Chicago

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.29.21

* Florida's Ron DeSantis threatened litigation unless the CDC greenlights cruises to resume by summer. Maybe he just wants to galivant around the Caribbean... [Yahoo News] * Amazon is facing litigation over allegations that it failed to provide required meal breaks. [Verge] * A Brooklyn judge has dismissed a case because a lawyer refused to wear a mask. [Daily News] * A Minnesota lawyer has been sanctioned for allegedly filing election challenges without the plaintiffs' knowledge. [Twin Cities Pioneer Press] * A small Chicago bookseller is suing Amazon for allegedly using anticompetitive tactics. Sounds like this could be a sequel for You've Got Mail... [Oregonian]

By Jordan Rothman
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.26.21

* Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow, is filing a defamation lawsuit against a tabloid that said he was having an affair. Guess people should stop circulating "pillow" talk... [E! Online] * An attorney has been sentenced to two years in prison for failing to file tax returns and pay taxes. [Chicago Tribune] * A Texas lawyer and client were ordered to pay $150,000 for "outright lies" in court. [Texas Lawyer] * A Chicago attorney is racking up wins on the game show Jeopardy! [Chicago Tribune] * A lawyer is giving $20 Starbucks gift cards to teachers as a way to express his gratitude for educators. Guess it's more useful than apples...[Fox News]

By Jordan Rothman
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.14.20

* A PA lawyer has been sentenced to prison for allegedly stealing client funds to purchase (among other things) tickets to Superbowl LII in which the Eagles beat the Patriots. Maybe it was worth it to see Tom Brady lose... [Lehigh Valley Live] * A lawyer at the Department of Labor has been reassigned after accusing the Secretary of Labor of retaliation. [Bloomberg Law] * New details have surfaced about the Chicago attorney couple who were found stabbed to death in their home earlier this year. [Chicago Tribune] * Senator Ted Cruz is another potential Supreme Court pick on President Trump's most recent list to indicate he has no desire to serve on the high court. [CNN] * An employee at the Washington State Attorney General's Office has been put on administrative leave after leaving a note on a restaurant check that read: "BLM pin = no tip." [Spokesman-Review] * A contractor is in legal hot water for allegedly fleecing a congregation of $454,000 to build a church and then performing little work. The contractor should be most afraid of getting struck by lighting or something like that... [Stamford Advocate]

By Jordan Rothman
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.05.20

* A Chicago lawyer featured on the Netflix show Indian Matchmaking is facing a tough adjustment after experiencing the fame of being on the show. This series keeps showing up on my queue... [Chicago Sun Times] * The Los Angeles District Attorney's husband will face charges for waiving a gun at protesters near his home. [Hill] * A new lawsuit is demanding that White House briefings have sign language interpreters. [New York Times] * The American Bar Association has voted on a set of best practices for third-party litigation funding. That sentence may sound boring, but the implications are profound. [American Lawyer] * A new class-action lawsuit claims that the popular app TikTok steals consumer data and sends it to China. [NPR] * Check out this story of a lawyer who paid off $200,000 in student loans in two years. Man, she beat me by 22 months, hope she doesn't start a blog... [Business Insider]

By Jordan Rothman
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.28.20

* The owner of the famous bar Cheers is suing its insurance company over business interruption coverage. Guess the carrier doesn't want to know their name... [Business Insurance] * A New York lawyer who misappropriated thousands of dollars and continued to practice law while under an interim suspension has been suspended from practice for four years. Seems like the penalty could have been even worse. [New York Law Journal] * Check out this piece about whether employers are legally allowed to prohibit employees from wearing Black Lives Matter masks. [CNN] * A lawyer for the Covington Catholic student who sued news agencies for defamation over a viral video released last year says that employees of CNN and The Washington Post have breached confidentiality agreements related to the litigation. [Yahoo News] * A husband and wife are suing the District of Columbia over speed enforcement cameras. Please let this case go to the Supreme Court... [ABC News]

By Jordan Rothman
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.28.20

* Three members of a $31.7 million fraudulent slip-and-fall ring have been sentenced to prison. Wonder if they got the idea from Slippin' Jimmy. [Insurance Journal] * Former presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard has abandoned her short-lived defamation lawsuit against Hillary Clinton. [CNN] * A Louisiana attorney who was suspended from practice for chest bumping a prosecutor has been reinstated as a lawyer. Apparently the chest bump was not like the kind seen in football. [Advocate] * The Los Angeles City Attorney has sued a company for selling allegedly fake COVID-19 tests. [Orange County Register] * There is some hope that a TV series based on The Lincoln Lawyer will be produced after all. Thought I already saw the reboot, but realized it was just a Matthew McConaughey car commercial. [Hollywood Reporter] * Since this website has not published a Lawyerly Lairs article in a while, just wanted to report that a top Chicago criminal lawyer has listed his posh pad for sale. [Crain's Chicago]

By Jordan Rothman
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.24.20

* The lawyer who sued Florida's governor over COVID-19-related closures will be wearing a Grim Reaper outfit on beaches to warn people about social distancing. Wonder if he'll need a mask with that costume. [NBC News] * An attorney, and former managing partner at a New Jersey law firm, has pleaded guilty to tax evasion to the tune of $250,000. [New Jersey Law Journal] * A new lawsuit alleges that New York City jail workers are being forced to work 24-hour shifts in a "cesspool of illness." It's a horrible situation, and you have to hand it to the lawyers for that colorful language. [New York Post] * The Texas Attorney General's Office filed a lawsuit accusing the largest U.S. egg producer of price gouging. Whoever loses the lawsuit may end up with egg on their face... [Wall Street Journal] * The search continues for a Chicago-area attorney who went missing a month ago. [Chicago Tribune] * A lawyer who lost her law license for losing a briefcase of sensitive documents on a train is appealing her case. Unless this lawyer lost the nuclear football, her punishment seems kind of harsh. [Legal Week]

By Jordan Rothman

Morning Docket: 04.16.20

* A Florida attorney is suing over his county's COVID-19-related curfew, arguing that "[i]t's not like the virus is Count Dracula." With an argument like that, he can't lose. [New York Post] * A husband and wife (who were both lawyers) were found dead in their Chicago home on Monday under suspicious circumstances. [NBC News] * The top lawyer of Twitter saw his pay decrease last year, but don't worry, he still makes millions of dollars a year. [Bloomberg Law] * An attorney won around $106,000 during a five-day winning streak on Jeopardy! Should cover about a year's worth of law school loans... [Online Athens] * Selena Gomez has filed a $10 million lawsuit against a game developer for the unauthorized use of her likeness. [Variety] * A lawyer has discovered a way to make plastic face shields from plastic covers on legal documents. Is this attorney named MacGyver? [ABA Journal]

By Jordan Rothman