News from July 2020
Demand face masks? Get sued. Lax requirements? Also get sued.
Stores, restaurants and other businesses that serve the public are caught in a bind over rules requiring customers to wear masks as protection against COVID-19.
Class action lawyers can't count, Folgers says in response to lawsuit
MIAMI (Legal newsline) – Folgers calls one of the class action lawsuits filed against it “demonstrably wrong” as it asks a Florida federal judge to toss it.
Court rejects slave labor claims against major food companies
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – Class action lawyers have 14 days to fix their lawsuit against three major producers of chocolate products, a federal judge has ruled.
California officials, accused of pushing agenda on rest of country, resist going to court in New Jersey
NEWARK, N.J. (Legal Newsline) – California officials sued by a shower head-maker are challenging that company’s decision to file in its home state, New Jersey.
Peloton shifts focus from arbitration to courtroom to defend itself
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – Peloton’s plans to defend itself from a class action lawsuit received a possible boost this week when a federal judge allowed it to ask 10 potential class members if they relied on certain claims when buying their exercise equipment.
Cigarette butts tossed in mulch cause fire at union hall, lead to $1M+ verdict
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (Legal Newsline) – It doesn’t take an expert to realize the risk of fire presented by cigarette butts tossed into mulch.
Women denied entry to strip club get second chance at discrimination lawsuit
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Legal Newsline) – Women refused admittance to a strip club because they weren’t accompanied by a man will have another chance to make their case.
Deputy sheriff to be fired for not reporting excessive force; Said she didn't want to be a rat
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy will be fired after all, because she failed to report a colleague’s excessive force for fear of being labeled a rat.
Facebook has court win taken away by New Hampshire Supreme Court
CONCORD, N.H. (Legal Newsline) – Facebook’s adventure in the New Hampshire courts system isn’t over yet.
Lawsuit over bone taken from knee for arm surgery given second chance
SHREVEPORT, La. (Legal Newsline) – A Louisiana appeals court has revived the lawsuit of a man who says bone was wrongfully taken from his knee during arm surgery.
Louisiana appeals court increases damages to dog bite victim
SHREVEPORT, La. (Legal Newsline) – A Louisiana couple have received a boost from an appeals court, with a jury verdict fought by State Farm being affirmed and increased by $34,000.
Inmates afraid of coronavirus lose plea to be released
OLYMPIA, Wash. (Legal Newsline) – The Washington Supreme Court won’t tell state rulemakers how to handle possible COVID-19 outbreaks in prisons.
'Cranky' jury just wanted to leave and never come back; Regret not enough for new trial
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Legal Newsline) – A regretful juror who decided late one Friday that she was done with jury duty complicated a defense verdict in a medical malpractice trial but not enough to order a new one, the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled.
'Dreadful experience' avoided: All cases in consolidated asbestos trial settled
One defense attorney says the entire process now seems "reckless" and "not necessary."
Sixth Circuit judge skeptical of 'negotiation class' in opioid litigation
CINCINNATI (Legal Newsline) - A central question went unanswered as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit heard arguments over a never-before-used “negotiation class” for settling opioid litigation: Why is it needed?
What's left of sticky pan class action sent to Florida
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – With only a single claim left, a proposed class action lawsuit over the stickiness of an as-seen-on-TV frying pan is limping off to Florida.
Arbitration agreement could doom class action against Sam's Club
ST. LOUIS (Legal Newsline) – Ignorance is no defense, says Sam’s Club as it fights as a class action lawsuit over membership perks.
Landlords appeal loss to challenge of New York's ban on evictions during coronavirus
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – New York landlords tired of the state’s moratorium on evictions are appealing a court loss in their challenge to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s directive.
Lawyers leading opioid litigation to negotiate their payday; Judge rejects request for 7%
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - Saying it is almost inevitable they will negotiate their own slice of a multibillion-dollar settlement before it is done, the judge overseeing federal multidistrict opioid litigation refused to order the parties to set aside a set percentage to pay the fees of plaintiff lawyers leading the MDL.
White Kit Kats are white: Another court uses dictionary to turn back class action lawyers
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) – A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit against Hershey that claimed customers who expected white chocolate in white Kit Kats are being misled – becoming at least the second court to recently cite the dictionary while rejecting the creative claims of class action lawyers.