Vested Interest - Tort Briefs - May 1998 Issue

Ron Brown Estate Sues Mapmaker for Plane Crash

Commerce Secretary Ron Brown was killed in a plane crash in Croatia in 1996 when his plane flew into a mountain. His estate, together with the families of the eight other victims, is now suing Jeppesen Sanderson Inc., makers of the navigational maps used onboard the flight. They contend that inaccuracies in the chart are responsible for the pilot setting the improper flightpath that resulted in the fatal crash. They also claim that the chart failed to include a warning that planes needed two non-directional beacons to safely land at the intended destination. Jeppesen Sanderson claims immunity on the grounds that the map was supplied by the Croatian government. (AP, April 3, 1998)

Injured Texan Refiles Suit After Company Reneges on Safety

John Caballero made headlines last year when he voluntarily offered to abandon a $30 million punitive damages verdict if the company responsible for his injury implemented a new safety program. He was injured when a pressurized gas line ruptured, striking him with a force of 2,000 pounds per inch and launching him 30 feet in the air. Caballero, a former Ironman triathelete, now claims that the company, Esenjay Petroleum, has failed to live up to its end of the bargain. He has filed suit to force Frontier Natural Gas, successor to Esenjay, to implement the plan or pay him the punitive damages, reduced to $6 million by a Texas statute. (PRNewswire, April 17, 1998)

Carpenter, Falsely Accused, Settles Wrongful Arrest Suit for $162,500

A Seattle carpenter, hired to install a glass partition at a school, was arrested and charged with the theft of a computer in 1993. Prosecutors incorrectly asserted that the carpenter was on school grounds without authorization, and that he had tried to sell the computer, even though there were no witnesses or other proof of the alleged attempted sale. Charges were swiftly dropped, but not until he had spent a night in jail. Prosecutors claimed immunity, but the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear appeals in the case, which differed from precedent in that the prosecutor had personally sworn the warrant, rather than having police swear the warrant. After the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal, the prosecutor settled for $162,500. (AP, April 8, 1998)

Oklahoma City Bombing Victims Sue Guilty Conspirator

Victims of the bombing of the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, together with lawyers for the federal government, have filed suit against Terry McNichols. Plaintiffs seek restitution for at least $14.5 million in damages and $25,000 in criminal penalties. McNichols’ attorney claims his client cannot afford such payments, but plaintiffs fear that he could sell publishing, film, or other rights to his story in the future. McNichols was earlier found guilty of conspiracy in connection with the bombing, but a jury deadlocked on the death penalty. McNichols now faces life in prison without parole. (AP, April 7, 1998)

Jury Issues $2.7 Million Defamation Verdict to Michael Jackson

A jury in Los Angeles found Victor Gutierrez liable for defamation after he refused to provide evidence that he had a tape of Michael Jackson having sex with a young boy. The TV show Hard Copy, which broadcast the allegation, and producers at ABC TV and Paramount were dismissed prior to trial. Gutierrez had earlier authored a book, entitled, "Michael Jackson Was My Lover", for which he was unable to find a publisher. The defense was based on California’s shield law protecting journalists who refuse to divulge their sources. Jackson sued for $100 million, but said he was content with $2.7 million in compensatories. (Reuters, April 9, 1998)

Florida Victim Receives $18 Million Verdict for Improper Restraint

A Florida man who suffered traumatic brain injuries in a 1986 motorcycle accident was charged with manslaughter in the death of an 85-year-old woman. He was found incompetent to stand trial and committed to a state hospital for treatment in 1993. For the next three years, he was kept strapped to his bed. He sued, alleging improper restraint in the course of treatment. The Ft. Lauderdale jury agreed, and issued a verdict for $18 million to cover medical care and pain & suffering. (AP, April 4, 1998)

Three Stories of Judicial Conflict

A Nebraska county judge was sentenced earlier this month to 18 months in prison for bank fraud in connection with overdrawing accounts at 4 banks. Platte County District Judge John Whitehead faces removal from the bench in a later hearing. In a related story, a study of federal courts in four states found instances where judges issued orders in cases involving corporate litigants in which the judge owned stock. The report, conducted by the Kansas City Star, looked at judges in Kansas City, Missouri; Kansas City, Kansas; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Portland, Oregon. The report noted that none of the judges’ actions appeared to result in financial benefits. And third, a former U.S. Supreme Court law clerk has penned a book, Closed Chambers, alleging that law clerks have too much influence over justices, and claiming that specific justices are too political. (AP, April 6-7, 1998)

Former Congressional Staffer Charged with Receiving Illegal Contributions

Ann Eppard, currently a lobbyist but formerly an assistant to Rep. Bud Shuster (R-Pennsylania),has been charged with seven counts of receiving illegal contributions from a lobbyist and tax evasion. The federal indictment claims that Ms. Eppard received $230,000 in payments from Vernon A. Clark between 1989 and 1993. Clark lobbied for interests connected to the Big Dig project in Boston—a $11 billion infrastructure improvement scheme. Rep. Schuster, chair of the House Transportation Committee, has not been implicated, although the charges against Ms. Eppard arose out of an investigation into a potentially improper professional relationship between Shuster and Eppard after she left his staff. Prosecutors were investigating whether Rep. Shuster and his family stayed with Ms. Eppard in violation of restrictions on gifts from lobbyists to representatives. (AP, April 10, 1998)

Doctor Secures $1.75 Million Verdict Against Care Provider

A California jury has issued a $1.75 million verdict to a doctor who claimed he was discriminated against for demanding appropriate care for his patients. Dr. Thomas W. Self claimed that Children’s Associated Medical Group improperly interfered in the doctor-patient relationship when they pressured him to limit care options he provided to patients. Children’s, which is not an HMO but is bound by contracts with HMOs, insisted that the dispute was merely contractual in nature. California does not have a law holding managed care entities liable for decisions to fund or deny health care treatment. The suit was brought under a 1992 California law protecting doctors from retaliation by managed care entities. (AP, April 8, 1998)

Chicago Sexual Harassment Case Goes to Supreme Court

Burlington Industries v Ellerth (97-569) is on its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The case arose when Kimberly Ellerth alleged that her supervisor at Burlington threatened her if she refused his sexual advances. Before he could make good on the threat, Ellerth quit. Burlington, backed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, insists that she suffered no damages from the long-running torment. Burlington won the trial phase, but Ellerth’s claim was reinstated by the appeals court, which found that quid pro quo harassment had occurred. (AP, April 20, 1998)

Miami Jury Forces Sports Team to Pay Contest Winner

Randy Giunto was chosen at random at a Florida hockey game and offered a chance to shoot a goal from 118 feet away through a tiny slot barely wider than the puck. If he made it, he would win $1 million. Giunto’s shot did indeed enter the tiny slot, but an employee of the hockey team, standing 40 feet away, determined that the goal was invalid, and the team refused to pay. Four years later, a Miami jury has ruled that the Florida Panthers, Coca-Cola and Blockbuster Entertainment must pay up. The ruling may affect the rules used in similar contests at sports facilities nationwide. (AP, April 17, 1998)

Excommunicants Sue Polygamists

A Utah minister who promised a meeting with God and failed to deliver is now facing a lawsuit filed by three former believers. Ivan Douglas Jordan, Kaziah May Hancock, and Cindy Stewart claim that they gave the True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days over a quarter of a million dollars because they believed minister Jim Harmston’s promise of a meeting with God. Harmston’s church is a branch of Mormonism, and espouses millenialist faith and polygamy. Harmston pledged to countersue, noting, "We’re getting tired of this kind of thing, the defamation and libel that goes on." (AP, April 9, 1998)

Federal Judges Attend Conservative Seminars: Report

The Washington Post has reported that one third of the 900 judges that sit on the federal bench have studied property rights issues at seminars paid for by litigants. The Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment has held seminars near Yellowstone National Park since 1990, and hundreds of federal judges have accepted paid airfare and accommodations to attend the seminars. The Foundation raises much of its money from groups opposed to environmental legislation. The Post did not identify which judges attended the seminars. (AP, April 9, 1998)

Jury Issues $950,000 Verdict in Newspaper Libel Case

A writer for the Gallatin [Tennessee] News Examiner wrote a story about a high school sports event and attributed an obscene joke in the text to a high school athlete , intending his editor to find and delete it. Instead, the joke appeared in the next edition of the newspaper. Although the paper printed a retraction and an apology in the next issue, and fired the writer, the athlete and a school coach filed a libel suit against the paper. A jury has agreed with plaintiffs that the paper was guilty of libel, and issued a verdict of $500,000 in compensatories and $300,000 in punitives to the athlete, and $150,000 to the coach. (AP, April 8, 1998)

Illinois Chamber Endorses George Ryan for Governor

Citing his pro-business voting record and his long-standing support for limits on jury verdicts and workers’ compensation payments, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce endorsed Republican George Ryan for Governor. "George Ryan is the best candidate for business in Illinois," said Jim Schultz, Chairman of the Chamber. Ryan voted with business more than 90% during his tenure in the Illinois House. Democrat Glenn Poshard, by contrast, voted with business less than half of the time, and received the AFL-CIO endorsement in the Democratic primary. (Press Release, April 28, 1998)