Feb 1, 2016

Lawsuits Feb 4, 2016

Olive Garden Has Unlimited Breadsticks — Also Lots of Labor Issues, Illness Outbreaks, and an Icky Sexual Harassment Policy

With their claim, “When you’re here, you’re family,” Olive Garden has become synonymous with America’s proliferation of family-style restaurants. Olive Garden is the largest retail brand of Darden Restaurants, the world’s largest full-service restaurant conglomerate, and the world’s largest employer of tipped employees. Beyond size, however, Olive Garden has made a name for itself by using the …

Lawsuits Feb 4, 2016

White Feminism Downplayed California’s Coerced Sterilization of Latinas in the ’70s

In the early 1970s, as feminists advocated for abortion rights in the lead-up to Roe v. Wade, an L.A. county hospital was years into a federally funded population-control program that targeted poor Mexican American women for sterilization when they came to the hospital to give birth. Several only learned years later that they’d had tubal ligations without their consent; 10 testified against the …

Lawsuits Feb 4, 2016

State Might Not Defend DEQ Workers in Flint Water Suit

Attorney general says his office can defend only Snyder, state Buy Photo The state said Friday that purified water it sent to Flint state offices in January of 2015 was for use by the public, not just state employees. (Photo: Ryan Garza/Detroit Free Press)Buy Photo A new legal migraine could be kicking in for seven Michigan Department of Environmental Quality employees who are being sued over …

Lawsuits Feb 4, 2016

Is Your Website Accessible to Blind and Visually Impaired? Plaintiffs' Firms and Department of Justice Are Taking Notice

Monday, February 1, 2016 For years, we have been documenting the rise in wage/hour class action lawsuits and precautionary steps your organization may take to mitigate the risks and liability inherent in those claims. And, while wage/hour lawsuits continue to be filed at record rates, the plaintiffs’ bar is now flirting with a new type of class action lawsuit which poses a threat to any …

Lawsuits Feb 4, 2016

McDonald’s Mozzarella Sticks Are at the Center of a New Lawsuit

It seems McDonald’s has a McProblem. Following last week’s case of the missing cheese — for which McDonald’s apologized — the company’s mozzarella sticks are now the subject of a proposed class action lawsuit. A man in California is seeking $5 million in damages for him and 40 other customers across the U.S., claiming the franchise falsely advertised that the sticks were made with 100-percent …

Lawsuits Feb 4, 2016

Martin Shkreli Lost $40 Million in His E-Trade Account

REUTERS/Lucas JacksonMartin Shkreli. NEW YORK (Reuters) — Former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli suffered a roughly $40 million drop in the value of a trading account used to secure his bail following his arrest on securities fraud charges, a U.S. prosecutor said on Wednesday. At a hearing in federal court in Brooklyn, Assistant U.S. Attorney Winston Paes said the account contained …

Lawsuits Feb 4, 2016

First Lawsuit in State Lottery-Fixing Scandal Seeks Millions

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — It was one of those dreams-come-true moments that lotteries love to promote when “Lucky Larry” Dawson smiled as he claimed a $9 million jackpot, surrounded by his kids and grandkids. Five years later, the Iowa man has become the first plaintiff in litigation that threatens to cost state lotteries millions of dollars following an insider jackpot-rigging scandal. A Des …

Lawsuits Feb 4, 2016

Deutsche Bank Must Face U.S. Lawsuit Over $3.1 Billion Mortgage Loss: Judge

NEW YORK Deutsche Bank AG must face a U.S. lawsuit seeking to hold it liable for causing $3.1 billion of investor losses by failing to properly monitor 10 trusts backed by toxic residential mortgages, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan said Belgium’s Royal Park Investments SA/NV may pursue claims that the trustee Deutsche Bank National Trust Co …

Lawsuits Feb 4, 2016

Residential School ‘Day Scholars’ Can Launch Class-Action Lawsuit: Court

Hundreds of First Nations’ people left out of residential-school compensation will be allowed to collectively sue the federal government for their mistreatment. The decision comes one day after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released a momentous report on the same school system. Federal Court in Vancouver certified a class-action lawsuit on Wednesday proposed by the former aboriginal …

Lawsuits Feb 4, 2016

Lufthansa, Iberia Defeat U.S. Passenger Appeals Over Flight Delays

Lufthansa and Iberia persuaded a U.S. appeals court in Chicago to reject efforts by passengers to hold them liable for delays on multi-leg international flights involving multiple airlines. Tuesday’s decision by Judge Richard Posner of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals highlights the hurdles that passengers can face in holding carriers liable for travel snags, including when foreign laws or …