Posts Tagged ‘Stan Chesley’

January 16 roundup

  • The two new heads of the judiciary committees in the Pennsylvania legislature are nonlawyers, and the legal community appears to be fine with that [Max Mitchell, Legal Intelligencer]
  • Long after his downfall in one of the worst U.S. legal scandals in years, Stan Chesley was still listed as holding an honored position at a major charity until a reporter started calling [Josh Nathan-Kazis, Forward, I’m quoted; update (Chesley’s name removed)]
  • National security restrictions form an important part of regulatory practice these days for international business, discussed at a Federalist Society National Lawyers Convention panel with William J. Haynes II, Timothy Keeler, Randal Milch, Donald Rosenberg, and moderator Eric J. Kadel, Jr.;
  • How seeking government intervention backfired on Silicon Valley [Drew Clark, Cato Policy Report]
  • Are Baltimore schools underfunded? tales of the gun buyback, local adoption of Daubert, and more in my latest Maryland policy roundup [Free State Notes; plus redistricting updates]
  • “Despite Losing Its Copyright Case, The State Of Georgia Still Trying To Stop Carl Malamud From Posting Its Laws” [Mike Masnick, TechDirt, earlier]

Liability roundup

  • “Lawsuit: Licorice Twizzlers caused man’s heart disease” [WDRB; earlier on dismissal of German lawsuit filed by customer who ate nearly a pound a day of the candy]
  • Empirical study of how personal injury claims are pursued in Great Britain [Richard Lewis, SSRN]
  • How attorney Marc Lanier got that $4.7 billion talc/baby powder verdict [Daniel Fisher, Forbes] “Attorney sees lawyers’ role in judge selection process as helping fuel rise in lawsuits in ‘Sue Me State'” [Devin Watkins on Missouri; Angela Underwood, St. Louis Record]
  • “$12.8M suit filed by estate of man killed in WWII tank blast” [AP]
  • Stan Chesley’s law firm admits ‘unjust enrichment,’ agrees to $23 million settlement” [Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati Enquirer; earlier]
  • “Sweeping new arbitration study: ‘Enterprising’ plaintiffs’ lawyers adapt” [Alison Frankel, Reuters]

Sixth Circuit: Stan Chesley played “shell game,” court did not err in freezing his assets

Onetime “king of torts” under siege: “Stan Chesley has defrauded hundreds of former clients through a ‘high-stakes shell game’ apparently orchestrated to avoid paying them a multimillion-dollar judgment, a federal appeals court said.” Following the settlement of a class action over diet drugs for $200 million, lawyers connived with a state judge, who has since been disbarred, to steer most of the proceeds into their own pockets. Clients have been pursuing recovery against Chesley for years, but he has dodged paying the resulting $42 million judgment. Thus far, five lawyers have been disbarred and two jailed in the saga. The Sixth Circuit has now ruled that a district court acted properly in freezing his assets. [Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati Enquirer; Daniel Gill, Bloomberg Law; McGirr v. Rehme] “All told, between his personal assets and the firm’s assets (of which he was sole owner), Chesley managed to lose over $90 million in assets over the course of a single year,” the court said. Of transfers raising “red flags,” some were made to Chesley’s wife, a federal judge; Judge Richard Suhrheinrich cited these in a footnote but said the court was not relying on them as a basis for its decision.

A “pattern of misuse of the judicial process…to obstruct collection efforts.”

Update on the long-running Kentucky fen-phen fee scandal: one-time “King of Torts” Stan Chesley has maneuvered for years “to avoid paying a multimillion-dollar judgment to hundreds of former clients. The Enquirer has found that Chesley’s legal maneuverings have led to more than $162,000 in sanctions against Chesley and his attorneys….The Ohio Supreme Court in an October ruling – one of two during the prolonged legal battle – said Chesley has engaged in a ‘pattern of misuse of the judicial process…to obstruct collection efforts.'” [Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati Enquirer, more]

Liability roundup

  • “A handful of plaintiffs’ lawyers dominates MDL (multi-district) litigation. Is that a problem?” [Alison Frankel, Reuters]
  • “A. 5918: Unconstitutional, Unwise and Futile Effort to Expand N.Y. Courts’ Jurisdiction” [Marc Gottridge and Lisa Fried, New York Law Journal, earlier on would-be end-run around Daimler limits on state court jurisdiction]
  • “Hawaii counties threaten to pull lifeguards off state beaches if liability bill dies” [Nathan Eagle, Honolulu Civil Beat]
  • No good reason why New York municipalities should be required to pay interest rate as high as 9 percent a year on lawsuit outlays [Adam Morey, Auburn Citizen letter to editor]
  • “Ohio Supreme Court orders halt in liquidation of defunct Chesley law firm” [James McNair, City Beat (Cincinnati)]
  • “What Should Tort Law Do When Autonomous Vehicles Crash?” [Michael Krauss; Jones Day]

Liability roundup

Liability roundup

“Federal judge: Stan Chesley’s attorneys tricked me”

Deeper and deeper for the onetime Master of Disaster: “U.S. District Judge James G. Carr ordered Chesley and his attorneys to appear next month and explain why he shouldn’t find they committed fraud on the court. Carr says in court documents that Chesley and his attorneys designed a scheme to avoid paying former clients who successfully sued him because he took far too much compensation in attorney’s fees.” [Joe Rosemeyer, WCPO, Debra Cassens Weiss, ABA Journal; earlier]