Curlin – Overlawyered

Kentucky fen-phen trial opens

Walter Olson — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:57:01 +0000

We’ve extensively covered the scandal over charges that attorneys William Gallion, Shirley Allen Cunningham Jr. and Melbourne Mills Jr. siphoned off $65 million or so in settlement money due claimants in the diet drug litigation, using the proceeds to buy, among other things, the Preakness-winning race horse Curlin. Ted notes the latest developments over at Point of Law, as does Carter Wood. (Wolfson/Courier-Journal, WSJ law blog).

More from WSJ law blog: Mills’ lawyer tells jury his client “was hospitalized for an ‘alcoholic seizure’ a month after the case was settled, didn’t take part in any court hearings and was too drunk at the time to be responsible,” while prosecutor says “that Mills ‘sat back and laughed’ when the other two described a plan to overcharge the clients.”

Tags: Curlin, fen-phen, hospitals, Kentucky, Kentucky fen-phen settlement fraud, Melbourne Mills Jr., scandals

Kentucky fen-phen trial opens is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

November 2 roundup

Ted Frank — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 11:35:37 +0000

Curlin gets 400 new owners, as the Kentucky fen-phen plaintiffs ripped off by their attorneys get the right to seize Shirley Cunningham Jr. and William Gallion’s 20% share of the Preakness Stakes winner. [AP/NYT; earlier]
As Lerach pleads guilty, LA Times editorial defends class action abuses, incorrectly says that the PSLRA fixed everything and that Lerach didn’t act illegally after it was passed. [LA Times]
That $10.9 million verdict against the Westboro Baptist Church was “not about the money.” [Reuters] Really, now, this case imposing bankrupting damages for a protest on a public sidewalk is appalling. Granted: Phelps is bigoted scum, and rude bigoted scum at that. But Albert Snyder’s claimed physical injury is that the protest exacerbated his diabetes: what sort of junk science is that? NB that Snyder was not even aware of the protest at the funeral until he watched it on television. Why not liability for the news program? Even those happy to see the anti-gay bigotry of the WBC punished should take pause: Snyder testified at length that the protest upset him particularly because his son was not gay.
Overlawyered favorite Willie Gary (Apr. 29, Oct. 2004), on the hook for $28,000/month in child support for love child. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
Deep-pocket search in Great White fire case. [Childs]
Lawsuit over which school 9-year-old can play football for. [Tulsa World (via TMQ G. Easterbrook)] Worse, the judge rewarded the plaintiff by second-guessing the league decision. [Tulsa World]
It only takes ten months of legal proceedings for Cal-Berkeley to evict trespassers squatting on university property. [SF Gate]
Don’t hold your breath: who’s watching the trial lawyers? [Examiner]

Tags: Atlanta, Bill Lerach, Curlin, deep pocket, fen-phen, junk science, Kentucky, Kentucky fen-phen settlement fraud, not about the money, Rhode Island Station nightclub fire, roundups, Willie Gary

November 2 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Kentucky fen-phen follies: May 20

Ted Frank — Sun, 20 May 2007 11:45:06 +0000

Most recently: May 15; at American.com.

Curlin, the horse owned by fen-phen fraudsters Gallion and Cunningham, won the Preakness by a head. Curlin’s trainer is apparently ensconced in his own scandal, having served a six-month suspension for illegally drugging horses. (Andrew Beyer, “Making a Run for It”, Washington Post, May 20; Jennie Rees, “Curlin camp a crowded place”, Louisville Courier-Journal, May 20).
Stan Chesley did not even show up to the court-ordered May 16 mediation session, allegedly forcing a rescheduling until May 23. (Chesley’s attorney says he was in contact with his client at the hearing.) Plaintiffs have asked for sanctions. (Paul Long, “Mediation over lawyer fees fails”, Cincinnati Post, May 18).

Tags: Cincinnati, Curlin, fen-phen, Kentucky, Kentucky fen-phen settlement fraud, scandals, Stan Chesley

Kentucky fen-phen follies: May 20 is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

May 8 roundup

Walter Olson — Tue, 08 May 2007 00:08:54 +0000

Whoops! Insurer’s lawyer backtracks and scrambles for cover after saying some Miami/Dade judges “are being paid off” [Daily Business Review; possibly related, scroll to mention of Miami near end]
Climate’s different up there: Google and Wikipedia sued for libel in Canada over user-generated content [Rob Hyndman]
Lawyers implicated in Ky. fen-phen scandal are owners of Curlin, horse that placed third in Kentucky Derby [Courier-Journal, Sun-Times, Sports Network, WSJ law blog]
“As a lawyer, I hear stories about lawsuit abuse all the time,” but Judge Pearson’s pants suit takes the cake [Nasty Brutish & Short; also lively discussion at Digg]
Ramps of gold: serial ADA-suit filers George Louie, David Gunther and others launch wave of sidewalk suits against Northern California towns [Contra Costa Times]
$250 fine for releasing a balloon into the air in New Hampshire? Criminalizing nearly everything [National Law Journal; also Ayn Rand]
Helpful, if scary: “12 Important U.S. Laws Every Blogger Needs To Know” [Aviva Directory]
U.K. lawyers ordered to pay back tens of millions of pounds in excessive fees earned for representing sick miners [Times Online Apr. 16, Apr. 25, Apr. 10; Telegraph]
Did Rosie O’Donnell come out for loser-pays on ABC’s “The View”? Someone please get a transcript [Bill Boushka]
Japan doesn’t furnish us with much material, but here’s one about magicians suing TV broadcasters for revealing secrets behind coin tricks [Above the Law]
Sensitivity vs. sensitivity: female drummers allowed to sue over their (culturally authentic) exclusion from ritual drumming at Native American powwow [five years ago on Overlawyered]

Tags: ADA filing mills, bloggers and the law, Curlin, fen-phen, free speech in Canada, George Louie, Google, Japan, Kentucky, libel slander and defamation, loser pays, magicians, nanny state, New Hampshire, roundups, Roy Pearson, Seattle

May 8 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system