Brianna Smith is a freelance writer and editor in Southwest Michigan. A graduate of Grand Valley State University, Brianna has a passion for politics, social issues, education, science, and more. When she’s not writing, she enjoys the simple life with her husband, daughter, and son.



Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed After Fatal Black Road Crash

In 2016, a car accident happened along “Joliet’s stretch of Black Road near the bridge traveling over Interstate 55.” Earlier this month, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed at the Will County Courthouse in connection with the accident that claimed one of the passenger’s life, Joylene Bournas.


Former Piggly Wiggly Employees Set to Split $8.7M, Thanks to Recent Settlement

Earlier this month, a judge ruled in favor of nearly 6,600 former Piggly Wiggly employees who sued the now collapsed Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co. over lost retirement benefits and approved an $8.7 million settlement to be split between the former employees. According to the agreement, about a third of the money will be spent to pay for attorney fees, meaning the average payout per employee will be less than $1,000.


Bahama Breeze in Ohio Hit with Racial Discrimination Lawsuit

Bahama Breeze in Orange Village, Ohio is under fire in a new lawsuit alleging racial discrimination. According to the suit, a group of African-American customers was discriminated against when “two white managers filed a false police report and acted with hostility toward” them. The suit itself was filed in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common


Did Dignity Health Deny Overtime Pay for Nurses? One Lawsuit Says Yes.

Earlier this week a lawsuit was filed against Dignity Health that claims nearly 1,200 nurses in the Sacramento area “worked as many as 50 minutes per 12-hour shift of unpaid overtime, three times a week, and that Dignity’s restrictive timekeeping software was part of the reason those hours couldn’t be logged properly.” Specifically, the class action suit alleges the nurses were paid for “exactly 12 hours of work per shift at hospitals in the greater Sacramento area, regardless of when they actually clocked in or out,” according to attorney Bryan Lazarski.


Are Michigan Auto Insurance Companies Charging Women and Widows Higher Rates?

How much do you pay for your car insurance each month? Do you think you’re rate is fair? If you’re a woman, do you pay the same as your male counterparts? If you’re a Michigan driver, chances are you’re not. In fact, according to an investigation launched by Scripps station WXYZ in Detroit, auto insurance companies in Michigan regularly discriminate against drivers based on their gender or relationship status. You’re probably wondering how this practice is legal, right? After all, there are laws in place to prevent this type of discrimination.


Judge Approves $825K Settlement in Case Involving Woman Who Died Days After Being in Police Custody

Recently, Hon. Lucy Koh, a judge of the U.S. District Court, gave her stamp of approval to a global settlement filed against the County of Monterey and California Forensic Medical Group. The suit settled for $825,000 and ends a wrongful death lawsuit originally filed by the “surviving children of a woman who died while in police custody on December 19, 2015.” The $825,000 will be split 50/50.


City of San Juan Capistrano, Blenheim Facility Management Settle Lawsuit Involving Riding Park

Blenheim Facility Management (BFM) and the City of San Juan Capistrano recently agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by the Orange County Coastkeeper regarding the “Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park at San Juan Capistrano.” The lawsuit was filed back in July 2017 in the U.S. District Court and argues that the riding park, which is owned by San Juan Capistrano, “contributed to pollution in San Juan Creek.” According to the suit, the “BFM is the operator of the park.”


Negligence Case Against Galilee Memorial Gardens Set to Begin This Week

A trial involving Galilee Memorial Gardens, a cemetery in Tennessee, is set to begin. According to a class action lawsuit filed against the cemetery, Galilee Memorial Gardens mishandled an untold number of caskets, allowing them to be crushed and stacked. As a result, many bodies and remains were lost. Since the dispute was filed, the cemetery gates have remained closed, though opening statements in the trial began earlier this week. In total, relatives of nearly 1,200 dead people joined the suit against the “licensed funeral homes accused of sending bodies to Galilee for three years after the cemetery’s registration expired in December 2010.”


Tristar Centennial Hospital Under Fire in Lawsuit After Man Dies from Needle Left Inside Him After Surgery

When is the last time you had to undergo surgery? Chances are, it went off without a hitch and you were eventually sent home without any major complications or medical tools accidentally left floating around your insides. One Tennessee man wasn’t so lucky. In May 2017, 73-year-old John Burns Johnson was admitted to Tristar Centennial hospital in Nashville to undergo an open heart surgery. However, a month after the procedure, he died. According to a lawsuit filed by Johnson’s family, the surgeon who performed his open heart surgery left a needle inside of him, resulting in his death.