Court

Federal Appeals Court Rules Uber Drivers May Not Bring Class Action Suit

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] Wednesday that Uber [corporate site] drivers may not join in a class action suit to pursue employment claims against the transportation company but must resolve their disputes individually. The claims included a host of employment contract issues as well as allegations that the company responsible for …


Subaru Settles Class Action Over Loose Hood Latches

Subaru has settled a class action complaint that alleged 2006 and some 2007 Subaru B9 Tribeca vehicles have a hood latch defect, which allows the hood to open while the car is being driven. Subaru owner Marion Hadley alleged the hood can “fly open unexpectedly while traveling at highway speeds, cracking the windshield, causing substantial …



Alabama’s Appellate Courts System Rigged to Block Minority Judges

Despite whites making up just under 70 percent of Alabama’s population, they hold 100 percent of the state’s civil and criminal appellate courts. In addition, Alabama’s Supreme Court has only had three African-Americans on its bench in the past 36 years, according to a lawsuit from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Many law firms have joined the NAACP’s …


Lawsuit: Current Election System of Alabama Appellate Judges Discriminates Against Blacks

A voting rights lawsuit filed Wednesday seeks to do away with the at-large elections of judges who sit on Alabama’s three appellate courts, including the Alabama Supreme Court. The at-large election system has been racially discriminatory towards African Americans, who make up more than a quarter of the state’s population, according to the lawsuit that suggests election by single-member …


Deathbed Revelation Triggers Clergy Sex Abuse Lawsuit

The estate of a late Ottawa man has launched a $2-million lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Ottawa for sexual abuse he allegedly suffered as a child in the 1960s. The unusual statement of claim was filed last month on behalf of the man, whom the Citizen will identify only as John Doe. He died at the age of 63 in November 2014.


Federal Lawsuit Filed Against Gadsden’s Municipal Court

A federal lawsuit filed last week accuses Gadsden’s municipal court judge and prosecutor of violating the constitutional rights of one woman by charging unlawful fees and preventing an open court. Alexander City attorney Eric Hutchins filed the lawsuit on behalf of Lasheta McGruder, who appeared in court on a tampering with evidence charge. According to the suit, filed Sept. 1, McGruder was …


CVS Must Face Revived Lawsuit in U.S. Over Vitamin E Label

A federal appeals court on Tuesday revived a lawsuit accusing CVS Health Corp, one of the largest U.S. drugstore chains, of deceiving consumers with labels touting how CVS-branded vitamin E promotes “heart health.” The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said the plaintiff, Ronda Kaufman, can pursue a proposed class action accusing CVS of violating a New York consumer …


Jersey City Settles Police Brutality Lawsuit for $14,500

Jersey City has agreed to pay a city resident $14,500 to settle a police brutality lawsuit the man filed two years ago, court records show. In a federal lawsuit initially filed Sept. 3, 2014, Tevin Henry accused more than a dozen police officers of assaulting him after they ordered him to stop while he was riding a bicycle on Winfield Avenue at 9:30 p.m. on Nov. 1, 2012. Henry said in his …


Eliot Spitzer Withdraws Lawsuit Against Alleged Russian Hooker

That was a quickie of a lawsuit! Eliot Spitzer has pulled out of a fraud and extortion case against an alleged Russian hooker who accused him of choking her at the Plaza Hotel — less than two months after filing the suit. “Eliot Spitzer, by and through his attorneys, hereby discontinues the above-entitled action without prejudice and without costs to either party as against the other,” the …