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...

• 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...

• 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...

• Federal Court Upholds Invalidation of "Wal-Mart Law"

  Mike Simon | February 23, 2007 11:22 AM | 0 CommentsWest Virginia, WV

  The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the invalidation of a Maryland law that would have required Wal-Mart to spend more money on employee health care.The law would have required Wal-Mart and all other non-governmental employers with more than 10,000 workers to spend 8% of their payroll on healthcare or pay the difference in taxes to the state. The Retail Industry Leaders Association,...

• Occidental Chemical Named in Class Action Suit

  Mike Simon | February 19, 2007 11:15 AM | 0 CommentsWest Virginia, WV

  Occidental Chemical has been named as a defendant in a class action lawsuit by residents of Alabama alleging that their property was damaged by operations at Occidental's Muscle Shoals facility.Residents living near the plant filed the suit on January 10, 2007. The plaintiffs allege that the plant has released toxic chemicals into the air and water, ultimately contaminating their property, and...

• 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...

• 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...

• 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...