News from June 2011
Mo. AG sues man over air conservation laws violations
Koster JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Legal Newsline) - Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster filed a lawsuit on Friday against a Caldwell County, Mo., man for violation of Missouri's air conservation laws.
Nev. AG fines UnitedHealth $1 million
Catherine Cortez Masto CARSON CITY, Nev. (Legal Newsline) -- Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto has ordered UnitedHealth Group Inc. to pay a $1 million fine for violating an antitrust agreement with the state.
Wash. congressman to announce bid for governor Monday
Jay Inslee SEATTLE (Legal Newsline) -- U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, who represents Washington State's 1st Congressional District, reportedly will launch his bid for governor next week.
AG Schuette to head Romney team in Mich.
Bill Schuette DETROIT (Legal Newsline) -- Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney announced this week that Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette will lead his team of supporters in the Great Lakes State.
Madigan files suit against medical imaging company
Lisa Madigan SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (Legal Newsline) -- Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a lawsuit Thursday against Heart Check America over its sales of body scans.
Thirty-eight states settle with GlaxoSmithKline
Williams WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Thirty-eight states announced a $40.75 million agreement on Thursday with GlaxoSmithKline and SB Pharmco over substandard products.
Thirteen states settle with GM over mercury switches
Madigan CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) - Thirteen states announced a settlement on Thursday with the bankruptcy trust established to resolve claims against the former General Motors Corp.
U.S. SC: Vt. law violates companies' First Amendment rights
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) -- Vermont Attorney General Bill Sorrell says he is "disappointed" with the U.S. Supreme Court's rejection of a state law that requires doctors' consent before their prescription records can be used to market prescription drugs.
W.Va.'s cap on damages in med mal cases upheld
Margaret Workman CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) -- West Virginia legislators didn't violate the state constitution when they reduced a cap on damages for pain and suffering in medical malpractice cases from $1 million to $500,000, the Supreme Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
Health insurers respond to Coakley's report
Martha Coakley BOSTON (Legal Newsline) -- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, while it commended Attorney General Martha Coakley for her "sustained attention" to rising health care costs, touted its own approach for reducing costs on Wednesday.
SC allows Mylan case barred by N.C. statute to proceed in W.Va.
Margaret Workman CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) -- A man can't sue Mylan drug companies over his wife's death in North Carolina, where he lives and she died, but he can sue them in West Virginia.
W.Va. SC: Seat belt maker must pay claimant
Margaret Workman CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) -- Seat belt maker Autoliv must pay a driver's estate $85,000 to make up for a Chrysler check that bounced, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ruled on June 17.
W.Va. AG sues modeling agency, photographer
Darrell McGraw CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) -- West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw is suing a modeling agency and its photographer after clients claim they never received photos, services or modeling contracts they were promised.
Fundraising co. banned from soliciting in Ohio for five years
DeWine COLUMBUS, Ohio (Legal Newsline) - Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced an agreement on Wednesday with a Tennessee company to discontinue soliciting charitable funds in Ohio for at least five years.
Wal-Mart escapes $500 billion class action by one vote
Scalia WASHINGTON - By a single vote, retailer Wal-Mart escaped a class action that could have cost half a trillion and would have imposed court control on pay and promotions.
Coakley releases second report on health care costs
Martha Coakley BOSTON (Legal Newsline) -- A shift to "global payments" is unlikely to control rising health care costs without also addressing provider price disparities and encouraging consumers to make better purchasing decisions, according to a report issued Wednesday by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley.
Republic of Ecuador wants U.S. judge's Chevron settlement injunction dissolved
Kaplan NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) -- Ecuador's government, in a court filing last week, asked a U.S. appeals court to rein in U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan for his "belittlement" of their country's court system.
Amended tort reform bill passes Pa. Senate
Mike Turzai HARRISBURG, Pa. (Legal Newsline) -- The Pennsylvania Senate passed Tuesday an amended version of a bill that will do away with the joint and several liability doctrine.
9/11 fund administrator publishes draft rules
Sheila Birnbaum NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) -- September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Special Master Sheila Birnbaum on Tuesday published draft regulations to govern the fund.
Texas, others file brief challenging EPA rule
Abbott AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline) - In a continuing effort by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to challenge the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, a brief has been filed challenging the Timing and Tailoring rules on behalf of nine states.