Corporate Law

Microsoft Chalks Up More Class-Action Settlements

Microsoft said Tuesday that it had reached settlements totaling approximately $200 million in six class-action lawsuits involving antitrust claims and product pricing. With the just-announced agreements, a total of 10 such suits have been settled to date, leaving five still in the courts. Microsoft also said it has successfully derailed class-action lawsuits in 17 other states, either by having them dismissed or by convincing courts not to grant class certification.

National Class Action For Victims of Serzone/Nefazodone

TORONTO -- A national class action lawsuit has been launched on behalf of Canadians who became ill or died as a result of taking the anti-depressant Serzone, as well as the various generic versions of nefazodone hydrochloride. The class action has been commenced by Steve and Louise Ledyit. Four years ago, Steve was prescribed Serzone and within months of beginning treatment, he developed symptoms of what was eventually diagnosed as serious liver damage. Steve was only 32 years old when he became ill.

Car Dealership Files Class Action Against Carfax

Carfax claims it can provide your car's complete history, if you provide the car's VIN number. Now a Mid-South lawsuit claims the company doesn't live up to its promises. In fact, attorneys say the lawsuit has national implications. They're filing it as a class action suit. They claim that when you use Carfax to see if a vehicle's been involved in an accident, you may not find out the truth, especially if you live in Arkansas or Mississippi.

Class Action Lawsuit Against
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Corp.

NEW YORK -- Wolf Popper LLP has filed a class action securities lawsuit with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on behalf of purchasers of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company ("Goodyear") (NYSE:GT) publicly traded common stock during the period between February 2, 1999 and October 22, 2003 (the "Class" and "Class Period," respectively). The complaint charges Goodyear and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Goodyear is an Ohio corporation headquartered in Akron, Ohio, which manufactures tires and rubber products.

Court: MCI Class-Action Suit Certified

LOS ANGELES -- A federal judge certified a class-action lawsuit against bankrupt telephone company MCI, clearing the way for plaintiffs across the country to pool themselves into a massive action over accusations that MCI made fraudulent claims about its financial status. The 91-page ruling from District Judge Denise Cote grants class status to anyone who acquired publicly traded securities of MCI, formerly known as WorldCom, in the period from April 29, 1999 to June 25, 2002.

Plaintiffs Want Class-Action
Status In Grand Lake Lawsuit

Pryor, Oklahoma -- Lawyers told a judge Tuesday that hundreds -- perhaps thousands -- of property owners along Grand Lake should be added to a lawsuit accusing three Arkansas poultry companies of polluting the water. Mayes County, Oklahoma, District Judge James Goodpaster will decide whether all lakefront property owners can make the same claims of nuisance against Tyson Foods, Simmons Foods and Peterson Farms.

Judge Approves $470 Million Aetna Settlement

NEW YORK -- A federal judge has approved a $470 million settlement between Aetna and nearly 1 million doctors who had accused the nation's No. 3 health insurer of cheating them on payments. The company said the ruling by Judge Federico Moreno of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida settles a national class action that has been pending before the court for more than three years.

Judge Wants Probe of Microsoft Settlement

WASHINGTON - The judge in the Microsoft Corp. antitrust case urged government lawyers Friday to investigate why only nine companies so far have paid Microsoft to license its technology for their own software products, agreements central to the success of a landmark settlement negotiated with the Bush administration.

Judge OKs Fla. Tenants' Class-Action Suit

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A judge authorized a class-action lawsuit against the nation's largest landlord, whom tenants accuse of taking advantage of young consumers and collecting millions of dollars in illegal fees. The lawsuit was filed against Chicago-based Equity Residential Properties Trust in November and certified as a state class action suit Thursday.

Jury Selection Starts in IBM Cancer Lawsuit

SAN FRANCISCO -- Lawyers for International Business Machines Corp. and attorneys for two cancer-stricken former employees began questioning potential jurors in a California court on Monday as the first of about 250 health lawsuits filed against the company went to trial. The California case has been closely watched because it challenges the image of computer-related manufacturing as far safer than traditional industry. If successful, the California lawsuits could also give new momentum to the pending cases and create a huge liability problem for the tech industry, analysts say.

Smucker Sued Over '100 Percent' Fruit Label

LOS ANGELES, California -- The case was filed last week in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of anyone who bought the Smucker premium brand in the past four years. Tests on "simply 100 percent" strawberry jam revealed that the spread contained less than 30 percent actual strawberries and the blueberry version contained just 43 percent berries, the lawsuit said. Smucker's "100 percent fruit" claims run afoul of state false advertising and deceptive practice laws, as well as federal food labeling regulations, the lawsuit said.

Suit Alleges Nevada Judge
Violated Rights of Defendants

A federal lawsuit alleges that a veteran Nevada state judge violated defendants' civil rights with improper sentences. The class-action lawsuit stems from the case of Jeanette Faye Sadoski. Sadoski is accusing Clark County District Court Donald Mosley of wrongfully increasing her sentence and exposing her to double jeopardy. The suit seeks a review of all of Mosley's criminal cases to determine if he legally resentenced other defendants. Clark Garen, Sadoski's attorney, says he believes "a couple hundred people'' may be affected.

Making Microsoft Pay

The clock has started ticking for consumers and businesses to claim part of Microsoft's $1.1 billion payout. Microsoft agreed to the landmark settlement in January to resolve a class-action lawsuit that alleged the software giant used its monopoly power to overcharge California consumers for its products. Final approval isn't expected until February, but people who bought Microsoft software and hope to receive benefits must submit their claims within the next five months.

Republicans Try to Debate Class Action Bill

WASHINGTON -- Republicans sought on Monday to bring to the Senate floor a bill to curb abuse of class action lawsuits, but Democrats objected, branding it a sop to industry at consumers' expense. The Senate's Republican leadership announced it would seek a procedural vote at mid-week on whether to take up the bill. The measure would move most large class action lawsuits from state to federal courts, where judges may be less sympathetic. It has been sought by U.S. corporate interests for five years, but is vehemently opposed by trial lawyers and judges -- including Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist -- and has never been voted on in the Senate.

Democrats May Block Class Action Bill

WASHINGTON -- Democrats say they have enough votes in the Senate to block Republicans from moving class action lawsuits out of state court and into the federal system. The Senate is the last stumbling block for the legislation, with President Bush, the GOP-controlled House, Senate Republicans and some Senate Democrats already on board.

Goodyear Agrees to Pay $236M

AKRON - Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. has agreed to pay $236 million to settle a class-action case over faulty heating hoses. A U.S. District Court judge in New Jersey gave conditional approval to the settlement Friday. It covers property owners in Colorado and New Mexico. The case centers on a hose called Entran II, which, in many cases, eroded and leaked heating fluid into the walls of homes.

Suit Alleges Anthrax Drug's Side Effects

CAMDEN, N.J. -- Four U.S. Postal Service workers have sued the maker of an antibiotic they took during the anthrax scare two years ago, saying the drug caused harmful side effects. The lawsuit filed in Superior Court on Friday claims that Bayer Corp. failed to disclose data that Cipro could damage nerves and tendons. The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, also accuses three New Jersey hospitals of failing to provide warnings, perform exams or offer alternative medications.

Lawsuit Filed on Behalf of
All Iowa New Car Buyers

DES MOINES -- Anyone who bought a new car in Iowa in the last four years would get a refund of thousands of dollars if a Des Moines attorney's lawsuit is successful. Roxanne Conlin has filed a class-action lawsuit that accuses all major car manufacturers doing business in Iowa of gouging consumers by blocking access to cheaper cars intended for sale in Canada.

Feds Seek Way to Stop Counterfeit Drugs

WASHINGTON - With Americans increasingly seeking less costly prescription drugs, often from other countries, federal regulators are turning their attention to stopping potentially dangerous counterfeit products. Organized crime is being attracted to prescription drug sales because money can be made there, FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan has said. For traffickers in illegal drugs, faking legal ones can be an easy sideline.

Bayer has Settled 1,683 Baycol Cases for $614M

FRANKFURT -- German chemicals and pharmaceuticals group Bayer AG said on Thursday it had settled 1,683 lawsuits over recalled cholesterol drug Baycol out of court for $614 million. "We have settled 1,683 lawsuits and there are no trials scheduled for this month," a spokeswoman said. The figures are up from $477 million spent to settle 1,342 cases at the time of its last update on September 10. Bayer said on its website it now faced 11,300 lawsuits over the drug, up from 11,200 earlier.

Disaster Ferry Pilot ‘May Have Fell Asleep’

NEW YORK - Police were investigating whether a Staten Island ferry pilot fell asleep during a routine trip across a windy New York Harbor before the mighty vessel slammed into a pier, killing 10 people and injuring at least 42 others, including three who lost limbs. The pilot bolted the scene so quickly that he left behind his gear and his keys, then broke into his house where he slit his wrists and shot himself with a pellet gun, a law enforcement source said.

Judge Refuses to Halt Jury Selection

MONTGOMERY -- The Alabama Supreme Court refused a last-minute request by Exxon Mobil to stop jury selection Wednesday for the retrial of the state's record-setting lawsuit against the oil company. Exxon Mobil's attorneys contended the pool of potential jurors had been tainted by hundreds of letters that one of the state's attorneys, former Lt. Gov. Jere Beasley, sent to hundreds of people, asking if they knew anything about any of the potential jurors.

Lawsuit Alleges Homeowners Scammed

DENVER -- Two law firms are pursuing a class-action lawsuit against a Colorado company they claim used underhanded means to acquire more than 200 homes from people facing foreclosure. The company, EquityLink LLC, offers a financial bailout called HomeSaver to people in danger of losing their homes. "It's not a saver. It's a loser," said John Head, one of the lawyers seeking to represent all Colorado homeowners who joined the program.

Judge Rules Auto Dealer’s Victims
Can File Class-Action Lawsuit

PHILADELPHIA -- More than 150 people who had their identities stolen and who suffered harm to their credit ratings, allegedly at the hands of a Limerick auto dealer, can seek damages under a class action suit filed in federal court, a judge has ruled. U.S. District Court Judge Norma L. Shapiro, in an order dated Oct. 8, granted class certification to a lawsuit filed earlier this year by residents of Pottstown and Blue Bell against Benjamin J. Marchese III, general manager of B.J. Marchese Auto World at 444 W. Ridge Pike.

Employees Signing Away Right to Sue

NEW YORK - Businesses are slowly adopting clauses requiring contract employees to sign away their right to sue, forcing disputes into arbitration instead. So far, only a minority of corporations have adopted agreements that require workers to take disputes through a largely private arbitration process instead of into courtrooms. Yet it's a movement that has gained ground over the past decade.

Plan Could End 23-Year-Old Class-Action Lawsuit

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A new plan to end a 23-year-old class-action lawsuit involving children in the state's foster care system might come to fruitition after almost a year of good-faith negotiations. Parties in the lawsuit have signed off on the plan, saying Wednesday that the plan is a fresh approach.

Disaster Ferry Pilot ‘ May Have Fell Asleep ’

NEW YORK - Police were investigating whether a Staten Island ferry pilot fell asleep during a routine trip across a windy New York Harbor before the mighty vessel slammed into a pier, killing 10 people and injuring at least 42 others, including three who lost limbs. The pilot bolted the scene so quickly that he left behind his gear and his keys, then broke into his house where he slit his wrists and shot himself with a pellet gun, a law enforcement source said.

Outbreak of E. Coli Prompts Lawsuits

SAN DIEGO -- An outbreak of E. coli poisoning has sickened at least 34 people in San Diego County, prompting two lawsuits against the companies that allegedly supplied contaminated lettuce served to customers at the Pat & Oscar's chain of restaurants. A Carlsbad high school student filed a lawsuit in San Diego Superior Court on Wednesday against Gold Coast Produce, a Southern California company that packaged the lettuce, and Family Tree Produce of Anaheim, which distributed it.

Wives Suing to Bring End to Abuse Under Polygamy

Polygamist wives who gather the courage to run from beatings, rapes and illegal "spiritual" unions are beginning to use a time-tested tactic to fight back. They're starting to sue. For millions. A group of former polygamist wives from Colorado City and a similar community in Bountiful, Canada, are preparing a class-action lawsuit seeking an undetermined amount of money from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The fundamentalist church is not connected to the mainstream Mormon Church, which has banned polygamy.

Vet Targets Agent Orange Firms

In the decades after he served in Vietnam, Tom Gallagher heard all the talk about Agent Orange. He heard about the millions of gallons of Agent Orange sprayed in Vietnam to destroy the foliage that provided dense camouflage to the enemy. He heard about how some of his wartime brethren believed they’d developed debilitating diseases from exposure to the herbicide. He heard about the $180 million class-action settlement that the chemical companies agreed to so the mounting number of lawsuits would go away.

In Unexpected Move, Justices Let Stand
Ruling On Doctors, Medical Marijuana

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court, in a silent rebuff on Tuesday to federal policy on medical marijuana, let stand an appeals court ruling that doctors may not be investigated, threatened or punished by federal regulators for recommending marijuana as a medical treatment for their patients. Advocates of medical marijuana greeted the court's action as a significant and surprising victory.

IBM E-Mail Shows Workers
Knew of Disk Drive Failures

International Business Machines Corp. employees knew the company's computer disk drives had a higher failure rate than the world's largest computer maker has acknowledged to customers, according to court papers. In testimony in a California state court, lawyers representing customers suing the company presented e-mail messages showing IBM employees discussing failure rates far higher than the company claims for the drives.

Class Action Lawsuit Filed In Georgia
Because Insurer Didn’t Offer DV

A wave of class action lawsuits are being filed in the Georgia court systems as consumers react in the aftermath of the decision by the state’s Supreme Court in 2001 that ruled insurers must consider diminished value (DV) in first-party claims by policyholders, and is raising concerns that insurers have lowered the total-loss threshold because they must pay out additional compensation. And if more vehicles are totaled, that means there are fewer vehicles for autobody shops to repair.

Court Considers Use of Antitrust
Laws to Sue Phone Companies

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday about whether people can use federal antitrust laws to sue telephone companies for poor service, a case with big-money implications for regional phone companies and their rivals. The case stems from a 1996 telecommunications law that required the "Baby Bells" - BellSouth Corp., SBC Communications, Verizon Communications and Qwest Communications - to make their networks available to rivals at discounted rates.

Judge Delays Ruling on
$470 Million Aetna Settlement

MIAMI - A judge raised questions Tuesday about the estimated $470 million value of a settlement between Aetna and the nation's doctors, $50 million in attorneys' fees and $20 million for a foundation. The concerns duplicated some of the 19 objections filed before the five-hour hearing on final approval of an agreement to settle claims that the company routinely skimped on payments to 950,000 doctors.

Fla. Jury Rules on Secondhand Smoke Case

Secondhand smoke can cause cancer, but a former flight attendant did not contract lung cancer from breathing secondhand smoke while she worked inside airplane cabins, a jury determined Tuesday. Gail Routh, 54, was exposed to thousands of hours of secondhand smoke over her 27-year career with Allegheny Airlines and US Airways, said Stuart Silver, the attorney representing Routh against Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Lorillard Tobacco and Brown & Williams Tobacco Corp.

Postal Workers Sue Over Anthrax Exposure

A group of Washington-area Postal Service employees who claim they were deliberately left in harm’s way during the 2001 anthrax attacks plan to file a class action suit Wednesday against the agency. Brentwood Exposed, a group professing to represent hundreds of current and former postal workers, allege that Postmaster General John Potter and other agency leaders violated the employees’ Fifth Amendment rights by withholding information relating to contamination at the Joseph Curseen Jr. and Thomas Morris Jr. Processing and Distribution Center.

Swiss Banks Cooperating With Nazi Probe

NEW YORK -- Swiss banks that settled a suit with Holocaust victims for $1.25 billion have agreed to give investigators limited access to information on millions of accounts. The agreement will help identify accounts that were lost or looted, the head lawyer for the Holocaust victims said. "It will enable us to determine if we should continue to press for further access," Burt Neuborne said in Tuesday editions of The New York Times.

Law Firm Seeks Users of OxyContin

EDWARDSVILLE -- An East Alton law firm is waging a national media campaign in search of potential plaintiffs who allegedly have become addicted to the painkiller, OxyContin, the same drug broadcaster Rush Limbaugh is accused of obtaining illegally. "So far, we have gotten 3,000 phone calls," said Tor Hoerman, a lawyer with the The Simmons Law Firm in East Alton. Hoerman claims the drug company Purdue Pharma sold a morphine-like painkiller with a defective time-release mechanism.

IBM's Chemical Trial Set To Begin

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday in the first major case to put the electronics manufacturing industry on trial for concealing knowledge of harmful working conditions in its early clean rooms. Computer behemoth IBM is being sued in Santa Clara County Superior Court by two former workers, Alida Hernandez and James Moore, who contend they got cancer from systemic chemical poisoning, after being exposed to hazardous chemicals in the disk-drive-manufacturing clean room in the company's Cottle Road plant in San Jose.

Judge Surprises Mylan By Pulling Order

A federal judge unexpectedly rescinded an order dismissing Mylan Laboratories Inc. from a class action lawsuit, leaving the pharmaceuticals company a bit unsure of where it stands. Mylan, based in Canonsburg, announced last week the judge had granted its unopposed motion to be dismissed from the lawsuit, filed in Massachusetts by several state regulators and other parties. The lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Boston alleges that Mylan and other pharmaceuticals companies improperly reported "average wholesale price" information about generic drugs, leading agencies to overpay for the medicines.

KB Toys Holds Big Sale As Part Of Settlement

BOSTON -- Shoppers at KB Toys stores are receiving unexpected discounts this weekend, as the Massachusetts-based retailer refunds $3 million to consumers to settle a lawsuit alleging misleading prices. The chain -- without admitting wrongdoing -- is offering 30 percent off purchases of at least $30 at its 1,300 stores nationwide, excluding video game systems, video cartridges, and gift cards.

Catholic Church Deal May Just Be Beginning

The $5.2 million settlement announced by the Diocese of Covington over the weekend is nearly twice the amount per victim than the Diocese of Louisville paid earlier this year -- about $190,000 to 27 victims as compared with $105,000 to 243 victims. The settlement, of two lawsuits filed in Fayette Circuit Court, is more than the Covington diocese has paid out in its entire history for sexual abuse claims. It may cost about 3 percent of the accumulated savings of the diocese, officials say.

Enron Seeks $45 Million From Goldman Sachs

WASHINGTON -- Enron North America Corp. is seeking at least $45 million from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for ending a 2001 derivatives agreement, according to Goldman Sachs' quarterly report. Goldman's report was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Elsewhere in the filing, Goldman Sachs said some shareholders filed a purported class action July 18 in Nevada against the company and its chairman and chief executive, Henry M. Paulson Jr.

Preliminary Results Trace Infection
To Green Onions At Knoxville Restaurant

Green onions at an O'Charley's restaurant appear to be the source of a Hepatitis A outbreak that infected 70 people last month. A preliminary report released Friday by the Knox County Health Department and the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said there was no definitive link in the Knoxville cases with more than 140 others in Georgia and North Carolina.

Class-Action OK'd Against Tyson

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- People who sold their shares in IBP Inc. when they heard poultry giant Tyson Foods had aborted its purchase of the meatpacking company may file a class-action lawsuit against Tyson, a federal court ruled. U.S. District Judge Sue Robinson decided that IBP shareholders who sold stock between March 29, 2001, and June 15, 2001, could sue Tyson on grounds of making false statements that unnaturally drove down IBP's stock price.

Black Soot Lawsuit In Court

The case involving black soot falling on areas of south Columbus and damaging the property of residents and the city was back in federal court this week. A hearing was held Monday in U.S. District Court in Montgomery, Ala., concerning allegations that Continental Carbon, a company that has operated in Phenix City since 1969, is causing the soot problem. The company manufactures carbon black material used in tires and other rubber and plastic goods.

S.African Lawyer Says Firms
Must Pay For Apartheid

CAPE TOWN -- A lawyer and former commissioner of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission said on Friday that companies have a moral and legal duty to pay compensation to those who suffered under apartheid. Along with U.S. lawyer Ed Fagan, Ntsebeza has sparked controversy by filing a string of multi-billion dollar class-action lawsuits in the United States against multinational firms, including Anglo American Plc, DaimlerChrysler, Dow Chemical Co., and International Business Machines Corp., accusing them of having benefited from apartheid.

February Hearing Set On
Microsoft Class-Action Settlement

MADISON, W.Va. -- Thousands of West Virginia computer users could be eligible for a share of a proposed $18 million class-action settlement between Microsoft and the state. A hearing on the deal is scheduled Feb. 10 in Boone County Circuit Court. West Virginia settled the class-action lawsuit, along with the state's antitrust claims against Microsoft, in June.

Microsoft Promises Security Changes

SEATTLE - Faced with a mounting crisis over security flaws in Microsoft's software, Chief Executive Steve Ballmer acknowledged Thursday that the company's current system of patches is insufficient and that the Windows operating system will need to be modified next year to fend off hackers. Ballmer spoke to a New Orleans gathering of Microsoft partners, trying to address growing frustrations with the security vulnerabilities in Windows that have allowed costly and damaging attacks on computers worldwide. The technology that would modify Windows will be available as a free download to users of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 by June, said Mike Nash, vice president of the company's security business unit.

Microsoft Sued Over Security? No Surprises Here

To get us to trust our reputations to Microsoft-based security, Redmond needs to do more than add features. You boys and girls need to prove to everyone that your coding practices have improved. And you’d better do it fast or you’ll be joining some senior tobacco executives in weekly “I can’t believe we had to pay that much” support groups.

Ohio Has To Pay Millions To Drunk Drivers

COLUMBUS - The state cannot charge people twice to reinstate a driver's license after a single drunken-driving conviction, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in a decision that could cost taxpayers more than $8 million. The court ruled 5-2 that the Bureau of Motor Vehicles can charge people only once for a license reinstatement. The ruling requires the state to pay back one fee - plus interest - to people who were charged twice.

Widows Settle Lawsuit In South Shore Crash

VALPARAISO — More than five years after their husbands were killed in a train crash, three widows have reached a settlement that will award them millions of dollars in damages. Attorneys for the wives of the three men killed in the 4:31 a.m. June 18, 1998, South Shore passenger train collision with a steel coil-hauling truck at the Midwest Steel entrance off U.S. 12 in Portage reached a settlement with the nine defendants in last-minute negotiations Wednesday morning.

Division of Church Abuse
Settlement Still In Question

LOUISVILLE -- A plan to divide more than $25 million between victims of sex abuse at the hands of priests is coming under fire. More than two dozen abuse victims are objecting to a settlement with the Louisville archdiocese. WAVE 3's David McArthur reports. Since the $25.7 million settlement was reached in June, there have now been three hearings to determine whether that amount was fair.

Lawyer Takes on Pharmacy Benefits Managers

Pharmacy benefits managers, the companies that buy pharmaceuticals for employers and other health-care payers, are in the sights of a Birmingham, Ala., lawyer who already has won multi-million-dollar settlements from HMOs. The lawyer, Archie Lamb, has filed suits against four of the country's biggest pharmacy benefits managers, or PBMs, accusing them of price-fixing and depressing fees paid to pharmacists. PBMs buy pharmaceuticals at bulk discounts and act as middleman between employers, states, and other health-care payers on one hand and the drug industry on the other.

Parents Sue School Over Wireless Network

A pioneering elementary school district outside Chicago has been sued for installing a wireless computer network by parents worried that exposure to the network's radio waves could harm their children. According to the complaint, filed in Illinois state court, parents of five children assert that a growing body of evidence outlines "serious health risks that exposure to low intensity, but high radio frequency radiation poses to human beings, particularly children."

Deadline Nears In Class-Action
Lawsuit Against Crematory

Family members of those sent to Tri-State Crematory have until Saturday, Nov. 8, to decide whether to join a class-action lawsuit against the crematory. The lawsuit names crematory operator Tommy-Ray Brent Marsh, his family and nearly 50 funeral homes that sent bodies to Tri-State for cremation. Those possibly affected are families who sent relatives to the crematory between 1988 and Feb. 15, 2002, when police found the bodies discarded about the crematory property.

Racial Profiling Settlement Reached

FAYETTEVILLE — A settlement has been reached in a three-year-old racial profiling lawsuit against Rogers police. A federal judge will decide in November whether to accept the agreement reached by the parties. The lawsuit alleges that Rogers police violated the constitutional rights of Hispanic motorists by stopping them without cause to enforce federal immigration laws.

Swiss Banks Attack US Holocaust Report

Swiss banks said they refused to be made scapegoats in a long-running battle over compensation to Holocaust victims, after they were accused of blocking funds. According to a report - quoted on Wednesday in the New York Times - Swiss banks cited bank secrecy laws to restrict information about 4.1 million accounts opened during the Nazi-era between 1933 and 1945.

Lawyers say Fla. Businesses
Should Get In On Settlement

Lawyers in a Florida class-action suit against Microsoft say businesses may not realize how much they stand to lose if they don’t file a claim for a share of the proposed settlement. The settlement proposal would allow home consumers and businesses to collect $12 per operating system — Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Millennium Edition — and $5 for other Microsoft software applications purchased between Nov. 16, 1995, and Dec. 31, 2002.

Illinois Court Dismisses Lead-Paint Suit

NEW YORK - An Illinois Circuit Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit against a number of former manufacturers of lead paint, including Sherwin-Williams Co. In his decision Tuesday, which is being hailed as a major victory for Sherwin-Williams, the judge rejected a claim by the city of Chicago against the paint manufacturers. The city had wanted the companies to remove all lead-based paint from all areas accessible to children in Chicago. The City of Chicago said it will appeal the ruling.

IBM Files Appeal In Calif. Cancer Case

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- IBM Corp. has turned to a California appeals court to derail the lawsuits of two former employees who say they contracted cancer at a company disk drive plant. The computer maker Tuesday asked the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Appellate District to rule on whether there is enough evidence to justify trials for the claims of James Moore and Alida Hernandez.

WW II Holocaust Victims'
Compensation in Doubt

NEW YORK - A lawyer overseeing the distribution of a $1.25 billion settlement between Swiss banks and Holocaust victims said continuing secrecy of Swiss records could deprive many victims and heirs of their fair share. Judah Gribetz made the remarks in a report filed last week with Edward Korman, chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn. Gribetz said Swiss banks have restricted information about millions of bank accounts opened during the Nazi era.

Court Sidesteps Class-Action Cases

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court is showing no inclination to rejoin the fight over large class-action lawsuits, leaving it to politicians for now. As the court began a nine-month term Monday, the justices rejected a group of class-action appeals that asked where the lawsuits belong and how they can be challenged.

Supreme Court Debates States'
Ability To Get Out Of Settlements

WASHINGTON -- Did Texas make an unbreakable promise to provide better health care to poor children? That's what the Supreme Court is wrangling with on Tuesday in a case that asks what judges can do to states that don't live up to deals to end mass lawsuits. The case immediately affects about 1.5 million Texas children who rely on the government for health and dental care. More broadly, it has implications for states that end class-action lawsuits over such things as health care, education and prison conditions, then are accused of violating the agreements.

Court Sets Aside $79.5 Mln Smoker Award

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday granted an appeal by cigarette maker Philip Morris USA Inc., set aside a ruling that awarded $79.5 million in punitive damages to the family of a dead smoker and sent the case back for further consideration. The justices sent the case back to the Oregon courts for additional consideration in view of their ruling in April that held that punitive damages must be reasonable and proportionate to the harm suffered.

Company to Repay Customers for Web Claims

WASHINGTON - A Texas company agreed to repay customers $815,000 to resolve federal charges that it failed to deliver on Internet promises of providing major credit cards for a fee, regulators said Monday. The Federal Trade Commission said that ClickForMail.com Inc., doing business as AllPreApproved.com, sent e-mail "spam" offering approved credit cards in exchange for an advance payment of $49.95. Thousands of people who paid the fee did not get the credit cards, the FTC said.

Microsoft Faces Virus Class Action

LOS ANGELES - Microsoft faces a proposed class-action lawsuit in California based on the claim that its market-dominant software is vulnerable to viruses capable of triggering "massive, cascading failures" in global computer networks.

Should Microsoft Be Liable
for Bugs in Its Products?

A growing number of analysts, tech industry reporters, IT decision makers, systems administrators, and other users of Microsoft products are starting to ask the same question: Should Microsoft be held financially liable for the vulnerabilities in Windows and its other products?

Supreme Court Allows Potential $1 Billion
Class-Action Bias Case To Proceed

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court refused Monday to stop about 2,600 current and former Black managers from suing food services company Sodexho Marriott Services Inc. in what the company described as the largest employment discrimination case of its kind. Nearly $1 billion is at stake, the company maintains.

Judge OKs DaimlerChrysler Settlement

DETROIT -- A federal judge has approved the $300 million lawsuit settlement that DaimlerChrysler reached in August with former Chrysler investors angered by the 1998 merger that formed the company, pension fund managers said Monday. Managers of funds that were the lead plaintiffs in the class-action suit said Judge Joseph Farnan of the District of Delaware had granted preliminary approval of the settlement.

Product Liability Cases New Threat to Microsoft

Trial lawyers have watched with interest in recent months as viruses and worms, all exploiting security flaws in Microsoft software, have caused computers and networks to crash around the world. It is only a matter of time, they said, before the class-action suits against Microsoft started dropping. The first came last week, filed in an LA court, asserting that Microsoft engaged in unfair business practices and violated California consumer protection laws by selling software riddled with security flaws. The suit seeks class-action status. More such suits are anticipated.

Microsoft Suit Raises Thorny Questions

A lawsuit faulting Microsoft for security defects in its products has added a new front in the software giant's battle against vulnerabilities in its software. The proposed class-action suit, filed this week in Los Angeles Superior Court, comes as the company is admitting that its reliance on software patches for fixing security problems hasn't worked. The suit contends that by failing to secure its software, Microsoft subjected its customers to having their private data made public.

Jackpot Justice? FBI Probes Big
Jury Awards In Mississippi

Investigators from the state Attorney General's office reportedly contacted former jurors who sued the CBS news magazine "60 Minutes" after it aired a segment last November called "Jackpot Justice." It featured former Fayette florist Beau Strittman, the recipient of an undisclosed settlement from the makers of the obesity drug Redux, who said juries had "awarded these people this money because they felt as if they were going to get a cut off of it."

Restaurants Seek To Block Lawsuits Over Obesity

MADISON -- Restaurant owners say they're not to blame for the nation's obesity epidemic and proposed legislation in Wisconsin would shield them from lawsuits that try to make that claim. A federal judge in New York has twice thrown out class-action lawsuits that blamed McDonald's for making people fat, but Wisconsin restaurateurs fear others like it could be filed here. Some proponents of the lawsuits have compared their industry to Big Tobacco and accuse them of being deceptive about the content of their food.

Strip-Search Case Leads
To Class-Action Filing

SIOUX FALLS -- A woman who was strip-searched after police detained her for a curfew violation is notifying others who might have had similar experiences when they were held at the Minnehaha County Juvenile Detention Center. Jodie Smook, of Luverne, Minn., was 16 when she was strip-searched and interrogated Aug. 8, 1999, for violating a Sioux Falls curfew. A document filed in federal court Sept. 25 gives notice of the lawsuit to any teen who was strip-searched at the center and was charged with minor offenses after Nov. 1, 1997, or non-felony charges after April 16, 1999.

FBI Descends On Area Known For Huge Jury Awards

FAYETTE, Miss. -- Federal officials are taking a close look at rural communities in Mississippi known for their huge dollar awards in class-action lawsuits. FBI agents want to know -- among other things -- how the juries were picked. One of the biggest jury awards, $150 million in a diet-drug case, came in Jefferson County. That's a poor region of fewer than 10,000 people. Jurors in another Mississippi county awarded $100 million in a heartburn drug case.

Microsoft Faces Class-Action on Security Breaches

Microsoft Corp. faces a proposed class-action lawsuit in California based on the claim that its market-dominant software is vulnerable to viruses capable of triggering "massive, cascading failures" in global computer networks. The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, also claims that Microsoft's security warnings are too complex to be understood by the general public and serve instead to tip off "fast-moving" hackers on how to exploit flaws in its operating system.

Security Suit Against Microsoft Could Turn Huge

A 50-year-old Los Angeles mother of two who fell victim to hackers has sued Microsoft seeking damages and an order requiring the vendor to improve its security notification system. The suit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims that Microsoft's "eclipsing dominance in desktop software has created a global security risk" as the world's computer networks are now susceptible to "massive, cascading failures." The vendor is charged with violating California laws because of unfair and deceptive business practices.

HMO Lawyer Takes On Pharmacy Benefit Companies

CHICAGO -- A lawyer who took on HMOs and forced giants Aetna and Cigna to settle class-action lawsuits with thousands of doctors said on Friday he is targeting a new fall guy in health care -- pharmacy benefits managers. Archie Lamb, based in Birmingham, Alabama, is suing the four big U.S. pharmacy benefits managers, the companies that buy pharmaceuticals for employers and other health care payers.

Law Offices of Archie Lamb Announces: Independent Pharmacists File Suit to Halt Deceptive and Abusive Practices by Pharmacy Benefit

Suit to Halt Deceptive and Abusive Practices by Pharmacy Benefit BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Independent pharmacists have filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama seeking to force America's major Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) to cease illegal activities and change abusive business practices including price fixing, artificially depressing prescription prices and fees to be paid pharmacies, accepting undisclosed "kickbacks" such as rebates, and other abuses that jeopardize the future of community pharmacies.

Internet Body Threatens
Lawsuit Over Search Service

NEW YORK -- The Internet's key oversight body threatened legal action Friday to stop a new online search service blamed for such side effects as disabling junk e-mail filters and networked printers. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers called on Internet traffic cop VeriSign Inc. to suspend Site Finder, saying the service's introduction last month violated VeriSign's contract for running the master address lists for ''.com'' and ''.net'' names. ''War has broken out,'' said Mark Lewyn, co-founder of Paxfire Inc., which tried in May to do something similar with ''.biz'' names but was rebuffed. ''This is a battle over who controls the rules and regulations of the Internet going forward.''

Law Firm Files Class-Action
Suit Against Strong Financial

Philadelphia law firm Berger & Montague, P.C. announced Friday that it filed a class action lawsuit charging that Strong Financial Corp., Menomonee Falls, improperly allowed hedge funds, such as Canary Capital Partners L.L.C., of Seacaucus, N.J., to engage in the "timing" of their transactions in the funds' securities. The suit alleges Strong did not disclose these practices in the prospectuses of its funds and falsely represented that the funds actively police against timing.

Goodkind Labaton Rudoff & Sucharow LLP Announces
Class Action Lawsuit Against Emerson Radio Corporation

NEW YORK -- Goodkind Labaton Rudoff & Sucharow LLP ("Goodkind Labaton") filed a class action lawsuit on September 29, 2003 in the United States District Court for the New Jersey, on behalf of persons who purchased or otherwise acquired publicly traded securities of Emerson Radio Corporation ("Emerson" or the "Company") (AMEX:MSN) between January 29, 2003 to August 12, 2003, inclusive, (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit was filed against Emerson and Geoffrey P. Jurick, Kenneth A. Corby and John J. Raab.

Officials Want Ban on Ghettopoly Game

A take on Monopoly, Ghettopoly is being sold at Urban Outfitters which has its corporate offices here in Center City. The company has refused to comment, but the game is seen as racist and offensive by some critics and they want it taken off the shelves immediately. Rev. Robert Shine: "This is slander and this is malicious slander of a race." It is called Ghettopoly. Instead of a top hat, cane and mustache, the Ghettopoly guy is a thuggish, bandanna wearing black man with bug eyes peering over dark glasses. He's smoking a marijuana cigarette, holding an Uzi in one hand and a bottle of malt liquor in the other.

Judge Approves Enron Class-Action Suit

HOUSTON - A federal judge has given the green light to a class-action lawsuit by current and former Enron employees who contend that the bankrupt energy trader and its officers didn't live up to their duties in administering the company's pension plan. In an order released Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon denied motions by Enron and its former chief executive, Kenneth Lay, requesting that the claims against them be dismissed.

Some Banks Freed From Enron Suit,
Deepest Pockets Out Of Case

A federal judge this week dismissed some of the deepest pockets and most promising claims from a would-be class-action lawsuit on behalf of current and former employees of Enron. This means employees hoping to recover money in civil court to replace what they thought was in their Enron pensions will likely recover a lot less, assuming the case that remains is ever settled or won.

Microsoft Strikes $10 Million Settlement Deal

BALTIMORE -- Microsoft has agreed to pay $10.5 million to consumers who said they were overcharged when they bought software directly from the company. The agreement in the class-action lawsuit, filed Tuesday, needs the approval of U.S. District Judge Frederick Motz in Baltimore, who is overseeing the case. There was no timetable for Motz's decision, Microsoft spokeswoman Stacy Drake said.

Lindows: Microsoft Settlement Site Stays

Linux seller Lindows.com said Tuesday that it will continue to help Californians process legal claims against Microsoft, despite a challenge by the software giant. An attorney representing Microsoft sent Lindows a cease-and-desist letter late last week objecting to the company's MSfreePC site. The site offers to process claims on behalf of current and former California residents who qualify for proceeds from the settlement of a class-action lawsuit against Microsoft. Microsoft attorney Robert Rosenfeld said claims submitted by the Lindows service won't qualify under the terms of the settlement and demanded that Lindows remove the site.

AT&T Settling Cable Lawsuits

Property owners in Indiana and other states might soon collect thousands of dollars that they say they should have received from AT&T for the use of their land along railroad lines. The communications giant is settling lawsuits filed in 32 states, including Indiana, that allege AT&T installed fiber-optic and other cable under railroad corridors actually owned by private property owners.

Gulf Vets' Lawyer Targets
Firms For Sales To Iraq

STOCKHOLM -- A lawyer for U.S. veterans of the 1991 Gulf War says he has new evidence that Sweden's Alfa Laval and five other groups sold Iraq equipment in the 1980s that may have been used to make biological weapons -- a charge some of the companies denied or declined to discuss. Lawyer Gary B. Pitts told Reuters on Tuesday he had obtained Iraqi procurement papers to back a lawsuit dating from 1994 against Swedish, German and Swiss firms and a U.S. laboratory which he intends to extend to a class action that will seek billions of dollars in damages.

Posted by Editor at 01:21 PM

Cracker Barrel Faces Lawsuit

JACKSON - A lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges Cracker Barrel restaurants in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama discriminate against blacks by providing poor service compared to white patrons. The lawsuit, filed in Jackson by 11 blacks, claims the plaintiffs were subjected to racial discrimination when they attempted to dine at Cracker Barrel restaurants in Jackson, Vicksburg, Brookhaven, Hammond, La., and Oxford, Ala.

Judge Allows Ex-IBM Workers to Sue

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Two former IBM employees who believe their semiconductor factory jobs exposed them to cancer-causing chemicals can pursue a lawsuit against Big Blue, a judge ruled Tuesday. Superior Court Judge Robert Baines said the cases of Alida Hernandez and James Moore, who worked in IBM's South San Jose, Calif., microchip assembly plant for much of the 1970s and 1980s, could proceed to a jury trial starting Oct. 14.

Inverness Buys Abbott Diagnostic Assets

Inverness Medical Innovations Inc., which makes kits to identify when a woman is ovulating, paid Abbott Laboratories $92.5 million to gain rapid pregnancy tests and products used to detect drug abuse. Abbott will receive $55 million in cash and 1.55 million Inverness shares for its assets, Inverness chief executive Ron Zwanziger told analysts and investors on a conference call. The purchase includes the Fact Plus, TestPack, and Signify diagnostic lines but excludes the Determine brand, he said. The deal also settles a patent dispute that began in 1998 when Abbott sued Waltham-based Inverness over some pregnancy tests, an Inverness spokesman said.

U.S. District Court Rules in Favor
of Monsanto In Biotech-Antitrust Suit

A U.S. District Court denied efforts to certify an antitrust class-action suit levied against Monsanto and other companies over biotechnology seed products sold to American farmers. On Sept. 26, the same court dismissed all "tort claims" asserted in the same suit that attacked the introduction of biotechnology. Combined with today's decision, the District Court has now eliminated both theories advanced in the plaintiffs' class-action lawsuit originally initiated in 1999.

The Law Firm of Lasky & Rifkind, Ltd. Announces
Class Action Lawsuit against Midway Games

NEW YORK -- Lasky & Rifkind, Ltd., a law firm with offices in New York and Chicago, announces that a lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, on behalf of persons who purchased or otherwise acquired publicly traded securities of Midway Games ("Midway" or the "Company") (NYSE:MWY) between December 11, 2001 to July 30, 2003, inclusive, (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit was filed against Midway and certain officers and directors.

Tibco Attacks Apple's Rendezvous Partners

Litigious business software developer Tibco Software, which claims to own the rights to the Rendezvous trademark, is waging courtroom war. The company filed suit against Apple in August, alleging trademark infringement. As reported, it is pursuing remedies for the "competitive and economic harm" it claims Apple's use of the Rendezvous name in relation to its zero-configuration IP networking software has done to its business.

Judge Approves Settlement In Tobacco Case

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- A federal judge has approved a settlement in a class-action case which charged the nation's largest cigarette makers conspired to rig bids at tobacco auctions. The case covered a half-million tobacco growers, U.S. District Judge William Osteen approved the settlement that guarantees that Philip Morris and other cigarette companies will buy more than 400 million pounds of leaf over the next 10 years.

Florida Federal Judge Denies
Class Certification on Ephedra

SAN DIEGO -- A United States District Court in Miami, Florida, issued an order this week refusing to certify a class action filed by six individuals against Metabolife International, Inc. relating to its over- the-counter dietary supplement Metabolife 356. The plaintiffs claimed in their suit that the distributor of Metabolife 356 should be required to provide medical monitoring to every present and former user of Metabolife 356, as well as to fund research and educational programs regarding the alleged health risks and potential side effects of using Metabolife 356 and other ephedra-based products.

Verizon Settles Class Action Suit for 20 Million Dollars for Overcharging California Customers

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- In 1999 Linda Roark, a Southern California resident called Verizon to complain that she was being over billed. After months of being ignored, she filed a class action lawsuit against Verizon for unfair and deceptive billing practices. See Linda Roark, et al. v. GTE California, (renamed Verizon, California, Inc), Case No. 01035862 Cal. Super. Ct, Santa Barbara County, August 10, 2000. In September 2003, the Court approved a settlement requiring Verizon to pay $20 million to its California consumers.

U.S. District Court Rules in Favor
of Monsanto, Denies Class-Action

ST. LOUIS -- A U.S. District Court today denied efforts to certify an antitrust class-action suit levied against Monsanto and other companies over biotechnology seed products sold to American farmers. On Sept. 26, the same court dismissed all "tort claims" asserted in the same suit that attacked the introduction of biotechnology. Combined with today's decision, the District Court has now eliminated both theories advanced in the plaintiffs' class-action lawsuit originally initiated in 1999.

Prosecutors File Civil Action Against Medco

Federal prosecutors filed a civil action against Medco, alleging that the US manager of prescription drug benefits plans defrauded patients and the government systematically over the past eight years. The group vehemently denies the charges and questioned the credibility of the so-called whistleblowers who first brought the case to prosecutors' attention.