Abbott, AbbVie settle TriCor marketing case for $25 million
Abbott Laboratories and AbbVie Inc will pay a total of $25 million to resolve allegations that Abbott paid kickbacks to doctors in exchange for prescribing the cholesterol drug TriCor and promoted the medication for unapproved purposes.
The U.S. Justice Department on Friday announced the settlement, which resolves claims first raised in a whistleblower lawsuit filed in federal court in Philadelphia in 2009 by a former Abbott sales representative. AbbVie was spun out of Abbott in 2013.
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Chemerinsky: The future of cy pres awards
One of the most important cases on this week’s oral argument calendar in the Supreme Court is Frank v. Gaos, which concerns the future of cy pres awards. Although cy pres is hardly a phrase that has made it to the lexicon of most lawyers, it is enormously important in class action litigation and to nonprofit institutions (including mine) that benefit from these awards.
LA School District Settles Molestation Case for $5M
Just as jury selection was about to begin, the Los Angeles School District agreed to pay $5 million to settle a case with a former student whose math teacher sexually abused her when she was in middle school.
The school district reached the settlement on Friday as pre-trial motions were set to be heard in Los Angeles County Court, according to the former student’s attorney.
Alabama daughter didn't have authority to sign arbitration agreement
The daughter of a deceased dementia patient will not have to submit to arbitration in her wrongful death lawsuit against a Huntsville, Alabama, nursing and rehabilitation center following an Alabama Supreme Court opinion issued earlier this month.
Blind man's suit alleges attacks on guide dog by trucking company dog
The case of a blind man and his guide dog repeatedly attacked by a Bell Gardens, California truck hauling company's guard dog is headed back to a Los Angeles court after a three-justice appeals panel found earlier this month that a demurrer should not have been sustained.
With the midterm elections coming in November, a lot of attention is being paid to election law. In this edition of the Planet Lex podcast from Legal Talk Network, host Jim Speta talks to law school professor Michael Kang about a wide range of topics in election law, from partisan gerrymandering to the effects of voter ID laws. Also discussed are how different political parties have used redistricting to their advantage, the urban/rural divide and the role state courts play in elections.
Wyoming Files Suit Against Purdue Pharma Over Opioid Marketing Practices
The Wyoming Attorney General’s Office is suing the maker of OxyContin, claiming the pharmaceutical company deceptively marketed opioid painkillers in the state. The Casper Star-Tribune reports the state filed the lawsuit Thursday in Laramie County Circuit Court against Purdue Pharma, …
Jury Recommends $2 Million in Damages in Baby Cremation Case
An attorney urged a jury Thursday to award $2 million in damages to a Monterey Park woman who alleges the Los Angeles County coroner's office cremated her baby daughter's body in 2016 without notifying her beforehand, but a lawyer for the county said the plaintiff is primarily responsible for her damages and deserves little or nothing.
Jury Orders Corporation to Pay Over $8M in Unsafe Airplane Repair Suit
A Los Angeles Superior Court jury sent a powerful message in support of whistleblowers by awarding over $8 million to three employees who complained about unsafe airplane repairs and suffered retaliation: an airplane mechanic ( Brian Gruzalski ), the mechanic's supervisor ( Stanley Langevin ) and their manager ( Mark Collins ), according to the suit.
A police officer wins a $7 million mesothelioma award in an asbestos exposure case against Jenkins Bros. manufacturing. The police officer claimed that Jenkins Bros. knew asbestos exposure was dangerous and failed to warn him of the dangers of asbestos exposure. Plaintiff James S. works as a police officer in Atlanta, Georgia, and said that he was diagnosed with incurable mesothelioma on Jan. 18, 2017. Mesothelioma is a type of lung cancer that affects the lining of the lungs.
Engaged Ohio Lawyers Sanctioned for Trading Confidences
Two attorneys who were engaged to be married and who practice in the same area of the law but worked for different firms were sanctioned by the Ohio Supreme Court Oct. 25 for sharing confidential client information.
The two were suspended for six months, but the penalty was stayed.
Thomas Holmes and Brie Kerr represented public school districts for their respective law firms. They developed a personal relationship after meeting at a conference.
NY Court of Appeals issues opinion of “no credit card surcharge” law
The New York Court of Appeals has issued an opinion in Expressions Hair Design v. Schneiderman interpreting the state’s law that prohibits merchants from imposing a surcharge on credit card purchases (Section 518 of the state’s General Business Law). The court concluded that if a merchant posts its prices and charges lower prices to cash customers, it must post the price charged to credit card customers.
$2.2M settlement reached with company accused of implying USCIS links
Defendants in a complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleging they falsely implied their websites were tied to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have agreed to a $2.2 million settlement.
According to the FTC, Forms Direct Inc., also known as American Immigration Center, and its owner Cesare Alessandrini sold immigration form preparation services to renew green cards or to apply for naturalization.
Arkansas’ highest court on Thursday ordered election officials to not count votes for a proposal to limit damages awarded in civil lawsuits and rejected an effort to block an initiative to raise the state’s minimum wage.
The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled on the two ballot measures days before early voting begins for the Nov. 6 midterm election. Justices upheld a state judge’s ruling that the ballot measure limiting civil lawsuit damages unconstitutionally combined separate proposals. The measure also would have given the Legislature control over court rules in the state.
Southern California Gas Co. on Monday agreed to pay $46 million to settle a lawsuit by a motorcyclist who was struck and badly injured by a company driver who suffered an epileptic seizure.
U.S. Air Force Capt. Jason Lo was stopped at a red light in suburban Hawthorne on Feb. 13, 2017, when a SoCal Gas pickup truck struck him from behind. Lo and his motorcycle were wedged under the truck and dragged for more than 430 feet (131 meters), police said.
With the midterm elections coming in November, a lot of attention is being paid to election law. In this edition of the