Legal News Articles & Interviews

Santa Clara, CA Uber and other gig-based companies aren’t the only ones battling California labor law Assembly Bill 5.  Late last year, the Western States Trucking Association and the California Trucking Association also filed lawsuits challenging AB5 and its “ABC test”, which has now been challenged by the state and the Teamsters.

Johnson County, IA In March 2020 Catherine Razavi filed a bank overdraft fees lawsuit against GreenState Credit Union. She alleges that the credit union charged her an overdraft fee even though there was enough money in her account and seeks class-action status for the lawsuit on behalf of similarly situated customers. Her story is symptomatic of a problem that extends far beyond the Iowa state line.

Santa Clara, CA A hearing by a California appeals court has been scheduled for June 2 in the case of Dewayne “Lee” Johnson v. Monsanto. Johnson was the first cancer victim to take Monsanto (now owned by Bayer) to court. His case garnered attention worldwide and opened the floodgates for tens of thousands of Monsanto Roundup lawsuits.

Los Angeles, CA McDonald’s workers filed complaints under the Private Attorney Generals Act (PAGA) claiming that the California Division of Occupational Health and Safety’s failure to address COVID-19 workplace safety issues has put workers in “imminent danger.”  McDonald’s now has less than a month to correct violations of the California Labor Code. Thereafter, either the state or workers can sue the fast-food giant.

Washington, DC Even with a promising bank overdraft fees lawsuit, checking account consumers can find themselves suddenly, unexpectedly blocked by an obligation to arbitrate disputes with a bank or credit union. Consumers are often not even aware that they have signed these agreements. Under recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings, that can be the end of a class action lawsuit.

Santa Clara, CA Several Zantac breast cancer lawsuits have been filed against the drug manufacturers, 12 years after a peer-reviewed study from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center linked Zantac with breast cancer.

San Jose, CA When the Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5) was signed in September 2019, Uber and Lyft said they'd sponsor a ballot initiative to take the issue to California voters in November 2020. To date, over $110 million has been raised and more than a million signatures collected to sponsor the initiative known as the "Protect App-Based Drivers and Services Act", which could exempt some companies from AB5 written into the California labor law. Labor and employment lawyer Michael Warren with the McManis Faulkner law firm says Uber and others will need more than money and signatures.

Santa Clara, CA Warnings from researchers and health officials associating vaping and e-cigarette with the corona virus are escalating, coincidentally while Juul departs San Francisco HQ and downsizes to Washington, D.C.

San Francisco, CA On May 5, Attorney General Xavier Becerra  filed a lawsuit on behalf of the State of California alleging that Uber and Lyft have misclassified  on-demand drivers as independent contractors in violation of  the California Labor Code, Wage Orders and Unemployment Compensation laws.

San Francisco, CA Last year Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital reduced a patient’s emergency room charges from $20,243 bill down to $200—after the patient, Nina Dang, contacted the media. She broke her arm on the pavement in a bike accident. Can’t reach the media? Of course lawyers experienced with negotiating ER overcharges can also substantially reduce hospital costs, both for insured and uninsured patients. “It’s frustrating that I have to hire a lawyer, but so far it’s been worth it,” said another ER patient, Alexa Sulvetta.