Karen Kidd News
In proposed Monitronics $28 Million TCPA settlement, attorneys would pocket $9.3M and class members $38
WHEELING. W. Va. (Legal Newsline) – Individual plaintiffs in multidistrict Telephone Consumer Protection Act litigation stand to pocket $38 each in a $28 million settlement proposed in federal court in March.
Motion to dismiss still pending in CoolSculpting putative class action
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – A federal judge has not yet issued an order promised more than two months ago on a motion to dismiss an amended putative class action lawsuit claiming a California company negligently misrepresents its weight-loss-by-freezing product.
New leadership at the CFPB means state AGs will be more active in financial consumer protection
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – Some states will be even more active in financial consumer protection enforcement now that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new director has made it clear the bureau will stay out of the way, an expert on state attorneys general said during a recent interview.
Dismissal motion still pending in pricing class action against Fossil
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – A San Diego man's putative class action lawsuit against an outlet store is in a lull with a six-month-old motion to dismiss still on the table and the defendant's attorneys having changed law firms.
SCOTUS decision changes everything in Missouri mass tort cases; Once-$72M verdict will stay vacated
ST. LOUIS (Legal Newsline) – The Missouri Supreme Court's decision earlier this month to not review a talcum powder case against Johnson & Johnson, leaving vacated a once-$72 million verdict signals that the "Show-Me State is now a less tort-friendly place," a mass tort litigator says.
Monsanto wants Oregon's $100M PCB lawsuit dismissed, says it is 'fundamentally flawed'
PORTLAND, Ore. (Legal Newsline) – A federal court in Oregon is considering a request by Monsanto to dismiss the State's $100 million PCB lawsuit, saying the State and the private lawyers representing it have failed to make their case.
Tensor Law adds defendants in lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein over alleged spying on Paz de la Huerta
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – A Santa Monica law firm suing disgraced and embattled movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and a former New York assistant district attorney over claims the two convinced an actress to drop her sexual misconduct complaint now has filed an amended complaint in federal court.
S.D. Supreme Court affirms almost $2.3 million award in Menards injury case
PIERRE, S.D. (Legal Newsline) – A more than $2.2 million award handed down in 2016 by a Davison County jury for a now-deceased man injured at a Menards store in Mitchell, South Dakota, was recently affirmed by the South Dakota Supreme Court.
'Ginger Ale devotees' continue to press class action against Canada Dry over 'real ginger' claims
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) – Whether it's "real ginger" that goes into cans and bottles of Canada Dry Ginger Ale is at the heart of a class action lawsuit against the beverage's maker, Dr. Pepper, currently making its way through U.S. District Court for California's Northern District.
Paris may join U.S. governments suing energy producers over global climate change
PARIS (Legal Newsline) – City officials in Paris appear poised to enter the trend of government officials using lawsuits to fight global climate change by suing energy companies.
'Cross examination is going to be brutal': NYU law prof says climate change litigation is a loser
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – California officials who made dire climate change predictions about their localities' future in litigation against energy companies, but not in bond offerings, probably know by now their litigation is doomed, a New York University law professor said during a recent interview.
'Dispassionate analysis' lacking in California climate change litigation, environmental attorney says
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – Government officials in California who made dire climate change predictions in lawsuits against energy companies but not to prospective bond investors didn't think hard enough before filing those cases, a Washington, D.C.-based environmental attorney said during a recent interview.
DOJ facing broad challenge to anti-sanctuary city policy, prosecution advocate says
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – A U.S. Department of Justice policy that ties federal funding to immigration-based requirements is being challenged nationwide, a prosecution advocate and former assistant U.S. attorney for California and Maryland said during a recent interview.
DOJ crackdown on 'sanctuary cities' a danger to public safety, amicus brief co-author says
Local law enforcement needs to be able to work with its immigrant communities unfettered by a Justice Department policy that ties federal funding to immigration-based requirements, a co-author of a brief in a Los Angeles case said during a recent interview.
Law firm's arbitration agreement not good enough, Maine Supreme Court rules
PORTLAND, Maine (Legal Newsline) – An arbitration agreement between one of New England's largest law firms and a former client is unenforceable because the firm didn't clearly explain what rights the client would lose in arbitration, Maine's Supreme Judicial Court ruled last month.
Class actions over Gerber Good Start baby formula roll on
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) – A hearing is scheduled later this winter in two class action lawsuits that each claim Gerber Good Start baby formula makes health claims unsupported by science.
Look for new workplace sexual harassment bills to make it through N.Y. legislature
ALBANY, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) – Two workplace sexual harassment bills introduced into the New York State Senate earlier this month could be headed to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's desk sooner rather than later, two Albany legislative and regulatory attorneys say.
With bipartisan support, bill to undo Obama-era 'Operation Choke Point' awaits action in Senate
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – Bipartisan legislation that passed the U.S. House of Representatives in December with an eye toward undoing the unintended consequences of the Obama-era Operation Choke Point program may not quickly come up in the Senate, says a financial services attorney who still believes it stands a "decent" chance to become law.
Phoney Lawsuits: Polish immigrant concludes six-figure run by settling 31st lawsuit
TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) – The last of a Polish immigrant's 31 Telephone Consumer Protection Act lawsuits, which paid out more than $800,000, has settled, but the need to reform telemarketing regulation continues, a privacy and securities class actions defense lawyer says.
Six Flags case could clarify requirements for biometric claims used in class actions
CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) – A closely watched Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) case could have bearing on Illinois' one-of-a-kind biometric privacy law after an appeals court ruled last month the plaintiff alleged no actual harm, an attorney who defends businesses against such cases said during a recent interview.