Jessica Karmasek News
Calif. appeals court upholds judgment of more than $5.8 million against brakes manufacturer
Defendant Honeywell International Inc. appealed the judgment awarded to the spouse and three surviving children of James Lester Phillips. A jury found the mesothelioma contracted by Phillips was caused in part by exposure to asbestos contained in Bendix-brand brakes. Honeywell, formerly known as Allied Corporation and Allied Signal Inc., bought Bendix in 1985.
Former MLS player alleges attorneys botched medical malpractice lawsuit against DC United
Plaintiff Bryan Namoff, a former DC United defenseman, filed a complaint for damages in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia April 4. He seeks to recover more than $126,000 in costs he paid to attorneys Steven Shapiro and Joseph Cammarata, in addition to punitive damages.
Second public comment period on DOL’s fiduciary rule ends; some groups say more time is needed for review
The U.S. Department of Labor’s controversial new rule mandates financial professionals who service individual retirement accounts, including IRAs and 401(k) plans, to serve the “best interest” of the savers and disclose conflicts of interest.
Lenders: Alabama task force was unfair, created by governor as distraction from scandal
Now former Gov. Robert Bentley, a Republican who resigned last week amid scandal, issued a directive last June ordering the creation of the Alabama Consumer Credit Task Force.
Alaska SC says company looking to make outdoors smartphone entitled to nominal damages
The state’s high court, in a ruling last month, concluded the state’s Third District Superior Court erred in granting defendant Trimble Navigation Limited a judgment notwithstanding the verdict but said the lower court was correct in concluding that plaintiff Recreational Data Services Inc. failed to prove any amount of lost profits to a reasonable certainty.
Utah-based trucking company continues to fight class action lawsuit filed over alleged fraud
The suit, originally filed in 2011, alleges C.R. England Inc. fraudulently induced thousands of drivers to enroll in its training schools by promising them either employment or the ability to earn desirable income as independent contractors, even though positions with the company were largely unavailable.
Ohio-based attorney alleges prominent class action firm Hagens Berman breached employment contract, defamed him
Last month, an Ohio federal judge ruled that the lawsuit filed by attorney Van Carter against Seattle-based Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP may continue, but in a Washington state federal court.
DOL releases measure to officially delay April applicability date of its fiduciary rule
The applicability date of the rule and related exemptions will be extended from April 10 to June 9, the U.S. Department of Labor announced last week.
Environmental group’s lawsuit over federal commission’s review process dismissed
In her decision last month, Judge Tanya S. Chutkan for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia refused to side with plaintiff Delaware Riverkeeper Network. DRN sued the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission over allegations that the commission’s review process is “constitutionally deficient.”
Illinois judges: Racketeering lawsuits against asbestos lawyers belong elsewhere
Judges Amy St. Eve and John J. Tharp Jr., both of whom sit on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, each filed orders March 23 in John Crane Inc.’s lawsuits against Dallas asbestos firm Simon Greenstone Panatier Bartlett PC and Philadelphia-based Shein Law Center.
Hawaii appeals court says aggregate settlement amount in asbestos case was sufficient
A three-judge panel of the state’s Intermediate Court of Appeals, or ICA, ruled March 16 that the aggregate settlement amount provided was good enough, upholding the Circuit Court of the First Circuit’s Dec. 21, 2015 order.
Acosta, Trump’s pick to head DOL, says he will follow order to review fiduciary rule
R. Alexander Acosta, President Donald Trump’s labor secretary nominee, faced members of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, or HELP, Committee during his confirmation hearing Wednesday.
Trump’s pick for U.S. SC denies he’s against class actions
Neil Gorsuch, a conservative who serves as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, faced four days of confirmation hearings by the U.S. Senate this week.
Bill to limit use of forced arbitration clauses reintroduced
U.S. Sens. Al Franken, D-Minn., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., along with U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., reintroduced the Arbitration Fairness Act March 7. The legislation, previously introduced in 2011 and 2015, would eliminate forced arbitration clauses in employment, consumer, civil rights and antitrust cases.
Proposals aimed at splitting Ninth Circuit again introduced
Various legislation has been introduced this Congress aimed at restructuring the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the largest of the nation’s 13 courts of appeals. The circuit’s judges contend a split would be harmful, while Democrats argue partisan politics is at the center of the push.
House Democrats argue DOL’s proposed delay of fiduciary rule could hurt savers
The U.S. Department of Labor said earlier this month it would move forward -- under the direction of President Donald Trump -- with its efforts to delay the April 10 applicability date of the new “conflicts of interest” rule. The department said under its proposal the applicability date of the rule and related exemptions would be extended to June 9.
GM sues asbestos trusts over payments to former employee’s widow
According to its four complaints, General Motors LLC has been making weekly payments of death benefits. The company contends it should have been informed that its former employee’s widow also has been receiving payments from the trusts.
Miss. attorney alleges Dallas firm failed to pay her promised fees, bonuses, increased salary
Plaintiff Sheila M. Bossier filed her lawsuit in Hinds County Circuit Court Feb. 1. The named defendants include Dallas area law firm Freese & Goss PLLC, attorneys Richard A. Freese and Tim K. Goss and various John/Jane Does. Freese & Goss have since filed a notice of removal and motion to dismiss in a Mississippi federal court.
Oklahoma SC refuses to wade into lawsuit over Syrian-born man’s baptism
The state’s high court, in its Feb. 22 ruling, said per the church autonomy doctrine, it lacks subject matter jurisdiction.
Alabama SC: Lower court didn’t have jurisdiction to force Caremark to produce info on class members
The state’s high court, in an opinion released Feb. 24, granted Caremark Rx LLC’s petition for writ of mandamus and issued a writ directing the Franklin Circuit Court to vacate its Aug. 1, 2016 order.