Law Offices of John Rapillo

March 20, 2009 - Jurors' Use of the Internet Upsets the Scales of Justice. Last week, a juror in a big federal drug trial in Florida admitted to the judge that he had been researching the case on the Internet, directly violating the judge's instructions and centuries of legal rules. But when the judge questioned the rest of the jury, he got an even bigger shock... Read the rest of this entry »

June 24, 2008 - Supreme Court Rules Plaintiffs Without Standing May Sue. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a collection agency that has no pecuniary stake in a case may sue on behalf of its customers. The Court's 5-4 decision contradicts a basic legal tenet, that courts may only hear cases if plaintiffs have standing to sue--that is, if they suffer injuries as a result of the defendant's conduct... Read the rest of this entry »

April 16, 2008 - Website Makes Suing Easy. A new website promising to simplify the lawsuit process by pairing lawyers with potential litigants is a bad idea, tort reform advocates say. Read the rest of this entry »

November 8, 2001 - Court Throws Out Exxon Spill Fine. A jury's $5 billion punitive damage award for the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill was too high compared to the damage caused and the sums the company already has spent for cleanup and compensation, a federal appeals court ruled today. A three-judge U.S. Court of Appeals panel in San Francisco rejected Exxon Mobil Corp.'s attempt to throw out the entire punitive damage verdict -- saying it was justified by the knowing employment of an alcoholic captain -- but ordered a federal judge in Alaska to reduce the award... Read the rest of this entry »

Jul-28-2001 The Money Will be Divided up Among Resident Who File A Class Action Suit. $6 Million On Way To Westgate Families; Polluted Land. The Money Will be Divided up Among Resident Who File A Class Action Suit. $6 Million On Way To Westgate Families; Polluted Land. For many Westgate residents, who have complained for years about the slow pace of an environmental cleanup in their west Lakeland community, relief is on the way in the form of cold, hard cash. A final hearing is scheduled for Polk Circuit Court on Thursday to determine how a $6 million settlement will be divvied up among residents who joined a class action lawsuit against companies responsible for polluting their neighborhood... Read the rest of this entry »

Jul-17-2001- Farmer Claims Pesticide Poisoned His Family. A Hardeman County farmer has sued the Southeastern Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation for $ 1 million, arguing its pesticide has poisoned his property and sickened his family. In his lawsuit, John McKeen said he first began noticing problems after the program began operating last spring from the Hardeman County Airport next to his farm. He said his family has since suffered headaches from polluted well water, and his cattle have given birth to calves that had trouble gaining weight. One calf was born with a physical deformity. The lakes and ponds on his property also have become rife with dead fish, McKeen said. His lawsuit was filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Jackson... Read the rest of this entry »

Jun-04-2001 Crop dusters spray pesticides on homes, animals and people while the Arizona Department of Agriculture does little to stop them. The rumbling engine of a crop duster's airplane jolted Frances Sebring awake.The cooler in her mobile home was sucking in the vapor of chemicals that were supposed to have landed on a nearby cotton field. The cloud of insecticides swept across the mobile homes of Sebring and her two neighbors on the outskirts of Florence, leaving a path of dead fish and panicked families."I thought he the pilot was taking the top of the roof off," says Sebring, who ran outside, trying to escape the choking stench. "I couldn't go anywhere to get away from it."The 68-year-old found her backyard canal, and another pond and canal next door, littered with floating fish. But she was more worried about her son-in-law next door, who had terminal lung cancer."The odor is part of living in the country, but you don't expect it to be dumped on you," says Sebring, who has lived in the small farming community for 14 years. "You can have your life ruined with one application."This wasn't the first mistake by the pilot of the crop-dusting plane, John Pew... Read the rest of this entry »