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Jurors in $7 billion case would be out to get us, BP and Shell tell U.S. Supreme Court
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - BP and Shell have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in a lawsuit by a Louisiana parish over coastal flooding, saying they can’t get a fair trial in a place where any jurors know they have the opportunity to pump billions of dollars into their troubled local economy by ruling against the oil companies.
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Mold plaintiff gets her expert back in case against property owner
VENTURA, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - A Santa Barbara County judge was wrong to exclude the expert testimony for a plaintiff hoping to prove mold caused her illness, a California appeals court has ruled.
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Company defeats dangerous fungus allegations, but faces penalty for putting masks on workers
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - A subcontractor on the California Flats Solar Project has defeated allegations it could have exposed workers to a fungus that causes Valley fever.
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Woman wins $110K in court for 'false arrest' after boss questions her about shoplifting
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - A store employee who was captured on video taking items she claimed she was planning to donate in charity Easter baskets gets to keep a $110,000 jury award for false imprisonment, a South Carolina appeals court ruled, rejecting the store’s argument the woman was merely questioned about the missing items and could have walked out any time.
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Teacher who posted 'F--- me I'm Irish' on Facebook loses lawsuit
TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) - A New Jersey law dubbed “Pass the Trash” allowed a school board to pass along information about a teacher who resigned amid an investigation into sexually suggestive social-media posts, an appeals court ruled, rejecting the teacher’s argument she was protected by a confidentiality clause.
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Plaintiff recounts cancer ordeal in Monsanto Roundup trial
The plaintiff suing Monsanto who claims its weed killer Roundup caused him to develop cancer described for a jury the ordeal of his medical treatments.
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Widow can't reopen plane crash claim after her lawyer accepted $100K settlement
RALEIGH, N.C. (Legal Newsline) - A widow won't get to sue the owner of an aircraft that crashed, killing her husband, because her previous lawyer already agreed to settle that claim.
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Weedkiller class action against AT&T stuck on certification
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Legal Newsline) - Class action lawyers targeting AT&T for using weedkiller around service terminals have hit another snag.
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Kentucky city can't tap insurance for $28M wrongful-conviction lawsuit
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Legal Newsline) - A Kentucky city can’t tap insurance policies for damages won by a man who spent 28 years in prison on a wrongful conviction for murder, since those policies were issued a decade after he was sent to jail, an appeals court ruled.
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Man fleeing from cops can sue for taking buckshot to the face
ATLANTA (Legal Newsline) - A man hit by buckshot after smoking marijuana and leading police on a high-speed chase can sue the now-deceased sheriff who shot him, a Georgia court has ruled.
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Oregon elementary school teachers can sue over abusive students
SALEM, Ore. (Legal Newsline) - A group of teachers who claim they were physically and sexually assaulted by elementary-school students can sue district officials for failing to come to their aid, an Oregon appeals court ruled, reversing a trial judge’s dismissal of claims.
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At Roundup trial, Monsanto official says company did necessary toxics testing
A regulations compliance official for Monsanto testified the company had done extensive testing of its weed killer Roundup to make sure it was safe for use by humans.
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Facebook faces suit over not putting insurance ads on some users' feeds
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - Most people would probably pay money not to be subjected to ads featuring quacking ducks and apron-clad insurance agents. But a California appeals court has decided Facebook must face a class action over claims it discriminates against users by allowing insurance companies to select their audience based on age and gender.
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Trial begins in Missouri accusing Monsanto weed killer Roundup of causing man’s cancer
A trial in which a man claims that his use of the Monsanto weed killer Roundup caused him to develop non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer, while defense attorneys claimed the chemical is harmless and the plaintiff just unlucky.
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No injury, no barriers? IL Sup Ct to decide if 'no-injury' standard for big money biometrics lawsuits applies to other laws, too
Walgreens has won the chance to ask the state high court to decide if plaintiffs' lawyers can press big money class actions in Illinois state courts under a federal identity protection law, despite no harm caused by a technical violation of the law, and despite rulings across the country that they can't do so
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Bar not to blame over killing of man it bounced an hour earlier
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - Parents of a man who was killed after encountering his assailants from an earlier fight can’t recover money from the bar where the initial fracas occurred, a California appeals court ruled.
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Roundup plaintiff plans appeal of local judge's directed verdict in favor of Monsanto
Judge Brian May granted Monstanto's motion for a directed verdict against plaintiff Mark McCostlin
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California sues energy companies over 'climate' problems; 'Kitchen sink' lawsuit a 'political stunt,' industry says
Energy companies say the state's lawsuit is little more than a "meritless, politicized" effort to extract big paydays from oil and gas companies, while accomplishing little to address the alleged problems caused by "climate change"
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School district in trouble after bus never picks up student and she dies in car crash
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - A California school district may be on the hook for a car crash that took the life of a 16-year-old student who got in a car with a friend after her bus was late, an appeals court ruled.
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'Tester' law firm loses another lawsuit over website access for the blind
SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) - A California appeals court rejected a lawsuit by serial plaintiffs who claimed a website discriminated against them by failing to provide proper access to the blind, ruling the Americans with Disabilities Act doesn’t cover websites.