On March 8, a Mississippi jury found that two plaintiffs’ lawyers had committed fraud in their pursuit of asbestos mass tort claims against a railroad company. The lawyers’ actions were consistent with the types of abuses that many businesses and legal reform advocates have long alleged are commonplace in mass tort litigation, but such behavior is rarely punished due to the enormous pressure on defendants to settle such lawsuits.
The company’s determination to fight back in Illinois Central Railroad Company v. Harried, and the lessons defendants can learn from the case’s outcome, will be discussed at a Washington Legal Foundation Web Seminar program to be broadcast live on Wednesday, April 7 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. EST. The program, Fraud in Mass Tort Claims: Verdict Against Plaintiffs’ Lawyers in Asbestos Suit Reveals How Defendants Can Fight Back, will feature presentations by three attorneys directly involved in Illinois Central’s seven year battle against the abusive lawsuits and the lawyers which advanced them. Local lawyer Danny Mulholland from Forman Perry Watkins Krutz and Tardy will be one of the featured speakers.
Free registration for the seminar is required for viewing. Register for and view the event at www.wlf.org. This interactive program will include questions from the audience provided by emailing interactive@wlf.org.
WLF Press Release
4/1/10
Magnolia Tribune
