. Attorney David B. Fein, who teaches a law school course on federal criminal investigations, says there has been a marked increase in law office searches, driven by Justice Department interest in white-collar crime. He says such searches are quite sensitive because of the "tremendous privilege issues" involved.

By Thomas Scheffey

4 minute read

October 04, 1999 | Law.com

Settlement-buying companies across the country are busy cashing in on people who can't wait to cash out. The use of structured settlements is booming. And the insurers and "factors" who use them are worried about becoming victims of their own success. Insurers fear that Congress might restructure the tax benefits that have made these settlements popular and profitable. They've responded by waging scores of state and federal court battles to prevent settlement-holders from selling.

By Thomas Scheffey

9 minute read

April 10, 2000 | Law.com

The Connecticut Supreme Court ordered a new trial in the case of a young medical resident who pricked her finger on an HIV-contaminated needle, and subsequently won one of the largest damage verdicts in state history.

By Thomas Scheffey

5 minute read