Lawsuits & Litigation Archives - Page 761 of 777

Families of Three Firefighters Agree on Settlement for 2013 Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion

Staff - October 13, 2015

The blast at the West Fertilizer plant killed 15 people altogether, injured 170, damaged nearby buildings and over 150 homes in the city of West, obliterating the plant, and even caused the equivalent of a 2.1 magnitude earthquake. With jury selection set to begin on Monday, authorities for the county told hundreds of prospective jurors on Sunday evening that they would not be needed for the trial involving the plant’s ownership and suppliers and the families of the deceased; Kevin Sanders, William Uptmor and Kenneth Harris. Waco District Court Judge Jim Meyer had divided the litigation regarding the explosion into three separate lawsuits, with the aforementioned case serving as a potential bellwether for the other two cases, which will contain hundreds of plaintiffs.

6th Circuit Issues Major Setback for EPA’s Clean Water Rule

Staff - October 13, 2015

The 2-1 panel decision in favor of the attorneys general of 18 states follows a similar ruling issued in late August in North Dakota federal court in a separate lawsuit involving 13 states. That stay was ordered a day before the rule was to have gone into effect. The most recent ruling, which was a consolidated appeal of four separate lawsuits by the states and other interest groups, greatly expands the geographically-limited North Dakota decision and instead blocks the majority of the country from the Obama-led initiative.

Marijuana Industry faces First Product Liability Lawsuit

Staff - 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

Staff - 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.

BP Settlement Finalized at $20.8 Billion

Staff - 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

Staff - 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

Staff - 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.

Sandy Hook Lawsuit Moves to State Court in Wake of another School Shooting

Staff - October 2, 2015

The lawsuit was initially filed in Connecticut Superior Court in Bridgeport; however Bushmaster successfully petitioned for the case to be moved to federal court shortly afterward. The plaintiffs are arguing the Bushmaster AR-15 assault rifle used in the shooting is too dangerous to be sold to the public, citing negligent entrustment, a provision which holds a company liable for damages occurring to a third party. Federal courts have usually ruled in favor of gun manufacturers in cases involving negligent entrustment. Although Bushmaster attorneys argued that including Riverview Gun Sales in the lawsuit was “meritless” and that the company was fraudulently named as a defendant in order to keep the case at the state level, Judge Chatigny remanded the case back to state court without issuing an opinion.

Mixed 9th Circuit Ruling Upholds NCAA Antitrust Ruling, Vacates Athlete Payment Proposal

Staff - October 1, 2015

While the panel was in agreement with the first part of Judge Wilken’s ruling, Chief Judge Sidney R. Thomas disagreed with the other two judges on the merits of Wilken’s acceptance of the deferred-compensation option. Defending the majority opinion of vacating this portion of Wilken’s ruling, Judge Bybee wrote “The difference between offering student-athletes education-related compensation and offering them cash sums untethered to educational expenses is not minor; it is a quantum leap,” Bybee added, “Once that line is crossed, we see no basis for returning to a rule of amateurism and no defined stopping point.”

Lawsuit Blames PG&E for Massive California Butte Wildfire

Staff - September 30, 2015

Lead attorney Gerald Singleton filed the complaint on Tuesday despite an admittedly low-level of evidence. Singleton said about the complaint, “The only evidence we have at this point is that if they are properly configured and maintained, a tree should never be in a position to fall on a line.”

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