Staff, Author at Legal Reader

Tentative Agreement Reached between Fiat-Chrysler and UAW: Strike Averted

October 9, 2015

Williams’ announcement came minutes after Thursday’s midnight strike deadline, and it also comes exactly a week after UAW representatives announced that the 36,000 hourly and 4,000 salaried UAW members rejected the previous contract agreed on by the union and Fiat-Chrysler management by a sizable 65 to 35 margin. Williams said that there were changes made to this agreement from the one rejected, although he has yet to specify the differences. The deal will stave off the immediate threat of a strike, but it still must be approved both UAW local leaders and its members.

Marijuana Industry faces First Product Liability Lawsuit

October 8, 2015

There are no federal regulations on the use of pesticides on marijuana plants because it is still considered to be an illegal crop at the federal level; however Colorado authorities did release a list of approved treatments, with Eagle 20 not being on the approved list. Flores justified filing the suit by saying, “I want these companies to take a step back and look at what they are putting into their products. These warehouses are getting big and really sloppy. They are adding chemicals to make things more efficient and more potent.

CFPB to Propose Forced Arbitration Changes

October 8, 2015

The proposed regulation would not completely ban the practice in its entirety, but instead force to add a section that states that the arbitration procedures do not apply if a complaint has been certified by a judge for class-action litigation. Codrary said about the provision, “Under this proposed approach, consumers would again get their day in court to hold companies accountable for potential wrongdoing. We think that’s quite important.” The rule would also require companies to publicly post which claims have been brought to arbitration and the awards issued.

Emissions of Guilt: A By-The-Numbers Look at the Volkswagen Emissions Scandal

October 7, 2015

We break down the Volkswagen Emissions Scandal and display pertinent numbers relevant to the investigation into the use of bypass software to cheat emissions testing and promote “clean diesel.”

Fantasy Football ‘Brothels’ Exposed!

October 7, 2015

The scandal erupted on September 27th after Draft Kings mid-level content manager Ethan Haskell inadvertently revealed data regarding what players were on many of the site’s participants’ rosters. The next day, Haskell finished second in a million-dollar FanDuel contest, netting $350,000. Although both companies released a joint statement insisting that they both have strict fraud control mechanisms to prevent impropriety by employees, the companies will continue to investigate the matter. Draft Kings released a statement to Forbes late Monday saying that Mr. Haskell’s FanDuel fantasy picks were locked in at 1:00pm on the 27th, meaning he could not edit his roster, and that the data breach occurred at 1:40, meaning that the data could not have influenced his picks.

BP Settlement Finalized at $20.8 Billion

October 7, 2015

Although the deal is finalized, various sources have differed in how the payout will be calculated. The New York Times is reporting that $5 billion of the $8.8 total allotment for environmental restoration will go to Louisiana, the state hardest hit by the disaster, payable over an 18-year period. $5.5 billion will go to Clean Water Act penalties, payable over a 15 year period, the largest environmental fine in history. $4.9 billion will also go towards economic damages to the states affected by the spill. The Wall Street Journal reports that a total of $8.1 billion will go towards environmental damages to the U.S. and the Gulf states. BP had already agreed to a separate criminal penalty of $4 billion in 2013.

Volkswagen Internal Audit Focuses on Engineers as Lawsuits Mount over Emissions Scandal

October 6, 2015

he engines were set to be a revolutionary breakthrough, used not just for Volkswagen models, but also for the company’s premium brand Audi, and less costly offshoots Skoda and Seat, along with some light commercial vehicles. Although specifics remain sketchy, it appears that management from the engineering team instructed the use of the software, under pressure to market the “clean diesel” breakthrough. The internal audit discovered that engineers realized that the vehicles would not, at the very least, meet U.S. diesel emissions standards, which are more stringent than in Europe.

Supreme Court Declines to Take up Newman Insider Trading Case

October 6, 2015

The case of Todd Newman and Anthony Chiasson, where were convicted of insider trading in 2012, during New-York’s U.S. attorney, Preet Bharara’s astounding six-year run of 85 insider trading convictions before losing a case which netted him 60 other convictions. Last December, however, the 2nd Circuit overturned the Newman convictions, ruling that Bharara stretched the limits of insider trading laws too far, citing insufficient evidence. At issue is whether or not the giver of the confidential information must receive a benefit from providing the tip, and whether or not that benefit must be concrete and tangible to be considered insider trading.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce: The Astounding Height of Hypocrisy

October 4, 2015

Full disclosure, Mr. Lane asked me to look into the 52-page report created by the Chamber’s “Institute for Legal Reform,” but the results that I found were absolutely shocking, and the opinions I have about this absolute piece of garbage are my own.

Mosaic Hit with $2 Billion Federal Penalty for Phosphate Waste

October 3, 2015

The world’s largest producer of phosphate for use as fertilizer The Mosaic Company, based out of Plymouth, Minnesota, has agreed to a historic $2 billion settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). The EPA accused the company of improperly storing and disposing over 60 billion pounds of phosphogypsum waste,

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