Week Adjourned: 7.2.10

Top Class Actions

Remember Zicam? The homeopathic cold remedy that claims to “knock out sinus congestion fast.” Well, speaking of knock-outs—the makers of Zicam got hit with a class action lawsuit this week, alleging injuries including loss of sense of smell and diminished sense of taste as a result of using Zicam Cold Remedy Gel.  

Russell Surette, the lead plaintiff, claims use of the product caused him diminishment of the senses of smell and taste and economic damage in the amount of the purchase price paid for the product. And it seems he’s not the only one. LawyersAndSettlements.com has interviewed a number of Zicam-users who have suffered similar adverse effects after using these products.  

In fact, the US Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning to consumers to stop using three Zicam Cold Remedy Products after the products were linked to the loss of the sense of smell (anosmia). The FDA made the announcement after receiving more than 130 reports of anosmia linked to the products. 

Russell and the class are seeking compensation and other for permanent loss of the sense of smell and diminishment in his sense of taste, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and recovery of the price paid for the product. 

Top Settlements 

Call Center Called on the Carpet? I gave my head a shake when I read this one. A company based in Bakersfield, CA—Spherion Pacific Workforce—settled a wages and overtime class action brought Continue reading “Week Adjourned: 7.2.10”

Week Adjourned: 6.19.09

Top class actions

Get a Whiff of Zicam. Oh wait, maybe you can’t. At least that’s what’s at the heart of the latest Zicam news. No, it’s not a class action yet—but it could be. And it wouldn’t be the first one. At issue are 3 Zicam cold remedies that cause a loss of sense of smell—a condition known as anosmia. As if the cold wasn’t enough of a problem.

In 2005 more than 300 people filed a class action lawsuit against Matrixx, the makers of cold remedies marketed under the name Zicam, alleging the zinc nasal spray caused a loss of sense of smell and taste. Matrixx settled the suit in 2006 for $12 million.

This week, on June 16, 2 years and 130 adverse event reports later, the FDA released a public health advisory urging consumers not to use the Zicam cold remedies, for the same reasons the lawsuit was brought in 2005.

The products named in the FDA’s advisory are Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel, Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Swabs and Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs, Kids Size (a discontinued product). What part of this didn’t Matrixx get the first time round?

Top settlements

MySpace Ain’t Your Space. What would you do if you were forced to give your employer your ID and password to an online group you had created with the express purpose of venting your frustrations about your employer? Well, 2 waiters in New Jersey who were faced with that very situation filed a class action lawsuit. And they won.

Restaurant managers who worked at Houston’s in Hackensack, NJ, were fined by a federal jury for surreptitiously monitoring employees’ postings in a MySpace gripe group. The jury ruled that the managers had violated state and federal laws designed to protect privacy of internet communications. The jury awarded the waiters a total of $3,400 in back pay and $13,600 in punitive damages.

BMW: Sheer Driving Pleasure? (if you excuse the faulty subframes). If you or someone you know owns a fourth-generation 3-series model BMW—say the E46—you will be happy to hear there is a settlement pending in the 2006 class action suit against the automaker. So far, BMW has agreed to begin inspections and repairs of potentially faulty subframes in these models.

Currently the settlement is only valid for US residents, and no recall is planned. BMW customers with questions can visit www.E46subframeclassactionsettlement.com.

That’s it for this week. See you at the Bar…