Legal Radar

Jury Believes Starbucks Not Responsible for Police Coffee Spill

A police officer from Raleigh who spilled a Starbucks coffee on his lap couldn’t convince the jury of North Carolina that the coffee firm should be liable for the incident.

Lieutenant Matt Kohr, sought as much as $750,000 from Starbucks, but in the end, the jury made a 10-2 decision that prompted Starbucks to pay him nothing.

Kohr mentioned that lid of his coffee popped off and the cup collapsed on his lap. The incident triggered severe stress and activated his Crohn’s disease, which led to the surgical removal of his intestine.

In last week’s testimony, Kohr mentioned to the jurors of him driving home to take snapshots of the injury prior to visiting an urgent care medical facility. He said he left the coffee branch in his police vehicle, retrieved his pickup from the precinct, drove back home, and had his wife take photos of burns on his thigh.

A lawyer for Starbucks, clearly indicated that it wasn’t until a couple hours later that Kohr sought medical treatment.

Chefs Encouraging Capitol Hill on Genetically Modified Food Labelling

Some of the country’s well known chefs are leaving the kitchen and making their way to Capitol Hill this week to push for labels on genetically modified foods.

The battle on genetically modified labels pushed food firms to go against organic farmers and food consumer groups. This time around, some of the most respected chefs in the country are throwing their support to mandate food labels.

Anthony Colicchio will be one of the many chefs who plan on delivering a petition to lawmakers this week signed by hundreds of culinary chefs.

Food companies, who may face the likelihood of consumers snubbing their products consisting of modified ingredients, have fought off food labelling mandates.

Restaurant owners are hoping to discuss requirements of food labelling as the House of Agriculture Committee  are gearing up to look in a bill that prohibits attempts to require labels on foods that are genetically modified. The bill, which was brought over by R. Kan Rep. Mike Pompeop, will ruin the progress behind states that require labelling on genetically modified foods.

Gerber Accused of Deceiving Parents on Baby Formula

The federal government is accusing America’s largest baby food maker of misleading parents on the health advantages of one of its baby formula products.

In a recent complaint this week, the Federal Trade Commission blamed Gerber Products Co. for not providing concrete evidence that the Good Start Gentle Formula can minimize or curb allergy risks in babies with a family history of allergies.

Gerber shot down claims of making false advertisements on its product, saying their claims are backed with extensive clinical research.

Good Start Gentle was produced with partially hydrolyzed whey proteins that are simple to digest compared to other baby formula utilizing cow’s milk protein while reducing the chances of eczema in infants.

The FTC is blaming Gerber for misleading parents of the product being approved by the Food and Drug Administration through its claims. The FTC also demand the baby food maker giant to stop making false advertisements.

Witnesses State McDonnell promoted Anatabloc during Meeting

Antabloc is a tobacco based drug which has been in the center of a federal corruption trial surrounding Mr. and Mrs. McDonnell. The two are charged with soliciting over $160000 in loans, favors and gifts from Jonnie Williams. The gifts and favors were allegedly in exchange for promotion the supplement. According to Sara Wilson, the director for the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management, one of the star marketing reps "cold called" her early in 2012 to ask if Anatabloc could be covered by the health insurance plan used by state employees. Wilson asked if the product was a supplement or a drug and was told that it was a supplement. However, Wilson stated that the plan did not cover supplements. 

Later, according to Wilson, she was at a meeting concerning the employee health plan at the governor's office where McDonnell allegedly took out a bottle of Anatabloc and discussed how beneficial it had been for him and his wife. 

Convicted Wine Dealer Sentenced to a Decade in Jail

A man from California once known to be a fine wine dealer and collector was later sentenced to 10 years in jail for marketing fake vintages.

Rudy Kurniawan was found guilty last year of wire and mail fraud for utilizing unknown wine as collateral from a loan worth $3 million, according to recent documents from the Manhattan federal court.

William Koch, a known wine collector in California, said he was cheated by Kurniawan when he bought several wine bottles at an auction in 2006. One of the bottles, which was said to be a 1947 Chateau Petrus, was sold at $30,000, according to prosecutors.

At a sentence hearing, Jerome Mooney, a defense lawyer, indicated his client took part in a victimless crime and became involved in the fraud just so he’ll be known among the wealthy. Mooney said a buyer bought a counterfeit wine from his client for $231,738.

District Judge Richard Berman said that just because a wealthy person took part in fraud doesn’t mean that same person deserves a lesser penalty.

Yeager Airport on Upgrades and Legal Battle

Officials from the Yeager Airport recently announced the progress of the terminal upgrades, runway extension construction, and the airport’s legal clash with Freedom Industries.

Rick Atkinson, the Airport Director announced that Mark Nowak, a Clark Hill lawyer, will be acting as lead counsel for the airport’s defense against a suit which alleges Yeager Airport for not appropriately containing a runoff from the runway extension. The runoff was said to have contaminated the main water supply which led to a 9-day water ban.

Trig Salsbery, a board member and a Charleston attorney, believes when the facts are shown in court, Yeager Airport will be freed from being the main culprit of the issue.

The board also analyzed bids for the terminal upgrade consisting of a new boarding bridge and upgrades on several bridges. The upgrades would include AC units and power per bridge, which would result to electricity and hot/cold air circulation.

The upgrades are estimated to be around $2 million.

Texas Guar Lawsuits Enters Litigation

A civil suit between Guar farmers and the company that purchases and markets their organic product, West Texas Guar, will enter the next step.

A new investor who was going to provide funding for the agreement didn’t get to invest on the July 15^th deadline, pushing the case to a litigation.

Scopia Windmill, LP is not only filing a suit against West Texas but also for guar farmers who provided the corporation with crops. Scopia Windmill alleges its lien against West Texas Guar gives higher right to collections over growers who haven’t been paid for their previous crops.

An attorney representing the farmers, Fernando Bustos, indicates it’ll be a very long process and could take several years until a settlement is made. He went on to say that motions and hearing will begin soon which will include suits against Scopia in the following week.

At the time when the purchase was made by Scopia Windmill 2011, West Texas Guar was the only plant manufacturing guar within the country.

 

Hayward Makes Settlement to Halt Litigation

In the United States, Hayward Industries agreed to an $8 million settlement outside of court after allegations indicate the firm to have collaborated with PoolCorp in limit food supply products in the country.

Hayward arrived at a $1.5 million settlement with indirect buyers as well as a $6.5 million deal with direct buyers to completely settle the allegations.

The company agreed to take part into the agreed settlement including a parallel settlement with direct buyers to resolve all allegations regarding the action and to curb costly expenses and burden resulting from a drawn out and costly litigation.

The buyers accused the company as well as Spa Inc., Zodiac Pool Systems Inc., and Hayward for taking part in a reverse-competitive conspiracy in which they made supply agreements which prevented manufacturers from making sales to distributors competing against PoolCorp.

As part of the agreement made with the buyers, Hayward Industries denied all claims made by the plaintiffs.

 

NY Supreme Court Rejects Ban on Oversize Sodas

New York City's health board had attempted to ban larger sized sodas. Michael Bloomberg proposed the ban during his time as the city's mayor. The goal was "to promote a healthy diet without significantly affecting the beverage industry." However, the New York Court of Appeals reached a 4-2 decision and found that the health board did not have the authority to impose such a ban. The soft-drink industry has kept a close eye on the case and other similar ones across the US. Bloomberg had tried to cap soft drink portions available to consumers in 2012 but rather than bringing the proposal before the City Council to vote on, his administration sent it to New York's Board of Health. The Board of Health voted unanimously to approve the ban which limited the size of soft drinks and sugary drinks sold by movie theaters, stadiums, arenas, and restaurants to 16 ounces maximum. The American Beverage Association and the National Restaurant Association had filed suit stating that the ban interfered illegally with consumer choice.

Attorneys Accusing Chobani Yogurt for Not Being Completely Greek

Just recently, New-York-based Chobani Inc. wouldn’t have sucked in the attention of attorneys in a class-action lawsuit.

With over a billion dollars in sales expected in 2014, the Greek yogurt firm shook up the industry while bringing up the plaintiff’s lawyers to the surface.

A New York law firm in Manhattan recently filed a lawsuit against Chobani Inc., alleging the yogurt manufacturer of tricking buyers into thinking their products are Greek while utilizing terms on the label that display “false nutrition content.”

The lawsuits were filed last Thursday in a Brooklyn federal court by Lee Litigation Group PLLC, who are representing two New York residents, one from Queens and another from Westchester County.

The complaint indicates that Chobani Inc. marketed their products as “Greek” when there’s absolutely nothing Greek about their yogurt line. The complaint continues by indicating that none of their yogurt products are produced or manufactured in Greece or even made by a Greek citizen.

Chobani Inc. marketed themselves as the top Greek yogurt in the United States.