Miscellaneous

• The Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007 Considered by Congress

  Mike Simon | July 26, 2007 4:39 PM | 1 CommentWest Virginia, WV

  On July 12th, the Arbitration Fairness Act was introduced to the House and the Senate to amend the Federal Arbitration Act, which was passed in the 1920's. The proposed bill would make clauses in contracts that mandate arbitration and prohibit joining class action lawsuits unenforceable. The bill aims to prevent mandatory arbitration in employment, consumer, franchise, or civil disputes.Leo...

• BAR/BRI Charging Too Much for Test Preparation?

  Mike Simon | August 04, 2007 3:39 PM | 0 CommentsWest Virginia, WV

  A new class action lawsuit has been filed against the country's biggest bar exam preparation company, BAR/BRI bar review, alleging that the company fraudulently and deceptively induced students from New York law schools to purchase BAR/BRI products at inflated prices. The plaintiffs in the $48 million suit are two 2005 graduates and one 2006 graduate from Albany Law School.The initial class...

• Court to Hear Katrina Insurance Appeal

  Mike Simon | July 10, 2007 8:32 AM | 0 CommentsWest Virginia, WV

  The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments on whether Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. should be forced to cover storm surge damage to the home of Paul and Julie Leonard resulting from Hurricane Katrina. Oral arguments will be heard on August 6th. U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter Jr. ruled in 2006 that the Leonards could not collect damages from a Katrina storm surge because...

• Coal Company Ordered to Pay Wheeling-Pitt $219 Million

  Mike Simon | July 06, 2007 8:10 AM | 0 CommentsWest Virginia, WV

  After a month-long trial, a Brooke County Circuit Court jury has ordered Massey Energy and a subsidiary to pay more than $219 million in damages to Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation. Wheeling-Pitt sued Massey subsidiary Central West Virginia Energy Co. in April 2005, claiming it failed to deliver 104,000 tons of metallurgical grade coal per month as required under a contract signed in 2002...

• Judge Approves $64 Million Settlement Over Drug Paxil

  Mike Simon | June 06, 2007 3:28 PM | 0 CommentsWest Virginia, WV

  A judge in Madison County, Illinois granted final approval in late May for a settlement in a class action deal, in which parents, who purchased GlaxoSmithKline PLC's Paxil or Paxil CR for their children may seek reimbursement for their purchase of the antidepressant.The suit alleged that GlaxoSmithKline misled consumers by failing to disclose information about negative side effects, such as...

• Judge OKs $7.4M settlement for U.S. Patients Who Said They Had Unnecessary Heart Procedures

  Mike Simon | May 22, 2007 8:52 AM | 0 CommentsWest Virginia, WV

  A Louisiana hospital agreed to pay $7.4 million to settle its part of a class action suit accusing a cardiologist of doing unnecessary angioplasties and other procedures. Half of the amount will be shared by 305 former patients and the rest will pay litigation costs and attorneys' fees in the suit against Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center. The attorneys are still seeking damages from...

• Allstate Hit with $2.8 Million Verdict

  Mike Simon | May 11, 2007 3:49 PM | 0 CommentsWest Virginia, WV

  On April 16, a federal jury in New Orleans awarded a verdict of $2.8 million in an insurance dispute to a man who lost his home in Hurricane Katrina. The jury found that Allstate did not pay enough money to cover wind damage caused to the home by the hurricane. In what has become a standard position of insurers confronted with Katrina claims, Allstate claimed that most of the damage was caused...

• Allstate Ordered to Reduce Rates

  Mike Simon | April 06, 2007 10:48 AM | 0 CommentsWest Virginia, WV

  The Texas Department of Insurance has ordered Allstate to reduce its homeowners insurance rates to Texas homeowners by 5 percent. The order has been affirmed by the Travis County District Court.The litigation began after an analysis by the Department of Insurance revealed that the rates were excessive. Under the order, Allstate will be required to refund its customers an estimated $56...

• State Farm Looks Again At Katrina Cases

  Mike Simon | March 29, 2007 12:31 PM | 0 CommentsWest Virginia, WV

  As part of a deal with the Mississippi Insurance Commissioner, State Farm has agreed to reexamine 35,000 claims arising out of Hurricane Katrina. The agreement includes claims that are in mediation, those that already in lawsuits, and those that already have been settled.Under the terms of the deal, State Farm will make a minimum of $50 million available to settle the claims.Not all viewed the...

• Mylan Accused of Accepting Pay-off From Competitor

  Mike Simon | March 21, 2007 9:27 AM | 0 CommentsWest Virginia, WV

  A lawsuit filed by The Prescription Access Litigation Project, a consumer action group, alleges that Mylan Laboratories, Inc. accepted money from Cephalon, one of its competitors, to delay marketing of a generic version of the drug Provigil.Generic drugs typically cost much less, and the suit alleges that consumers paid more as a result of the $136 million pay-off Mylan and other generic drug...