A federal court has turned up its nose at an insurance company’s attempt to brand as “pollution” the smells wafting from New York’s famed Barney Greengrass delicatessen. The judge ruled that the insurer must defend the eatery, known as “The Sturgeon King,” against claims that odors, smoke and exhaust forced a co-op owner to sell his apartment. “[W]hile the quality of the plaintiff’s restaurant smells may be in the nose of the beholder, defendant’s ‘pollution’ argument …

The New Jersey Supreme Court on Thursday issued a one-year suspension to a Newark lawyer who offered discounted fees to female clients or their family members in exchange for sexual favors. David Witherspoon might consider himself lucky. Two justices wanted him disbarred and said the court should set a bright-line rule like the one that mandates disbarment for trust-fund theft.

A malpractice lawsuit by a bankrupt outdoor furniture distributor against DLA Piper has been removed to federal court. Joseph DelGreco & Co. sued DLA in Manhattan Supreme Court, claiming the firm’s negligence financially damaged the company and pushed it into bankruptcy.

A unanimous Pennsylvania Superior Court panel has ruled that a nursing home can be held corporately liable for its actions. Writing that such liability is already imposed on hospitals, health maintenance organizations and medical professional corporations, the panel held that nursing homes were similar to those organizations in that they provide “comprehensive and continual physical care.” They are not, the court said, like a physician’s outpatient office, which is not susceptible to corporate liability claims.

Pennsylvania’s Court of Judicial Discipline has suspended for 60 days a magisterial district justice previously described as “stalking” five young women. The suspension is significantly less severe than the punishment the Judicial Conduct Board sought for Gerard L. Alonge