LA County Pays Record $14.35M to Settle Wrongful Death Suit

A $14.35 million settlement was recently reached between Los Angeles County and the family of a man who was accidentally shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy “during a standoff four years ago.” The victim was Frank Mendoza. He was 54-years-old at the time and was standing at the front door of his home in Pico Rivera when the fatal shooting occurred on August 1, 2014.




Trump Administration Agrees to Protect Humpback Whale Habitat

Late last week, President Trump and his administration agreed to protect a humpback whale habitat in the Pacific Ocean. The agreement was announced after American Indian and conservation groups sued the government for leaving the whales vulnerable to “ship strikes, oil spills and entanglements in fishing gear.” The groups that filed the suit in federal court included the “Center for Biological Diversity, Turtle Island Restoration Network and the Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation, a nonprofit that represents American Indian tribes.”


Convicted Murderer Osbaldo Jose-Nicholas Awarded Quarter-Million in Brutality Suit

Illinois inmate and convicted murder Osbaldo Jose-Nicholas was awarded close to a quarter-million dollars in an excessive force lawsuit against prison guards. The St.-Louis Post Dispatch reports that last week’s verdict included $1,000 in compensatory damages for Nicholas and $251,000 in punitive damages against prison employees. Jose-Nicholas, writes the Dispatch, says he was brutalized partway



Babyganics Settles Lawsuit Accusing it of Violating Marketing Laws

As any parent knows, the baby aisle at any grocery or retail store is overwhelming for even the most seasoned among us. With endless brands to choose from and varieties of products to sift through, dashing to the store for a replacement sippy cup or bottle of lotion can turn into an hour-long ordeal in no time. This is especially true of product labels are confusing or misleading. In fact, when this happens, some parents just opt to file lawsuits. That’s exactly what happened earlier this week. A group of parents filed a “class-action lawsuit alleging that the language used on Babyganics packaging, such as the name ‘Babyganics’ and terms like ‘mineral-based’ and ‘natural’ violated marketing laws.”


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

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?