Brianna Smith, Author at Legal Reader

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.

image of children playing in a swimming pool

City of Wilmington Hit With Religious Discrimination Suit After Muslim Students, Teacher Kicked Out of Public Pool

August 23, 2018

A lawsuit was recently filed against the City of Wilmington after it allegedly discriminated against a “teacher and her young Muslim students.” According to the lawsuit, the teacher and her students were “asked to leave a public pool in June,” and other members of the Darul Amaanah Academy, where the students attended, claim they have “been repeatedly harassed by management and staff at the Foster Brown Pool.”

Koch Foods Agrees to Pay $3.75M to Settle Discrimination Lawsuit

August 22, 2018

Koch Food of Mississippi LLC agreed to a $3.75 million settlement earlier this week, ending a discrimination lawsuit that was filed by “11 workers at the Morton plant and another filed on behalf of the workers by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.” The settlement agreement was filed in federal court in Jackson on Tuesday with U.S. District Judge Dan Jordan signing off on the three-year consent decree outlining the settlement terms. But what happened? Why was the lawsuit filed against the company in the first place?

Image of the Recalled Confer Plastics Pool Step System

Confer Plastics Recalls 100,000 Pool Step Systems Amid Drowning Hazard Concerns

August 22, 2018

If you’re a pool owner who recently had a step system installed, you may want to pay attention to a recall recently issued by Confer Plastics. Confer Plastics manufactures and distributes pool step systems for inground and above ground pool, but the company is recalling nearly 100,000 Curve in-pool step systems over concerns that “children’s limbs can get trapped, creating a drowning hazard.” In fact, according to the recall notice, the company has already received two consumer reports claiming “children’s arms became entrapped in the side panels of the steps, causing minor abrasions.” Fortunately, no drownings have been reported.

Civil Suit Filed Against Massage Envy Over Sexual Assault Claims

August 21, 2018

Massage Envy is back in the news, this time in connection to a civil lawsuit that was recently filed by five women. In the suit, the women allege that “male massage therapists sexually assaulted them before and during massages at franchise locations in the Bay Area, Sacramento and Southern California.” It was filed in San Mateo County and comes nearly a year after an investigation conducted by Buzzfeed News found that “more than 180 people have filed sexual assault lawsuits, police reports, and state board complaints against Massage Envy spas, their employees, and the national company.”

Image of the Recalled Vitamix blender container base

Vitamix Issues Voluntary Recall of More Than 100,000 Blender Containers

August 17, 2018

If you’re a fan of Vitamix blenders, listen up. Earlier today, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that Vitamix, a company that manufactures high-end blenders, issued a voluntary recall of “105,000 blender containers after nearly a dozen customers reported lacerations due to an exposed blade.”

New Regulation Aims to Challenge California Judge’s Ruling Requiring Warning Labels on Coffee

August 17, 2018

Remember when a judge in California decided that coffee should be served with warning labels so coffee drinkers know the cancer risks associated with drinking coffee. However, since the judge’s decision, many in the state have begun to wonder if the health warnings may be going too far. One of those concerned citizens is Sam Delson, the deputy director for external and legislative affairs for California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. He said, “There’s a danger to over-warning—it’s important to warn about real health risks.”

Image of the Washington State Capitol in Olympia

Settlement Agreement Could Help Keep Mentally Ill Out of Washington Jails

August 17, 2018

A lawsuit between Disability Rights Washington and the Department of Social and Health Services in Washington settled yesterday. The suit revolved around a lawsuit filed by Disability Rights Washington back in 2014 on behalf of “mentally ill people who’ve been warehoused in jails for weeks or months while awaiting competency services.” When the lawsuit was first filed, it was seeking “relief for criminal defendants who were languishing for months in county jails while waiting to be evaluated to see if they were competent to help in their defense.” Those who were eventually found incompetent often had to wait additional “weeks or months before being taken to a state-run mental hospital for treatment.” As a result, the suit argued that the state “was violating their constitutional rights.”

Image of the Douglas County Courthouse in Omaha, Nebraska

City of Omaha, Douglas County Hit with Negligence Suit

August 16, 2018

For many people, calling 911 means help will arrive promptly to help with virtually any type of emergency, including asthma attacks. Unfortunately for one woman in Omaha, Nebraska, help didn’t arrive soon enough when she began suffering from an asthma attack. That delay in help resulted in her death, and now her family is suing. The suit itself was filed against the City of Omaha and Douglas County by the family of Cristine Herek and argues that “Douglas County 911 personnel were negligent in failing to locate Herek in time to save her life.” Attorney Ben White filed the suit on behalf of one of Herek’s sons, Angelo Emmanuel, and her estate. The city and county are both named as defendants because much of “Douglas County 911’s funding comes from the city.”

Safety Alert: USPSC Recalls More Than 200,000 Hair Dryers Over Fire Hazard Concerns

August 16, 2018

Are you one of the many people who use a hair dryer as part of your morning routine when getting ready for work? If so, this latest recall notice is for you. Earlier this week, The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (USPSC) issued a recall of more than 200,000 Xtava Allure hair dryers over concerns that the can potentially “catch fire or deliver electrical shocks.”

Former Student Files Lawsuit Against Brentwood High School Alleging Teacher Sexually Abused Him

August 16, 2018

Most teachers devote their careers to molding the minds of the country’s youth and would go to great lengths to protect them. Unfortunately, every once in a while, a bad apple shows up in the bunch. This is what happened at Brentwood High School, according to a lawsuit that was recently filed against what’s been dubbed the ‘elite establishment’ at Brentwood High School. The suit was filed by a former student earlier this month and alleges the elite establishment stood by and did nothing while a former teacher, Aimee Palmitessa, subjected the student to “repeated inappropriate sexual acts at several different locations.” In an effort to protect the student’s identity, he is referred to through the lawsuit as John Doe.

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