News from November 2021
Group of state financial officers target banks that boycott coal, oil, gas industries
CHARLESTON – West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore is spearheading a 15-state coalition that plans to scrutinize and possible curb business with banks that adopt policies to cut off financing for the coal, oil and natural gas industries.
Bellwether jury wants pharmacies to pay for opioid mess; Walmart says trial was riddled with mistakes
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - A federal jury has found three of the nation’s largest pharmacy chains liable for causing a public nuisance by filling too many opioid prescriptions in two Ohio counties, reviving a legal theory that was recently rejected in two other closely watched cases.
Milwaukee DA faces mounting criticism of bail reform policy; Critic says parade massacre was 'avoidable tragedy'
MILWAUKEE (Legal Newsline) - County District Attorney John Chisholm is facing criticism over his advocacy for bail reform following multiple deaths in Waukesha's Christmas parade on Sunday.
Disney cruise worker hit by car in Bahamas sees court strike $4M verdict
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - A Florida appeals court reversed a $4 million jury award – including $1 million in punitive damages -- to a Disney Cruise Line employee who was hit by a car in the Bahamas, finding punitive damages were unjustified and her economic expert presented an unreliable estimate of future medical expenses.
Lawsuit to decide if 'veggie' means full of vegetables or doesn't contain meat
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) – “Veggie” doesn’t mean chock-full of vegetables, Kellogg’s is arguing as it fights a lawsuit over the ingredients in its Morningstar Farms line of meat-less food products.
School not liable for suicide of student during summer break
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) – A California school district alleged to have failed to act on high-school bullying won’t be liable for the suicide of a sophomore who suffered from Tourette’s syndrome.
7-Eleven sued over energy shot ingredients
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - Derrik Dildine filed a federal class action lawsuit on October 30 in the Western District of New York against 7-Eleven that says its energy shots do not contain 100% natural flavors.
Kara Kapp Named National Law Journal’s 2021 DC Rising Star
Kara Kapp Named National Law Journal’s 2021 DC Rising Star.
Ogletree Deakins Bolsters Litigation Ranks in Birmingham
Ogletree Deakins Bolsters Litigation Ranks in Birmingham.
Foley Attorneys Named to 2021 Wisconsin Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists
Foley Attorneys Named to 2021 Wisconsin Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists.
Whistleblower group bearing down on NIH over critical COVID-19 info reportedly deleted by the agency
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Legal Newsline) - A whistleblower group, Empower Oversight, has filed a complaint in federal court over the National Institutes of Health (NIH) non-compliance with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests centering on genetic information vital to understanding the origins of COVID-19.
Former DEA official testifies in Washington AG's case against opioid distributors
SEATTLE (Legal Newsline) - State of Washington officials led by Attorney General Bob Ferguson are pressing their case against prescription opioid drug distributors McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Corp., saying the companies irresponsibly promoted drugs for profits.
Lawyers turn nose at $162K after 15 years litigating against pipemaker, will pursue appeal
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - Lawyers who spent 15 years chasing a payday against pipemaker J-M Eagle are unhappy with what a federal judge ultimately awarded them.
Judge won't block Kentucky coal law
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Legal Newsline) – A Kentucky federal judge won’t stop state legislation that out-of-state coal producers claim discriminates against them – for now.
Fatal accident in Boston leads to lawsuit
BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - The Estate of Diane Ly filed a complaint Oct. 13 in Suffolk County Superior Court over a fatal accident in Boston.
Bad news for construction company and insurer in multimillion-dollar mess over rogue forklift
CARSON CITY, Nev. (Legal Newsline) - A plaintiff who suffered neck injuries when a construction company forklift punched through the window of his car can collect millions of dollars in attorney fees on top of a $5.9 million jury verdict, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled, in a decision also enforcing severe penalties on the defendant for telling jurors it was bankrupt.
Molson Coors, fighting Vizzy lawsuit: No one thinks booze with vitamin C is the same as eating fruit
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) – Molson Coors says it has broken no laws in declaring its Vizzy hard seltzers contain “antioxidant Vitamin C from acerola superfruit.”
'Inflammatory' closing argument should cancel key opioid trial, defendants argue
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - National pharmacy chains called for a mistrial after the lawyer representing two Ohio counties in closing arguments urged jurors to consider the “national ramifications” of their decision and jokingly suggested they “really go after” any member of the panel who refused to find the defendants liable for causing a public nuisance by dispensing opioids.
Judge approves $620M Flint water settlement; Attorneys' cut to be decided later
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Legal Newsline) - Calling it “a remarkable achievement,” a federal judge approved a $620 million settlement over lead contamination in the Flint water system, reserving until later approval of plaintiff lawyer fees that could consume a third of the money.
VA doctor's report appropriately included in $93K trip-and-fall case, Connecticut court finds
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) – A recent Connecticut Supreme Court ruling backs a jury’s $93,000 verdict for a man who tripped and landed on his face on a Bridgeport sidewalk.