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Legal News Aug 15, 2016

One Lawsuit Dismissed, Another Allowed to Proceed in Case of HIV-positive Surgical Tech Who Stole Syringes

Judges have issued competing rulings over the validity of lawsuits filed by patients who fear they may have been infected by a former surgical technologist at Swedish Medical Center who stole painkiller syringes while he was HIV positive. Denver District Court Judge Jay Grant on Thursday dismissed one of the lawsuits because free blood tests offered by Swedish had not found infections among …

News Aug 10, 2016

42,000 Officers Asked to Join Lawsuit After Police Group Drops Michael Slager From Legal Coverage

Police officers in South Carolina and eight other states could join a class-action lawsuit in hopes of getting back the money they spent to fend off allegations of misconduct. Slager hearing A hearing this week in the federal criminal case against Michael Slager has been rescheduled for Friday. Slager is charged with three federal counts in last year’s shooting death of Walter Scott that was …

Lawsuits Aug 10, 2016

Tribe Didn’t Waive Sovereign Immunity in FMLA Lawsuit

A California Indian tribe may be immune from a Family and Medical Leave Act lawsuit by a fired employee even though it acted to move the lawsuit to federal court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled (Bodi v. Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, 2016 BL 255421, 9th Cir., No. 14-16121, 8/8/16 ). With the decision, two federal appeals courts now have …

News Aug 10, 2016

12 Attorneys Appeal Ruling in Ethics Case

Texarkana-based attorney John Goodson and 11 lawyers who work with him on class-action lawsuits have appealed a federal judge’s ruling that they broke ethics rules and abused the court system. Their appeal questions whether their conduct violated those rules and whether Chief U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes III abused his discretion in reprimanding five of the lawyers, according to documents …

Legal News Aug 9, 2016

Federal Court Approves Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Involving Memphis Police

Federal Court Judge Thomas Anderson approved a settlement regarding a 2002 class action lawsuit involving the Memphis police promotions test. After a 14-year legal battle, the test was deemed non-discriminatory. “The officers affected by this settlement were initially promoted to Sergeant by order of the Court, all but one of the officers has been subsequently …

Class-Actions Aug 9, 2016

Apple Wants Appeals Court to Shut Down Class-Action Over Address Book Uploads

Apple wants a federal appellate court to overturn a recent decision granting class-action status to a group of mobile users who say their address books were accessed without permission by the app developer Path. In papers quietly filed late last month, the company asks the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for permission to immediately appeal the “manifestly erroneous” order that granted class- …

Class-Actions Aug 9, 2016

German Court to Speed Up VW Litigation

A German court will adopt a rarely used class-action style procedure to more efficiently process claims by investors seeking damages from Volkswagen over a diesel emissions cheating scandal, according to a ruling. The regional court in Braunschweig near Volkswagen’s (VW) Wolfsburg headquarters said on Monday it will pick one case to act as a model to help resolve as many as 170 …

Settlements Aug 8, 2016

Appeals Court Rules Against CHP in Class-Action Lawsuit, Orders Agency to Revise Detention Practices

California’s Second District Court of Appeals ruled against the California Highway Patrol this week in a case addressing how the law enforcement agency classifies the arrests of people who are then released without being charged. The class-action lawsuit was brought by John Schmidt, who was arrested by the CHP in 2011 on suspicion of driving under the influence, was booked into the Santa …

Lawsuits Aug 8, 2016

Watchdog Files Lawsuit Alleging Gerrymandering in NC

A liberal-leaning government watchdog group on Friday filed suit over North Carolina congressional districts they say give Republicans an unfair advantage, launching a new round of litigation that could have far-reaching effects for years to come. The lawsuit, filed by Common Cause in U.S. District Court, alleges Republicans in the North Carolina state legislature improperly considered the …