Drinking

Suit Claims University, Sorority and Party Host Are Liable in Student’s 2013 Death

Shortly after midnight on Oct. 18, 2013, 19-year-old Ethan P. Connolly, a sophomore at the University of Delaware, was fatally hit by a truck while walking across Del. 896. Earlier, he had attended an off-campus sorority party near where he was hit and toxicology reports showed he had alcohol in his system when he died. In a lawsuit, his parents want a New Castle County Superior Court judge to hold the university, the sorority and those that hosted the party liable for his death. “Had (the defendants) executed their duty to make sure Ethan traveled back to campus on the bus, he would not have perished, drunk or not,” the lawsuit states. The legal filings claim the university and other defendants were negligent in efforts to prevent underage drinking and protect those attending the sorority party from the danger of such drinking. The lawsuit asks a jury to award unspecified compensatory and punitive damages to Connolly’s estate. …


Lead Crisis in Pennsylvania School Water Brings Class Action

Water in a school district north of Pittsburgh is so heavily contaminated with lead and copper that a student suffered irreversible damage to her nervous system and the entire school is being tested, her parents say in a federal class action. Lead plaintiff Jennifer Tait sued the Butler Area School District and its former Superintendent Dale Lumley on behalf of her daughter. …


#Flint: Judge Dismisses Major Class Action Lawsuit

A major class action lawsuit filed by Flint, Mich., residents over how the state handles changes in the city’s water that led to the lead-contamination crisis was dismissed by a federal judge Thursday. The Detroit News reports that U.S. District Judge John Corbett O’Meara dismissed the case brought by Flint activist and resident Melissa Mays and several other Flint families because “allowing …


Colorado Springs Law Firm Plans Second Widefield Water Lawsuit

A Colorado Springs law firm said it is readying a lawsuit targeting the manufacturers of a firefighting foam believed to have contaminated drinking water in Security, Widefield and Fountain. McDivitt Law Firm said it plans to file a lawsuit this week over the fouling of the Widefield Aquifer, which supplies drinking water to thousands of residents in southern El Paso County. McDivitt is …


Yet Another Lawsuit Filed Over Contaminated Drinking Water

Another lawsuit has been filed over the contaminated water from the West Morgan East Lawrence Water Authority. The lawsuit lists roughly 160 plaintiffs, all of them residents of Morgan or Lawrence Counties, and all of them customers of the West Morgan East Lawrence Water Authority. The defendants are 3M, the Dyneon Corporation, Daikin and the West Morgan East Lawrence Water …


Flint Water Suit Hits Roadblock in Federal Court

A federal judge may have dealt a serious blow to people suing over the Flint water crisis. U.S. District judge John Corbett O’Meara dismissed the class-action suit after finding the claims made by Flint residents couldn’t be resolved in federal court. At issue are claims made by the plaintiffs in the case that their constitutional rights and state law were…



Criminal Charges to Be Announced in Flint Water Crisis

Soon after the switch, the water started to look, smell and taste funny. Residents said it often looked dirty. Though Flint’s water supply is “definitely on its path to recovery,” continued concern among residents about lead contamination and other issues hinders the cleanup of the system’s network of corroded pipes, according to the Virginia Tech researcher who blew open the Michigan city’s…


Flint Residents’ Class Action Lawsuit Thrown Out

Gov. Rick Snyder says he visited a Flint home Monday and filled three one-gallon jugs with filtered tap water. (Photo credit Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press)
By Matthew Dolan, Detroit Free Press
The legal reasoning used by a judge to toss a federal lawsuit seeking damages connected to the Flint water crisis may threaten other pending cases, according to a lawyer connected to the case.


Federal Judge Dismisses Flint Residents’ $150M Class-Action Lawsuit

(DETROIT) — A federal judge in Detroit has dismissed a $150 million class-action lawsuit filed by Flint residents and one Flint business, suggesting the plaintiffs refile in a Michigan state court due to lack of jurisdiction. In a decision issued Tuesday, Judge John Corbett O’Meara said because the plaintiffs didn’t file a claim under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, the case should be…