Federal


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 …


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 …


1-800 Contacts Slapped With Lawsuit Over Alleged Anti-Competitive Practices

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Monday it had sued 1-800 Contacts, which it called the largest U.S. online retailer of contact lenses, alleging the company illegally maintained anti-competitive agreements with rival online contact lens sellers. These agreements “suppress competition in certain online search advertising auctions and … restrict truthful and non-misleading internet …


Failed Madigan Challenger Files Defamation Lawsuit

The man who challenged Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and lost in the Democratic primary this year has filed a federal lawsuit against Madigan, accusing him of fraud and defamation. “Madigan is not going to get away with this,” Jason Gonzales said. He got about 27 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary this past March, versus 65 percent for Madigan.


Student’s Gender-Bias Lawsuit Against Columbia May Proceed, Court Rules

After two years of legal back-and-forth, a Columbia student will be allowed to sue the University, which he claims violated his Title IX rights in an adjudication process that found him responsible for sexual assault. The student, identified by the pseudonym “John Doe,” initially filed a lawsuit against the University in the spring of 2014. But after a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit …


Trinity Health Settles Church Pension Suit for $75M

Trinity Health Corp. will pay $75 million to settle class action claims that it underfunded its pension plans by improperly treating them as “church plans” exempt from federal law (Lann v. Trinity Health Corp., D. Md., No. 8:14-cv-02237-PJM, motion for preliminary settlement approval filed
8/1/16).


American Indian Farmers Settlement Fund Draws High Interest

About 150 groups from around the country that provide services to American Indian farmers and ranchers have applied to receive grant money from a $38 million one-time fund set up as part of the federal government’s loan discrimination settlement with Native Americans. An advisory committee will whittle down the proposals and make a recommendation to a federal judge by Oct. …


JPMorgan Chase to Pay $446K to Ex-Inmates Over Debit Card Program

The largest bank in the United States settled a class-action lawsuit this week that stemmed from outcry over excessive fees the institution charged former prison inmates over the last four years. JPMorgan Chase won a government contract in 2008 to furnish inmates freed from all U.S. federal prisons with debit cards connected to money they were sent or earned while …