Seems like it is common practice for many to list the best and the worst for the year.

Here is a list from Institute of Legal Reform:

Worst 2012 lawsuits argue for 2013 reforms

January 2, 2013

	Legal Reform News Daily     EDITORIAL: Worst 2012 lawsuits argue for 2013 reforms Washington Examiner | Subscription Required | Jan 02, 2013 Did you hear the one about the repeat drunken driver in Florida who killed a family in an accident, then sued them for pain and suffering? Or the one about the parents who sued their son's school after he was kicked out of an honors class for cheating? Or the woman whose car was repossessed, prompting her to sue for $5 million for the gas she had put in the tank? Tags: Lawsuit Abuse Impact Toyota in $1.1 Billion Gas-Pedal Settlement Wall Street Journal | Subscription Required | Jan 02, 2013 Toyota Motor Corp. agreed to pay about $1.1 billion to settle a class-action lawsuit stemming from complaints of unintended acceleration in its vehicles that soured its reputation for quality and undermined its sales globally. Tags: Class Action Toyota poised to put legal troubles in rear view mirror ThomsonReuters | Jan 02, 2013 Toyota Motor Corp eliminated a huge obstacle with a U.S. settlement over unintended acceleration in its cars and trucks, leaving it to fight smaller cases that will be harder for plaintiffs to prove and less likely to damage the company's growing sales. Tags: Class Action Legal Maze's Murkiest Corners Worry Companies Wall Street Journal | Subscription Required | Jan 02, 2013 SEC Payouts for Tips, Foreign-Bribery Law, Patent Suits Top List of Concerns. Tags: Financial Services, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Government Contracts & Whistleblower Legislation Looking Ahead to Civil and Criminal Cases to Come New York Times | Jan 02, 2013 It is not really of question of whether there will be a major white-collar crime that captures the public's attention in 2013; it's a question of when and how costly it will be. Tags: Financial Services, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Law Firm Hit With $429,000 Verdict Over Faked Asbestos Suits Forbes | Jan 02, 2013 A West Virginia jury found two members of a Pittsburgh law firm liable of civil racketeering for conspiring with a radiologist to fabricate evidence in asbestos lawsuits against railroad operator CSX. Tags: Asbestos, Lawsuit Abuse Impact, Legal Ethics, Trial Lawyers' Influence, West Virginia Supreme Court rules for Illinois Central in asbestos forum case Madison County Record | Jan 02, 2013 A Mississippi man's asbestos lawsuit should not be heard in St. Clair County, the Illinois Supreme Court held Friday. Tags: Asbestos, Illinois State AGs and private plaintiffs' firms redux ThomsonReuters | Jan 02, 2013 I seem to have opened a Pandora's box when I wrote last week about the ruling by a federal judge in Kentucky that Merck can proceed with a constitutional challenge to the state attorney general's use of private lawyers to bring consumer protection claims against the pharmaceutical company. Tags: State Attorneys General, Trial Lawyers' Influence EDITORIAL: The Elephant in the Courtroom Wall Street Journal | Subscription Required | Jan 02, 2013 Don't worry, kids. Elephants are staying in the circus. And the animal-rights activists who tried to drive them out are paying a price for their abusive litigation. On Friday Feld Entertainment, producer of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, announced a legal settlement under which the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) has paid $9.3 million to the company. Tags: Lawsuit Abuse Impact Chevron-Ecuador case expert switches sides San Francisco Chronicle | Jan 02, 2013 The long-running environmental lawsuit against Chevron Corp. in Ecuador has pitted whole armies of lawyers, activists and technical experts against each other. Now a former combatant appears to have switched sides. Tags: Environmental Litigation, Legal Ethics Del. High Court: Objector Can Opt Out of Shareholder M&A Deal American Lawyer | Subscription Required | Jan 02, 2013 In 2011, Celera Corp. reached a non-cash settlement with shareholders who alleged that the company's board breached fiduciary duties during Celera's 2011 merger with Quest Diagnostics. Ever since, Celera's largest shareholder, the private equity firm BVF Partners, has been objecting to the deal on the grounds that it accomplished little besides generating money for plaintiffs lawyers. Tags: Delaware, Securities Litigation Fourth Quarter Slowdown Drives Decline in 2012 Securities Class Action Filings D & O Diary | Jan 02, 2013 Largely as a result of a slowdown in new filings during the fourth quarter, 2012 securities class action lawsuit filings were below the filing levels of recent years and below historical averages. Filing levels remained elevated in the natural resources, life sciences and computer services industries, and filings against non-U.S. companies, though off from 2011 record levels, remained above historical levels. Tags: Class Action, Securities Litigation NY Appellate Court Dismisses Short-Sellers' Porsche Suit, Closes off Possible Morrison Escape Route D & O Diary | Jan 02, 2013 In a decision that could foreclose a possible way for claimants to try  to circumvent the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the Morrison v. National Australia Bank case, a New York appellate court has reversed a lower court and dismissed the fraud suit short-seller hedge funds had brought in New York state court against Porsche on forum non conveniens grounds. Tags: International, Securities Litigation Accountants Skirt Shareholder Lawsuits New York Times | Jan 02, 2013 The accountants who service publicly traded companies are likely to have something to be thankful for this year: shareholders are not filing federal securities fraud lawsuits against them. Tags: Securities