November 12, 2003
An attorney for customers who alleged price fixing among several producers of corrugated cardboard and cardboard boxes said a proposed $92.5 million agreement with the largest defendant would bring settlements in the class-action antitrust lawsuit to more than $200 million. Howard Langer, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said Wednesday he expected the settlement with Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. to be submitted to the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia for preliminary approval within a month.
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10:44 PM
LANCASTER, Pa. -- There is word of a multimillion-dollar settlement that will recover money for thousands of Fairbanks Mortgage Co. customers, many of them in Pennsylvania. This is the news that Fairbanks customers have been waiting for -- a record $40 million civil settlement that should put money back in the pockets of many homeowners who were ripped off by Fairbanks.
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10:42 AM
About 4,500 commercial fishermen will receive an estimated average of $2,145 each as part of a $40 million settlement fund generated in the Bristol Bay salmon antitrust case. Lawyers and fish processors will get about three-quarters of the money.
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10:41 AM
Microsoft's foes will on Thursday take the stand in Europe's anti-trust case against the software giant, alleging that it has consistently sought to extend its Windows monopoly into other markets. Thursday, the mid-point in the European Commission's three day hearing of the case, will mark the end of Microsoft's last-ditch effort to dissuade European Union authorities from reaching a negative finding, and the beginning of testimony from mostly hostile third parties.
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10:40 AM
NEWARK, New Jersey -- Workers recently arrested in federal raids have filed a racketeering lawsuit accusing Wal-Mart of conspiring with contractors in a criminal enterprise that violated the civil rights and wage protections of immigrants who cleaned its U.S. stores. The federal lawsuit seeks class-action status for perhaps thousands of immigrants, legal and illegal, hired by the contractors to clean Wal-Mart stores, said a lawyer for the workers, James Linsey.
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10:38 AM
November 11, 2003
NEWARK, N.J. - Workers recently arrested in federal raids filed a racketeering lawsuit accusing Wal-Mart of conspiring with contractors in a criminal enterprise that violated the rights of immigrants who cleaned its stores. The federal court lawsuit seeks class-action status for perhaps thousands of immigrants, legal and illegal, hired by the contractors to clean the stores of the world's largest retailer, said a lawyer for the plaintiffs, James L. Linsey.
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10:29 AM
PHILADELPHIA -- Lead counsel for the plaintiffs, Howard Langer of Golomb Honik & Langer, announced that the settlement with Smurfit-Stone Container (Nasdaq: SSCC - News) for $92.5 million reported today, brings to over $200 million the total settlements in In re Linerboard Antitrust Litigation, a major class action alleging a conspiracy to raise and stabilize the prices of corrugated boxes and sheets between October, 1993 and November, 1995.
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10:28 AM
CLASS-ACTION lawsuit about initial public offerings that produced a ruling favorable to Wall Street bankers last week also aired an unusual public dispute between the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Judge William H. Pauley III of the United States District Court in Manhattan ruled that Wall Street abuses in the underwriting of initial public offerings cannot be challenged under antitrust law.
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10:27 AM
WASHINGTON -- U.S. government agencies are due to announce a multi-million dollar settlement of abusive practices complaints against sub-prime loan servicer Fairbanks Capital Corp., housing advocates said on Tuesday. PMI Group, Inc., corporate parent of Utah-based Fairbanks, said last month the company had set aside $55 million in anticipation of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
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10:26 AM
November 10, 2003
WASHINGTON -- Some of the nation's largest insurance companies knew for decades that asbestos could kill but didn't warn workers or take other measures that might have averted the nation's worst workplace health disaster, industry documents show. For years, dating to the 1930s, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. did not make public or downplayed research indicating that asbestos could cause lung cancer and other diseases. Travelers Insurance and other carriers measured asbestos levels in factory air samples for years and pooled data on the mounting numbers of claims on behalf of workers dead or sick from asbestos illnesses.
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10:57 AM
Two class action suits for some NIS 1 billion have been launched against Remedia accused of causing the deaths of several babies who ate its soy-based baby food product. One suit was submitted to the Tel Aviv District court by Hananel Mantel whose family was not affected by the product while the other was filed by an undidentified plaintiff. In 1999 Pittsburgh-based H.J. Heinz Co. bought a 51 percent stake in Remedia. Terms were not announced but at the time the joint venture represented approximately $30 million of Remedia's annual revenue.
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10:56 AM
Israeli security services were yesterday investigating the deaths of three babies who were given a kosher baby milk substitute. Twenty Israeli babies have also been admitted to hospital suffering from brain damage after being fed the soya-based milk substitute, which has now been taken off the shelves. There are international concerns because some Israelis have sent packets of the formula to Jewish relatives in Europe and the US. The Israeli government has ordered its embassies to spread the alert.
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10:55 AM
TORONTO — Health Canada announced Monday that generic versions of the antidepressant Serzone are being pulled from the market. The department will oversee the withdrawal of all generic drugs containing nefazodone, the generic name for the drug marketed as Serzone. The drugs are being withdrawn because of concerns that nefazodone may cause severe liver-related adverse effects in some users.
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10:53 AM
SAGINAW, Mich. -- A judge has set limits on how much Dow Chemical Co. attorneys can talk with residents along the Tittabawassee River, where high levels of dioxin have been found. "Dow can meet with the residents as long as they don't harass them," Saginaw County Chief Circuit Judge Leopold P. Borrello told The Saginaw News on Monday.
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10:52 AM
Microsoft proffered legal papers seeking to disavow California class-action settlement claims submitted via the Linux distributor's MSfreePC Web site. In a motion filed earlier this month with the Superior Court of California for San Francisco County, Microsoft asked Judge Paul H. Alvarado to reject all claims processed by the Lindows site, which offers to help people garner benefits from Microsoft's US$1.1 billion class-action settlement.
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10:51 AM
SAN FRANCISCO - Microsoft Corp. has asked a San Francisco court to instruct the administrator in a US$1.1 billion California class-action settlement to reject claims filed through MSfreePC.com, a site run by Linux vendor Lindows.com Inc. Claims filed through the MSfreePC Web site do not comply with the settlement or the claims procedures, according to Microsoft. The claims are not personally signed and transfer the right to be paid to Lindows.com, which the settlement does not allow, Microsoft said in its court filing.
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10:50 AM
November 07, 2003
In what could be one of the largest and most complex legal settlements in history with an American mortgage company, two federal agencies reportedly have reached an agreement with Fairbanks Capital Corp. requiring at least $55 million in payouts and fines by the Utah-based servicer.
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10:49 AM
NEW YORK -- A group of lawyers filed a one billion dollar discrimination and exploitation lawsuit against Wal-Mart in federal court on behalf of hundreds of undocumented and low-paid immigrants detained in October. The workers, many of whom were janitors, were all employed by Wal-Mart subcontractors. But news reports have said government agents believe some Wal-Mart managers may have knowingly condoned the use of illegal workers to keep costs down.
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10:48 AM
In a preview of things to come, Madison County Circuit Clerk Matt Melucci and County Board member Hal Patton argued over whether the county should be charging more than the current $186 to file a class action lawsuit. At Friday's meeting of the Judiciary Committee, Melucci began by strenuously objecting to remarks Patton had made at last month's County Board meeting.
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10:45 AM
A proposed settlement of a class-action lawsuit would award patients who contracted hepatitis C after being infected at one of three pain management clinics $330,000 each, attorneys said Thursday. The proposed agreement for $25 million also would give $625 each to patients who were exposed but didn't contract the illness. Sixty-two patients contracted hepatitis C after being exposed to the virus. A nurse anesthetist reused needles and syringes when administering pain medication at the clinics. Norman Regional Hospital and Northwest Surgical Hospital and the Oklahoma Center for Orthopedic and Multi-Specialty Hospital, both in Oklahoma City, were named as defendants.
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10:44 AM
November 06, 2003
BEAUMONT, Texas - A jury awarded a woman whose heart was damaged after using the weight-loss drugs Fen-Phen more than $1.3 million in damages Thursday. Jurors awarded Deborah Hayes $810,000 for future medical expenses and $500,000 for future mental anguish. Hayes, 46, sued Fen-Phen maker Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, claiming the combination of the drugs damaged a valve in her heart. The postal worker said she took Fen-Phen for 90 days over a six-month period in 1999.
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10:55 AM
Microsoft Corp. has agreed to pay as much as $89 million to settle a class-action lawsuit in North Carolina that alleged the vendor overcharged for its software. Under the settlement, North Carolina residents who bought Microsoft Windows, Office or standalone Word or Excel products between Dec. 9, 1995, and Dec. 31, 2002, can apply for vouchers that may be used to buy desktop or notebook computers, software or select peripherals from any manufacturer, Microsoft said in a statement Thursday.
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10:54 AM
HASTINGS, Minn. - A Dakota County district judge has certified a class-action lawsuit filed by four Minnesota women seeking compensation for more than 65,000 current and former Wal-Mart workers in the state. Nancy Braun, Pamela Reinert, Cindy Severson and Debbie Simonson allege that the discount giant routinely forced workers to skip meals and rest breaks. They have all worked at stores owned by the Wal-Mart corporation.
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10:53 AM
PORTLAND, Maine -- An Illinois judge has accepted a $12 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit attacking the purity of Maine's Poland Spring Water. Judge Michael Colwell's decision Wednesday in Circuit Court in Kane County, Ill., affirms a settlement consisting of coupons and charitable donations announced in August by Poland Spring. Nestle Waters, which owns Poland Spring, applauded the decision, saying the ruling allows the company to get on with its business.
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10:52 AM
Madison County, Ill., was named the top "judicial hellhole" in the country by the American Tort Reform Association Thursday, and the city of St. Louis wasn't far behind. The label refers to cities, counties or judicial districts that attract lawsuits from around the nation because they are perceived as "plaintiff-friendly" jurisdictions, the association said. The results were culled from a survey of ATRA members and independent research.
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10:51 AM
TORONTO -- A Quebec man who was on a popular antidepressant that is being withdrawn from the Canadian market has launched a $200-million class-action lawsuit against companies that make the drug and its generic brands. In a statement of claim filed this week in an Ontario court, Steve Ledyit, 36, said he was prescribed Serzone four years ago while living in Barrie, Ont., north of Toronto. Within months of beginning treatment, Ledyit developed symptoms that were eventually diagnosed as serious liver damage, says the 17-page document.
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10:49 AM
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.
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10:48 AM
November 05, 2003
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- IBM Corp. lied to employees about the hazards of working with carcinogenic chemicals that caused them to develop rare forms of cancer, a lawyer for two ex-workers alleged Tuesday in a groundbreaking case against Big Blue. Richard Alexander, who represents cancer survivors Jim Moore and Alida Hernandez, said in his opening statement that top toxicologists and oncologists, as well as IBM managers and an IBM whistleblower from France, will testify that the high-tech giant misled workers and concealed an extensive mortality database.
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10:26 AM
NEW YORK - Some 40 legal claims have been filed against the city in the wake of last month's Staten Island ferry accident. The notices of claim, which notify the city of an intention to file lawsuits, seek a total of about $1.3 billion in compensation on grounds ranging from wrongful death to emotional trauma.
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10:25 AM
WASHINGTON -- A California superior court judge ruled a class-action suit challenging the reliability of AT&T Wireless Services Inc.’s coverage maps can go to trial. Judge Charles W. McCoy Jr. said the state suit is not pre-empted by federal law, despite a Federal Communications Commission requirement earlier this year that cellular carriers provide maps disclosing coverage areas. McCoy’s ruling was dated Oct. 28 and released three days later by the Los Angeles Superior Court.
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10:24 AM
WASHINGTON -- The Agriculture Department has settled a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of 2,100 Asian and Pacific Islander workers who contended they were passed over, demoted or fired after they filed discrimination complaints.
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10:22 AM
WASHINGTON -- An appeals judge appeared to deal a blow to challengers of Microsoft's antitrust settlement on Tuesday, agreeing that the court had never required the software giant to make some of the major changes competitors sought on the Windows operating system. During arguments on the challenge by Massachusetts and two computer industry groups, Chief Judge Douglas Ginsburg said an earlier ruling by the court did not mean that Microsoft had to be held liable for commingling features like the Internet Explorer browser with Windows.
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10:20 AM
November 03, 2003
NEW YORK -- A U.S. judge on Friday approved a $1.4 billion settlement between financial regulators and 10 Wall Street firms accused of misleading investors with biased stock research. Judge William Pauley's approval finalizes a pact reached in April and makes official changes that affect research on thousands of U.S. stocks. The settlement came as a result of sweeping investigations into conflicts of interest on Wall Street by a group of regulators led by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who accused the brokerages of issuing biased research to attract investment banking business.
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10:59 AM
PASCAGOULA — A judge has refused to grant class-action status to a lawsuit against two insurance companies that plaintiffs say avoided paying millions of dollars in claims by imposing an unfair deductible right before Hurricane Georges hit the Gulf Coast. After a four-hour hearing on Friday, Jackson County Circuit Judge Robert Krebs ruled that he had no authority to grant class action status. "This is a case the Supreme Court should decide," Krebs said. Pascagoula attorney Richard Scruggs said Allstate and State Farm insurance companies in Jackson County caused unreasonable financial hardship to more than 13,000 coastal residents.
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10:58 AM
CHICAGO - An Illinois lawmaker has drawn up a bill that would bar Americans from suing restaurants or food manufacturers for obesity-related health problems -- at least in the state of Illinois, where McDonald's Corp. is headquartered. The Illinois Commonsense Consumption Bill would prevent people from seeking damages from food manufacturers, sellers or distributors for health problems related to weight gain or obesity in this state's civil courts. The bill's sponsor, Illinois Democrat John Fritchey, said the legislation is designed to put a stop to the type of "frivolous lawsuits" brought against fast food chains such as McDonald's Corp. Wendy's, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Burger King over the past two years.
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10:56 AM
CLEARFIELD, Pa. - An appeals court has stripped the class-action status from an age-discrimination lawsuit filed by a former inspector against the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The Commonwealth Court reversed a decision by Clearfield County President Judge John K. Reilly Jr., who granted class-action status to PennDot employees who were at least 40 as of March 1996 and believed that they had suffered adverse employment decisions because of their age. The panel said Oct. 15 that no evidence was presented to prove that age discrimination was a problem.
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10:55 AM
Burned by stock-market losses and questionable sales practices, record numbers of mutual-fund investors are taking their brokers to arbitration. The increase in investor disputes began even before a widening series of scandals began rocking the mutual-fund industry. In just the first nine months of this year, investors filed 1,399 claims involving mutual funds, according to the National Association of Securities Dealers. That's up from 1,249 claims for all of 2002 and just 543 in 2001. Many of the complaints involve such issues as whether brokers put an investor in unsuitable mutual funds or in share classes with high costs.
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10:52 AM
WorldCom won court approval yesterday for a reorganization plan that would allow it to emerge from the largest bankruptcy in history early next year. Now the company, the nation's second-largest long-distance phone company after AT&T, will turn its full attention to increasing its revenue and rebuilding its thin profit margins. The competitive climate in the industry is tough, and analysts say a wave of consolidation is likely, with WorldCom a possible acquisition target. "We're ready to move on," said Michael D. Capellas, the longtime computer executive who was brought in a year ago to be WorldCom's chief executive and to lead the rebuilding process.
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10:51 AM