- Quickdraw McLaw
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- Questions have arisen about the role of Judge Jennifer Togliatti as a mediator in the MGM October 1 shooting settlement and whether it was properly disclosed that her father was the VP of Security at Mandalay Bay at the time of the shooting. Robert Eglet says plaintiffs recommended Togliatti knowing about the conflict and that it was disclosed to their clients, but some of them claim they were never made aware. Has this issue come up in the local media at any point of the process? Do you see any problems with it, even if it was properly disclosed? [12News-Phoenix]
- Advocates say many courts not adhering to Supreme Court decision that restricted cash bail. [TNI]
- Attorney Athar Haseebullah talks about being detained during protests earlier this week. [News3LV]
- Despite numbers still being on par with the Great Depression, the economy added/resumed a record number of jobs last month. [Las Vegas Sun]
The way to fix a recession and a pandemic is to get everyone to focus on something that has nothing to do with the economy or the pandemic.
Working on a disqualification brief now, court of appeals allowed a justice to remain on a case who was an attorney for one of the parties of the case, and she was personal friends with defense counsel. Court of Appeals does not believe in conflicts. I was shocked when I read it and briefs.
Allowed a Justice to stay on case where "she" was personal friends. We have three Judges on the Court of Appeals, only one who is a woman. You can name Bulla by name. However she was Discovery Commissioner for 12 years. The "former attorney for a party" argument rarely works unless there was such a close relationship in connections and time between client and attorney; 12 years is a long shot. Personal friends with Defense Counsel–also a long shot.
They allowed a judge to hear a case who used to be a party's attorney? That is bullshit. This was probably when the judge was in the lower court.
Apparently this was all disclosed. Any potential conflict was known. Plaintiffs' lead counsel Robert Eglet agreed to having Judge Togliatti mediate (not arbitrate). So no problem. Mediator just brings the parties together to resolve the case.
10:42 is spot on. A judge should disclose all potential conflicts to the parties. If you are an attorney for one of the parties requires disqualification. There is no qualifier for that. As for friends with a party, that needs to be disclosed as well. No qualifier there, either. Although I think it is great that the judges are excusing unethical behavior on here.
Mediator or Arbitrator, since when are attorneys not required to inform their clients of potential conflicts? George Togliatti is a former high ranking FBI agent and a long time executive of MGM. If you were a Plaintiff, suing MGM, would you want his daughter overseeing the mediation?
I am no fan of his, but Eglet got $800M from MGM in this thing. Is someone really asserting that the process and result is slanted in favor of MGM?
What did the average plaintiff get?
Thanks, 10:26 for the post. I will not be voting for Tao or Bonnie Bulla after that bs decision.
Thanks everybody for all the snap opinions about judges and conflicts of interest. Who needs to delve into underlying facts, anyway? Much easier to just always make a knee-jerk assumption that every judge is always going to ignore his/her oath to uphold the law, and favor his/her buddies. Sounds like the argument of the inferior practitioner.
See nothing wrong about the posts above. They are the normal length of posts on here.
Facts were mentioned, I guess you missed that oh, grumpy court of appeals judge.
Judges take an oath to serve, not to recuse. It takes more integrity to stay on a case where there is no real conflict than to jump ship at the sign of the first cloud on the horizon and dump something you should be handling onto your colleagues. Works well off the bench as well as on.
This is more than a cloud. They also take an oath to follow judicial cannons. But they don't.
I am appalled there existed a relationship between Judge Togliatti and the VP of Security at Mandalay Bay (her father). This was NEVER disclosed to me, and I am a client.
According to World Intellectual Property Organization, A question to consider for choosing a mediator…"are the candidates independent, that is, are they free of any past or present business, financial or other disqualifying connections with either of the parties to the dispute or with the particular subject matter of the dispute?"
More than one attorney, from different firms representing the plaintiffs have made public claims clients were disclosed this info, without backing it up by providing documents used to disclose this "minor" detail. Again, I have NEVER received said document. The attorney statements imply dishonest dealings and puts the integrity of the entire process between MGM, Attorney Teams for Plaintiffs, and the mediators in question. If they had provided the documents which attorneys state did disclose the relationship, then there would be no problems.
Interestingly enough…
Quoted from May 20, 2019 article written by Ken Ritter on the Insurance Journal website : "MGM Resorts also said it has $751 million in insurance to pay toward a settlement.However, a lawyer handling mediation talks for plaintiffs called it premature for the corporate owner of Mandalay Bay resort to report a possible settlement range between $735 million and $800 million. “We’re not even close to resolving all the terms and issues before we have a settlement,” attorney Robert Eglet said. He said he represents about 4,200 claimants, including those who have sued in Nevada, California and other states, and people who have not formally filed for damages. “It’s true that a settlement is possible,” Eglet said. “But I will tell you it’s not probable. Nothing is signed. We have a long way to go before we have an agreement. ”Eglet said talks are ongoing with MGM Resorts attorneys, and that he was aware the company would make its report to the SEC. Eglet said he reviewed the SEC document on Thursday and agreed that a settlement should be reached within a year. Company spokeswoman Debra DeShong said progress has been made after multiple mediation sessions over several months. The goal is “to resolve these matters so
My question for all of you to ponder…
How is it the settlement ended up being a sum of between 735-800 million a year later? Coincidence? Wow! The reparations being made will clearly have an impact on MGM, won't it?! Oh, attorneys get 40% of client's settlement plus other expenses that are incurred. I'd be happy to share my documents but I have signed a non-disclosure, have been threatened with losing attorney-client privileges,and the loss of the possible 5,000 I MAY qualify for (before attorneys take of course) if I discuss this settlement with others.
The whole process is a bit shady. The victims/plaintiffs seemed to be the last ones invited to the party to celebrate the "victory and enjoy the spoils" of this settlement. Again, so very shady!
10;36 is spot on. We are still not a very large legal community when compared to many other areas. There are metropolitan areas that have, literally, hundreds of District Court Judges.
Point being, very often people will have had some work history, and often some direct employment connection, to others involved in cases, whether they be lawyer of judge. It has to be a real close connection(and the more recent in time the better) to trigger any viable disqualification.
"Attorneys for one of the parties" needs clarification. Often, the so-called connection is distant, tangential, remote, and poses no viable argument of current compromise or having possession of damaging info. which can now be used against such former supposed client.
So, the devil is in the details, and the dots must be connected pretty clearly. But, in a case-by-case basis, sometimes these disqualification attempts can bear fruit.
But the "they are friends" argument is almost always woefully unsuccessful. For this to succeed, you better establish that they take vacations together and spend holidays together, or something fairly close to it. Even if you show they occasionally have lunch, that usually won't do.
While in the middle of a 21 month stayed suspension, Brian Boggess just picked up another 3 year suspension. (Case 79316)
I just got a Facebook ad "Paid for by Caesar Almase Four Judge". I thought for a second that he switched to Dept. 4 and this was some form of clever pun as opposed sloppiness. I was wrong.
I voted four Caesar fore the simple reason that I think he would make a good judge. Gave him a mulligan on the grammatical faux pas.
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If she disclosed and the counsel agreed to use her, then there is no problem for her. If plaintiff's counsel failed to inform his clients, that is his failing.