February 03, 2004
Cigna HealthCare and representatives of more than 700,000 physicians, state and other medical societies said they received final judicial approval of the $1 billion September settlement agreement the two sides reached in a national, class action RICO lawsuit pending in federal court in Miami. The suit identified Cigna, as well as United Healthcare, Aetna, Coventry, Wellpoint, Humana Health Plan, Pacificare Health Systems and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield as co-conspirators who, attorneys said, dishonored contracts and defrauded doctors in violation of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO).
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05:34 AM
TRENTON, N.J. -- Doctors, lawyers and other professionals cannot be sued for false or misleading advertising under New Jersey's consumer fraud law, the state Supreme Court has ruled. The decision issued Monday overturns a ruling made in March 2003 by a state appellate court. It also throws out a class-action lawsuit filed against Dr. Joseph Dello Russo, a noted Bergenfield eye surgeon whose client list includes ABC newscaster Jack Ford and other celebrities.
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05:32 AM
TALLAHASSEE -- People who blame their supersize waist lines on too many Big Macs, Whoppers or biggie fries wouldn't be able to sue the fast food industry for their weight problems under a measure that won unanimous approval from a Florida House panel. The House Judiciary Committee was taking a pre-emptive move because no one is known to have won such a lawsuit in Florida. But people have sued in other states seeking to have the industry held liable for the weight-related health effects of their products.
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05:30 AM
Verizon Wireless customers, and some other current or former wireless users, stand to get small payments if a judge approves a class action settlement in a suit alleging questionable billing practices. "The plaintiffs claim that Verizon Wireless and the companies that eventually became Verizon Wireless did not properly disclose the conditions and limitations of your wireless service and that they breached contracts or other obligations by failing to provide service to you as promised, or billed you improperly," said a notice mailed to Verizon Wireless customers with their newest bill. "Verizon Wireless and these other companies deny those claims completely."
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05:29 AM
Courtroom antics by defense attorney Charles Monty Montgomery of Belton resulted in 266th Judicial District Court Judge Donald R. Jones finding the attorney in contempt of court and sentencing him to spend six hours in the Erath County Jail and a $500 fine. After Montgomery pleaded that he could not pay the fine and would need some medical supplies if he had to remain in jail until the fine was paid, Jones waived the fine.
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05:28 AM
LOUISVILLE - The nation's first class-action lawsuit over sex abuse by Roman Catholic priests is moving forward in Kentucky, with plaintiffs' lawyers expecting to represent as many as 500 people following a deadline today. The lawsuit, certified as a class action by a judge last October, was filed on behalf of alleged molestation victims in the Diocese of Covington since 1956. It claims the diocese mishandled claims against its clergymen.
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05:27 AM
February 02, 2004
Second Legal Action Against GM Alleging Engine Defects
A lawsuit seeking class-action status was filed against GM in November
2003 claiming that GM sold 800,000 trucks with defective engines.
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05:26 AM
CALGARY -- Canada's military ombudsman has agreed to help mediate a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of veterans used as human guinea pigs in chemical warfare tests during the Second World War. It's shameful the matter has gone unresolved for more than 50 years, he added. The statement of claim names the Department of National Defence, the National Research Council of Canada, the Attorney General and Veterans Affairs Canada. The civil action covers all soldiers used as test subjects at Canadian Forces Base Suffield in southern Alberta or in an Ottawa research lab. The lawsuit says that could be as many as 3,400 people, although Ottawa has put the number at 2,500.
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05:25 AM
The 1998 amendment of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 adding interlocutory appeals of class certification under new subsection (f) gave the federal courts of appeal a great deal of discretion in determining when review is appropriate. Most of the circuit courts have developed standards for review under Rule 23(f), or at least issued substantive opinions that give practitioners guidance on when they will accept such cases, according to attorney Paul C. Ziebert. In this article, Ziebert looks at the rulings in each circuit, starting with the initial interpretation of the rule in 1999 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
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05:24 AM