Free Republic

A civil trial set to start this month in New York City will test the legal boundaries of hundreds of claims remaining against General Motors Co. stemming from faulty ignition switches. The case involves an Oklahoma man who blames a defective ignition switch for preventing his air bags from deploying during a crash. It's the first trial to result from hundreds of lawsuits filed against GM after the auto giant revealed in 2014 that faulty ignition switches in Chevy Cobalts and other small cars necessitated an unprecedented recall. The switches can slip out of the "on" position, causing the cars...

A Boston law firm is being tarred as a greedy embarrassment to the legal profession and a threat to Massachusetts' fiscal health as it prepares to go to trial today in its lawsuit against the state for $1.25 billion in legal fees on top of $775 million it already stands to collect. The firm of Brown Rudnick Berlack Israels says it simply is asking the state to honor the terms offered to the firm to assist in a landmark lawsuit against the tobacco industry. The state counters that the 1998 settlement was so large that the 25 percent contingency is...