Emma Gallimore News
New York's own FMLA poses challenges for employers, attorney says
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a new Family and Medical Leave Act that will provide the nation’s most comprehensive paid family leave program to New York employees but may present serious challenges for employers.
Former Ark. lawmaker attempting to gain signatures for tort reform ballot measure
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Legal Newsline) - The leader of Advance Arkansas Institute and a former lawmaker is ready to start seeking signatures after Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge certified a name and ballot title for a proposed measure.
Turo confident it can resolve class action out of court
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - A representative of the car rental company RelayRides Inc. says that the company is confident it will be able to resolve the class action lawsuit filed against it in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
FDA sparks debate with proposed drug and device labeling changes
Concern still swirls around a rule change proposed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in September. The proposed regulation would omit a sentence, effectively releasing manufacturers from the obligation to provide labeling for uses not sanctioned by the manufacturer.
Attorney expects CFPB to release new arbitration rules this year
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - A recent speech given by Richard Cordray, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, reinforced speculation that the CFPB will soon release new rules restricting the use of arbitration provisions in consumer agreements.
CFPB won't set aside info demand to J.G. Wentworth
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — J.G. Wentworth will have to face a civil investigation demand after the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau denied the company's petition to set it aside.
Patent troll laws would do more harm than good, N.J. legal reform group says
TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) — The New Jersey Civil Justice Institute is once again speaking out against proposed legislation targeting so-called patent trolls.
Mich. whistleblower not given protection for reporting activity that hadn't happened yet
LANSING, Mich. (Legal Newsline) - The Michigan Whistleblowers’ Protection Act doesn’t protect employees who report threatened or planned unlawful conduct, the Michigan Supreme Court has ruled.
Sierra Club, Public Justice join dispute over Oklahoma 'frackquakes'
The Sierra Club and Public Justice have added a third lawsuit to the two already pending against energy companies in Oklahoma, alleging that fracking is increasing earthquakes throughout the state.
Federal judge says Kohl's customer can't prove harm in deceptive pricing class action
BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - Kohl’s won’t have to defend itself against a class action lawsuit that alleges it advertises false sale prices, as the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts recently dismissed the case.
Federal judge boots Illinois biometrics class action against Facebook
The plaintiff in the case, Fredrick William Gullen, filed the complaint alleging violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. Gullen is not a Facebook user, but he alleged that his image was uploaded to the site and that his biometric identifiers and biometric information was collected, stored and used by Facebook without his consent.
DeVry University planning to fight action by federal agencies
The Federal Trade Commission is alleging in a federal lawsuit that advertisements by DeVry cited inaccurate graduate employment and earnings statistics. John Culhane, of Ballard Spahr in Philadelphia, said the signs point to some pushback from the company.
Class action denied in favor of mandatory arbitration agreement
Mandatory arbitration agreements and class action waivers hold even after a contract has expired, according to a ruling by the District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.
Ill. AG's intervention dismisses whistleblower cases against Calif. wineries
Several California wineries avoided whistleblower lawsuits after Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan moved to dismiss 28 qui tam cases involving sales tax on shipping charges.
Attorney: U.S. SC takes away class action defense 'we couldn't really use anyway'
Defendants can’t moot class action lawsuits by offering to pay the named plaintiff’s claim in full, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in January.
Plaintiff loses challenge to Calif. law in forced labor case over Fancy Feast, appeal to Ninth Circuit
Plaintiff Melanie Barber has, for the moment, lost the first in what is likely to be a wave of class action lawsuits challenging California’s Transparency in Supply Chains Act.
Judge rejects MSG class action, finds no nexus to cy pres recipients
A decision from a San Diego federal judge demands that attorneys who seek approval of class action settlements must carefully choose the people and organizations that will benefit from the settlement.
Washington Legal Foundation seeks overturning of $124M South Carolina Risperdal verdict
The Washington Legal Foundation recently filed a friend-of-the-court brief to support the overturning of a $124 million South Carolina Supreme Court decision regarding the information drug manufacturers share with doctors about the potential side effects of drugs.
PLF pursuing case on behalf of landowners against EPA
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a lawsuit that is being pursued by the Pacific Legal Foundation and will affect citizens whose property is designated as wetland.
Wash. SC applies consumer protection law to out-of-state plaintiffs
The Washington Supreme Court has issued a ruling that creates a wider scope for the application of the state's Consumer Protection Act, according to a law professor and former assistant attorney general.