News from March 2021
W.Va. AG isn't sure he'll sign off on Purdue Pharma $7 billion bankruptcy plan
CHARLESTON -- West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey says he wants to do what’s best for the state, and he doesn’t know if that means signing off on Purdue Pharma’s $7 billion bankruptcy plan.
Wife of cop says she got typhus from his contacts with homeless but can't sue Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – A California appeals court has ruled against the wife of a Los Angeles police officer who claimed he passed typhus on to her because he worked in unsanitary conditions caused by people living on the streets around the Central Community Police Station.
Axe-throwing commences, though Albany bar has no success in lawsuit over COVID restrictions
ALBANY, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) – A federal judge has held that New York was within its authority to shut down the axe-throwing part of an Albany restaurant, pursuant to COVID-19 rules.
Don't lie about the cost of Swisher Sweets, lawsuit against Walgreens threatens
PORTLAND, Ore. (Legal Newsline) – There’s no deal on Swisher Sweets at Walgreens, a class action lawsuit complains.
Verdict of $9.5 million affirmed for woman who watched husband die at Fresno swap meet
FRESNO, Calif. (Legal Newsline) – A California appeals court has affirmed a nearly $10 million verdict to a widow who watched her husband die at a swap meet when a pole holding a banner touched an overhead power line.
Anti-thrift store law hurting low-income customers, Goodwill alleges in lawsuit
TOPEKA, Kan. (Legal Newsline) – A Kansas city is now in a legal battle with Goodwill, which takes issue with an ordinance it says is designed to protect property values by restricting the ability of thrift stores to operate.
Hazard pay for Seattle grocery workers stands; Trade group appeals court loss
SEATTLE (Legal Newsline) – A Seattle federal judge has thrown out the challenge of a city ordinance that gives grocery store workers $4-an-hour raises during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bayer moves to dismiss shareholder class action over Roundup costs
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) – Unhappy investors have failed to make their case, Bayer says as it defends one of the fronts of litigation opened by the Roundup weedkiller.
Man sues Playboy for watching his mouse while he's on its website
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – A Florida man is suing Playboy in California under a Florida law, claiming it illegally tracked his activity while surfing its website.
Connecticut Supreme Court sanctions Alex Jones over outburst during Sandy Hook litigation
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - The Connecticut Supreme Court, ruling for the first time on whether the First Amendment protects out-of-court statements, upheld a judge’s sanctions against radio personality Alex Jones over abusive statements he made against opponents in litigation over the Sandy Hook massacre.
Woman sues NYC, says she was injured in stuck elevator
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – A woman is using New York City after she says one of its elevators malfunctioned, leaving her and her child trapped as they tried to get to the subway.
Lawsuit: Marriott hot tub burned skin, caused body hair to fall off
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – A New York City man says he was scalded by a Residence Inn hot tub in Long Island.
Lawsuit follows after student bucked off horse during show
WORCESTER, Mass. (Legal Newsline) – An intercollegiate horse show has led to a lawsuit against a Massachusetts boarding school.
Lawsuit claiming Exxon isn't doing enough about climate change kicked back to D.C. court
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – Exxon won’t get to defend itself in federal court from an advocacy group that claims the company has not done enough to combat climate change.
Biden and DEA could clash on crime, marijuana, open borders
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - President Joe Biden hasn’t identified a candidate for permanent director of the Drug Enforcement Administration and it may be a long time before he does. The agency responsible for prosecuting the nation’s war on drugs is trapped on its own political battlefield as it faces criticism over its failure to contain the spread of deadly opioids while continuing to enforce a federal ban on marijuana that is opposed by White House officials and politicians on the left and right.
'Courtroom advocacy in a lab coat': Bayer says plaintiffs' Roundup experts not fit to testify
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - Bayer AG has asked the judge overseeing multidistrict litigation over Roundup herbicide to disqualify several plaintiff experts who consistently blame non-Hodgkin's lymphoma on Roundup when being paid to testify in court, despite numerous other risk factors that could have triggered the disease.
Nestle to settle lawsuit claiming its Purina plant stunk up the neighborhood
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (Legal Newsline) – Nestle has agreed to pay $800,000 to residents around its Allentown, Pa., facility who claim its manufacture of Purina pet foods there has left an odor in the air.
California plaintiff loses $2.9 million award but his lawyers keep $7.8 million in fees
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - A California appeals court threw out a jury’s award of millions of dollars in penalties against a state university for violating state labor laws but taxpayers will still be stuck with a $7.8 million bill to pay the plaintiff’s lawyers.
Massachusetts fire lieutenant sues over weight-lifting injury
WORCESTER, Mass. (Legal Newsline) – A lieutenant in a Massachusetts fire department is suing a fitness testing company that he says made him try a squat exercise that resulted in him injuring himself.
Lawsuit: Uber driver spit on woman, hit another with ice scraper
BOSTON (Legal Newsline) – Two Bostonians are suing Uber after they say a driver spit on their friend.