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Sunday, December 11, 2011

Courts - "Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Irv Maze declared a mistrial after some potential jurors said they had read a story about the suit published that morning in The Courier-Journal"

On the morning of Dec. 5, 2011 the Louisville Courier Journal ran a long, front-page story, reported by Andrew Wolfson, that began:

With its ad campaigns advising the injured and maimed that they “better call Becker,” Louisville’s Becker Law Office says it has represented 30,000 people over 25 years.

Now it is embroiled in a legal battle with one of them.

In a bitterly fought lawsuit set for trial today in Jefferson Circuit Court, Tonia Freeman says the firm filed a $10 million claim on her behalf for an injury that cost her a leg, but botched the case by failing to file suit on time. And then, she said, the firm dismissed her as a client, saying only that “our resources and time restraints do not allow us to go forward any further.”

A very brief story two days later reported:
The trial of a malpractice lawsuit against the Becker Law Office and other defendants has been rescheduled for Jan. 31.

The trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday. But Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Irv Maze declared a mistrial after some potential jurors said they had read a story about the suit published that morning in The Courier-Journal.

In the lawsuit, Tonia Freeman of Radcliff claims Becker failed to file a suit on time seeking compensation for an injury she suffered at Fort Knox. The firm and the other defendants deny they were negligent.

Thanks to The Kentucky Law Blog for the heads up.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on December 11, 2011 06:44 PM
Posted to Courts in general