Week Adjourned: 6.14.13 – Class Action against Obama?

Takes a set of you-know-what to sue the President, but… That’s the lead story in this week’s wrap of top class action lawsuits and settlements, for the week ending June 14, 2013.

Barack ObamaTop Class Action Lawsuits

If You’re Gonna Sue, Sue Big. In the unlikely event any of us were napping last week—and missed this—it’s among the first of what’s likely to be an onslaught of wiretap class actions resulting from, well, surveillance activities undertaken by the federal government. First up to bat, these plaintiffs are certainly not shy about naming defendants: The wiretap class action names President Obama, US Attorney General Eric Holder, the director of the National Security Agency (NSA), the NSA, the CEO of Verizon, the US Department of Justice, and Judge Roger Vinson of the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court as defendants. Judge Vinson is named as a defendant because he signed the secret order directing Verizon to turn over all phone records “on an ongoing daily basis.”

According to the wiretap class action lawsuit, this constituted an “outrageous breach of privacy” and a violation of Verizon users’ “reasonable expectation of privacy, free speech and association, right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures, and due process rights.” The wiretap lawsuit challenges the legality of the NSA’s “secret and illegal government scheme to intercept and analyze vast quantities of domestic telephone communications.”

The potential class action lawsuit, entitled Klayman, et al. v. Barrack Hussein Obama II, et al., Case No. 13-cv-00851, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks to represent a class of American citizens in the United States and overseas who are either curren or previous Verizon customers, including, but not limited to customers between April 25, 2013 and July 19, 2013.

The class is seeking a cease-and-desist order to prohibit the collection of Verizon customers’ phone records and more than $3 billion in damages and attorney fees. Plaintiffs are represented by Larry Klayman of Freedom Watch Inc.

Here we go!

Top Settlements

USPS Workers Get Special Delivery? Looks like the US Postal Service was not delivering the goods for all its employees: the agency has agreed to a $17.3 million settlement in the discrimination class action brought by its employees with disabilities.

Some 41,000 past and current postal service employees are involved in the discrimination class action, which details complaints over restricted work hours from 2000 through to 2012. These reduced work hours are allegedly due to employees’ permanent disabilities. The lawsuit alleges the practice violated the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, which bars federal agencies from discriminating against disabled employees.

The USPS class action settlement has received preliminary approval from an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) administrative judge and is expected to receive final approval from the EEOC in July. If finalized, class members may be eligible to receive up to $300 per employee—but it depends on how many people file claims.

Although the settlement still needs final approval from the EEOC, members of the class are supposed to get formal notification of the agreement next week.

Second-Hand Asbestos Settlement. Good news bad news…as the asbestos debacle continues. On June 5, 2013, an Oakland jury completed its award to plaintiffs Rose-Marie and Martin Grigg of a total of $27,342,500 in damages stemming from Mrs. Grigg’s asbestos mesothelioma (Alameda County Superior Court Case No. RG12629580).

Mrs. Grigg, now 82, was exposed to asbestos in the course of shaking out and washing her husband’s work clothing. Mrs. Grigg’s then husband was an insulator for a company that used Owens-Illinois, Inc. Kaylo brand insulation products from 1950-1958.

Evidence introduced during trial showed that Owens-Illinois, Inc. knew that asbestos exposure could cause death as early as the 1930s and that test results on Kaylo showed that exposure to the asbestos in the product could cause fatal disease.

According to court documents, Owens-Illinois nonetheless advertised Kaylo as “non-toxic” and did not state that the product contained asbestos. Kaylo was packaged in boxes without warning about the health hazards associated with asbestos exposure.

The jury found that Owens-Illinois, Inc. manufactured a defective product, failed to adequately warn Mrs. Grigg, was negligent, and intentionally failed to disclose information about Kaylo-related health hazards to Mrs. Grigg. The jury also found that Owens-Illinois, Inc. acted with malice, oppression or fraud toward Mrs. Grigg. The jury awarded Mrs. Grigg $12,000,000 in damages for her pain and suffering, Mr. Grigg $4,000,000 in damages for his loss of consortium, and $342,500 in economic damages. The jury also levied an $11,000,000 punitive damages verdict against Owens-Illinois, Inc.

Okee dokee—that’s it for this week—happy Father’s Day and safe weekend to you all—see you at the bar!

(Image: northjersey.com)

Week Adjourned: 2.15.13 – Gender Discrimination, Motrin, Zetia & Vytorin

Motrin, Zetia, Vytorin and gender discrimination are top stories in this week’s Weed Adjorned wrap on top class action lawsuits and settlements for the week ending February 15, 2013.

Top Class Action Lawsuits

Gender discrimination? Sorry—what year is this? Maybe the year Daiichi Sankyo gets nailed for the unlawful practice, if the allegations are true…Allegations made by six current and former female pharmaceutical sales professionals who filed a $100 million class and collective action gender discrimination lawsuit against the Japanese Pharmaceutical company.

Filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, these women seek to end pervasive gender discrimination in their workplace on behalf of themselves and a class of several hundred female Daiichi Sankyo sales professionals who have worked for the company in the United States.

The short version, like we don’t know it chapter and verse by now, is that Daiichi Sankyo pays female sales employees less than male employees for doing the same work; promotes or advances female sales employees at a slower rate than male sales employees; treats pregnant employees and working mothers of young children adversely compared to non-pregnant employees, male employees, or non-caregivers; and subjects women to other discriminatory terms and conditions of employment.

According to the Daiichi Sankyo lawsuit, a discrete group of predominantly male Daiichi executives and senior sales managers keep a tight rein on employment decisions, including decisions regarding sales employees’ compensation, advancement, and other terms and conditions of employment. Through this male dominated leadership structure, the Company has approved and implemented policies, practices and decisions that have systemically discriminated against female employees. No, this is not a Mad Men script. This, sadly, is real life.

Just in case there are any doubts as the validity of the allegations, the Plaintiffs cite Daiichi Sankyo’s violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the federal Equal Pay Act of 1963, as well as the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, the California Equal Pay Act and the California Unfair Business Practices Act in today’s Complaint. Umm… 1963—1964 the laws changed and yet we’re still fighting for gender equality in 2013. No comment.

Top Settlements

Major Motrin Award. A landmark award this week—but brace yourself for the backstory. Boston, MA was the scene of a personal injury lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and its subsidiary, McNeil-PPC Inc, that ended this week with the jury awarding $63 million in damages to the Reckis family who brought the lawsuit involving Motrin.

The two pharmaceutical companies were ordered to pay 16-year old Samantha Reckis $50 million in compensatory damages, and her parents $6.5 million each.

What happened? Samantha suffered toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), a late stage of Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS), as a result of taking Motrin brand ibuprofen. Just seven-years old at the time, Samantha was given Motrin brand ibuprofen by her parents, and shortly thereafter began presenting with symptoms of TEN, which resulted in her losing 90 percent of her skin and her eyesight.

Samantha also suffered brain damage involving her short-term memory, and surgeons had to drill through her skull to relieve some pressure on the brain, the Reckis’ attorney noted. Additionally, Samantha suffered damage to her respiratory system, in which her lungs were burnt, leaving her with only 20 percent lung capacity.

Samantha had taken Motrin previously with no side effects. However, in 2003, the day after Thanksgiving, her parents began giving her the medication to reduce fever. The resulting toxic epidermal necrolysis, which can be fatal, causing inflammation of the mucus membranes and eyes and is marked by a rash that burns off the outer layer of skin, had her physicians puzzled. Samantha suffered inflammation of her throat, mouth, eyes, esophagus, intestinal tract, respiratory system and reproductive system. Her doctors were forced to put her in a medically induced coma.

The family filed the lawsuit in 2007. The trial took five weeks. The Reckis’ claimed that Samantha was blinded by Motrin and alleged that Johnson & Johnson failed to warn consumers that the drug could cause life-threatening reactions. Another positive, in addition to the award, is that while Samantha has to work twice as hard as her fellow classmates, she is in school and is an honor student, demonstrating a remarkable spirit.

Zetia & Vytorin False Statements Settlement. Here’s another record-breaking settlement from the world of pharmaceuticals—this time it’s a securities class action settlement. Actually, make that two securities settlements totaling $688 million. Whoppa! The securities class actions are pending against Merck & Co. Inc. (“Merck”), Schering-Plough Corporation (“Schering”), Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals, certain of the Companies’ directors and officers, and the underwriters of a 2007 Schering stock offering over allegations the companies made false and misleading statements about results from a clinical trial called “ENHANCE” involving the anti-cholesterol drugs Zetia and Vytorin.

The actions, currently pending in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey before Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh, are In re Schering-Plough Corporation/ENHANCE Securities Litigation, Master File No. 08-397, which settled for $473 million; and In re Merck & Co., Inc. Vytorin/Zetia Securities Litigation, Master File No. 08-2177, which settled for $215 million.

The two class actions stem from claims that Merck and Schering (which merged in November 2009) artificially inflated their securities by concealing material information and making false and misleading statements regarding the blockbuster anti-cholesterol drugs Zetia and Vytorin.

Namely, the lead plaintiffs alleged that even though the Defendants knew that a clinical trial of Vytorin, called “ENHANCE,” demonstrated that Vytorin (a combination of Zetia and a generic statin medication) was no more effective than the cheaper, generic statin drug at reducing artery thickness, the Companies nonetheless championed the “benefits” of the drugs, attracting billions of dollars of capital in the process. Yielding to public pressure to release the results of the ENHANCE trial, Lead Plaintiffs allege that the companies reluctantly announced that the cholesterol drugs showed “no statistically significant difference” in plaque buildup, and that news of these negative results and their related consequences caused sharp declines in the value of the companies’ securities, resulting in significant losses to investors.

The combined $688 million in settlements is the second largest securities class action settlement in the Third Circuit, among the top 25 securities class action settlements of all time, and among the ten largest recoveries in a securities class action not involving a restatement.

So—the moral of the story? You tell a Whoppa, you pay a Whoppa—quid pro quo baby!

See you at the bar—I know who’s buying…

Week Adjourned: 12.21.12 – Green Giant, Hurricane Sandy, Dillard’s Stores

The weekly wrap of top class action lawsuit and settlement news for the week ending December 21 2012. Top stories include Green Giant, Hurricane Sandy insurance claims and Dillard’s department stores.

logoTop Class Action Lawsuits

Ho-Ho-Ho are Those GMO’s? Nothing fresh about this old chestnut. Yet another in the rash of false labeling and misleading advertising consumer fraud class action lawsuits was filed this week against General Mills’ alleging its Green Giant 100% Natural Valley Fresh Steamers frozen vegetables are not 100% natural as claimed on the product labeling.

Ok. Here’s the dope. Filed by Elizabeh Cox, the Cox v. General Mills Inc., Case No. 12-cv-06377, consumer fraud lawsuit alleges the Valley Fresh Steamers contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the form of corn, soy, corn derivatives and soy derivatives, thereby making the product labeling false or misleading.

In the Green Giant Class lawsuit, Cox claims she bought several of Green Giant 100% Natural Valley Fresh Steamers frozen vegetables in September, including Green Giant 100% Natural Valley Fresh Steamers Roasted Red Potatoes, Green Beans & Rosemary Butter Sauce and Green Giant 100% Natural Valley Fresh Steamers Broccoli, Carrots, Cauliflower & Cheese Sauce. Cox is claiming damages and harm which resulted from the misleading labeling because the product is not what is advertised. Specifically, the lawsuit states, “The harmful impact upon members of the general public who purchased and used the product outweighs any reasons or justifications by defendant for the deceptive labeling and advertising practices employed to sell the product that misleadingly claims to be ‘100% Natural.’”

The Green Giant class action lawsuit is brought on behalf of anyone who purchased Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers containing corn or soy ingredients from October 22, 2008 through the present. Sign me up!

A Basement is a Basement is a….? You knew it had to happen. And it likely won’t be the only one. This week, a bad faith insurance class action lawsuit was filed against nine insurance companies, including Fidelity, Travelers and State Farm Insurance, over the definition of a basement related to insurance claims filed for damages caused by Hurricane Irene in 2011 and superstorm Sandy in late October. The lawsuit includes claims for Sandy in an effort to avoid improper insurance claim denials similar to those from Irene. Unbelievable.

At the heart of the Hurricane Sandy basement lawsuit is the issue of whether or not ground-floor units have been properly classified as basement units. Here we go. According to the lawsuit, the SFIP defines a basement as “any area of the building, including any sunken room or sunken portion of a room, having its floor below ground level (subgrade) on all sides.” The SFIP offers limited coverage for damages in basements, according to the lawsuit. Patrick Donnelly, from Jersey City, had flood insurance through WYO with New Jersey Re-Insurance Company and had a claim denied after Hurricane Irene because his ground floor was identified as a basement.

Part of the problem is that homeowners have a limited understanding of what a basement is under the terms of their policy. So, you might think you know your ground floor apartment is not basement—or vice-versa—but you don’t. Got that?

No? Well, you’re not alone. The lawsuit will represent everyone in New Jersey insured by the companies named in the lawsuit. Further, the lawsuit contains sub-classes specifically focused on Jersey City and Hoboken property and business owners.

Top Settlements

Dillard’s Disability Woes End in Settlement. Finally—some good news to end the year on! Well almost end the year on. A $2 million settlement has been reached in an employment class action lawsuit pending against department store chain Dillard’s Inc. The Dillard’s class action lawsuit contends that the retailer is in violation of federal disability laws by requiring workers seeking sick leave to disclose private medical conditions.

Dillards is under investigation by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for firing a worker in El Centro in Southern California’s Imperial Count. The worker alleged she was fired in 2006 after refusing to reveal her exact medical problems to a manager who would not accept her doctor’s note when she requested sick leave.

According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, the EEOC alleges that in 2005 Dillard’s implemented a nationwide policy requiring those asking for excused absences for illness to not only give a doctor’s note but also disclose the medical condition they were being treated for. This affected thousands of workers, the EEOC claims, and is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which is meant to protect workers from being forced to disclose private medical information.

The EEOC has said it also investigated complaints that Dillard’s fired workers for taking more sick leave than the maximum number of days allowed by the retailer, which also violates federal disability discrimination laws.

As part of the settlement, Dillard’s has also agreed to hire a consultant to review and revise its employment policy.

I’ll drink to that! And on that note-Happy Holidays!