News from January 2021
New Orleans casino liable after contractor runs over woman; Flagman walked past but didn't warn
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - Harrah’s Casino in New Orleans is liable for injuries a woman suffered after a contractor hired to remove birds from the trees in front of the building ran over her with a motorized high-lift platform, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled, rejecting the casino’s arguments it wasn’t responsible for the actions of an independent contractor.
Off-campus sexual assault with pool cue by football team costs Vermont school district $467K
MONTPELIER, Vt. (Legal Newsline) - A Vermont public school district must pay a student nearly $500,000 over an assault that occurred when the high school football team met for a party at a private home.
Lawsuit: My dog's grain-free food has gluten in it
BOSTON (Legal Newsline) – WellPet’s grain-free foods actually contain gluten, a class action lawsuit complains.
Insomniac whose treatment resulted in day-long erection loses lawsuit after becoming impotent
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) – A man who sought to cure his insomnia and instead ended up impotent can’t sue the maker of the medication he took – a drug known to cause prolonged erections as a side effect.
Lawsuit over coolers questions how long ice can stay ice
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – Rubbermaid coolers that promise to hold ice for five days fail to do so because ice can’t stay solid for more than a few moments, a class action lawsuit alleges.
Morrisey, Capito and others critical of Biden's early environmental moves
CHARLESTON – West Virginia leaders and others are concerned about some executive orders and other actions planned by President Joe Biden.
Washington now party central for trial lawyers, business defense attorney says
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Trial lawyers are abuzz with the prospect of “reaping billions” through favorable legislative and regulatory changes under a Democratic Congress and a Biden presidency, a prominent business defense lawyer says.
Trump campaign gives up on defamation lawsuit against CNN
ATLANTA (Legal Newsline) – The campaign for President Donald Trump failed to show CNN acted with actual malice against him, so its defamation lawsuit has been thrown out by a federal judge.
Work from Center for Class Action Fairness worth a reward, judge in State Street case rules
BOSTON (Legal Newsline) – A class action watchdog has earned more than $60,000 for work that helped show class action lawyers overcharged the class they represented in a $300 million settlement with State Street.
'Sorta Sweet' lawsuit is more-than-sorta ridiculous, Snapple argues
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) – Keurig Dr Pepper has hit back against a lawsuit that says claims that its Snapple Straight Up Tea is “sorta sweet” tricks consumers into drinking a product with more sugar than they’d think.
South Carolina lender, North Carolina borrower bicker over which state's laws apply
CHARLESTON, S.C. (Legal Newsline) – An auto title lender is seeking a declaration that its agreements with out-of-state borrowers are enforceable.
Lawsuit: Plant-based cleaning products have synthetic ingredients
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) – Class action lawyers say the “plant-based” claims of S.C. Johnson & Son on its cleaning products are wrong.
Recent decisions on our side, McDonald's says as it fights lawyer on a vanilla crusade
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – The lawyer who has filed more than 100 lawsuits over what it means to actually be vanilla is facing a fight from one of his biggest targets.
It's up to a judge to penalize Trump supporters for Michigan election fraud lawsuit
DETROIT (Legal Newsline) – President Donald Trump supporters have dropped litigation claiming election fraud in Detroit under threat of sanctions – and will now wait to see if they will be forced to pay the other side’s attorneys fees.
Toyota settles emissions reporting lawsuit for $180 million
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – Toyota has signed with the federal government claims that it did not comply with Clean Air Act reporting requirements.
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EPA prodded to approve smog pollution plans
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – Five states and New York City are suing the Environmental Protection Agency, claiming they have struggled to meet air quality standards because of upwind pollution.
Cancer-PFAS links remain 'sparse,' study finds; Regulation a favorite cause of Democrats
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – Evidence linking cancer and chemicals known as PFAS "remains sparse," a study funded by the Centers for Disease Control says, as the Environmental Protection Agency – on President Trump’s last full day in office – announced new initiatives aimed at regulating them while stopping short of declaring a national maximum contaminant level.
Stop over-naming and over-blaming
The asbestos lawyers tying up the dockets in West Virginia seem to have taken a cue from Dame Agatha Christie, blaming everyone in sight for the asbestos-related injuries allegedly suffered by their clients.
Judge rules against Navient in one of its two arguments in lawsuit brought by CFPB
SCRANTON, Pa. (Legal Newsline) – A Pennsylvania federal judge has ruled that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s lawsuit against the nation’s largest student loan servicer shouldn’t be thrown out just because the CFPB was operating in an unconstitutional manner when it filed suit.
Woman shot at long-term hospital after friend's death can't sue security company
MIAMI (Legal Newsline) – A security company at a Florida long-term care facility is not responsible for the injuries of a visitor shot by an 87-year-old man.