In addition, a number of civil suits arising from the raid and the fire are pending.

Several attorneys said these suits arose over his refusal to pay fees for legal work.

It later paid more than $1 billion to settle class-action suits arising from the investigation.

Mr. Jagger said the suit arose from living in a "litigious society."

The suit arose in the early stages of the right-wing attack on the National Endowment for the Arts.

Consider the suit arising out of the initial public offering of Autoweb.com, a Web site that offers services like car insurance and financing.

The original suits arose from grievances of Holocaust survivors and their heirs against Swiss banks.

But that deadline passed without agreement, and talks remain snarled over limits on punitive damages sought in civil suits arising from any attacks.

Big Increase in Recent Years No one knows exactly how many civil suits arising out of rapes have been filed or won.

Documentation of such advice would provide a board with a strong defense if a suit arose, Mr. O'Rourke said.