Ralph Nader’s Tort Law Museum Opens in Connecticut

Nader is hoping that the museum will help to serve future generations in understanding the power of the consumer, the threats of the protections being removed as part of the conservative tort-reform agenda, which is an attempt to put caps on personal injury lawsuit awards. Nader said, “Tort law is being run into the ground, maligned, caricatured and slandered because it’s effective,” calling tort reform, “the cruelest movement I’ve ever encountered.”


Are Criminal Charges against Volkswagen Imminent?

Clarence Ditlow, executive director for the Center for Auto Safety said,”The damage to Volkswagen is going to last for years. This was so clearly a deliberate act by executives at Volkswagen that there needs to be criminal penalties.”


George Zimmer is now a Marijuana Activist

Zimmer took time to lend support to the marijuana legalization movement as the keynote speaker in Los Angeles at the Cannabis World Congress and Business Expo on Friday. In his speech, Zimmer called the placement of marijuana on the Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, equating it to drugs like heroin and ecstasy, “the biggest con that has been perpetrated on this country in the last century.”


Oakland Sues Wells Fargo for Lending Discrimination

The city is blaming Wells Fargo for the loss of millions of dollars of potential tax revenue, leading to budgetary limits for services like parks, policing, and libraries. City attorney Barbara Parker said in a statement after the filing, “Wells Fargo’s discriminatory conduct devastated individuals and communities, increasing poverty and wiping out or drastically reducing wealth for minority communities while bankers prospered.”


Peanut Exec gets Record 28 Year Sentence for Deadly Food Poisoning Outbreak

Parnell was convicted on multiple charges including knowingly shipping peanut products that were tainted with salmonella to merchants throughout the country. An ensuing outbreak between 2008 and 2009 in 46 states contributed to over 700 illnesses and at least nine deaths. Judge Sands also sentenced Parnell’s brother, 56 year-old Michael Parnell, a peanut broker, to 20 years and the plant’s quality assurance manager Mary Wilkerson to five years. Stewart Parnell’s 28 year sentence is the longest ever given for a food poisoning-related offense.


Volkswagen Emissions Fallout Begins: and it’s Really, Really Bad

Tangible damage has already begun on a grand scale for the company since the announcement, as its stock has plunged over 35 percent by midday trading on Tuesday, including closing down 18 percent on Monday, already dropping the company’s value by nearly $17 billion even before Tuesday’s announcement. The scandal and costs associated with EPA-ordered recall will likely cost the company at least that much factoring in federal penalties from the U.S. as well as in other nations. In addition, the amount of civil liability and class-action lawsuits could also range in the billions.


FBI Launches Investigation into 1MDB Malaysia State Development Fund

Najib and Malaysian authorities have undergone exhaustive means to curtail the domestic investigation into allegations that the prime minister funneled money from the fund into his personal account through Swiss banks and the Middle East. The regime gutted the committee appointed to investigate the allegations, shut down a news source, replaced the deputy prime minister and attorney general, and arrested former members of Najib’s political party, including Khairuddin Abu Hassan as he was preparing to travel to the U.S. to urge investigators to help with the probe.


California Judge Rules for UFW in Battle against Gerawan Farming

Soble ruled that the ballots will not be counted, writing, “As a result of the employer’s unlawful support and assistance, I am setting aside the decertification election and dismissing the decertification petition.” Gerawan attorney Ron Barsamian admitted to the violation, however claiming that it was not the crux of the issue, saying “The payment to the decertification petitioners to go to Sacramento was from a source outside Gerawan and may be a technical violation, but it also fails to consider the fact that they were going anyway. The money didn’t make them decide.” The case became the lengthiest labor hearing ever in the state of California, involving over 100 witnesses and six months of testimony.


EPA to Volkswagen: Das Cheaters!

The company faces a potential $37,500 fine by the EPA for each Clean Air Act violation. That could lead to the automaker facing as much as $18 billion in federal penalties in total. To put that in comparison, General Motors just agreed to a $900 million federal penalty on Thursday after a Justice Department criminal investigation over its ignition-switch defect that led to at least 124 deaths, and Toyota agreed to a $1.2 billion penalty last year after several deaths were attributed to an acceleration defect.


Bud…Weis…Mill…Er?

Despite the aggressive posture of AB InBev and the venture capital group 3G Capital run by Lemann, the potential transaction will face a mountain of obstacles even if SAB Miller is a willing partner. AB InBev currently controls nearly half of the U.S. beer market with SAB Miller controlling nearly 30 percent. All major corporate mergers must face a Justice Department antitrust review. Diana Moss, the president of the American Antitrust Institute says “The competitive harm is pretty scary. The concern is higher prices for consumers.”