News from April 2021
Troubling court decisions rack up for Amazon in California
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – Two is a trend, for people injured by products they bought on Amazon who want to sue the retailer.
Lawsuit over drug-test gossip stops short of finding source of rumor, court rules
INDIANAPOLIS (Legal Newsline) – Left to find the source of gossip, an Indiana court will take the word of a mental health and addiction facility and toss a patient’s lawsuit against it.
Employers, colleges not likely liable for COVID vaccination side effects
As colleges and employers increasingly push for mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations, the question rises: Who’s on the hook for the rare, but inevitable bad side effects that go along with the shot?
GP’s asbestos bankruptcy could get answers on double-dipping in 1,500 claims; Abuse in ‘Garlock’ found testing 20
CHARLOTTE, N.C – Asbestos lawyers want U.S. District Judge Robert Conrad to keep a Georgia Pacific entity from hunting for double recoveries among 15,000 individuals who filed injury claims in trusts and courts.
Seeking millions after daughter kicked by horse, mom loses argument at North Dakota Supreme Court
BISMARCK, N.D. (Legal Newsline) – A mother and her daughter who was kicked in the head by a horse won’t collect the millions of dollars they sought from their cousins.
.jpg)
Med-mal plaintiffs never found good enough expert to support theory
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Legal Newsline) – A couple’s reliance on a pharmacist for expert testimony in their medical malpractice lawsuit was a bad idea, the Alaska Supreme Court has ruled.
San Francisco judge allows Clean Water Act claim in fight over Cannery MGP
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) – A San Francisco man who wants Pacific Gas & Electric Company to clean up a portion of the city’s waterfront will be able to make a key part of his case.
UPDATE: Federal judge denies more motions from opioid manufacturers as trial start looms
CHARLESTON – As the trial date looms next week, a federal judge again has denied motions for summary judgment from the defendant opioid distributors.
Ohio city, repped by private lawyers, wants to lead class action against Netflix, Hulu
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - The private lawyers who have recruited cities around the country to try to collect local taxes on video streaming services have asked a federal court to make their Ohio lawsuit a class action on behalf of every municipality in the state.
Woman likely ordered mozzarella sticks off Amazon so she could file lawsuit, TGI Friday's says
CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) – A serial plaintiff must have stolen her idea to file a lawsuit over TGI Friday’s-brand mozzarella stick snacks from someone else, the company argues in a recent motion to dismiss.
Made in America, sued in America; Judge OKs lawsuit over Spanish phrase, Mexican flag on tortilla packages
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – A Georgia-based Mexican food company must face a class action lawsuit that alleges it fools customers into thinking its products are made south of the border.
Class actions lawyers' request for $19 million in fees should not have been approved, Okla. SC rules
OKLAHOMA CITY (Legal Newsline) – A $19 million award to class action lawyers was much too high, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled in a decision that is still good news for the class action bar.
Lawsuit over Strawberry Pop-Tarts questions whether eaters are misled by red dye; Kellogg says no chance
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - A law firm that has made a cottage industry out of suing food companies over allegedly misleading labels has failed to make a plausible case that consumers might be fooled into thinking Strawberry Pop-Tarts contain nothing but strawberry filling, Kellogg Co. says in a motion to dismiss the potential class action.
California Chamber fights lawyer/science group's request for stay of key Prop 65 ruling
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - The California Chamber of Commerce is fighting a lawyer-backed science group’s attempt to stay a judicial ruling temporarily blocking lawsuits over acrylamide under California’s Proposition 65.
Plaintiff lawyers win again; Court awards fees in dispute over case they dismissed
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A clothing manufacturer’s strategy of suing labor lawyers for malicious prosecution failed badly, as a California appeals court ordered the company to pay them additional legal fees on top of the tens of thousands of dollars they obtained after settling the underlying wage-and-hour lawsuit.
Judge's mistakes void multimillion-dollar lead paint ruling, Seventh Circuit rules
CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed a multimillion-dollar jury verdict against manufacturers of lead paint pigment, saying the trial judge made several incorrect decisions in a case that helped prompt the Wisconsin legislature to pass a law banning such litigation.
Mom's grief no excuse for missing deadline to file lawsuit over son's drug-related death
TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) - A mother who lost her son to complications of intravenous drug use can’t escape New Jersey’s strict, 90-day deadline on notifying the state about potential legal claims, an appellate court ruled, rejecting her claim she was paralyzed by grief until several days after the deadline passed.
New Mexico class action lawsuit demands Google pay back money it collected from gambling game apps
A federal class action lawsuit in New Mexico accuses Google of profiting off of illegal gambling games.
Private schools take South Carolina officials to court to throw out Blaine Amendment
The Bishop of Charleston and South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities Inc. sued several state officials in South Carolina federal court claiming they unconstitutionally withheld COVID-19 emergency relief funds from private schools.
California lawsuit says Crest toothpaste makes unrealistic gum repair claims
A federal class action lawsuit against Procter and Gamble alleges that Crest brand gum and enamel repair toothpaste, manufactured by the defendant, makes unreasonable and impossible gum repair claims.