5/7/2015 A panel of judges ruled 9-2 in the 11th District U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta that cell phone customers do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy concerning searches of phone records. The Tuesday, May 5th ruling concerns the case of Miami resident, Quartavious Davis, who was convicted of several felonies, including robbery
4/30/2015 In a great example of “CYA,” Takeda settles Actos cases for $2.3B. The agreement, yet to be approved by the plaintiffs, is a result of last year’s whopping smackdown in which a federal jury awarded a shopkeeper $9B, payable by Takeda and it’s former partner, Eli Lilly & Co. The court reduced that award
4/30/2015 In what has been initially hailed as both a small victory for companies as well as for employees, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Wednesday, April 29th, that proper Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) procedures may be subjected to court oversight. More specifically, the Court mandated that the EEOC must make an attempt at
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) voted unanimously on Thursday, April 9th to issue the largest fine for a utility company in state history, and the largest fine in U.S. history for a natural gas utility. The $1.6 billion fine against PG&E was issued in response to a 2010 pipeline explosion in the San Francisco
A case of improper employee classification in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Sabrina Hart, et.al v. Rick’s Cabaret International, Inc., has resulted in a settlement of almost $15M for exotic dancers. The court has yet to approve the deal. The suit, brought on behalf of approximately 2,000 dancers who worked
Pelvic mesh litigation now comprises over 60,000 cases in the federal MDL, proceeding in the Southern District of West Virginia, and notable developments in the MDL and in cases proceeding in state and federal courts continue as cases prepare for bellwether trials. Judge Goodwin issued a fascinating opinion on the application of the learned intermediary
Judge Rebecca F. Doherty entered an amended judgment on October 27, 2014, reducing a $6 billion award of punitive damages against Takeda and a $3 billion award against Eli Lilly in Allen v. Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. et al., Civil No. 6:12-cv-00064, a case in the Actos MDL, proceeding in the Western District of Louisiana,
Generally speaking, California is where a plaintiff is best off bringing a product liability lawsuit. But not always, as shown by this defense verdict in a case against a helmet manufacturer. Lawyers for Richard and Kandy Eubanks had asked for $18 million in damages, most of it for the future lifetime care of their 20-year-old son, Justin, who
Somewhat coincidentally, I drove past a Medtronic facility the day this was announced. “Medtronic is pleased we were able to negotiate terms that were mutually agreeable to the parties,” Christopher Garland, a company spokesman, said in a telephone interview. The settlement covers about 8,100 cases, or “virtually all” U.S. claims, Garland said. The settlement resolves