Legal News Articles & Interviews

New Orleans, LA A breast implant side effects lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Louisiana may soon join the growing list of cases to be considered as part of the federal multidistrict litigation forming in New Jersey. Seuzeneau v. Allergan USA, Inc. charges that Allergan, which marketed, advertised and sold Biocell textured breast implants, failed to disclose the connection between the implants and BIA-ALCL, a rare form of cancer.

San Diego, CA For months, the law firms that represent banks and other big businesses have worried that the Ninth Circuit’s 2019 decision in Blair v. Rent-A-Center shows plaintiffs how to side-step mandatory arbitration provisions that include class action waivers. Defense counsel’s worst fear is realized in the motion for reconsideration filed in McGovern v. U.S. Bank, a California bank overdraft fees lawsuit. 

Sacramento, CA  MobileWash Inc. is the first gig company hit with a misclassification lawsuit under Assembly Bill 5 – a law making it illegal for companies to hire independent contractors and has violated the California labor code. The California Labor Commissioner’s Office targeted Mobile Wash because it allegedly “made a calculated business decision to misclassify” car washers who perform services arranged through the company’s app as independent contractors, rather than employees.

San Francisco, CA On June 26, the California Court of Appeals held that an employee could continue his state Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claim even after settling his California Labor Code lawsuit. Linehan-Clodfelter v. Vivint, Inc. closely follows the reasoning of the recent California Supreme Court decision in Kim v. Reins Internat. California, Inc. Kim was widely seen as strengthening employee efforts to curb employer wage and hour abuse through PAGA, especially for workers who, daunted by the risks of arbitrating wage claims, have taken a settlement offer instead. Linehan-Clodfelter affirms the availability of that important legal tool.

Harrisburg, PA Only after pressure from scientists and consumers and mounting Elmiron vision loss lawsuits, Janssen Pharmaceuticals has finally updated its Elmiron interstitial cystitis drug label, adding the risk of developing permanent eye damage to its side effects. But a quick scan online shows that numerous health sites and pharmacies have not received the memo.

Philadelphia, PA Enock Benjamin, a meat packer at JBS Souderton Inc., died of Covid-19 on April 3, four days after the plant shut down to stop the spread of the virus. His family has filed a wrongful death and survivor lawsuit, claiming that his death was the predictable and preventable result of the JBS’s decisions to ignore worker safety. In fact, rather than protect workers, JBS increased production, implementing a “Saturday kill” to capitalize on panic buying of ground meat.

St. Louis, MO A panel of three judges with the Missouri Appeals Court has found Johnson & Johnson “Outrageous because of Evil Motive or Reckless Indifference” and upheld an award of over $2 billion in damages: $500 million in compensatory damages, plus another $1.62 billion in punitive damages. This group of 22 ovarian cancer victims-- all of whom developed ovarian cancer from J&J’s baby powder-- has now received the sixth largest award in U.S. legal history. 

San Francisco, CA  On June 29, the California Supreme Court handed down a pair of opinions that clarify the application of the California labor code to employees who work both within and outside of the state. Ward v. United Airlines, Inc. stands broadly for the proposition that the California labor code applies to employees if the employee works a majority of the time in California or has his or her base of operations in California. Oman v. Delta Airlines, Inc. states the rule in the negative. The California labor code does not apply to workers who work only episodically and for less than a day at a time in California unless the employee works primarily in California during the pay period, or for those who do not work primarily in any state, if the worker has a base of operations in California.

Hackensack, NJ On July 7, the initial case management conference for In Re: Allergan Biocell Textured Breast Implant Products Liability Litigation (the “MCL”) was held before Judge Rachelle Harz in New Jersey Superior Court in Bergen County. The consolidation of state law actions is intended to permit speedy, cost-effective and consistent management of the common issues that the breast implant side effects lawsuits are expected to share. This multicounty litigation will proceed in parallel with the multidistrict federal lawsuits (the “MDL”) that have been consolidated in Newark.

Camden, NJ  On June 24, Judith Jimenez filed a class action bank overdraft fees lawsuit claiming that TD Bank, NA re-opened her checking account, which the bank had previously closed, for the express purpose of charging her an overdraft fee. Mission accomplished, the bank then closed her account again – all without her authorization. The lawsuit further claims that TD Bank had a routine practice of opening accounts in the names of consumers without lawful authority. If this sounds familiar, it should.