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A student at Morgan State University in Baltimore is suing the school after he was attacked by another student with a baseball bat. Joshua Ceasar, 23, claims that the university should have recognized “escalating warning signs” that Alexander Kinyua was dangerous and posed a threat to other students. Kinuya pummeled Ceasar last spring with a barbed wire-covered bat in a beating that left the victim partially blind. Ceasar says the school failed to act after Kinyua posted a series of …

An inmate in a New Mexico county jail who was put in solitary confinement for nearly two years without being charged has won a $15.5 million settlement. A jury awarded Stephen Slevin $22 million in his suit against Doña Ana County in January of 2012. The county appealed, but agreed last week to pay the $15.5 million settlement and drop its appeal of the verdict. Slevin, now 59, was arrested on a drunk driving charge in August 2005. He spent …

A Halliburton executive was questioned today over allegations that his company destroyed evidence related to the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion of 2010, but insisted he was not personally involved in any coverup. Timothy Probert, now Halliburton’s president of strategic and corporate development, faced several questions about cement samples that were requested but never received by oil giant BP for examination in BP’s internal investigation into the accident. Halliburton was the contractor that developed the cement slurry used in the …

The joke’s on him — a New York man is facing charges of disturbing the peace after a neighbor complained that he was laughing too loud in his house. The man, who suffers from neurological impairments, could face as much as 30 days in jail for his good humor. Loud people beware — anything from band practice, running a lawnmower or enthusiastic lovemaking could be a violation of noise laws, if it’s annoying enough. How much sound you can make …

From forcing inmates – even obviously mentally ill ones – to wear pink underwear, to requiring them to pay for their food, Sheriff Joe Arpaio seems to be bent on finding new ways to humiliate people who are unfortunate enough to go to prison in Maricopa County, Ariz.   ‘Pink Underwear’ Appeal The U.S. Supreme Court on March 4 refused to hear an appeal by Arpaio’s county in a case brought by the estate of an arrested schizophrenic man who …

The reports from the Carnival Triumph, the cruise ship that was stranded for days in February without electricity or working plumbing, were viscerally horrific.  One passenger described the experience as just like camping “except crowded and unhygienic.” “People are getting sick because sewage everyone; urine on the floors, waste in bags, and undercooked food, [sic]” the passenger said on Reddit. “Strong fecal and urine stench near the cabins and just a poor environment.” As the public relations repercussions continue to …

While the Phonedog case is the one everyone thinks of when employer ownership of employees’ social media accounts comes up, another case indicates that it remains a very tricky issue. Linda Eagle’s lawsuit against her former employer, Edcomm, over its alleged hijacking of her LinkedIn account may not end well for her, but it serves as an important warning for employees who mingle their business with pleasure when it comes to social media.   ‘Hijacking’ Facts Linda Eagle founded and …

  The birth control pills, Yasmin and Yaz, and the generic form, ocella, are under fire as 10,000 lawsuits have been filed against the German pharmaceutical company Bayer, and the generic drug makers, Barr Laboratories and Teva Pharmaceuticals. The medications are linked to higher rates of blood clots that caused personal injuries and have killed people. In this Lawyers.com podcast, reporter Matt Plessner speaks with Michael London. He’s the plaintiffs’ co-lead counsel in the multi-district litigation and a partner at …

A jury ordered a nursing home to pay over $28 million for fraudulent billing, providing worthless services and for retaliating against two employees who complained about the shoddy care at the facility. Two former employees of the Momence Meadows Nursing Center in Illinois brought their claim in 2004, accusing the nursing home of providing substandard care to elderly and disabled patients that lead to the deaths of three patients and rampant bed sores on patients. Patients with bed sores, or …

More older Americans are getting divorced, and as a result more people are faced with dividing up retirement accounts at the end of a marriage.   Special Financial Issues People are living longer and social mores about divorce have relaxed, says Bari Weinberger, a family lawyer with the Weinberger Law Group in Parsippany, N.J. That has resulted in more older people seeking divorces. She adds that more women are exiting their marriages after their children are grown because they feel …