$1.1 Billion (Yes, Billion) Verdict
Against Pharmaceutical Manufacturer
April 28, 2004
Plaintiffs’ attorney John O’Quinn just won a $1.1 billion (yes, billion) jury verdict for the widower of a woman who took a diet drug. The verdict came in a wrongful-death suit against pharmaceutical manufacturer Wyeth.
About $ 900 million of that amount was punitive damages, making the ratio of punitives to actual damages approximately 9 to 1. Why didn’t this verdict violate Texas’s statutory cap on punitive damages? Attorney O’Quinn was quoted in this Associated Press story:
Public Allegation of Copyright Infringement
Leads to $300K Defamation Verdict
April 23, 2004
If you think a competitor is doing something illegal, like infringing your copyright, it’s usually best not to complain to customers about it. If it turns out you’re wrong about the alleged illegality, you could be liable for defamation. A Web site operator named Boats.com recently learned a $300,000 lesson on that subject in a Florida federal district court.
Test of Zempt blog posting software
April 1, 2004
This is a test of the Zempt blog-posting software mentioned on the TypePad Web site.
Test of MovablePoster posting software
April 1, 2004
This is a test posting using MovablePoster. It looks like I can do a good bit of formatting in a Word-like environment.