News from June 2020
Cowboys for Trump takes on New Mexico's disclosure law
SANTA FE, N.M. (Legal Newsline) – Fans of President Donald Trump are suing the State of New Mexico over regulations that require advocacy groups to disclose their members and contributors.
Blind man's case against credit union over its website gets new life in California
SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) – A lawsuit alleging a credit union’s website is inaccessible to blind people has been given new life by a California appeals court.
Spying on Richard Simmons could cost magazine publisher
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – Fitness guru Richard Simmons will be allowed to pursue a lawsuit that says a detective agency hired by In Touch Weekly spied on him with a tracking device on a car.
Court: Class action lawsuit isn't the way to fight a speeding ticket
SPOKANE, Wash. (Legal Newsline) – A driver ticketed for speeding in a school zone will have to overturn the fine he paid in order to sue the City of Spokane over the citation.
Out-of-staters scared they'll be excluded from Portland recreational marijuana market
PORTLAND, Maine (Legal Newsline) – The City of Portland, Maine, would be wrong to issue new marijuana retail licenses in the manner it is planning, a new lawsuit says.
Lawsuit: Minnesota town went too far in flavored tobacco ban
MINNEAPOLIS (Legal Newsline) – A Minnesota city has enacted one of the nation’s most “draconian’ anti-tobacco laws, R.J. Reynolds and other companies are arguing in a lawsuit filed June 17.
Bayer will settle Roundup litigation for more than $10 billion
Bayer announced today that it will pay between $10.1 billion and $10.9 billion to resolve current and potential future Roundup litigation.
Russians named in 2016 Trump opposition research lose defamation lawsuit
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – Russians included on a political consulting firm’s report on President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign can’t sue the firm for defamation, a District of Columbia court has ruled.
Court: Dog bites aren't school's fault, it was after hours
LINCOLN, Neb. (Legal Newsline) – A Nebraska school district is not responsible for dog bite injuries that occurred on its property after school.
Lawyer who told client 'I'm done' faces $300K malpractice ruling
FRESNO, Calif. (Legal Newsline) – A lawyer will stay on the hook for a $300,000 malpractice verdict after walking out on a client who was unhappy with the way settlement talks in a divorce were going.
Missouri's rules have changed, but J&J still gets $2.2B blast from the recent past
ST. LOUIS (Legal Newsline) - A Missouri appeals court’s decision upholding what became a $2.2 billion talc verdict against Johnson & Johnson represents a thorough rejection of J&J’s argument it was subjected to an unfair trial process. It’s also a relic of the past.
Exxon files spinoff action in $50 million lawsuit
JACKSON, Miss. (Legal Newsline) – Exxon Mobil has filed a lawsuit in federal court that seeks to give it an edge in a 31-year-old, $50 million dispute.
New York Times took my money without asking, lawsuit complains
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – A subscriber to The New York Times is alleging it unfairly and automatically renewed her agreement.
Huge talc verdict against J&J cut by $2.5B but still bad news for company
ST. LOUIS (Legal Newsline) – A 10-figure verdict against Johnson & Johnson in an asbestos case has been reduced by an appeals court but has stayed massive, thanks to judges finding “significant reprehensibility” in the company’s conduct and deciding large companies should face higher punitive damages awards.
May-cause-cancer label not appropriate on Roundup weedkiller, judge rules
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - A federal judge in California won't let the state impose cancer warnings on the active ingredient in Roundup weedkiller, saying “providing misleading or false labels to consumers …undermines California’s interest in accurately informing its citizens of health risks.”
Lawsuit by Wall Street Journal customers says their personal information has been sold
FLINT, Mich. (Legal Newsline) – Dow Jones & Company is accused of sharing the contact information of subscribers to The Wall Street Journal to other parties, resulting in a barrage of junk mail.
DirecTV accused of ripping off customers by prematurely ending discounts
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – DirecTV customers have filed a class action lawsuit that says they purchased the service because of the price AT&T promised but felt misled when that price increased.
Businesses need to adjust to help customers without face masks, disabilities lawyer says
WASHINGTON - (Legal Newsline) — An American With Disabilities Act (ADA) expert says it's not yet completely clear if individuals with disabilities can be excluded from places of business for not wearing face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Is CNN's criticism of Trump a 'free and open' dialogue or defamation? Sides make arguments to judge
ATLANTA (Legal Newsline) – CNN has asked a federal judge to throw out a defamation lawsuit filed against it by the campaign for President Donald Trump, claiming it is attempting to silence a “free and open public dialogue” about him.
Judge lawyers up as class action firm in controversial case fights $1.1M reduction in fees
BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - The judge who cut the fees of prominent class-action firm Lieff Cabraser by more than $1 million for alleged misconduct in a long-running lawsuit against State Street Bank & Trust now says he needs his own lawyer to defend that decision before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.