The BUSKLAW December Newsletter: On the Perils of Suing for Lost Profits - and Not Listening to the Judge!
In my experience, trial lawyers have big egos. That's okay because a courtroom isn't a place for the faint of heart, and effective oral advocacy demands a strong personality. But a problem arises if a trial lawyer - in front of a judge - combines their big ego with stubbornness, especially when a point of law is on the table. Then, like a frozen turkey dropped into hot oil , the attorney's case can blow up. This is the scenario that played out in Kent County Judge Christopher Yates' decision in Amira Medical Staffing v Rachel Richardson, Heather Martin, and Doria Coston. Defendants Richardson, Martin, and Coston are described as "low-paid health care workers." Plaintiff Amira hired them to provide health services to a patient with a "traumatic brain injury." For some reason, the patient's mother decided to switch to another medical staffing agency, but these three nurses wanted to continue caring for their patient, so they left Amira an