Recently in Product/Services Liability Category

When a hot isostatic press (HIP) exploded at Bodycote IMT, Inc's Andover, Mass. facility in 1998, the force of the explosion propelled huge metal pieces of the HIP -- the largest in the world when it was built in 1986 -- more than a quarter of a mile from the plant. Without the 19-foot, 140 ton HIP -- a large steel pressure vessel used to make metal components less porous through the application of both extremely high temperatures and pressure -- the plant was unable to run at full capacity for nearly two years. During that time, a new HIP was custom designed, built, and installed.

Day Pitney filed a complaint on Bodycote's behalf in Massachusetts Superior Court in May 2000 against a number of defendants, including the designer and seller of the vessel, the manufacturer of the steel used in its fabrication, and the water treatment company that had prescribed and sold the corrosion inhibitor used in the water that cooled the outside of the vessel. After several years of protracted discovery, including dozens of depositions, Bodycote resolved its claims against all but the water treatment company.

At trial, the Superior Court split the liability and damages portions. During the liability phase, the parties called multiple scientific experts in a variety of disciplines, including metallurgy, corrosion engineering, fracture mechanics, materials science, and microbiology. Bodycote's experts testified persuasively that the defendant's product had caused the vessel to pit, leading to microscopic cracks in the vessel wall that in turn grew and caused a catastrophic rupture. The liability portion of the trial lasted several weeks, after which the jury found for Bodycote on multiple theories, including breach of implied warranty and breach of contract. In the damages phase of the trial, the jury awarded Bodycote more than $18 million.

The defendant appealed, challenging several of the trial judge's instructions to the jury as well as certain of her evidentiary rulings. Rejecting each of the defendant's claims of error, the Appeals Court affirmed the lower court's decision last month. With interest, the total recovery exceeds $30 million.

Lawyers and support staff from Day Pitney's Boston and Hartford offices handled the case from beginning to end. Jim Rotondo and David Broughel tried the case. Jonathan Handler was heavily involved in discovery until the claims against the other defendants were resolved. Allan Taylor briefed and argued the appeal.

SOURCE Day Pitney LLP

Lawsuit Alleges that Drywall Emits Toxins Harmful to Humans and Property.

Jason and Melissa Harrell recently filed a class action lawsuit in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court on behalf of themselves and other homeowners who purchased defective homes. The Harrells allege that drywall installed in their new home, and those of their neighbors, emits destructive and harmful toxins and renders the homes unsafe and uninhabitable. The defective drywall was installed in the Harrell's home by the builder, South Kendall Construction Corp., and supplied by Banner Supply Company.

In January 2008, Jason and Melissa Harrell purchased their newly constructed home in Palm Isle Estates, a single family home community in Homestead, Fla. Shortly after moving in, the Harrells noticed foul odors in the home, their children began experiencing significant respiratory problems and Jason began suffering headaches. The Harrells also experienced problems with their air conditioning system, appliances, internal wiring and other electrical systems rendering them, in some cases, inoperable. Black soot appeared on the copper wiring in the home and in other places.

The Harrells repeatedly asked their builder to fix the problems, but it failed to correct them. The Harrells were forced to move out of their home and into a rental. With no resolution in sight, the Harrells turned to legal counsel. "The Harrell's thought they were buying their dream home," said Joey Givner, attorney for the Harrells. "Instead, they stepped into a nightmare." Several of the approximate 100 homeowners in the Palm Isles Estates have already relocated for similar reasons.

The lawsuit, brought by the law firms of Higer Lichter & Givner, The Blumstein Law Firm and Podhurst Orseck, alleges that the defective drywall emits toxins, including carbon disulfide, carbonyl sulfide and hydrogen sulfide. "These toxins pose serious health threats, including headaches, respiratory ailments and other health problems. They also corrode various metals within the structure of the homes and disrupt with the operation of electronic equipment," said attorney Mark Blumstein. "People buy homes for shelter and protection; not homes that make them sick."

According to the lawsuit, South Kendall Construction Corp. purchased this defective Chinese drywall from suppliers including Banner, a Miami-based company who supplied the drywall for the construction of the homes. It is believed that the manufacturer of the drywall exported approximately 67.3 million pounds of Chinese-made drywall into the United States, which is enough to build up to 7,500 average-size single-family homes. "There are many others experiencing the same problems as the Harrells," said attorney David Lichter. "Unfortunately, sometimes the only way to get companies to do the right thing is to sue them. The Harrells want a safe house, not a sick house."

A special phone line has been set up for those seeking information on the issue 305-356-7549.

SOURCE The Blumstein Law Firm

Nearly three years after the Japanese government refused to prosecute Toyota executives for concealing a steering rod relay defect until after a horrific accident occurred in Japan, O'Reilly & Danko has filed a Complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of the late Levi Stewart's parents. Levi Stewart died on September 15, 2007 when his Toyota truck's steering relay rod snapped and he crashed, due to the total loss of steering control. Levi was killed, and his friends were seriously injured.

The Stewarts contend that Toyota should have issued the recall in the mid-1990s when Toyota first learned that steering rod relays were snapping, causing injuries and accidents due to the loss of steering. Had the Toyota executives issued the recall then, the Stewarts believe that Levi Stewart would be alive today. The Stewarts never received notice of either the Japanese or the later U.S. recall.

In 2004, local police in Komamoto, Japan investigated a frightening accident when the steering relay rod in a Toyota Hilux Surf (4-Runner) snapped, causing it to cross a median and strike another vehicle head-on. The police learned that Toyota executives had known since the mid 1990s that the steering rods were defective, but had refused to issue a recall then. Only after the media storm from Komamoto did Toyota issue a recall, but only in Japan, and not any other country in which their vehicles were sold.

Toyota knew that it had installed this same part, the defective steering relay rod, into nearly 1 million vehicles in the United States. In 2004, Toyota told the U.S. government it "had received field information from the Japanese market but no similar information from the U.S. Market had been received." This was untrue. O'Reilly & Danko's investigation has uncovered multiple accidents caused by the defective relay rods, which had been reported to Toyota or their dealers before the Japanese recall. The lawsuit alleges that Toyota, in fact, had notice of steering rods failing in the United States, when they told NHTSA otherwise. O'Reilly & Danko's investigation continues at www.ToyotaSteeringRecall.com.

Toyota eventually issued a recall in the United States in 2005, but due to the lackadaisical effort by Toyota only approximately 32% of the trucks were repaired after a year and a half. The generally accepted pass/fail rate for automotive recalls is 70%. "32% may be acceptable for the Red Sox lead off hitter. For an automotive recall where drivers can lose steering, it's an utter failure," said their attorney, John P. Kristensen of O'Reilly & Danko.

SOURCE O'Reilly & Danko

Park West Gallery, Southfield, Michigan, is slamming claims made by the website Fine Art Registry, that it sold some of its customers counterfeit artwork. Responding to a lawsuit filed earlier this year in Oakland County Circuit Court by Park West customers recruited by FAR, the gallery has filed a counterclaim against FAR, its founder Theresa Franks and Frank Hunter, operator of another website apart from the five plaintiffs of the earlier lawsuit, charging them with defamation, tortuous interference and civil conspiracy.

Park West is seeking a permanent injunction against these individuals and FAR as well as punitive damages.

To read more about the case click here.

An art gallery in Southfield, Michigan has been accused of swindling its customers by allegedly selling them $594,000 in forged signed lithographs and other artwork. Some art collectors have claimed that the expensive artwork they purchased from the gallery were nothing more than 'glorified posters'.
Park West Galleries bills itself as one of the world's largest private art galleries.
According to an Oakland Circuit Court document, most of the art under contention was bought by self-professed 'unsophisticated collectors' during an art-at-sea auction on a cruise ship.
Park West which boasts of an annual revenue of $300 million, has denied these allegations.    
To read more about the case click here.

Target Corporation has become engaged in a class action lawsuit filed in St. Claire County, Madison, Illinois, over the marketing of its 'Immunity Supplement' product. The lawsuit alleges that Target mislead the public when marketing its product.
Brian Buehlhorn, a resident of St Claire and one of the class plaintiffs alleges that the retailer misled the public into believing that the immunity supplement product, protected users from airborne viruses, is a form of immune system defense and that it decreased a person's likelihood of getting sick. He further claims that Target's 'unfair and deceptive' tactics caused substantial damage to the class and him.
To read more about the case click here.

We have all heard about punitive damaged being awarded in civil cases. In a malpractice lawsuit against a physician however, juries rarely award punitive damages to a plaintiff. Such claims are not covered under traditional medical liability insurance. So a verdict for punitive damages would mean that the physician has to pay the amount from his own resources.
That is exactly what unfortunately befell New Jersey rheumatologist, Robert A.Fogari. A Hudson County jury unanimously handed out a $400,000 award against him in October last year for his alleged refusal to pay for a sign language interpreter for a patient who is hearing impaired. Half of the amount has been awarded to the plaintiff as punitive damages.
This verdict is amongst the largest of its kinds and has got physicians worrying about it being an indicator of a trend.
Fogari's was treating Irma Gerena for lupus since the beginning of May 2004. Gerena alleges that on more than one occasion she requested Dr Fogari to provide her with a sign language interpreter which she further claims he refused.
Dr Fogari's argument was that the cost of an interpreter was one that he, as a solo physician, was unable to afford (the estimated cost for this service is around $150 to $200 per visit). Besides, Medicare only reimbursed him with $49 per visit. To compensate for the lack of an interpreter, Dr Fogari claims that he exchanged written notes with Gerena with the help of her family members.  
Gerena has not claimed medical negligence. Her only allegation is, that because of the lack of an interpreter, she never fully understood the diagnosis, treatment or prognosis for her illness. Thus, she claims, she was not able to fully participate in her medical treatment.
To read more about the case click here.

A rare malpractice lawsuit has been filed against two Broward County doctors allowing punitive damages. Normally, patients who file malpractice cases are allowed to seek only compensatory damages covering medical expenses, lost pay and pain and suffering. However, in this case, the judge allowed punitive damages meaning that the conduct of the doctors was above and beyond the normal malpractice warranting the payment of damages as a punitive measure.
Thomas Glasson, a former lawyer, claims his plastic surgeon lied to him about his role in the surgery. His surgeon, Hollywood Fla. Plastic surgeon Jonathan Weiser, failed to inform Glasson about his peripheral role in his surgery which was performed by Pembroke Pines, Fla. Surgeon Jason Frost. Glasson alleges that the surgery was being performed to remove a small growth under his enlarged breasts but the surgeon completely removed both his breasts, leaving his chest disfigured. Glasson further alleges that Weiser, who was supposed to work with Frost on the surgery, to provide an 'acceptable cosmetic result', did not participate in the surgery at all. However, he billed Glasson's insurance company for performing the surgery with Frost.
Attorney Spencer Aronfeld of Aronfeld & Associates of Coral Gables, Fla., who represents Glasson, stated that Weiser altered hospital records as well as his office records in order to hide his misconduct. Aronfeld also stated that Weiser destroyed his hard drive with Glasson's records.
In his complaint, Glasson stated that he would not have agreed to the surgery if he knew that only Frost would be performing it.
To read more about the case click here.

Thousands of hurricane victims, who had filed a lawsuit seeking damages for their alleged exposure to a toxic chemical while living in emergency housing provided by the federal government, have been denied class action status by a federal judge.
The emergency housing began to be provided to victims after violent Gulf Coast storms in 2005.
Victims of Katrina and Rida, from Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas have filed hundreds of lawsuits over the past three years against the federal government and several manufacturers of these housing trailers.
Allegedly, the trailers contain an excessive amount of formaldehyde that has caused its residents to fall sick. The chemical is permitted by law in limited quantities as a preservatice on plywood and other building materials. However, the victims allege that the levels of formaldehyde used for the mobile homes were unhealthy.
The federal court attempted to consolidate the cases in one court last year.This was the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. This was done since several of the cases had common issues.
In October, attorneyss representing the plaintiffs filed motions seeking class action status. That would have resulted in a single trial to settle all the cases. However, in Monday's judgement, Judge Kurt Englehardt refused to allow class action status since the number of plaintiffs and multiple defendants as well as the varying state laws made the cases impossible to consolidate.
To read more about the case click here.

 

Allstate insurance company recently filed a lawsuit against Haranath Policherla M.D. P.C. d/b/a Pointe Neurology, Advanced Neuro-Rehab services based in Michigan, as well as against Dr. Haranath Policherla, seeking the return of money paid by them against insurance claims for services rendered by the institution.
The insurance corporation alleged that the individuals and entities of the institution were involved in the fabrication of medical procedures and diagnoses for the sole purpose of charging their patients money that would in turn be paid by their insurance companies. They also alleged that the institution billed patients for services not rendered, that they gave unnecessary referral for medical services and that they related non-existent medical symptoms to motor vehicle accidents.
Allstate seeks damages in excess of $25,000 to reimburse the money they have spent in funding false claims.

Philip Morris, America's largest cigarette company, has declared itself a civil rights victim. Comparing itself to the NAACP, the cigarette company took this stance to win a case against an elderly African- American woman, Mayola Williams, whose husband died from lung cancer in 1997 after smoking three packs of Marlboros a day for more than 40 years.
To read all the details of the article click here.

Pic courtesy Hanine. J from flickr.com

More than five companies, who produce drugs to combat symptoms of menopause, have decided to reach settlements with angry patients, who claim that their products cause cancer.
Bristol- Myers Squibb Co. and Solvay SA are amongst the seven companies whose drugs, Estrace and Estratest respectively, have landed them in a lawsuit with over 1,000 women who contend that the drugs caused them to develop breast cancer.
These estrogen- based drugs offer hormone replacement treatment for women with menopause to alleviate symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats and mood swings.
A 2002 study linked the use of these drugs with the prevalence of breast cancer amongst women certain age.
Zoe Littlepage, a Houston based attorney representing some of the women, stated that the trial did not include Wyeth and Pfizer Inc., the two largest manufacturers of HRT drugs. Bristol- Myers and Solvay face the most claims over their HRT drugs, more so than Wyeth or Pfizer.
The trial which has been going on for three months will be presided over by judge William Wilson of the U.S. District Court.

Eight years after a tragic gym accident left a young man wheelchair bound he is finally getting some justice. In 2001, Harold Leon Bostick, a native of Pennsylvania, became a quadriplegic when weightlifting equipment crashed onto his neck. After a long fight for justice, Bostick was finally awarded $18.6 million in damages recently.
This hard fought victory does not console the 39 year old who longs to return to the life he had before the accident.
A former marine who holds degrees in chemical engineering, business and law, Bostick suffered from temporary amnesia after his accident at Gold's Gym in Venice. The accident, caused by a Flex Equipment Co. Smith machine, took place because the safety stops weren't installed on the machine.
After this, Bostick sued Flex and Gold's Gym. He settled with Flex and its insurer, Atlantic Mutual for $1 million. However, Atlantic Mutual never responded to Bostick's offer. Later a Superior Court jury found Flex liable and awarded Bostick more than $14.6 million. Peeved at having to pay a such a large amount when they could have settled for less, Flex then gave Bostick permission to sue Atlantic Mutual for bad faith for refusing to settle earlier in the case. Gold's Gym settled with Bostick for $7.3 million.
Last week, after seven years of litigation, a U.S. district Court jury ordered the insurance company to make a payout of $11.3 million.
To read the complete article by Joanna Lin on the Los Angeles Times website, click here.

Pic courtesy pbo31/ Patrick Boury from flickr.com

Acne medication Accutane manufactured by pharmaceutical maker, Hoffman- La Roche has put the company in trouble yet again. Three Florida based residents who used the medication as teenagers developed acute long term Inflamatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The plaintiffs, represented jointly by law firms Hook Bolton, Seeger Weiss and Beggs & Lane, alleged that the manufacturer failed to provide adequate warning of the possible condition to the three patients who developed IBD as soon as they began using the product in their teens.
An eight person jury in Atlantic City found the pharmaceutical company guilty and awarded compensatory damages of $12.8 million to be divided between the three individuals.
This trial, which lasted five weeks, is one of several that links the use of Accutane to IBD. Nutley, NJ based Roche is fighting cases all over the country over allegations that Accutane was a cause of severe bowel maladies.
Kelly Mace, 25, of Pensacola, along with Jordan Speisman, 27, of Gainesville and Lance Sager, 28, of Ft Lauderdale were prescribed the drug nearly a decade ago to relieve adolescent acne. All three succumbed to various forms of IBD as a result of which, Mr Speisman will undergo a surgical removal of his colon while all three of them face an elevated rick of colon cancer in the future.
To read a complete account of the negligence of the pharmaceutical company that was forewarned about the dangers of the medication, click here.

A Clearwater, Florida, based Company which was accused of defraudeding the owner of a crane company in Illinois lost its trial on Tuesday when a six- member jury ruled against it for taking a prepayment for a crane lease without giving anything in return.
This complaint is one of several against Global Funding LLC by angry customers. Some of these complaints are under investigation by four government agencies.
Marty Vogel, whose owns a business called 'The Crane Guy', stated that after he sent Global Funding a check for $4,183.46, the company stopped taking his calls and never returned his money. Managing Member of Global Funding, Jeffrey Maricle on the other hand, stated that his wife faxed and e-mailed Vogel after he signed a contract proposal and sent money, but Vogel failed to supply credit information needed to underwrite a lease.
The Florida Attorney General's Office is currently investigating at least 45 complaints made by other customers who claim that the company failed to return advance payments when equipment lease deals turned sour.
Marcile says he was simply following standards set by the industry when he kept some or all of his customer's advance payments for leases that were never carried out because the customers did not keep their side of the bargain. His company shut down at the end of October this year as lending sources dried up with the slump in the economy.
After deliberating for an hour, the jury found Global Funding LLC guilty of breach of contract, breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing and fraud.

The Mississippi Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit filed against General Motors by a Marion County couple as they had waited too long to sue for breach of warranty.
Hilda Forbes and her husband had bought a 1992 Oldsmobile that was supposed to be equipped with airbags. However, when they had an accident in 1997 the air bags failed to function as the company had represented they would. As a result of this, Hilda Forbes was injured in the accident. The couple sued GM in 2000 which the Supreme Court said was already too late as, when they had bought their vehicle in 1991 or 1992, the six- year clock had already began ticking on any breach of warranty claim.

Clow Valve recently filed a civil conspiracy and fraud lawsuit against Chevron USA, Diamond Oil Company and Oskaloosa Gas and Oil. Attorneys representing Clow asked for punitive damages while the defense attorneys asked for a direct verdict from the judge. Neither request was granted as the jury returned to listen to the first witness’ statement this week.
Clow is seeking punitive damages for four misrepresentations by Chevron on whose advice they discontinued the use of a Mystik food- grade grease and began using Chevron food machinery (FM) extreme pressure grease which is aso a food- grade grease. Later, Dr. Carl Ward who invented Chevron FM grease stated that food grade greases did not perform as well as conventional greases in terms of corrosion. According to Clow’s lawyers, this created a very dangerous situation for the company owing to which their being awarded punitive damages was warranted.
Chevron’s attorney conceded that if the company had prior knowledge that their grease caused corrosion and still went to Clow with it, then that would warrant punitive damages.

A southern California resident who is suffering from cancer was pushed into filing a Lemon Law lawsuit against Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation, a Delaware corporation based in South Carolina after their negligent and insensitive behaviour over the repair of a motor home purchased by him. Doug Sohn, a Lemon law attorney who represents the man and his wife in the case alleges that the $200,000 motor home had defective brakes that caused the couple to have an accident on their very first trip apart from which it also had defective slide- outs and lever jacks. After the accident, the vehicle sat at the Freightliner repair facility for two months while the brakes were being repaired without any repairs being done to the front of the vehicle which had been damaged during the accident.
California's Lemon Law is a consumer protection law that attempts to encourage manufacturers to resolve cases early to avoid paying a civil penalty (similar to punitive damages) which they have to in case it is proven that they deliberately refused to comply with the law. The couple stated that before they even hired an attorney, they tried to convince Freightliner to obey the law. The corporation refused, forcing them to file suit. Owing to Freightliner's deliberate refusal to repurchase the RV, California law will require them buy it back and to pay a civil penalty of up to $400,000.

Italian multinational, dairy and food corporation, Parmalat, initiated a trial five months ago against Citigroup Inc. which backfired. A New Jersey jury verdict stated that Parmalat had defrauded Citigroup and awarded the bank $364.2 million in damages.
The trial was initiated by Parmalat’s new management who claimed that Citigroup bankers had aided corrupt officials of the disgraced corporation in masking the 4 billion Euro gap in the accounts that led to the collapse of the corporation in 2003. For this they claimed $2 billion in damages.
The verdict comes at a bad time for the corporation as it pursues two other similar claims against Bank of America and Grant Thornton, the accounting firm, at a Manhattan court set to begin sometime next year. In addition to this, Parmalat shares plunged after the verdict.

Pic courtesy Goatopolis from flickr.com

A class action suit filed by 150 claimants in Madison County claims that they were unaware of the dangers of asbestos exposure because of false and misleading information provided.

The case, against Metropolitan Insurance Co. and John Crane, says that false and misleading reports were published in order to maintain a favorable atmosphere for the continued sale, use and distribution of asbestos.

Parke-Davis division’s illegal and fraudulent use and promotion of an unapproved drug, manufactured by an American pharmaceutical company, Warner-Lambert has led this American company to plead guilty and pay civil and criminal damages amounting to a huge sum of approximately $ 430 million.
Read the article by the department of justice here.

AOL is facing a lawsuit filed in a District Court in Oakland, California by three  subscribers who suddenly found records of their Internet searches widely distributed online. They are suing the company under privacy laws and are seeking an end to its retention of search-related data, an Associated Press report said.

This is believed to be the first lawsuit in the wake of AOL's intentional release of some 19 million search requests made over a three-month period by more than 650,000 subscribers, including the three plaintiffs, two unnamed Californians and Kasadore Ramkissoon of Richmond County, New York.

The lawsuit seeks class-action status and does not specify the amount of damages being sought.

AOL has apologized for the release, and fired a researcher, while their chief technology officer had resigned over this issue.

Read

In a viral marketing initiative, Starbucks sent an email to its employees with a coupon for a free 'grande' iced drink, suggesting that they forward it to 'friends and family'.

But when they noticed how many people were showing up claiming their free drinks, they quickly pulled the offer, a month before it was originally due to expire.

They are now facing a lawsuit for 'betrayal' and 'fraud' and claims of $114million.

Peter Sullivan, a New York attorney, has launched a class-action suit against the company on behalf of all the people denied a free drink. However, currently the only plaintiff actually involved is a paralegal named Kelly Coakley.

Read

A lawsuit was filed in federal court in Boston against the marketing services company Webloyalty.com for consumer fraud. The suit alleges that Webloyalty charged unwitting customers of major online retailers for memberships in a discount program that had no real benefits.

The suit relates to a program in which the Norwalk, Conn.-based Webloyalty.com used a popup window offering discount coupons on future purchases. This window then collected credit card information from companies whose consumers entered their e-mail addresses for the coupons.

Webloyalty billed the consumers for monthly membership fees of $9 or $10 for which they got no benefit, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit claims Webloyalty kept the fees and paid its retailer clients a fee for each customer who "signed up" for the discount membership.

Consumers were unaware they were being charged, as emails that informed consumers that they would have to cancel the program within 30 days if they wanted to avoid a monthly charge were usually ignored as spam, or shut out by spam blockers, the suit alleges.

"The lawsuit is frivolous. It completely misrepresents the manner in which Webloyalty.com conducts its business," Rick Fernandes, the company's founder and chief executive said in a statement. "We intend to vigorously defend ourselves and expect to prevail."

The consumers were customers of such companies as Staples.com, Petco.com, Priceline.com, and FTD.com, the lawsuit says.

Read

A Superior Court jury awarded the wife and son of a police officer who died after being  shot at while on duty, $3.6 million in damages. Of this $ 2.5 million is to be paid by two companies who manufactured the bullet-resistant vest that the officer, Tony Zeppetella was wearing. The felon who shot Zeppetella is liable for the remaining part of the damages, the jury ruled.

Officer Zeppetella was shot by Adrian Camacho, a prison parolee who had drugs in his car and wanted to avoid returning to prison.

A wrongful death suit was filed by Zeppetella's wife and son against Second Chance Body Armor, Inc. and Toyobo Co. Ltd, manufacturers of the protective vest that allowed one of the 13 bullets fired at him to penetrate his chest. The suit claimed that the companies were aware that the vest's ability to stop bullets deteriorated with exposure to heat, humidity and light, and the companies did not let their customers know.

Read

An South Carolina based defense contractor that makes armored vehicles for the Pentagon has agreed to pay the government $1.8 million to resolve allegations brought in a whistleblower lawsuit.

The case was filed in U.S. District Court in South Carolina by Justin Lucey, an attorney, on behalf of two former employees of Force Protection, Perry Chomyn and Robin Swain. The suit claimed the company "failed to advance payments to expedite production of armored vehicles for the U.S. military".

The company, whose vehicles are used in Afghanistan and Iraq to find and remove bombs, denied any wrongdoing.

The two former employees "will receive $315,000 as their share of the proceeds of the settlement" and got "an additional $105,000 in attorney fees and settlement of their employment-related claims," a statement said.

Company vice president Mike Aldrich told the press that the company agreed to the settlement over an accounting technicality.

The lawsuit claimed the company used advance payment "for purposes other than that to which the United States government had intended."

The company said the error essentially amounted to depositing the payment into the wrong bank account.

Read

Coca-Cola Co., the world's largest soft-drink maker, has been added to a lawsuit filed by lawyers against soft drink makers. The lawsuit claims that the drinks contain a high level of the leukemia-causing chemical benzene.

Coca-Cola and closely held Sunny Delight were added yesterday to a lawsuit targeting PepsiCo Inc.'s Diet Wild Cherry drink and Kraft Foods Inc.'s Crystal Light Sunrise Classic Orange.

A laboratory contracted by the plaintiffs' lawyers found Vault Zero, after being exposed to heat, contained 13 parts per billion of benzene. The Environmental Protection Agency requires that water have less than 5 parts per billion.

Levels of more than 10 parts per billion have previously led to product recalls of Perrier water and Coca-Cola.

Two other drink makers, Austell, Ga.-based In Zone Brands, maker of BellyWashers, and Preston, Wash.-based TalkingRain Beverage Co., settled a District of Columbia-based case yesterday.

The Food and Drug Administration has "closely reviewed" beverages for benzene in soft drinks in the past and has found no public health problems, Ray Crockett, a spokesman for Atlanta-based Coca-Cola, said in an e-mail.

The lawsuits were triggered by the results of tests conducted by the FDA that showed that some drinks contained high levels of benzene.

Read

A judge ruled in favor of the city of Lubbock, Texas in a lawsuit filed by about 70 families over lost or misidentified graves at the Lubbock Cemetery.

In 2004 many families came forward saying as many as 4,000 graves could be missing. 97% of those burial sites were later traced to the Peaceful Gardens Cemetery in Woodrow.

Still, around 70 families sued the city for negligence and poor record keeping. Now Judge Medina's ruling  stops the suit against the city, and prevents any damages from being awarded to the families claiming wrong doing at the cemetery.

Judge Medina says his decision is based on the law set in 1970, which gives all government entities immunity, meaning they're free from most situations of blame.

The city also claims that they're not responsible mishandling before they took ownership of the cemetery. "Almost all of these allegations were when the cemetery was owned by other entities, not the City of Lubbock," said Jeff Hartsell, the attorney for the City of Lubbock.

Read

Graceland Memorial Park South, a Miami cemetery, is facing a class action lawsuit against it for oversights, improper handling, misplacement and the disturbance of thousands of graves. The lawsuit was filed by attorneys Ervin A. Gonzalez and Neil Hirschfield, on behalf of Alicia Garcia and the class.

The allegations against the cemetery included numerous cases of lost bodies, grave desecration, misidentification of graves and insufficient burial spacing. In addition, cemetery staff allegedly disturbed many burials with heavy equipment and probed graves with metal rods on a routine basis, without the permission of the deceased's family members.

This was based on the experience of Alicia Garcia, who had purchased a burial plot for her sister, Eloisa Garcia in 1986. Alicia Garcia was allegedly assured by the funeral home that the location of her sister's burial would be accurately recorded and the family would always be able to find the grave.

According to the lawsuit, Graceland has no accurate maps or records of the section of the cemetery where Eloisa was buried. In an attempt to locate Eloisa's remains, cemetery staff conducted an extensive search in an area adjacent to where they believed she was located. They uncovered multiple graves with heavy equipment and probed various burials with metal rods. After desecrating multiple graves, Graceland staff removed the lid of the vault that they assumed contained Eloisa's remains.

These probes were conducted without the permission or consent of any family member.

According to the State of Florida Department of Banking and Finance, Division of Finance, this is not the first instance of complaints against the cemetery. Findings from examinations of the cemetery between 1993 and 2001 cite numerous occurrences of inconsistent burial records and misidentification of graves. Although fined by the State, the problem was never corrected, and the cemetery has no intention of remedying the situation without court intervention.

The Garcias and the class are now seeking monetary damages for mental anguish, infliction of emotional distress and gross negligence. They also want an injunction requiring Graceland to locate the burials and take remedial action to ascertain the location of the subject remains and to ensure their proper identification and perpetual care.

A state appeals court said a Milwaukee area wedding photographer who held a couple's photos hostage until they paid more money owes them additional damages.

The First District court ruled Tuesday Mark Roob must pay John and Melanie Buellesbach $22,000 in addition to $15,000 a judge awarded after a bench trial in a civil case in 2004.

The New Berlin couple was married nine years ago. The court said the couple should have to wait no longer to be compensated for the photographer's misconduct.

Judge Ted Wedemeyer wrote that, "Roob's conduct was willful and outrageous."

The photographer was found guilty of fraud and unfair trade practice, and sentenced to three years in prison.

A second proposed class-action lawsuit has been filed against Microsoft Corp. over Windows Genuine Advantage, on behalf of two Washington businesses and three Seattle-area residents. The lawsuit alleges that the company's anti-piracy tool qualifies as spyware.

The latest suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle, raises issues that include the way a test version of the tool checked in daily with Microsoft's servers. The company says that this practice has now ended.

The suit  also challenges the company's method of distributing the tool as part of its Automatic Updates system, more commonly used for security patches. Many of the claims in the second suit are similar to those in the first, which Microsoft has called baseless.

The company says the purpose of the Windows Genuine Advantage tool is to inform people when they are running unlicensed versions of the Windows PC operating system.

Read our post about the first WGA lawsuit.

Read

Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) antipiracy tool is at the center a class action lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Monday.

The WGA program collects hardware and software data from the user's system and delivers it to Microsoft servers. This information is then used to warn of possible piracy violations.

The lawsuit alleges the program violates consumer protection laws in California and Washington state, and laws against spyware, invasive programs that surreptitiously collect data.

The suit contends that Microsoft misled users in delivering WGA to computers, masking it under batches of monthly updates that often include critical security patches. It asks Microsoft to delete all data collected by WGA and provide users with the ability to remove the software from their computers, in addition to damages.

"In truth and in fact, Microsoft, in its efforts to maximize revenue through antipiracy measures, misled consumers and the public as to the true nature, functionality and operation of its WGA," the suit said.

In response to user complaints, Microsoft released a new version of WGA this week allowing people to opt out of notifications. The update also changes the frequency with which the program contacts Microsoft to check the validity of Windows.

Read

Yahoo will pay roughly $5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by Checkmate Strategic Group that alleged that the search engine provided insufficient protection against click fraud. The settlement will offset Checkmate's legal fees and Yahoo also promises to revisit its advertising terms.

Click fraud is a phenomenon in which individuals use scripts or manually click on pay-per-click advertisements for financial gain. Yahoo currently offers a 60 review period in which advertisers can challenge clicks.

The search engine will now offer advertisers a one-time extension to the claim period, allowing them to request a review of clicks dating back to January 2004. They will receive full credit for clicks that have been incorrectly invoiced.

The company also promised to appoint a traffic quality advocate, provide access to its Clickthrough Protection system and set up a Traffic Quality Resource Centre where advertisers are offered additional information.

Last March, Google paid $90m to settle a click fraud case from Lane's Gifts and Collectibles. As part of the settlement, Google dropped a 60 day deadline for filing click fraud reports.

BART has sued GE Transportation Systems to recover the $ 80 million it spent on an automated train control system that will not work. The system was supposed to revolutionize the way trains are controlled and move trains closer and faster using wireless technology.

The goal of the project was to run 30 trains through the Transbay Tube in San Francisco each hour instead of the current 24, meaning an additional 6,000 riders per hour could be squeezed through the underwater tunnel. BART had hailed the technology as a way to increase capacity through electronics, rather than physically building new tracks or a new tunnel.

However serious problems that emerged with the project resulted in BART spending $80 million on contracts, equipment and software which may be unusable.

The lawsuit seeks to recover the $80 million BART has spent so far, as well as the software codes it says GE has developed for the system.

Read

California and 10 local prosecutors have reached a $1 million settlement with diet-pill maker Nutraquest Inc., manufacturer of the best-selling diet pill, Xenadrine RFA-1. The lawsuit accused the company of using deceptive techniques to sell weight-loss products that contained ephedra.

Nutraquest had claimed that the drug was "clinically proven to increase fat-loss by an unprecedented 1,700 percent," and is "the only diet supplement in the world clinically proven to increase fat loss by an extraordinary 38.6 times more than diet and exercise alone."

The Food and Drug Administration banned ephedra in April 2004 after it was linked to dozens of deaths and thousands of reports of health problems such as heart attack or increased blood pressure. Nutraquest filed for bankruptcy protection in 2003 after a flood of lawsuits claiming the ephedra in Xenadrine caused medical problems, including at least one death.

As part of the settlement announced Thursday, Nutraquest president Robert Chinery has to pay $600,000 in civil penalties and $400,000 in costs.

Read

A class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of Greater New Orleans Metropolitan Area homeowners insurance policyholders who have been denied insurance coverage for losses caused by Hurricane Katrina, the law firm of Anderson Kill & Olick P.C. announced.  The lawsuit has been brought against fifteen insurance companies that sold All-Risk homeowners insurance policies to Louisiana residents.

The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages for the companies' conduct designed to avoid payment of claims to policyholders who suffered residential and other property losses caused by the Hurricane.  The policyholders' claim that the insurers had not specifically excluded  hurricane damage or  levees failure in the policies that they sold in the New Orleans area. 

The suit alleges wrongful acts by the insurance companies, such as a directive that  adjusters arbitrarily apply any nearby waterline and ignore  other evidence in order to deny full payment of claims under applicable "flood" exclusions. The insurers also equate windstorm, storm surge and the negligent design, construction and maintenance of New Orleans area levees with "flooding" to exclude coverage.

Read

Anne Majerik, 60, enlisted the services of a Beverly Hills matchmaker, Orly Hadida, reputed to be "the world's priciest matchmaker" and paid her $125,000 to meet with wealthy, cultured men. She was disappointed when all she got were a few introductions to some inappropriate men, and sued Orly. A jury has awarded Majerik $ 2.1 million compensation.

Orly argued that Majerik is a serial suer of matchmakers. She said that the widow used her and the men Orly introduced her to, enjoyed herself and then claimed that she had been "psychologically damaged by the process" and demanded compensation.

Read

Donald and Bridget Watkins have been awarded almost $13 million in damages for their part in a class action suit in which they are the lead plaintiffs against State Farm, an insurer. The jury found that the insurer had intentionally acted maliciously by employing Haag Engineering and its independent adjusters from E.A. Renfro Co. to assess the damage caused to homes by a tornado which swept through Oklahoma in 1999. A spokesman for the company said that it was disappointed with the verdict and that it would appeal against it.

The case brings up issues of corporate accountability and as Jeff Marr, who represented the plaintiffs pointed out, Oklahomans' willingness 'to put an end to corporate arrogance'.

Read

All those who have a Google AdWords account or purchased Google advertising through an ad agency are eligible to submit a claim form for their share of a court-approved settlement.  This would amount to some share of the $ 60 million that would remain after the lawyers take out their share, as authorized by the court.

Advertisers who fail to file a claim during the period of June 19, 2006, to August 4, 2006 will  be included in the class but their claim will be forfeited.  They would also be unable to participate in any later settlement.

Claimants also have the option of excluding themselves by following the instructions on the settlement site. This will leave them with the option of participating in a later lawsuit. However, they may miss the opportunity if no secondary class action suits arises.

The third option for advertisers is - they could write to the court and parties about why the settlement is not fair. Read my posting on May 10, 2006 about an advertiser who has done that.

Read this link to know your various options and their implications.

An arbitrator has certified a class action against Ryland Homes, for plaintiffs who claim serious leakage issues during summer storms. Estimates to fix the leaks are expensive and Ryland's efforts to address the leakage problems are unsatisfactory, the plaintiffs say.

Read

Owners of Teflon coated cookware in 20 states and the District of Columbia have joined a lawsuit against DuPont Co. for health risks from the use of nonstick products. The lawsuit alleges that the company failed to disclose possible health risks while knowing that Teflon could release chemicals that could become toxic when heated at high temperatures during cooking. It also claims DuPont misled the government and consumers for years about the safety of Teflon.

The lawsuit seeks class-action status, and asks for details of substances used to manufacture Teflon, substances that may be emitted on heating, and a list of tests and experiments to determine possible emission.

Read

Kimberly Kay Jackson visited a Fort Worth Salon, Angel Nails, for a pedicure last July, when her foot was cut with a pumice stone. She developed an infection that did not heal despite medication.  She died in February of a heart attack triggered by a staph infection. Now her children are suing the salon, Angel Nails and its owner for unspecified damages.  The lawsuit alleges that the salon did not follow state regulations for disinfecting the whirlpool and instruments.

Read

A former Google advertiser, Joseph Kinney, is suing  to block a proposed $ 90 million class-action settlement in the click-fraud case. In his complaint Kinney claims that the proposed  amount grossly understates how much the online search engine leader has benefited from the scam.

The class action suit alleged that Google and its advertising partners have improperly profited from click fraud.  This fraud resulted in merchants being billed for traffic generated by  repeated clicks on Web links by non-genuine viewers.

Read