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.
PFAS Linked to Obesity
May 26, 2023.
Kingston, RI A University of Rhode Island study has confirmed that increased PFAS content in blood promotes weight gain and makes it harder to keep a lower body weight after weight loss. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS/PFOA) “forever chemicals” have previously been linked to a variety of health conditions, including cancers, liver disease and thyroid disease. The newly-found connection with obesity effectively doubles the health risks caused by this environmental contaminant.
Read [ PFAS Linked to Obesity ]
Enfamil Linked to Preemie Blindness, Cerebral Palsy
May 23, 2023.
Evansville, IN On April 17, Sandra Hayes sued Mead Johnson & Company, alleging that the baby formula manufacturer was responsible for injuring Adam Hayes shortly after his birth. The necrotizing enterocolitis lawsuit details baby Adam’s injuries including partial blindness and cerebral palsy brought on by his consumption of Enfamil Premature 24, a cow’s milk-based formula in the days after his early birth.
Read [ Enfamil Linked to Preemie Blindness, Cerebral Palsy ]
San Francisco Superior Court: Pay Banquet Servers $9 Million
May 18, 2023.
San Francisco, CA In John Ordono et al. v Marriott International Inc., San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ethan P. Schulman has tentatively found that banquet servers were entitled to $8.97 million because reasonable customers might have concluded that mandatory service charges were intended as gratuities. Under California Labor Code 351, gratuities or tips belong to employees, and employers may not take them or deduct any amount from a worker's wages.
Read [ San Francisco Superior Court: Pay Banquet Servers $9 Million ]
ERISA Lawsuits Target Environmental, Social and Governance Factors in Plan Asset Decisions
May 16, 2023.
Washington, DC The Department of Labor (DOL) has adopted a rule that would permit, but not require, ERISA retirement plan fiduciaries to consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in making financial decisions. What is generally referred to as the “2022 rule” took effect on January 30, 2023.
Read [ ERISA Lawsuits Target Environmental, Social and Governance Factors in Plan Asset Decisions ]
Ninth Circuit Overturns California’s “No Forced Arbitration Law”
April 30, 2023.
Sacramento, CA In February, the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts California Assembly Bill 51 (AB51). These sections of California labor law were designed to protect employees from having to choose between a job and the legal right to have disputes resolved in court. The law has been a target of employer groups since it was enacted in 2019.
Read [ Ninth Circuit Overturns California’s “No Forced Arbitration Law” ]
Johnson & Johnson Offers $8.9 Billion to Settle Talcum Powder Lawsuits
April 29, 2023.
Newark, NJ On April 4, Johnson & Johnson made a new offer of $8.9 billion to settle tens of thousands of talcum powder lawsuits. The lawsuits allege that widespread asbestos contamination of the company’s talc products caused users to suffer from mesothelioma and various gynecological cancers.
Read [ Johnson & Johnson Offers $8.9 Billion to Settle Talcum Powder Lawsuits ]
Can PFAS and PFOAs be Scrubbed from Drinking Water?
April 27, 2023.
Washington, DC New reports suggest that technological innovations may be effective in scrubbing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS/PFOA) “forever chemicals” from the nation’s drinking water. These innovations suggest part of a prospective remedy for the widespread health and environmental damage caused by these chemicals.
Read [ Can PFAS and PFOAs be Scrubbed from Drinking Water? ]
What Now? Retirement Plan Cybertheft Is ERISA Lawsuit To Watch
April 3, 2023.
New York, NY On October 6, 2021, when Paula Disberry submitted a claim for benefits from the Colgate-Palmolive Company Employees Savings and Investment Plan (Plan”), she discovered that $750,000 in retirement savings was gone. She’d been robbed.
Read [ What Now? Retirement Plan Cybertheft Is ERISA Lawsuit To Watch ]
Gaming Giant to Settle ERISA Lawsuit for $5.5 Million
March 28, 2023.
St Joseph, MO On January 30, the federal district court for the Western District of Missouri gave preliminary approval to a $5.5 million settlement that will end Lipari-Williams v. Penn National Gaming, Inc. In their class action ERISA lawsuit, casino workers claimed that the company reduced their paychecks if they used tobacco in violation of ERISA, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Missouri minimum wage laws and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Settlement amounts will vary, but members of the ERISA class are expected to pocket roughly $370 each. Final approval of the unopposed settlement offer is expected in May.
Read [ Gaming Giant to Settle ERISA Lawsuit for $5.5 Million ]
Camp LeJeune Contaminated Water Lawsuits – Where’s the Flood?
March 25, 2023.
Wilmington, NC The Camp LeJeune Justice Act of 2022 created a process (admittedly cumbersome) through which veterans and their surviving families might be compensated for harm caused by the base’s contaminated water supplies between 1953 and 1987. The earliest date on which these Camp LeJeune Contaminated Water toxic tort lawsuits could be filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina was February 10, 2023.
Read [ Camp LeJeune Contaminated Water Lawsuits – Where’s the Flood? ]
- Thinx, Inc. to Settle PFAS/PFOA Lawsuit (Mar-20-23)
- In Utah Nonpatients Can Sue for Medical Malpractice (Sometimes) (Feb-7-23)
- ERISA Lawsuit Settlement Hits Stumbling Block (Jan-30-23)
- Can PAGA Claims Survive U.S. Supreme Court’s Pro-Arbitration Decisions? (Jan-24-23)
- Jury Awards Idaho Man $7.96 Million in Medical Malpractice Lawsuit (Dec-29-22)
- L3 Technologies ERISA Lawsuit Seeks Class Action Status (Dec-28-22)
- Asbestos Mesothelioma Victims Stymied by Bestwall LLC Bankruptcy (Dec-27-22)
- California Files PFAS/PFOA Lawsuit against 3M Company (Dec-26-22)
- DOL Files Unpaid Wages Lawsuit on Behalf of Home Healthcare Workers (Dec-13-22)
- Yale University Pension Plan Lawsuit Heading to Jury Trial (Dec-12-22)
- North Carolina Sues 3M Co. for PFAS/PFOA Environmental Damage (Dec-5-22)
- Booz Allen Hamilton BlackRock Target Date Funds at Heart of New ERISA Lawsuit (Dec-4-22)
- Time Spent “Booting Up” Computers may be Compensable (Nov-29-22)
- Department of Defense to Stop Using PFAS-Based Firefighting Foam in 2024 (Nov-14-22)
- Veteran Files Camp LeJeune Contaminated Water Lawsuit (Nov-7-22)
- Parties to Settle 401k Fiduciary Breach Lawsuit in Reichert v. Juniper Networks, Inc. (Oct-31-22)
- Assisted Living Operator to Settle Wage and Hour Lawsuit for $9.5 Million (Oct-18-22)
- CDC: Preemies and Low Birth Weight Babies Have No Access to Breast Milk at 13 Percent of Neonatal Intensive C (Oct-11-22)
- $90 Million Missing -- “Embezzlement and fraud,” cry AME Pastors in Pension Lawsuit (Sep-14-22)
- Class Action Toxic Tort Lawsuit Filed in Camp LeJeune Water Contamination Case (Sep-12-22)
- Costco Settles Excessive Fee ERISA Lawsuit for $5.1 Million (Aug-29-22)
- U.S. v. Academy Mortgage Corp., Episode Too-Many-to-Count, “The Whistleblower Strikes Back” (Aug-28-22)
- United Airlines Appears to Stiff Early Retirees (Aug-8-22)
- Supreme Court Deals Blow to California PAGA Claims (Jul-31-22)
- U.S. v. Academy Mortgage Corp., the Whistleblower Lawsuit that Will not Die (Jul-27-22)
- Former Head of Third-Party Billing Company on trial for Health Care Fraud (Jul-21-22)
- Mental Health Patient Advocates Fight Wit Reversal (Jul-18-22)
- The Big Story of UBS Whistleblower Lawsuit (Jul-7-22)
- Can my Employer Cut my Health Benefits after I Retire? (Jul-6-22)
- Increased Emergency Room Charges Loom for Patients at Critical Access Hospitals (Jul-5-22)
- Whistleblower Outed Abbott Labs Two Years Before FDA Closed Sturgis Plant (Jun-20-22)
- ERISA Lawsuit Alleges that ESOP Fiduciaries Cheated Participants (May-31-22)
- Matco Tools Settles California Misclassification Lawsuit for $15.8 Million (May-31-22)
- Kickback Scheme Spawns Humira Whistleblower Lawsuit and Investor Backlash (May-30-22)
- Oman v. Delta Airlines is Done. Virgin America v. Bernstein Looms on the Horizon (May-20-22)
- Plaintiffs Seek Recusal of Latest Judge in Home Depot ERISA Lawsuit (May-16-22)
- Alcoa Fights Retirees’ ERISA Lawsuit over Health Benefits Plan (May-10-22)
- MLB Farm Team Players to Get Their Day in Court (May-6-22)
- Debtor-in-Possession Bankruptcy for MD Helicopters? (May-3-22)
- Teamsters Sue UPS for Pension and Welfare Contributions (Apr-30-22)