News from August 2021
After wine bottle shatters in her hand, chef served another chance to sue maker
BOISE, Idaho (Legal Newsline) - A chef who was seriously injured when a wine bottle shattered as she was opening it can proceed with a lawsuit against the Italian manufacturer of the vessel, after the Idaho Supreme Court ruled a lower court applied too strict a test for whether it had jurisdiction over the foreign company.
Montana Supreme Court rejects plaintiff's plea for 'parasitic' damages after car stolen
HELENA, Mont. (Legal Newsline) – Montana plaintiffs can’t claim emotional distress in negligence lawsuits when their property is damaged or lost.
Jury will have to decide how long asbestos lingered in the air 48 years ago
OAKLAND, Calif. (Legal Newsline) – A victory for a defendant in an asbestos lawsuit has been overturned by a California appeals court.
Attorneys have to go to court in dispute over settlement funds
FLORENCE, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - The law firm Wright, Worley, Pope, Ekster & Moss filed a federal complaint on July 21 in South Carolina against Sherry Ann Smith and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee.
Watchdogs question whether Klein got 'backdoor workaround' on ethics waiver at Interior
Federal watchdog group, U.S. Interior Department due back in court on Sept. 27 to assess FOIA document production.
Silver Lake water release aims to boost Clark Fork River flow
Governor Greg Gianforte has announced a collaborative agreement involving the state of Montana, Butte-Silver Bow (BSB), and Montana Resources (MR) to enhance water flow in the Clark Fork River.
Is that employee mask mandate to protect you, or the business?
Big employers from Walmart to Starbucks have recently reinstated mask mandates for their workers. The reason could be more legal than scientific...
Reno's power to file opioid lawsuit is questioned by Nevada Supreme Court
CARSON CITY, Nev. (Legal Newsline) - The Nevada Supreme Court granted an opioid manufacturer’s request to halt the City of Reno’s lawsuit against it, saying state law may limit the power of cities to sue companies that are subject to state or federal regulation.
Seattle pot store in trouble for firing 'budtender' after traumatic robbery
SEATTLE (Legal Newsline) - A Seattle-area marijuana dispensary is liable for firing an employee who was zip-tied and held at gunpoint at work and later complained a store employee sexually harassed her, a Washington appeals court has ruled.
Professor sues Univ. of Arkansas at Little Rock for racism
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Legal Newsline) -- A professor is suing an Arkansas university after claiming to have suffered employment discrimination.
Plaintiffs firms battle over fees from car wreck settlement
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) -- Attorneys are suing other lawyers for fees from a car wreck settlement.
BP oil spill lawyers avoid class action by unhappy clients
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) – Gulf Coast residents who wanted to sue BP over the 2010 oil spill that they said prevented them from finding fish to eat have, for now, lost their effort to form a class action against the lawyers who allegedly squandered that chance.
Can a fired political appointee claim First Amendment violations? Issue on display in Huntington Beach
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – California city Huntington Beach is fighting a lawsuit brought by a woman who says she was ordered to publicly denounce the activist group Antifa by telling the court she was merely swallowed up by the political process.
Lawyers can snag $21 million from Zoom privacy settlement
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) – Lawyers are asking for more than $21 million for scoring a settlement that refunds Zoom customers up to 15% of the money they paid for their subscriptions while the company had alleged privacy concerns.
Lawsuit says Bath and Body Works products aren't 'hydrating'
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - Bath and Body Works is now fighting a class action lawsuit over claims its products are "hydrating."
Woman sues airlines for not refunding her ticket after COVID-19 shutdown
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - Gemnaika Flores filed a federal class action lawsuit on July 22 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Philippine Airlines, Inc. and PAL Holdings, Inc. for breach of contract, unjust enrichment and fraud.
Bellwether plaintiff in 3M ear plug MDL drops case, pays $18K in defense costs
PENSACOLA, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - A plaintiff who was chastised by the judge earlier this year for his “unresponsiveness to counsel” dropped his lawsuit accusing 3M of selling defective military earplugs, avoiding a September bellwether trial intended to test the viability of thousands of similar cases.
Lawsuit slamming Mormon Church can claim it lied about how it would spend members' money
SALT LAKE CITY (Legal Newsline) – A disillusioned Mormon can sue the church, a federal judge has decided.
Judge stops UCF policy that bans 'harassing or hate' messages
ORLANDO – The University of Central Florida is temporarily prohibited from enforcing a new policy that is way too woke for a free speech advocate.
Class action complains bottle caps can't be recycled
TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) - A woman is suing a water bottling company through a class action suit due to its use of allegedly non-recyclable bottle caps.