CitationMathias v. Accor Econ. Lodging, Inc., 347 F.3d 672, 2003 U.S. App. LEXIS 21299, 62 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. (Callaghan) 1199 (7th Cir. Ill. Oct. 21, 2003) Brief Fact Summary. Guests who had been bitten by bedbugs (Plaintiffs) sued Accor Economy Lodging, Inc. (Defendant), the owner/operator of a Red Roof Inn alleging willful and wanton conduct that warranted punitive damages. Synopsis of Rule of Law. 1) Defendant’s conduct was wanton and willful, and so punitive damages are allowed. 2) When punitive damages are warranted, the amount must be proportiona ...
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Matsuyama v. Birnbaum
CitationMatsuyama v. Birnbaum, 890 N.E.2d 819, 452 Mass. 1, 2008 Mass. LEXIS 552 (Mass. July 23, 2008) Brief Fact Summary. Dr. Birnbaum (Defendant) was Matsuyama’s (Plaintiff) primary-care doctor. Despite treating Plaintiff for stomach pain for four years, Defendant did not properly diagnose Plaintiff’s gastric cancer until it was too late to treat it. Plaintiff’s estate sued for negligence. Synopsis of Rule of Law. A physician is liable for damages when his negligence reduces or eliminates a patient’s chance of a more favorable medical result, even where the patie ...
Nycal Corporation v. KPMG Peat Marwick LLP
CitationNycal Corp. v. KPMG Peat Marwick LLP., 688 N.E.2d 1368, 426 Mass. 491, 1998 Mass. LEXIS 22 (Mass. Jan. 16, 1998) Brief Fact Summary. Nycal Corporation (Plaintiff) sued after it relied upon a report prepared by KPMG Peat Marwick LLP (Defendant) in entering into a stock purchase agreement. Synopsis of Rule of Law. An accountant is only liable to a third party with whom he has no contract when that party can prove that the accountant knew the party would rely upon his report. ...
Seffert v. Los Angeles Transit Lines
CitationSeffert v. Los Angeles Transit Lines, 364 P.2d 337, 56 Cal. 2d 498, 15 Cal. Rptr. 161, 1961 Cal. LEXIS 314 (Cal. 1961) Brief Fact Summary. The door on a Los Angeles Transit Lines (Defendant) bus closed on Seffert’s (Plaintiff) right hand and left foot leading to severe injuries and permanent disability. Defendant appealed the award of damages. Synopsis of Rule of Law. An appellate court should not reduce the damages awarded to a plaintiff unless the award is so large as to suggest that the jury was motivated by passion, prejudice, or corruption. ...
Soule v. General Motors Corporation
CitationSoule v. General Motors Corp., 882 P.2d 298, 8 Cal. 4th 548, 34 Cal. Rptr. 2d 607, 1994 Cal. LEXIS 6027, 94 Daily Journal DAR 15133, 94 Cal. Daily Op. Service 8207, CCH Prod. Liab. Rep. P14,046 (Cal. Oct. 27, 1994) Brief Fact Summary. Soule (Plaintiff) sued General Motors Corporation (Defendant) after her ankles were broken in an automobile accident, alleging defective design of her Camaro. Synopsis of Rule of Law. In a defective design products liability case involving a complex product, the proper standard to be applied is whether the risk of danger in the design outweighs the benef ...
State of Rhode Island v. Lead Industries Association, Inc
CitationState v. Lead Indus. Ass’n, 951 A.2d 428, 2008 R.I. LEXIS 79, 38 ELR 20155, CCH Prod. Liab. Rep. P18,031 (R.I. July 1, 2008) Brief Fact Summary. The Rhode Island (Plaintiff) Attorney General brought a public nuisance action against lead paint manufacturers (Defendants). Synopsis of Rule of Law. A public nuisance action cannot be brought against product manufacturers if the products do not unreasonably interfere with a right common to the general public and the manufacturers do not have control over the product when it caused the harm. ...
State v. Karl
CitationState ex rel. Johnson & Johnson Corp. v. Karl, 647 S.E.2d 899, 220 W. Va. 463, 2007 W. Va. LEXIS 57 (W. Va. June 27, 2007) Brief Fact Summary. Nancy Gellner’s (Plaintiff) estate brought a products liability/medical malpractice action against the manufacturer of Propulsid and the doctor who prescribed it after Plaintiff died three days after taking the drug. Synopsis of Rule of Law. West Virginia products liability law applies the same duty to warn consumers of the risks of their products to prescription drug manufacturers as it does to other manufacturers. ...
Stubbs v. City of Rochester
CitationStubbs v. Rochester, 124 N.E. 137, 226 N.Y. 516, 1919 N.Y. LEXIS 896, 5 A.L.R. 1396 (N.Y. 1919) Brief Fact Summary. Stubbs (Plaintiff) sued the City of Rochester (Defendant) for negligently infecting the water in the area where he worked, causing him to contract typhoid fever. Defendant claimed that Plaintiff could have contracted the disease from other sources. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The fact that a plaintiff’s condition could have been caused by other possible sources does not require the plaintiff to prove that those factors were not the cause in order to s ...
Portee v. Jaffee
CitationPortee v. Jaffee, 417 A.2d 521, 84 N.J. 88, 1980 N.J. LEXIS 1387 (N.J. 1980) Brief Fact Summary. Mrs. Portee (Plaintiff) suffered severe psychological harm after watching her son sustain fatal injuries in a malfunctioning elevator and sued the building owners and elevator manufacturers (Defendants) for emotional distress. Â Synopsis of Rule of Law. A plaintiff may recover for emotional distress caused by negligence that leads to the injury of another person even when the plaintiff is not herself in danger of physical injury. Â ...
Sullivan v. Dunham
CitationSullivan v. Dunham, 55 N.E. 923, 161 N.Y. 290, 1900 N.Y. LEXIS 1439 (N.Y. 1900) Brief Fact Summary. Sullivan’s (Plaintiff) decedent was struck and killed while traveling on the highway by a wood fragment from a dynamite blast on Dunham’s (Defendant) nearby land. Synopsis of Rule of Law. An individual is liable for injuries caused by trespass to person or property due to activities like blasting where the injury is direct and not consequential without need for proof of negligence. ...
Hamdi v. Rumsfeld
Citation542 U.S. 507 (2004). Brief Fact Summary. A court of appeals determined that Hamdi (Petitioner) a US citizen designated an “enemy combatant” could be indefinitely confined and had no right to challenge his designation in federal court. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The Constitution grants citizens held in the United States as an enemy combatant the right to a meaningful opportunity to challenge the factual basis for his detention before an impartial decisionmaker. ...
Doe v. Bolton
Citation410 U.S. 179 (1973). Brief Fact Summary. Doe (Plaintiff) challenged Georgia’s abortion statute as unconstitutional after she was denied an abortion. Synopsis of Rule of Law. 1) A state statute is in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment when it requires that all abortions, no matter the stage of pregnancy, be performed in a hospital instead of in a less expensive clinic. 2) A state statute is in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment when it requires hospitals performing abortions to meet accreditation requirements not mandated for hospitals not performing abortions or perform ...
Williamson v. Columbia Gas & Electric Corp.
Citation186 F.2d 464 (3d Cir. 1950); cert denied, 341 U.S. 921 (1951). Brief Fact Summary. Williamson (Plaintiff) sued Columbia Gas & Electric Corp. (Defendant ) in two separate actions. The second suit was dismissed while the first was still pending and Defendant moved to dismiss based upon res judicata. Synopsis of Rule of Law. When an action involving the same operative facts, issues, and damages as an earlier suit that is still pending is decided first, res judicata bars the first suit from proceeding. ...
Waterhouse v. Levine
Citation65 N.E. 822 (Mass. 1903). Brief Fact Summary. After an earlier suit on a contract for the sale of goods was dismissed as not ripe, Levine (Defendant) argued that a second suit in which Waterhouse (Plaintiff) sought to collect for the delivered goods was barred by res judicata. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Dismissal of an action as not ripe does not bar a later action on the same claim once the cause of action has ripened ...
Blonder-Tongue Laboratories v. University of Illinois Foundation
Citation402 U.S. 313 (1971). Brief Fact Summary. After a court declared Blonder-Tongue Laboratories’(Plaintiff) patent invalid in another action, Plaintiff made a claim of patent infringement on the same patent against the University of Illinois Foundation (Defendant). Synopsis of Rule of Law. Once a claim has been fully and fairly litigated adverse to the plaintiff, the plaintiff may not bring the same claim against a different defendant. ...
Williams v. Walker-Thomas Furniture Co.
Citation198 A.2d 914 (D.C. Ct. App. 1964). Brief Fact Summary. Williams (Defendant) defaulted on her payments to Walker-Thomas Furniture Co. (Plaintiff) after making a number of purchases on credit. Synopsis of Rule of Law. A court may refuse to enforce a contract as unconscionable when it appears that a gross inequality of bargaining power between the parties has led to a contract with terms that were effectively dictated to the weaker party. ...
Rite Aid Corp. v. Lake Shore Investors
Citation471 A.2d 735 (Md. Ct. App. 1984). Brief Fact Summary. After a determination that Rite Aid Corp. and Rite Aid of Maryland (Defendants) were liable for the torts of injurious falsehood as it pertains to disparagement of real property and interference with a land sale contract, the highest appellate court examined the manner of measuring damages for these two torts. Synopsis of Rule of Law. 1) In a contract interference action, damages may include the pecuniary loss of the benefits of the contract, consequential losses for which the tortious act is the legal cause, emotional distress ...
OneBeacon America Insurance Co. v. Travelers Indemnity Co. of Illinois
Citation465 F.3d 38 (1st Cir. 2006). Brief Fact Summary. OneBeacon America Insurance Co. (Plaintiff) was the general insurer for vehicles owned by Leasing Associates, Inc. (LAI). One of LAI’s lessees was insured by Defendant and was in an accident that led to Defendant paying a $5 million settlement. Defendant sought reimbursement from Plaintiff based upon language in the insurance policy and Plaintiff sought reformation of the policy to reflect the intent of the parties not to cover lessees. Synopsis of Rule of Law. When a contract’s written language does not reflect the inten ...
Kossian v. American National Insurance Co.
Citation254 Cal. App. 2d 647 (Cal. Ct. App. 1967). Brief Fact Summary. Kossian (Plaintiff) was hired by Reichert to clean up and remove debris from a fire-damaged building. When Reichert went bankrupt, he assigned his fire insurance policies to American National Insurance Co. (Defendant) which held a deed of trust on the property. Plaintiff sued Defendant alleging unjust enrichment because Defendant received both Plaintiff’s labor and materials and the insurance proceeds intended to cover clean up and debris removal costs. Synopsis of Rule of Law. When a party expends labor a ...
Kass v. Kass
Citation91 N.Y.2d 554 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1998). Brief Fact Summary. Maureen Kass (Plaintiff) and Steven Kass (Defendant) were married and, in an effort to have children, attempted in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures. The procedures resulted in five frozen preembryos. The couple signed an agreement that if they could not agree to the disposition of the preembryos, the preembryos would be donated to the IVF program for research. Shortly after signing this agreement, Plaintiff filed for divorce and sued for custody of the preembryos so that she could have them implanted. Defendant objected and ...
In re Katrina Canal Breaches Litigation
Citation495 F.3d 191 (5th Cir. 2007). Brief Fact Summary. After Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005, many property owners (Plaintiffs) filed lawsuits against insurance companies (Defendants) who denied claims base upon policies that excluded “flood” damage. The policyowners claimed that the term “flood” did not include water damage that was caused by negligent design, construction, and maintenance of the levees breached during the storm. Synopsis of Rule of Law. A contract term is not ambiguous when it aligns with its prevailing meaning and where giving it ...
Homami v. Iranzadi
Citation211 Cal. App. 3d 1104 (Cal. Ct. App. 1989). Brief Fact Summary. Homami (Plaintiff) sued his brother-in-law, Iranzadi (Defendant) over an unpaid debt and testified that almost $40,000 of the money he had received had not been principal payments, but interest payments the two had agreed not to report to tax authorities. Synopsis of Rule of Law. A contract created with an illegal intent is void as against public policy. ...