In a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a class-action suit brought against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. by 1.5 million current and former female employees of the retail giant in June of this year. But U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer of the Northern District of California said in a ruling on August 19th that the women […]
Court OK’s Class Action Against AT&T
The Birmingham Business Journal reported that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia granted class action status to a lawsuit filed by workers of Bellsouth Telecommunications against AT&T Inc. The workers are claiming that they are owed $1billion in overtime pay. This ruling is the third approved overtime class-action that alleges that AT&T and […]
Court OK’s Class Action Against AT&T
The Birmingham Business Journal reported that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia granted class action status to a lawsuit filed by workers of Bellsouth Telecommunications against AT&T Inc. The workers are claiming that they are owed $1billion in overtime pay. This ruling is the third approved overtime class-action that alleges that AT&T and […]
Apology Statutes Could Reduce Litigation and Preserve Relationships
Brad Reid, of Lipscomb University’s Dean Institute For Corporate Governance and Integrity, presented an argument in The Huffington Post favoring the development of “an apology statute that encourages statements of concern and at the same time allows a jury to determine the facts of a particular incident.” “The traditional legal risk of an apology,” he says, “has […]
Columnist Says Tort Reform Is Skewed Toward Corporations
Columnist Margaret Carlson writes a scathing review of tort reform in Bloomberg News, saying that, “in practice, tort reform has proved to be just another corporate protection racket.” She sites Texas’ capping wrongful death damages at $500,000 and non-economic damages at $250,000, and points to cases such as a Nebraska family that was awarded $1.25 million […]
Wage Lawsuits On the Rise
While layoffs are hard on employees and their families, they are also hard on employers, as lawsuits that are brought by former employees rise. A weekly industry publication, Business Insurance, reports that, “The Department of Labor said there were 40,000 wage-and-hour complaints during fiscal 2010, up about 15% from roughly 35,000 complaints in fiscal 2009.” The […]
Verizon Settles Lawsuit For $20 Million
Verizon Communications Inc. will pay $20 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over unlawful policies for disabled workers. According to the EEOC suit, Verizon employees were disciplined or fired when they needed more time off than by the company’s leave policies for reasons directly related to their disabilities, and […]
GA Court Says Store Can Be Held Liable For Beer Sale
The Assosiated Press reported that the Georgia Supreme Court found that a convenience store can be held liable for a fatal auto accident that was caused by a driver after he bought a 12 pack of beer. Billy Grundell purchased the beer from Exprezit! Stores 98-Georgia while noticeably intoxicated and later struck a van with his vehicle, […]
Supreme Court Finds Civil Litigants Have No Automatic Right To Counsel
The Wall Street Journal reports that the Supreme Court has ruled that poor civil litigants that face incarceration do not have automatic right to counsel. The justices voted 5-4 to uphold the appeal of Michael Turner of South Carolina who was sent to jail after he insisted that he could not pay his child support payments. […]
Loose Standards On Window Blinds Dangerous For Children
The cords on window shades and blinds have been a cause of injury and death in children because of the strangulation hazard they present for decades, resulting in about one child dying every month. Last summer, safety regulators in several countries, including the U.S., instructed the window covering industry to enact new safety standards that […]
