Thomas Scheffey

August 11, 2000 | Law.com

GE Capital zapped the nation's top satellite TV broadcaster, DirecTV, with a stunning $133 million jury verdict in federal court in New Haven, Conn. The verdict -- apparently a state record -- covers consumer loan losses incurred in the satellite giant's fierce scramble for market dominance.

By Thomas Scheffey

4 minute read

June 21, 2001 | Law.com

Long before James F. Early filed suit against drug companies that sold phenylpropanolamine, he first put the case on trial in his New Haven, Conn., office. A veteran plaintiffs' lawyer who has been involved in asbestos and fen-phen litigation, he has specific criteria he applies before embracing a potential case. The cases he's looked at and rejected are as revealing as those that made the grade.

By Thomas Scheffey

4 minute read

May 24, 2001 | Law.com

In some other state, there may be a lawyer whose lifelong efforts measure up to Wesley W. Horton's impact on Connecticut. It's unlikely. The hypothetical Horton-equivalent would have to simultaneously be the state's leading appellate practitioner, the top state legal historian and author of the definitive guide to practice in the appellate courts, as has Horton, recipient of the "Service to the Bar" award.

By Thomas Scheffey

5 minute read

May 10, 2002 | Connecticut Law Tribune

Probate courts and Christian fundamentalism lost out to Superior Courts and psychiatry in the legal struggle over Joshua S., a toddler who survived his parents` fiery murder-suicide three years ago.

By THOMAS SCHEFFEY Law Tribune Staff Writer

4 minute read

July 10, 2000 | Law.com

By an unexpected twist of fate, Lexis may be stepping on the toes of state bar associations across the country. As part of a legal settlement, Lexis now owns the dot-com names for 23 state bar associations -- and may have positioned itself to make interesting new domain name law.

By Thomas Scheffey

4 minute read

September 27, 1999 | Law.com

The age-old rule that a judge could invite jurors to draw a negative conclusion from the absence of a witness is now history. A unanimous Connecticut Supreme Court concludes that the so-called Secondino rule, which has deep roots in old English law, is an inherently unfair way to search out truth in light of modern court rules and discovery practices. The rule has been falling out of favor with legal scholars and practitioners in recent years.

By Thomas Scheffey

8 minute read

March 26, 2002 | Connecticut Law Tribune

When Michael Theodore, executive director of the Connecticut Technology Council, was planning the 2002 budget and schedule for his first year at the helm, he noticed the bylaws made an annual meeting mandatory.

By THOMAS SCHEFFEY Tech Tribune Staff Writer Tech Tribune Staff Writer

7 minute read

February 07, 2001 | Law.com

Lawyer Michelle Duprey may stand less than four feet tall, but she had the biggest presence in the room at a recent celebration of her victory over a $5 premium the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles charged for "handicapped parking" placards. The settlement gives $50,000 to the University of Connecticut for a disability rights law clinic, and "sets a national model" at a time when the ADA is under attack.

By Thomas Scheffey

3 minute read

April 29, 2002 | Connecticut Law Tribune

Only a modest sheet of copier paper on its glass front identifies the Wallingford offices of Mangrove Systems. For the moment, this tech startup is too new to attract so much as a glance from Wall Street.

By Thomas Scheffey Tech Tribune Staff Writer

9 minute read

February 14, 2000 | Law.com

In what is part grudge match, part national crusade, Robert I. Reardon was cleared to sue Allstate Insurance for fraud as well as bad faith, in its "Do-I-Need-an-Attorney?" campaign. It's a fight he's taken to the Connecticut Legislature, the state insurance department and the attorney general. Now it's a federal case. Reardon is suing the insurance giant on behalf of injured people with claims against Allstate who say they were discouraged from retaining counsel.

By Thomas Scheffey

3 minute read