Gah, GoogleNews may fail us fen-phen trialwatchers, but magnolia and Overlawyered do not. They found a Cincinnati Enquirer story on Friday’s court session that The Google (not to mention Louisville’s Courier-Journal and Lexington’s Herald-Leader) strangely missed.
Pretty significant gap in coverage this was, too, because that day jurors saw what must be a stunning videotape: Judge Jay Bamberger being confronted in court by a phen-fen plaintiff in March 2003, three years before he resigned in disgrace over his handling of the class action. The woman, who’d come down with primary pulmonary hypertension after taking fen-phen, tells him she feels cheated.
The woman is seen on the video telling Bamberger she was never given a chance to object to the settlement or told how much the class action settled for. Worse, she told Bamberger, she had a brain injury and did not understand the release papers she signed. Then, when she asked questions, she was refused copies. …
Instead of Bamberger questioning the lawyers about the woman’s claims, which if proven true would be a violation of guidelines governing class actions, the judge berated the woman.
Standing behind the bench with his hands in his pockets and gulping a cup of coffee, Bamberger told the woman to show appreciation to her lawyer for getting the $1 million she did receive.
Yet, when the woman continued to ask probing questions about the settlement, Bamberger agreed to give her $100,000 more, in addition to $1,200 per month for the rest of her life.
The extra money came with a condition: the woman would have to sign a confidentiality agreement to never discuss anything about the case again – including her concerns – to get the monthly payments.
The woman agrees, telling Bamberger he will never see her again, “unless they bump into each other on the sidewalk.”
Now mind you, the backdrop of all this is Bamberger’s relationship with Mark Modlin, his good buddy and former law partner. As the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission established (8-page pdf), Modlin scored a cool $2 million-plus consulting with Mills, Gallion, and Cunningham on the case, and while those three and Bamberger grabbed $5,000 a month from the “charity” they set up with part of the settlement proceeds, Modlin made off with $7,500 per month — he and Bamberger meanwhile buying a house together in Florida.
Small wonder the KJCC says (as I apologize for the print quality of this pdf),
The actions of Judge Bamberger shock the conscience of the Commission. If the violations described in this order had been proved at a hearing, the Commission would have removed Judge Bamberger from his office as Senior Status Special Judge. Since Judge Bamberger has resigned, this reprimand is the most severe sanction available.
Okay, mag, one-two-three: WHADDA PUTZ. And yes, I’m with you: why the hell isn’t this skeezer sweating at the defendant’s table too? The prosecutors ain’t saying, but we sure would like to know, wouldn’t we?
