In the News

Many trial lawyers, like most people, are doing everything they can to abate the coronavirus. Others, however, appear to see this pandemic as a major business opportunity. As with other types of litigation, their goal is to find a way to externalize responsibility for someone’s disease upon a solvent and ideally “deep-pocketed” business or industry.

“Have you or a loved one been hurt? You deserve compensation! Call now to get $$$!” Everyone in America has seen some version of that TV ad. The bombastic language and overdramatic visuals can mask the fact that these ads are often part of highly sophisticated campaigns that systematically target key moments in the litigation lifecycle to maximize profits for the plaintiffs’ lawyers.

A detailed examination of eight years of consumer class actions in federal court found that consumers received only a tiny fraction of the money awarded in those cases while plaintiff lawyers frequently claimed a bigger share of the settlement than their clients.

They’ve already sued cruise ship operators, soap manufacturers and insurance companies, but COVID-19 will give entrepreneurial lawyers plenty more opportunities to make money by targeting nursing homes, hospitals, pharmaceutical manufacturers, retailers and possibly even homeowners over the disease.

The coronavirus pandemic is imperiling more than lives and livelihoods. It’s also leading to lawsuits. “This early litigation is really, from our vantage point, the tip of the iceberg,” says Harold Kim, president of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. “The level of litigation could really go into so many different directions.”

An estimated $12.1 million was spent on Roundup ads in November and December in close to 69,000 spots. The number of Roundup ads decreased to 34,881 in January-February. Meanwhile, lawyers searching for business are touting their abilities to handle problems the coronavirus poses in the legal community.

Thirty judicial candidates across Texas who were headed to a runoff election to decide their races must come to terms with waiting three extra weeks because of the coronavirus outbreak.

A Boca Raton law firm has filed a class action lawsuit against the People’s Republic of China, alleging that its public agencies were negligent for failing to contain the deadly coronavirus outbreak that has caused economic devastation in the U.S.

This is the second of a two-part series on the growing trend of large court-ordered settlements in truck crash lawsuits. Lee Parsley, general counsel for litigation reform group Texans for Lawsuit Reform, said the verdict amount announced from such cases isn’t always what gets paid out. In Texas, punitive damages, which are intended to punish the recipient on top of economic and non-economic damages, are capped based on a formula using economic and non-economic damages. That cap, however, is calculated post-trial.

As courts across Texas move many proceedings to telephone and video conferencing, there’s a discussion behind the scenes about how to keep the courts open to the public. Some essential proceedings are moving forward as normal. But in nonessential matters, which will either be postponed or handled through electronic hearings, questions are arising about how the public can find out about those hearings, and how they can dial in to listen.