Oct 1, 2016

Birmingham Council, Mayor in Dispute Over Water Works Lawsuit

Birmingham City Council President Johnathan Austin (City of Birmingham) Erin Edgemon | eedgemon@al.com The Birmingham City Council plans to hire a law firm to represent the body in a lawsuit seeking to void two state laws that beginning next year that would dilute the city’s control of the Water Works Board. President Johnathan Austin said the council is against the expansion of the Water Works …


Judge Rejects Challenge to Minnesota Teacher Tenure Laws

A Ramsey County judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit challenging Minnesota teacher tenure laws, rejecting its arguments that the laws protect ineffective teachers and deprive low-income and minority students of a high-quality education. The suit, filed in April by national and local education reform groups, argued that state laws shield veteran teachers from layoffs even when they perform …


DuPont’s Employees to Proceed With Class Action Over Unpaid Time Getting Ready for Shift

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has overturned a lower court’s ruling, allowing a class action lawsuit brought by employees against DuPont to proceed. The suit, Smiley v. E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Company, examines whether paid lunch and break times can offset time spent putting uniforms on and taking them off that is unpaid and required by the employer as well as …


Two Deadlines Looming to File Claims for Jennings Settlements

Friday, October 28 is the deadline to apply for funds in a settlement over the illegal collection of warrant fees. Between 2009-2014, the City of Jennings illegally charged people fees for issuing warrants that totaled $531,500. If you think you are one of approximately 6,800 people who are eligible members of this class action settlement, then visit https://goo.gl/rGc5jP to fill out a claim …


Federman & Sherwood Reminds Investors of Imminent Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Securities Class Action Lawsuit Against Polaris Industries, Inc.

On September 16, 2016, a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota against Polaris Industries, Inc. (NYSE: PII). Federman & Sherwood reminds current and former shareholders of Polaris Industries, Inc. that they only have until Tuesday, November 15, 2016 to move the court for appointment as a lead plaintiff …



New Michael Jackson Lawsuit Alleges Child-Abuse Procurement Ring

The latest complaint, filed by a Jane Doe who alleges that she was abused by Jackson from 1986 to 1989, when she was aged 12 to 15, claims that Jackson secretly operated, “the most sophisticated public child sexual-abuse procurement and facilitation organizations the world has known.” Reps for Jackson’s estate have been quick to rubbish the claims, accusing the woman of an “attempt to hit the …


Temple Fired Baptist Housekeeper, but Not Muslim Co-Worker

A federal judge has allowed parts of a lawsuit against Temple University alleging religious discrimination to move forward. In a decision Monday, U.S. Eastern District Judge Thomas O’Neill dismissed two claims made by Maurice Darby, a university employee for more than 25 years, against the school but greenlighted two others in an amended complaint made under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of …


Dieselgate Class-Action Settlement Payment Program to Begin in November

Turning back attempts to change the final terms of the Dieselgate class-action suit settlement, Judge Charles Breyer Tuesday gave thumbs up to the final agreement. The decision clears away the last obstacles keeping owners of Volkswagen turbodiesel vehicles, caught up in the automaker’s self-inflicted emissions cheating scandal, from having their vehicles repurchased as early as next month – …


Broome Weighs Lawsuit Against Opioid Drugmakers

Broome County is considering filing a lawsuit against opioid drugmakers, a move that would make the county one of the first in the nation to try to hold pharmaceutical firms responsible for the costs of addiction. County officials confirmed talks with Manhattan-based attorneys are in progress, as well as the broad outlines of a potential lawsuit. A suit would follow the template of Suffolk County, which in August enlisted Simmons Hanly Conroy, a national law firm that has recovered $5 billion in verdicts and settlements, to sue 15 pharmaceutical companies and individual medical doctors. Simmons Hanly Conroy “envisions commencing …