Damages

The city of Pittsburgh settled a federal lawsuit with a journalist who claimed he was arrested and wrongfully detained under harsh conditions for 12 hours after covering protests of the Group of 20 economic summit three years ago.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week that a plaintiff cannot collect damages for emotional distress for government violations of the federal Privacy Act.

A Massachusetts attorney arrested for using his cellphone to record police officers while they arrested a man in public received a $170,000 settlement for damages and legal fees from the City of Boston on Monday.

The Virginia Supreme Court upheld a 2010 ruling that a former Newport News judge defamed a former court official when she told a newspaper the court official was “institutionalized.”

A ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court could result in higher punitive damages for libel defendants in that state. In a decision released this week, the court clarified how interest rates will be factored into assessing punitive damages.