News from February 2020
Class action against Omni La Costa claims owners are forced to rent out their villas
SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) - A renowned Southern California resort that once was a meeting place for President Richard Nixon’s aides during the Watergate scandal is implicated in a couple’s breach of contract lawsuit.
Atlantic Richfield wants clean-up costs paid by former owner of Colorado mine
DENVER (Legal Newsline) - A company has filed suit against the former owner of a Colorado mine seeking to recover costs relating to an Environmental Protection Agency-ordered clean-up.
Consumer protection agency sues bank over allleged failures to right unauthorized use, billing errors
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Legal Newsline) - A federal consumer protection agency has filed suit against a bank over claims it failed to investigate and reimburse credit card holders following unauthorized use and billing errors.
Lawsuit targets hockey's Florida Panthers for sending unwanted texts
MIAMI (Legal Newsline) - Marketing executives for the Florida Panthers devised a campaign that sent multiple unwanted messages to cell phones in violation of a federal communications act, a lawsuit is alleging.
Tax prep firm doesn't respond to demands for information from consumer protection agency
ATLANTA (Legal Newsline) - A tax preparation firm that also offers checks in anticipation of refunds has failed to respond to requests for information from a federal consumer protection agency, according to a filing in federal court in Atlanta.
Manhattan law firm claims former client owes $551K for defense from feds' lawsuits
A Manhattan law firm has filed a federal lawsuit against its former clients for $551,913.83 in unpaid legal fees and damages.
Sixth Circuit, for now, puts stop to order forcing release of patient records in massive opioid litigation
CINCINNATI (Legal Newsline) - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has temporarily halted a federal judge’s order requiring the largest U.S. pharmacy chains to turn over more than a decade’s worth of nationwide prescription records, although the court refused to halt production of prescriptions for the state of Ohio.
Taco Bell, fighting chalupa-price lawsuit: The cost was on the menu
NEWARK, N.J. – A motion filed Jan. 21 on behalf of Taco Bell called a New Jersey couple’s lawsuit over the allegedly deceptive pricing of chalupas “threadbare.”
Worker fighting independent contractor label gets court win; Justices note he wore company hat for three years
BOSTON (Legal Newsline) — The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that a Massachusetts man was possibly wrongfully classified as an independent contractor.
Changes to New Jersey predatory towing law don't apply to older lawsuits
TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) — The New Jersey Supreme Court held that the Predatory Towing Prevention Act 2018 amendments cannot be applied to a case that was already decided before those changes went into effect.
Plaintiffs attorney lied about fees to client with bullying lawsuit, court says; He charged $1 per email
TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) — The New Jersey Supreme Court held that a retainer agreement should be invalidated because the attorney made oral assurances that were different from what was in the contract he provided to the client.
Fight to change Oklahoma redistricting continues after Supreme Court ruling
OKLAHOMA CITY (Legal Newsline) – A group that wants to change how Oklahoma congressional and state districts are drawn, but was told by the state Supreme Court earlier this month that it would have to try again, has tried again.
A pothole is not automatically 'an open and obvious danger,' split Alabama Supreme Court rules
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Legal Newsline) – The case of an elderly woman who suffered injuries when she fell in the parking lot is on its way back to a Shelby County court after Alabama's highest court ruled that parking lot potholes "are not an open and obvious danger per se."
PEPPER HAMILTON LLP: Financial Executives Alliance, 'key Aspects of Data Ownership and International Taxation of Digital Enterprises'
The Financial Executives Alliance's New York City Private Equity / Venture Capital Networking Group will be hosting a complimentary educational lunch session on "Key Aspects of Data Ownership and International Taxation of Digital Enterprises."
FOLEY & LARDNER LLP: AHLA Physicians & Hospitals Law Institute
Foley Of Counsel Emily Wein, a member of the firm’s Health Care, Telemedicine, and Digital Health Industry Teams will be presenting at this year’s AHLA Physicians & Hospitals Law Institute, and will be joined by Richelle Marting (Forbes Law Group LLC).
GREENBERG TRAURIG LLP: Ed Wallace Named One of City & State's Lifetime Achievement Award Winners
Ed Wallace, co-chair of the New York City office of global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP, was honored as one of City & State’s 2020 Lifetime Achievement award winners on Jan. 27 at the Prince George Ballroom in NYC.
GREENBERG TRAURIG LLP: Jack Gearan Speaks at BBA Program on Wage and Hour Laws
Jack S. Gearan, a shareholder in Greenberg Traurig, LLP’s Labor & Employment Practice in Boston, presented at the Boston Bar Association’s (BBA) program, “Show Me the Money: A Beginner's Guide to Wage and Hour Laws,” Jan. 31, 2020.
DYKEMA GOSSETT PLCC: Courtney Kissel Named to Oakland County Executive’s Elite 40 Under 40 Class of 2020
Courtney Kissel, Bloomfield Hills-based member in Dykema’s Government Policy & Practice group, was named to Oakland County Executive’s Elite 40 Under 40 Class of 2020.
Watchdog wants emails between anti-Exxon lawyer and New York Attorney General's Office; Company used them in its defense
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - A conservative energy-policy group has sued to unseal parts of ExxonMobil’s defense in a failed climate lawsuit by New York Attorney General Letitia James, saying “the public has an absolute right to know” about communications between the New York AG and a private lawyer pushing potentially lucrative climate change lawsuits around the country.
Class action over PFAS in New York will move ahead, thanks to recent ruling
A class action claiming a company that manufactures products containing teflon contaminated the groundwater in and around a town in upstate New York has largely survived a challenge to dismiss the claims.