LAWSUITS NEWS & LEGAL INFORMATION
Anne Wallace
Anne Wallace is a New York lawyer, currently living in the metropolitan Washington, DC area. She writes on legal and business issues and teaches at the college and professional level. Anne graduated from Fordham Law School and Wellesley College.
Ozempic Linked to Serious Pain in the Pocketbook
September 19, 2024.
Washington, DC On September 24, the Senate Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) will hear testimony from Lars Jorgensen, Novo Nordisk CEO, about why American consumers pay as much as ten times more for Ozempic and Wegovy than patients in the U.K. and the Netherlands. The popular diabetes and weight loss drugs have already been linked to serious side effects. These well-documented Ozempic side effects include stomach paralysis, a rare form of blindness, thyroid cancer and bowel obstruction.
Read [ Ozempic Linked to Serious Pain in the Pocketbook ]
Sixth Circuit Nixes Arbitration for ERISA Claims
September 16, 2024.
Memphis, TN On August 20, the Sixth Circuit refused to force participants in two related 401k plans, the "DRiV Plan" and the "Tenneco Plan,” to arbitrate claims that the plans wasted workers’ retirement money by offering sub-par investment choices. At first blush, Parker v. Tenneco, Inc., looks like one of many cookie-cutter ERISA lawsuits that allege sloppy financial management and the price that working folks pay.
Read [ Sixth Circuit Nixes Arbitration for ERISA Claims ]
Tesla’s Bid to Dismiss PAGA Lawsuit Gets Anti-SLAPPed Down
September 3, 2024.
Oakland, CA On August 8, the California Court of Appeal denied Tesla’s motion to dismiss a Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) lawsuit brought by former Tesla employees. At its simplest, Sharonda Taylor v. Tesla, Inc. is about the workers’ struggle to access their own wage and hour records.
Read [ Tesla’s Bid to Dismiss PAGA Lawsuit Gets Anti-SLAPPed Down ]
California Public Employees Lose Rest and Meal Break Rights
August 30, 2024.
San Francisco, CA On August 15, 2024, the Supreme Court of California in Stone v. Alameda Health Systems held that:
Read [ California Public Employees Lose Rest and Meal Break Rights ]
Veterans Die of Neglect in Nursing Homes
August 27, 2024.
Northampton, MA In March, Bennett Walsh, the former superintendent of the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, and its former medical director, Dr. David Clinton resolved criminal neglect charges against them. The veterans medical malpractice charges stemmed from the deaths of 76 veterans at the state-run facility during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Neither leader pleaded guilty; they did, however, acknowledge that there were sufficient facts to warrant a guilty finding.
Read [ Veterans Die of Neglect in Nursing Homes ]
State AGs Nail $86 Million Suboxone Settlement
August 21, 2024.
New York, NY On July 26, New York Attorney General, Letitia James announced that Suboxone manufacturer Indivior had agreed in principle to pay $86 million to settle Suboxone lawsuits brought by the attorneys general of New York, Illinois, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia. The settlement was reached in coordination with 11 other states. Their dangerous drug lawsuits alleged that Indivior produced and then marketed buprenorphine-based products to dangerous prescribers who, under the guise of “medical treatment,” triggered further harm.
Read [ State AGs Nail $86 Million Suboxone Settlement ]
Mandalorian Actress Beats Back Disney Bid to Toss Wage Lawsuit
August 19, 2024.
Los Angeles, CA On July 24, the District Court for the Central District of California denied The Walt Disney Company’s motion to dismiss actress Gina Carano’s wrongful termination and sex discrimination lawsuit. Carano’s California employment lawsuit alleged that Disney had violated California law by firing her in retaliation for various social media posts that the company found objectionable. Gina Carano v. The Walt Disney Company will now, presumably, move toward trial. For legal nerds, the lawsuit raises some interesting issues about balancing the employers’ and employees’ First Amendment freedom of speech rights.
Read [ Mandalorian Actress Beats Back Disney Bid to Toss Wage Lawsuit ]
Popular Diabetes/Weight Loss Drugs Linked to Rare Form of Blindness
August 15, 2024.
Philadelphia, PA In February, the rapidly growing number of Ozempic side effect lawsuits was consolidated for pre-trial proceedings in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) 3094 was stalled at first, but the early steps are finally underway.
Read [ Popular Diabetes/Weight Loss Drugs Linked to Rare Form of Blindness ]
Fourth Bellwether Trial Scheduled in Exactech MDL
August 13, 2024.
Brooklyn, NY As of May 2024, the trial dates for four bellwether trials in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York multidistrict Exactech litigation (MDL) have been set as follows:
Read [ Fourth Bellwether Trial Scheduled in Exactech MDL ]
BP Retirees Win Long-Fought ERISA Lawsuit -- Sort of
August 7, 2024.
Houston, TX On March 28, Judge George C. Hanks of the Southern District of Texas held that more than 7,000 North Slope Alaskan pipeline retirees who had participated in the BP America Retirement Plan (BP plan) were entitled to equitable relief under Section 502(a)(3) of ERISA. Guenther v. BP Retirement Accumulation Plan, a long-running ERISA lawsuit, alleges that BP "committed fraud or similarly inequitable conduct" in how it announced a pension formula change more than 30 years ago.
Read [ BP Retirees Win Long-Fought ERISA Lawsuit -- Sort of ]
- Transgender Veterans Sue VA over Gender-Confirmation Surgery (Aug-6-24)
- Clickwrap Employment Contract Roils California Arbitration Law (Aug-1-24)
- VA Docs Protected by Code of Silence (Jul-29-24)
- $9.5 Million Army Hospital Medical Malpractice Settlement (Jul-12-24)
- Loper Bright Fuels Fifth Circuit ERISA Lawsuit (Jul-11-24)
- Qualcomm 401k Plan Participants Sue over Use of Forfeitures (Jul-8-24)
- Disabled Vet Challenges Medical Malpractice Ban in Supreme Court (Jul-1-24)
- J&J Offers $6.48 Billion to Settle Ovarian Cancer Talcum Powder Lawsuits (Jun-29-24)
- Can a TPA’s Exploitation of a Plan Sponsor’s Breach of ERISA Duty Make the TPA a Fiduciary? (Jun-27-24)
- VA Hospital Settles Medical Malpractice Lawsuit for $880,000 (Jun-17-24)
- VA Settles Veteran PTSD Suicide Lawsuit for $1.7 Million (Jun-5-24)
- Musk Accused of Cheating Twitter Execs out of Severance Pay (May-23-24)
- Surgeons Warned to Stop Using Synovo Total Hip Implants (Apr-24-24)
- Maryland Orders Employer to Fork Over Missed Contributions to 401k Plan (Apr-22-24)
- Johnson & Johnson Strikes Back (Apr-5-24)
- Exactech Defective Hip Implant MDL Takes Shape (Mar-25-24)
- DOL Charges TPA Embezzled ERISA Plan Assets (Mar-18-24)
- Last Dance, Last Chance for the Texas Two-Step in J&J Talc Litigation (Feb-28-24)
- PAGA To Face Critical Test on November 2024 Ballot (Feb-20-24)
- New York MDL Consolidates Growing Number of Exactech Defective Hip Implant Lawsuits (Feb-9-24)
- Another Option for Workers Who Cannot Save through an ERISA Retirement Plan (Feb-8-24)
- Johnson & Johnson to Pay $700 Million to Settle State AG Lawsuits (Jan-23-24)
- More Long-Term Part Timers May Now Save Through 401k ERISA Plans (Jan-22-24)
- Are Forfeiture Lawsuits the Next Trend for ERISA Litigation in 2024? (Jan-3-24)
- MetLife to Settle ERISA Lawsuit for $4.5 Million (Dec-15-23)
- Barge Worker Not Required to Arbitrate California Wage Claims (Dec-13-23)
- Amazon Retaliates against Women Demanding Fair Pay (Dec-7-23)
- Lawsuit Links PFAS PFOA Water Contamination to Ulcerative Colitis (Nov-27-23)
- Jury Awards $107 Million in Asbestos Mesothelioma Lawsuit (Nov-22-23)
- Home Healthcare Employer Settles Wage Lawsuit for $700,000 (Nov-19-23)
- ESG Rules for ERISA Plan Investing Survive Conservative Challenge (Nov-14-23)
- Customer Service Representatives Stiffed of Pre- and Post-Shift Wages (Oct-23-23)
- Exposure to PFAS Doubles Cancer Risk in Women (Oct-18-23)
- Construction Laborers Pension Plan Sues Investment Manager for ERISA Breach (Oct-17-23)
- Allianz Asset Management Settles ERISA Lawsuit for $7.5 Million (Oct-3-23)
- $12.5 Billion PFAS Settlement Revised to Extend 3M Liability (Sep-29-23)
- Minnesota District Court Dismisses ERISA Fiduciary Breach Lawsuit (Sep-5-23)
- Maryland’s Largest Water Utility Files PFAS Lawsuit (Aug-30-23)
- Pfizer 401k Plan Hit with ERISA Lawsuit (Aug-18-23)
- Xerox Settles ERISA Lawsuit for $7.2 Million plus Free or Reduced-Cost Retiree Medical and Dental Coverage (Aug-15-23)