Had a mediation in one of my few defense cases where the opening demand was something like $130,000 for compensatory damages and $70,000 for attorney's fees. I told the mediator to go back and tell the other lawyer that the contract did not contain a fee provision, and therefore fees were not recoverable. The mediator came back and said the other side conceded that fees were not recoverable, but they were increasing their opening demand for compensatory damages to $175,000.
The whole thing was stupid. The mediator -- a 40-year attorney at Bradley -- said, "She's been practicing 15 years and has no idea what she's doing."
Tom Kline in Philadelphia has a room in his office with over 300 photos of himself being interviewed by the local news. He also has Drexel law school named after himself.
There’s a plaintiff firm in Ft. Lauderdale who has a series of screens encircling the conference room broadcasting news clips, verdicts, newspaper articles, etc, of every significant case they’ve had just playing on a loop.
Do you guys ever deal with an attorney who refuses to answer questions in email exchanges? because my favorite baby boomer is currently refusing to provide documents his client said gave to him last week while insisting we schedule depositions. I keep asking when he will give me the documents and keep getting responses with nonsense like “if you are going to continuing using emails as posturing then we won’t get very far.” it feels like he and I are speaking different languages. I have a motion to compel pending and he clearly wants to set depos of former employees before he turns over their employee file so he can sandbag them, but acts incredulous that I insist on him participating in discovery before doing that. In short - old lawyers are the worst and should be put out to pasture to die.
My buddy’s firm does the giant check. Apparently it’s a massive draw for clicks on social media. Hey. Whatever works… I never bother to read the body of those emails. I just skip to the bottom where the number is.
My favorite are the true believer defense attorneys who don’t understand that they need plaintiffs cases or else they’re fucked Idiots
Had this conversation today. I want plaintiffs’ firms to advertise aggressively and let everyone know insurance is involved. Make the carriers squirm. That way, they’ll pay the folks who can try them.
Have y'all ever heard of a health insurance policy that does not cover injuries from auto accidents? I've got a client in MS (thanks for this awesome referral RJF-GUMP ), and he goes to get an MRI and they tell him his insurance won't cover it because it's a car accident. I initial think it's a situation where the health carrier is saying that they are secondary after med pay, (he doesn't have med pay). But no, they say the insurance simply doesn't cover auto accidents. I'm getting a copy of the policy because I've never heard of this in my life.
I think it's probably the insurance carrier's contract with the hospital/provider rather than the insurance policy.
yes a lot of insurance companies in tx won't cover PCP and imaging if you're in a wreck and it's someone else's fault
I think it has to be across the board. His employer (municipal government), confirmed that the policy doesn't cover it.
Good. Something needs to! Clear liability in Tuscaloosa, but let's say I'm skeptical of the amount of damages. A little high maintenance....
I’d say 1 out of 2 MVA clients are high maintenance. If you need MRI or treatment on LOP in MS just let me know.
What is the best way to remind a judge they owe an order without pissing them off? It's a bench trial so I especially don't want to piss them off. Summary judgment and other motions argued June of 2020. Still don't have MSJ order or the other orders. I asked for a conference call back in September and it was clear the judge had completely lost track of the case and wasn't even working on the orders. He's a retired judge that is in private practice now and was specially appointed because other judges recused. His old secretary left his firm and the new one didn't even have our case on her list of cases that were pending before him. In September he said he'd work on it. Now we're more than 6 months removed from that conference. Do you think a simple email "following up" is bad form ? I have like 30-40k in the case and don't necessarily think it's a good thing for it to continue to drag out. Worried about witnesses moving etc.
Lol it’s been 2 years. And it sounds like if you don’t follow up then he isn’t going to do anything I would follow up today, follow up again in 2 weeks and then if that doesn’t work I would start sending some threats
But I also hate all judges and have very little respect for them so I may not be the right one to ask
This was a first for me: Two days ago a national press guy called me about a story he was running on an officer down here that had tased someone to death and then the department covered it up. I sued the guy and a bunch of other people when the same officer struck a pedestrian on a highway and the pedestrian was killed. The reporter was from Iowa. I ultimately dismissed my case because after I got the dash cam and discovery I didn't think the officer was at fault.
In a mediation right now with two defendants settled with one and the other offered $500. Told the mediator to just let them know we will go to trial and said thanks and left he just texted me to say: ‘Why don't you respond to the $500 offer and let's play this out. They are complaining that you are wanting them to bid against themselves. I realize this is absolutely ridiculous, but if you don't mind indulging them, that would be great.’
This is how 75% of my mediations go. When I counter with $500 less than my previous demand, they get upset for some reason. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
It's a dumb strategy (for this reason) and fucking annoying to do the tiny stairsteps, but bidding against yourself with real money is different than changing a demand that isn't. Come back with a bracket and try to get them to show where they can go. It's very obviously not $500 and delaying the case costs you more than it does them.
There's a very real chance that they have the money today that you want to settle it. And, if not, telling them what they need to get to settle it makes the mediation worthwhile.
I use this strat when I know the OC wants to settle but the Lit specialist is being annoying. Still usually results in an impasse but at least the OC knows I tried.
Honestly, I put this on you. When the offer of $500 came out, you should have just walked the fuck out. Fuck the mediator. When a man insults you to your face and you stick around hoping for an apology, you're coming from a position of weakness.
Right, but when the $500 offer was made, the mediation should have been over. Make them chase you if they're going to fuck around.
I start trial in Miami on Monday. There's a couple million on the table being offered and in response we told them to shine their trial shoes.