Jan
26
9th Circuit Says Insurers Have Standing To Object To Thorpe’s Confirmed Plan
January 26, 2012 | Leave a Comment
SAN FRANCISCO – Because Thorpe Insulation Co.’s Chapter 11 plan of reorganization could harm insurance companies, the plan is not “insurance neutral” and, therefore, the insurers have standing to object to it, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Jan. 24 in reversing approval of the plan and remanding the case so the insurers’ arguments can be heard (Motor Vehicle Casualty Company, et al. v. Thorpe Insulation Company, et al.[In The Matter of Thorpe Insulation Company] and National Fire Insurance Company of Hartford, et al. v. Thorpe Insulation Company, et al. [In the Matter of Thorpe Insulation Company], Nos. 10-56543 and 10-56622, 9th Cir.; 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 1272).
LexisNexis® Mealey’s™ Daily Legal News
Jan
23
Merck, Canadian Plaintiffs Settle Vioxx Litigation For Up To $ 36.3M
January 23, 2012 | Leave a Comment
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. and plaintiffs’ counsel in four Canadian Vioxx class actions announced Jan. 19 that they have agreed to settle the litigation for up to $ 36.3 million (Mignacca, et al. v. Merck Frosst Canada Ltd, et al., No. 04-CV-045435CP, Ontario Super. Ct. of Justice; Pelletier v. Merck & Co. Inc., et al., No. 500-06-000437-083, and Sigouin, et al. v. Merck & Co. Inc., et al., No. 500-06-000246-047, Quebec Superior Court, Montreal Dist.; Bray, et al. v. Merck Frosst Canada Ltd, et al., Q.B. No. 1727 of 2004, Court of Queen’s Bench of Saskatchewan).
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Jan
20
Texas Risperdal Trial Ends When Janssen Settles For $ 158M, Company Says
January 20, 2012 | Leave a Comment
AUSTIN, Texas – Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen LLP said Jan. 19 that it has agreed to pay $ 158 million to settle claims by Texas that it defrauded the Medicaid program through its off-label promotion of the atypical antipsychotic drug Risperdal (State of Texas, ex rel. Allen Jones v. Janssen LP, No. D-1GV-04-001288, Texas Dist., Travis Co.).
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Jan
17
6 Third-Party Payers Settle Zyprexa Claims For $ 4.5M Amount After Class Vacated
January 17, 2012 | Leave a Comment
BROOKLYN, NY – The Zyprexa multidistrict litigation judge on Jan. 12 approved a $ 4.5 million settlement between Eli Lilly and Co. and six third-party payers who had their Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act class action vacated and who couldn’t find any other health benefit providers to join their individual suits, the parties told Mealey Publications (In Re: Zyprexa Products Liability Litigation, MDL Docket No. 1596, No. 04-md-1596, UFCW Local 1776 v. Eli Lilly and Company, Nos. 05-5115, E.D. N.Y.).
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Jan
14
California Top Court: Manufacturers Not Liable For Third-Party Asbestos Products
January 14, 2012 | Leave a Comment
SAN FRANCISCO – A manufacturer may not be held strictly liable or negligent for harm caused by another manufacturer’s asbestos-containing product except where the defendant bears some direct responsibility for the resulting harm, the California Supreme Court held today in rejecting “an unprecedented expansion of strict products liability” (Barbara J. O’Neil, et al. v. Crane Co., et al., No. S177401, Calif. Sup.).
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Jan
11
Act’s Silence On Arbitration Means Claims Must Be Arbitrated, High Court Rules
January 11, 2012 | Leave a Comment
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Because the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) does not specifically state whether claims brought pursuant to the act are eligible for arbitration, the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) requires an arbitration agreement in a credit card agreement “to be enforced according to its terms,” a split U.S. Supreme Court ruled Jan. 10 (CompuCredit Corp., et al. v. Wanda Greenwood, et al., No. 10-948, U.S. Sup.).
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Jan
8
3rd Circuit Reverses Ruling Dismissing Case As Sanction For Spoliation
January 8, 2012 | Leave a Comment
PHILADELPHIA – A Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Jan. 4 ordered a new trial in an employment discrimination case against United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) after finding that a federal judge in New Jersey abused his discretion when dismissing the woman’s action as a sanction for her failure to produce original copies of two doctors’ notes until after a mistrial was declared (Laureen Bull v. United Parcel Service Inc., No. 10-4339, 3rd Cir.).
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Jan
5
9th Circuit Grants, Denies Appeals Of Remand In Deceptive Loan Cases
January 5, 2012 | Leave a Comment
SAN FRANCISCO – In parallel cases filed by the State of Arizona and State of Nevada alleging deceptive loan and foreclosure practices against Bank of America Corp. and its subsidiary Countrywide Financial Corp., the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 3 granted Nevada’s petition to appeal a federal judge’s denial of its motion to remand its case to state court and denied Countrywide’s petition to appeal a federal judge’s removal of its case to an Arizona state court (State of Nevada v. Bank of America Corp., et al, No. 11-80165, 9th Cir.; State of Arizona v. Countrywide Financial Corp., et al, No. 11-80086, 9th Cir.).
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Jan
2
Parties Move To Dismiss All Claims In Auction-Rate Securities Suit
January 2, 2012 | Leave a Comment
BOSTON – Shareholders and Deutsche Bank AG (DB) have agreed to resolve all outstanding disputes in a securities lawsuit alleging that DB wrongly invested more than $ 200 million in auction-rate securities, according to a Dec. 19 joint motion to dismiss filed by both parties in Massachusetts federal court (Akamai Technologies, et al. v. Deutsche Bank AG, No. 10-10254, D. Mass.).
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Dec
31
Settlement Money To Be Distributed In Wal-Mart Gender Discrimination Suit
December 31, 2011 | Leave a Comment
LONDON, Ky. – More than 1,300 women who were denied employment at a Wal-Mart Stores Inc. distribution center will receive payments ranging from $ 2,000 to $ 52,500 under a settlement of gender discrimination claims brought by the U.S. government more than 10 years ago, according to a Dec. 20 order approving a final notice of distribution signed by a Kentucky federal judge (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., No. 01-339, E.D. Ky.; 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 146077).
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