News from July 2020
Attack on arbitration agreement says initials were forgotten; Court says so what?
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – Forgetting to initial part of an arbitration agreement doesn’t void it, a California court has ruled.
Texas Supreme Court lets Houston out of GOP Convention contract; Dissenting justice left shaking his head
Texas Supreme Court lets Houston out of GOP Convention contract; Dissenting justice left shaking his head
Fatal dose of morphine would be ordinary negligence, not medical malpractice, Nev. SC says
CARSON CITY, Nev. (Legal Newsline) – Jurors don’t need a medical expert to decide whether a nurse was negligent when she gave a patient what turned out to be a fatal dosage of morphine that was supposed to go to a different patient.
The Children's Place mounts defense in class action over its discounts
SEATTLE (Legal Newsline) – After tracking five years’ worth of alleged discounts at The Children’s Place, class action lawyers now will have to fight to keep their case in court.
Exxon sued by anti-pesticides group over clean energy claims
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – An anti-pesticides advocacy group is suing Exxon with claims it lied about investing significantly in clean energy.
After indictment, Pilgrim's Pride faces shareholder lawsuit
DENVER (Legal Newsline) - One of the nation’s largest chicken producers is facing a lawsuit from one of its shareholders following legal troubles with the Department of Justice.
Navient argument against CFPB: Lawsuit was unconstitutional, ratification pointless
SCRANTON, Pa. (Legal Newsline) – In light of the U.S. Supreme Court finding the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unconstitutional, one of the agency’s targets is asking a federal judge to throw out the lawsuit.
Did taxpayers just fund a lawyer advertising boom?
Plaintiff law firms that accepted federal aid under the Paycheck Protection Program appear to have recycled at least some of the money into advertising designed to recruit clients to sue other businesses over the COVID-19 crisis.
Maryland court adapts internship program amid COVID-19 challenges
Annapolis, Md. – Internships provide students with valuable work experience and potential job opportunities in their chosen fields.
Minnesota AG sued for info on employees who are climate change activists paid by Bloomberg
ST. PAUL, Minn. (Legal Newsline) – Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is being pushed for information on the two assistants he hired that are paid not by taxpayers but by climate change activist Michael Bloomberg.
Appeal of $465M opioid verdict in Oklahoma won't be ready for another month
OKLAHOMA CITY (Legal Newsline) – Appeals from the first opioid trial verdict are delayed a month after Johnson & Johnson asked for a 30-day extension.
Kia owners are owed much less than what class action lawyers wanted, N.J. court rules
TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) – Almost 20 years in, class action lawyers have learned they picked the wrong method for calculating damages in a lawsuit over Kia Sephias made from 1997-2000.
Singer whose breast implants ruptured can sue their maker, Calif. court rules
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – A California court has revived a lawsuit over breast implants that ruptured and derailed the career of a singer.
End the CFPB’s frivolous Navient lawsuit
This is a clarion call for accountability and bipartisanship in the pursuit of genuine consumer protection. The CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger should apply her new accountability to take control of a misguided and failing case foisted upon her by Rob Cordray and end it.
QVC tells Suzanne Somers to hurry up with her lawsuit
PHILADELPHIA – Lawyers should be handling discovery requests, not daughters-in-law, QVC argues as it fights a breach of contract lawsuit brought by actress and business mogul Suzanne Somers.
Website that finds plaintiffs says privilege applies to its contact with them
PHOENIX (Legal Newsline) – Pushed by the company it is rounding up clients to sue, a website that helps plaintiffs lawyers generate lawsuits wants to keep information about its business secret.
Plaintiffs lawyer calls out wealthy colleagues for taking millions in taxpayer-funded loans
Plaintiff lawyers availed themselves of more than $160 million in taxpayer-funded loans under the Paycheck Protection Program designed to protect jobs during the Covid-19 crisis, even though most such law firms operate on a contingency-fee model and are accustomed to financing themselves.
First Circuit not sure it can hear Lieff Cabraser's gripe over $1.1M in lost fees
BOSTON (Legal Newsline) – The future of a prominent class action law firm's fight to reinstate more than $1 million in fees from a controversial settlement is in question.
iPhone users file class action over SIM card security
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – iPhone users are claiming Apple misrepresented the data privacy and security of the devices.
Takeout customers claim apps are cornering market, raising prices
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – Grubhub, Uber and Postmates are accused of unfair business practices in an antitrust lawsuit filed July 6.