Recent Articles from Pat Murphy, BridgeTower Media Newswires
7th Circuit reverses judgment in leukemia case
A plaintiff’s expert had a sufficiently reliable scientific basis to render the opinion that benzene in paints was a substantial cause of a form of leukemia that claimed a painter’s life, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in reversing judgment.
Defense lawyers celebrate high court win on supervisor liability
Defense lawyers are touting the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling this week on Title VII supervisor liability as a significant win for employers, providing a welcome clarification to the law while dealing a blow to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
7th Circuit: Attorney can’t enforce lien against former client
A lawyer could not enforce an attorney lien against a former client who negotiated a whistleblower settlement on his own, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in affirming judgment.
Analysis: Employees must keep beneficiary designations updated
It’s fair to assume Warren Hillman never intended that the proceeds of his federal employee life insurance policy would go to his ex-wife when he died unexpectedly in 2008.
US high court: Ex, not current wife, keeps life insurance proceeds
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a divorced Virginia woman could not be forced to surrender the proceeds of a federal employee life insurance policy that she received as her ex-husband’s named beneficiary.
Procedural default not a bar to ineffective assistance claim, justices rule
A deeply divided U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a procedural default in state court did not bar a Texas death row inmate from seeking relief in federal court based on the assertion that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel at sentencing.
Wage, hour suits hit record high, firm study finds
Wage-and-hour lawsuits filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act have hit an all-time high, according to a new study of federal court caseloads.
High court won’t let defendant reargue diminished capacity
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that a Michigan murder defendant’s due process rights were not violated when a change in state law following his 1994 conviction prevented him from reasserting a diminished-capacity defense when he later won a new trial.
US Supreme Court clarifies bankruptcy discharge standard
The U.S. Supreme Court has clarified that proof of malicious intent is not required to prevent the bankruptcy discharge of a debt that arose from a trustee’s self-dealing.
Health club can’t enforce injury waiver, rules Wis. Court of Appeals
A health and fitness club could not enforce an exculpatory waiver that a member signed when he joined the club, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled in reversing a dismissal.
7th Circuit says inherited IRA isn’t exempt in bankruptcy
An IRA that a debtor inherited from her mother was not exempt from creditors’ claims in her bankruptcy case, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in reversing judgment.
7th Circuit: Long-term unemployment justified discharge of student loans
A debtor who was unable to find a job after a decade-long search met the Bankruptcy Code’s standard for discharge of her student loan debt, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in reversing judgment.
Legal News
- Milwaukee drops security personnel ordinance
- Wisconsin Supreme Court tacks on additional months to already suspended lawyer
- Supreme Court: Abortion protester’s First Amendment rights violated
- These doctors were censured. Wisconsin’s prisons hired them anyway
- Ruling reinstates lawsuit over ‘Black Lives Matter’ school posters
- Wisconsin Supreme Court to consider whether 175-year-old law bans abortion
- Wisconsin man facing bestiality and felony bail jumping charges
- Waukesha County woman indicted in National Health Care Fraud Law Enforcement Action
- Man sentenced to 15 months for fraud involving luxury vehicles
- Wisconsin Department of Justice Fire Marshal investigating fire that killed six
- Ozaukee County first responders save family of three, father and son on Milwaukee River
- Supreme Court sends Trump immunity case back to lower court, dimming chance of trial before election
Case Digests
- Termination of Parental Rights
- First Amendment Rights
- Termination of Parental Rights
- Late Filing
- Real Estate-Attorney Fees
- Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
- Variance-Interpretation of Zoning Ordinances
- Sentencing
- Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause-Jury Instructions
- Unlawful Collection Practices-Evidence
- Sentencing-Vindictiveness
- Prisoner Grievances-Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies