Real Time Legal News

Case Summaries

Legal Malpractice

[07/23] Gil v. Reed
In an inmate's negligence, malpractice, and civil rights suit against prison medical staff, summary judgment for defendants is reversed where the record contained sufficient evidence to show genuine issues of material fact on: 1) inmate's Eighth Amendment claim that prison staff were deliberately indifferent to his medical needs; and 2) whether defendants had met the standard of care, using the state-law standard as required by the Federal Tort Claims Act.

[07/21] Simmons v. Ghaderi
In a breach of contract action arising from a medical malpractice suit, wherein plaintiffs sought to enforce an oral settlement agreement allegedly formed during mediation, a ruling upholding a decision to admit evidence relating to the mediation proceedings is reversed where: 1) the court of appeal improperly relied on the doctrine of estoppel to create a judicial exception to the comprehensive statutory scheme of mediation confidentiality; and 2) the evidence relating to the mediation proceedings should not have been admitted at trial.

[07/18] Ginter v. Belcher, Prendergast & Laporte
In an interlocutory appeal arising from a dispute between a married couple and their attorney, a district court's ruling finding that a forum-selection clause in the parties' attorney-client agreement was unenforceable is reversed where: 1) the forum-selection clause in the agreement was enforceable as it was not the product of overreaching nor was it against public policy; and 2) the clause governed the tort claims at issue.

[07/15] Styles v. Mumbert
In an action in which plaintiff-respondent was awarded a default judgment and defendant-appellant then sued his attorney for malpractice, attorney's motion to substitute himself in place of respondent after she assigned her interest in the judgment to attorney is denied and sanctions entered against the attorney and his counsel where: 1) attorney was not allowed to reveal confidences to defend himself since it was not a malpractice claim or a fee dispute; 2) the attorney could not act in a way which would undermine his duty to protect the confidential relationship; and 3) the attorney has violated his duties as an officer of the court by undermining public confidence in the legal system.

[07/15] Karsner v. Lothian
In an arbitration confirmation proceeding arising out of an arbitration between a securities broker-dealer and a customer, denial of the Maryland Securities Commissioner's motion to intervene as of right is reversed and remanded where the district court erred in denying intervention because the Commissioner has a substantial interest in ensuring the integrity of her records.

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Injury & Tort Law

[07/23] Montano v. Chicago
In a suit seeking recovery for injuries suffered by plaintiffs in confrontations with police, dismissals of plaintiffs' claims are affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) the district court clearly erred in dismissing plaintiffs' claims with prejudice as a sanction for abuse of the judicial process; 2) judgments as a matter of law for police officers on certain claims was error as there was an evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to find for plaintiffs; 3) summary judgment for defendants on claims that they lacked probable cause to arrest plaintiffs for public drinking and disorderly conduct, and that they failed to intervene to prevent the use of excessive force by other officers, was proper; and 4) summary judgment for city on a liability claim under Monell was proper where plaintiffs failed to produce evidence to show deliberate indifference by the police board to constitutional violations by its officers.

[07/23] Gil v. Reed
In an inmate's negligence, malpractice, and civil rights suit against prison medical staff, summary judgment for defendants is reversed where the record contained sufficient evidence to show genuine issues of material fact on: 1) inmate's Eighth Amendment claim that prison staff were deliberately indifferent to his medical needs; and 2) whether defendants had met the standard of care, using the state-law standard as required by the Federal Tort Claims Act.

[07/22] CNA v. US
In a negligence suit under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) stemming from a robbery and shooting by an Army recruit, dismissal of plaintiffs'-insurers' claims is affirmed where: 1) under the FTCA's requirements for waiving sovereign immunity, the question of whether an agent of the government was acting within the scope of his employment is a subject-matter jurisdiction issue properly analyzed under Fed. R. Civ. P 12(b)(1) for purposes of considering a motion to dismiss; 2) the Army recruiter against whom negligence was alleged was not acting within the scope of his employment; and 3) no evidence supported a negligent-supervision claim against either the recruiter's supervisor or the Army as a whole.

[07/22] Williams v. Town of Greenburgh
In an action under 42 U.S.C. section 1983, judgment dismissing plaintiff's claims against defendant-town and two municipal officers is affirmed where: 1) plaintiff's desire to use town's community center was not protected by his right to freedom of movement; 2) plaintiff's speech was not silenced or chilled by defendant's allegedly punitive conduct; and 3) probable cause supported the arrest and prosecution of plaintiff's criminal trespass.

[07/21] Hoag v. Amex Ins. Co.
Dismissal of plaintiff's uninsured-motorist claim as a sanction for his failure to provide discovery as ordered by the trial court was neither too extreme nor an abuse of discretion where the failures were willful and repeated.

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