A judge in Morris County, New Jersey recently increased a $100,000 pain and suffering award to $1 million in a product liability lawsuit against Yamaha Motors Company, the manufacturer of the snowmobile involved in the plaintiff’s accident. The case is unusual because judges are far more likely to reduce an award (called remittitur) than adjust…
Forty-two migrant workers have filed a class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart claiming that Wal-Mart knowingly hired them as undocumented workers through outside contractors and then proceeded to exploit them for the profit of the company. The complaint says Wal-Mart attempted to cut costs, duck federal taxes, and avoid paying health insurance and other benefits required…
Forty-four-year-old Hong Meng, former senior research scientist at DuPont, was recently sentenced to 14 months in prison for stealing trade secrets from his employer. Meng is a Chinese nationalist who had obtained permanent residency in the United States. Authorities say he was attempting to set up a rival business in China using the information stolen…
A recent study released by the University of California, Davis Olive Center revealed that 69% of imported olive oils and 10% of California olive oils tested were erroneously labeled as “extra virgin olive oil.” The oils that were mislabeled did not meet the International Olive Council (IOC) and US Department of Agriculture’s standards for extra…
Despite an appeal by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has once again denied federal disaster aid to the victims of the San Bruno, California gas line explosion. Thirty-five homes were destroyed and eight people killed when the PG&E gas line exploded in September of this year. FEMA maintains that local resources…
A recently released report from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, led by California Representative Henry Waxman, found that denial of individual health insurance policies increased almost 50% between 2007 and 2009, and that companies are denying more claims based on pre-existing conditions. Four of the largest insurance companies, WellPoint Inc., Aetna Inc., Humana Inc.,…
Ralphs and Albertsons supermarkets find themselves on the defensive end of two class action employment lawsuits brought by 9,000 union workers. The worker say they were illegally denied millions of dollars in benefits while on strike in 2003. The cases challenge decisions made by the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board that allowed the grocery stores…
In an unusual ruling, a Missouri judge issued a permanent injunction against the standard “non-compete” clause signed by Individual Taxes Etc. Inc. employees who were hired as temporary workers to prepare seasonal tax returns. Individual Taxes is a franchised subsidiary of New Jersey-based Jackson Hewitt. As a course of the hiring process, Individual Taxes has…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) new guidelines for Olive Oil labeling went into effect on October 24th, 2010. The new standards define grades of olive oil and establish chemical and sensory guidelines for determining each grade, including “extra virgin.” Bottles of olive oil should also now have a “best by” date printed on them…
It is a nightmare of a story: A man in South Florida bought a house last year with cash, owning his home free and clear. Even though there was no mortgage, seven months later Bank of America foreclosed on the house he thought he owned outright. Baffled, the man tried to get to the bottom…
