News from December 2018
Delaware court denies Fitbit's motion to dismiss insider trading suit
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) – A handful of Fitbit stockholders’ breach of fiduciary duties case against members of the company’s board of directors survived dismissal in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware on Dec. 14.
Univar targets Delaware officials in dispute over use of Abandoned and Unclaimed Property law
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) – Global chemical company Univar has sued Delaware’s secretary of finance and other government officials over allegations they are unfairly targeting the company using a property law.
Alabama Supreme Court reverses summary judgment ruling in case over fire at body shop
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Legal Newsline) – On Dec. 7, the Supreme Court of Alabama reversed a decision for summary judgment in a case over a fire at an auto body shop.
Michigan court gives green light to physician's testimony in malpractice case
LANSING, Mich. (Legal Newsline) – A physician’s expert opinion in an ongoing medical malpractice lawsuit following a diagnosis got the green light in the State of Michigan Court of Appeals on Dec. 3.
INDIANA ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE: AG Hill announces $68 million settlement with UBS for artificially manipulating interest rates
Attorney General Curtis Hill announced a $68 million, 40-state settlement with UBS for fraudulent conduct involving the manipulation of LIBOR (the London Interbank Offered Rate).
California court upholds $4 million sex abuse judgment against Jehovah's Witnesses Watchtower organization
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) – A California appeals court has affirmed a more than $4 million judgment against the nation's leading body of Jehovah's Witnesses in favor of a woman who claims she was molested as a child in by a church elder.
Alabama Supreme Court upholds dismissal of state's case against Volkswagen AG over tampering claims
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Legal Newsline) – The Supreme Court of Alabama determined one of the state of Alabama’s claims against Volkswagen AG was blocked by the Clean Air Act and affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of the complaint on Dec. 14.
San Bernardino judge improperly applied attorney-fee award to lemon law recovery, appeal panel rules
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) – A largely concluded lemon law case is on its way back to San Bernardino Superior Court after an appeals court panel found the lower court was wrong to apply a negative multiplier to the plaintiff's $500,000 request for attorney fees.
California appeals court overturns USC student's expulsion following rape allegations
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – The expulsion of a University of Southern California student possibly involved in an alleged rape of another student has been overturned after a California appeals court ruled the private university denied the expelled student a fair proceeding.
Anonymous survey good science but poor trial plan, California court says in class cert denial
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – A Los Angeles judge's denial of class certification to more than 1,500 property inspectors who claim to have been treated like independent contractors when they really were employees will stand, a state appeals court ruled earlier this month.
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: District Court Enters Permanent Injunctions Shutting Down International Mail Fraud Scheme and Approving Civil Penalty of Over $700,000
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York has permanently barred 10 individuals and businesses from operating an alleged multi-million dollar international mail-fraud scheme.
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF IOWA: Owner of Northeast Iowa Organic Grain Brokerage Pleads Guilty to Fraudulent Sales Totaling Nearly $140 Million
A Missouri man who fraudulently sold tens of millions of dollars’ worth of non-organic grain as though it was organic pled guilty in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
IOWA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Miller announces $68 million multistate settlement with UBS for manipulating interest rates
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller announced a $68 million, 40-state settlement with UBS for fraudulent conduct involving the manipulation of LIBOR (the London Interbank Offered Rate).
CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Attorney General Becerra Announces $68 Million Multistate Settlement with UBS for Manipulating Key Interest Rate
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced a $68 million multistate settlement with UBS for fraudulent conduct involving manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR).
FOLEY & LARDNER LLP: Pirozzolo-Mellowes Named to the Board of The Medical College of Wisconsin
Partner Jan Pirozzolo-Mellowes was named to the Board of Trustees of The Medical College of Wisconsin.
MCDERMOT WILL EMERY: McDermott Wins $600 Million Victory in New York Federal Court
McDermott Will & Emery’s Litigation and SALT teams have successfully challenged New York’s Opioid Stewardship Act and saved the pharmaceutical industry $600 million.
HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLP: Mitchell Geller and Laura Güemes Honored as Pro Bono Attorneys of the Year by KIND-New York
Holland & Knight Partner Mitchell Geller and Associate Laura Güemes were named 2018 Pro Bono Attorneys of the Year by Kids In Need of Defense (KIND)'s New York office.
EPSTEIN BECKER & GREEN: Epstein Becker Green’s Employment Law This Week® Video Series Recognized by the National Law Review’s 2018 “Go-To Thought Leadership Awards”
Epstein Becker Green’s (EBG) video series Employment Law This Week® and its host, George Carroll Whipple, III, have been recognized in the National Law Review’s 2018 “Go-To Thought Leadership Awards” in the Employment Law category.
EPSTEIN BECKER & GREEN: Epstein Becker Green Announces 2019 Leadership Appointments
Epstein Becker Green’s Board of Directors is pleased to announce that James Flynn has been named the firm’s next Managing Director, effective January 1, 2019.
JACKSON LEWIS: Susan M. Zoeller Joins Jackson Lewis in Indianapolis
Jackson Lewis P.C., one of the country’s preeminent workplace law firms, is pleased to announce Susan M. Zoeller has joined the firm’s Indianapolis office as a Principal.