News from April 2018
Family Matters of Greater Washington Inc. alleged to have wrongfully terminated woman
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – A Virginia woman alleges her former nonprofit employer terminated her employment shortly after she objected to alleged conflicts of interest.
Fireworks company challenges Florida county's denial of permits to sell products
BROOKSVILLE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) – A fireworks company is seeking declaratory judgment and injunctive relief against a Florida county after it denied permits to sell fireworks.
Leadpages alleged to have invaded consumer's privacy with unwanted text messages
SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) – A San Diego, California consumer alleges a Minnesota marketing company invaded his privacy with its text messages.
Experian wants removed from lawsuit that says Tesla, others gathered info from driver's licenses
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) – The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on May 16 will consider a motion to dismiss a defendant from a lawsuit claiming Tesla and others gathered private information from state-issued driver's licenses and then improperly used that information for marketing purposes.
More aggressive defenses expected in asbestos cases as new information emerges of other cancer causes
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Companies named in asbestos lawsuits may employ more aggressive defenses as information emerges that other factors can cause the particular type of cancer that leads to the costliest settlements and verdicts.
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.
Arkansas Supreme Court reverses decision made in Arkansas Community Correction case over sovereign immunity claims
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Legal Newsline) – The Arkansas Supreme Court has reversed and dismissed an order by a circuit court after an appeal from Arkansas Community Correction (ACC) citing sovereign immunity in an Arkansas Whistleblower Act case.
Arkansas Court of Appeals upholds termination of teacher who allegedly slapped students
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Legal Newsline) – A teacher from Northridge Middle School lost her appeal against the Van Buren School Board and has had her termination upheld after allegedly slapping two students.
The Boeing Co. seeks to recover cleanup costs associated with property formerly owned by government
SEATTLE (Legal Newsline) – An aerospace company alleges it has spent millions in cleanup costs on a property formerly owned by the federal government.
Savannah Law School students file suit after school closes doors
SAVANNAH, Ga. (Legal Newsline) – Third-year law school students of Savannah Law School allege the school failed to remain financially viable and is American Bar Association accreditation was placed in danger of revocation.
Bai Brands alleged to have failed to disclose artificial flavor in beverages
SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) – A California consumer alleges a New Jersey beverage maker does not disclose its products are artificially flavored.
In suing Exxon over climate change, Boulder is hoping company's deep pockets will pay for its left-wing agenda, group says
BOULDER, Colo. (Legal Newsline) – It remains to be seen if Exxon will fight the latest climate change lawsuit against it in the same way it is attacking the first round, by scrubbing municipal documents for evidence of hypocrisy by the public officials filing them.
FTC reaches settlement with alleged negative-options sales ring
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced April 16 that the ringleader for a negative-option sales scam using teeth whiteners has been banned from negative-option sales after a settlement.
Calif. court reverses order for former Lifetech employee to pay $137,000 in attorneys' fees
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – A contract employee for Lifetech Resources LLC no longer has to pay $137,000 in attorneys' fees after asking for his breach of contract suit to be dismissed.
Wash. SC rules statutory costs should be included in arbitration case; Dissent says no 'ordinary person' could understand the decision
OLYMPIA, Wash. (Legal Newsline) – The Washington Supreme Court answered whether statutory costs should be included when comparing awards according to the Mandatory Arbitration Rule.
New York Court of Appeals reverses lower court ruling in comparable fault suit
ALBANY, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) – In a 4-3 split on April 3, the New York Court of Appeals reversed a decision from the Supreme Court of New York in what it called a perplexing issue of comparative fault in a suit by a former New York City worker who was permanently disabled while on the job.
Tire company avoids wrongful death case; Claims stemmed from a separate accident years prior
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) – The 1st Appellate District Court of California, Division Three affirmed a judgment in favor of the defendants Continental Tire North America and mechanic Chi Tai in a wrongful death case after finding no evidence to connect the defendants' actions and the cause of a deadly traffic accident years after a separate accident occurred.
Plaintiffs can't file same claims against different company after settlement, Calif. court rules
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – The 2nd Appellate District Court of California ruled that a class of workers cannot "bring a lawsuit against a staffing company, settle that lawsuit, and then bring identical claims against the company where they had been placed to work."
Google shareholders waited too long to sue company
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) – The 6th Appellate District Court of California has affirmed summary judgment awarded by the Superior Court of Santa Clara County in favor of officers and directors of Google LLC in a suit filed by shareholders.
Arkansas Court of Appeals reverses order for Entergy to produce documents to allegedly injured worker
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Legal Newsline) – The Arkansas Court of Appeals has reversed a decision by the Pope County Circuit Court that granted a man allegedly injured in a nuclear plant accident to receive root-cause evaluations as part of written discovery.