Class Action Archive

Top 10 Drug Legal News Topics For 2012

December 24th, 2012. By AbiK

LawyersandSettlements.com recently shared its list of the hottest consumer-related pharmaceutical legal news stories during the last year. Of note is that while the top drug-related topic on the legal news website in 2011 had been Tylenol—prompted by concerns over a series of Tylenol recall notices as reported by The New York Times; for 2012, the most sought out pharmaceutical topics have shifted to women’s health.

Third-generation contraceptives such as Yasmin/Yaz, NuvaRing and Mirena top the list this year as numerous birth control lawsuits either settled, or began the process of consolidation into multi-district litigation (MDL).

Reader interest in Yaz/Yasmin rose in response to Yasmin lawsuit settlements that were announced in April (In re Yasmin and Yaz (Drospirenone) Marketing, Sales Practices and Product Liability Litigation, 09-md-02100, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois, East St. Louis). Bloomberg reported Bayer AG settled about 500 Yasmin lawsuits over claims of blood clots that had, in some cases, led to stroke or heart attack.

Along with Yaz, readers remained concerned about NuvaRing (etonogestrel/ethinyl estradiol) and blood clot risk even as a new study on non-oral hormonal contraception, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ 2012;344:e2990), was presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (May, 2012). The study, aimed at quantifying NuvaRing blood clot risk, indicated no significant difference in risk of venous thromboembolism when compared to oral contraceptives.

Still, NuvaRing lawsuits continue and have been consolidated into a federal MDL court in Missouri (In re: NuvaRing Products Liability Litigation, No. 08-md-1964, JPML, Eastern District Missouri). As of September 5, 2012, according to the U.S. Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, more than 1,000 NuvaRing lawsuits have been filed.

Mirena IUD (levonorgestrel) saw an increase in reader interest after August 2012, as Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Inc. submitted an Application for Centralized Management of Certain Cases involving Mirena. As FoxNews reported (11/11/12), the request seeks to create a multi-district litigation (MDL) for 16 pending Mirena lawsuits in NJ that allege Mirena caused uterine perforation, infection and hemorrhaging injuries.

After the top three women’s health-related drugs, Pradaxa (dabigatran), an alternative to warfarin, joined the list this year making the Top 5. In November 2012, the FDA issued a Drug Safety Communication regarding Pradaxa bleeding events which in turn helped drive reader interest.

Thousands of LawyersandSettlements.com monthly readers have followed the latest legal news and information on these topics, many of which have fallen from the radar of traditional media outlets.

“We believe these issues are of great importance to the public, mostly due to the life-changing impact they can have on an individual,” said Stephen King, CEO. “Some of our most interesting stories of the year related to pharmaceuticals. Many of them have pending lawsuits or have had substantial settlements related to their life-altering side effects and it’s important to get this information out to the public. While many pharmaceutical companies continue to earn significant profits, people are suffering. They may think they have no recourse but in many cases they do. By keeping these topics alive, LawyersandSettlements.com is helping people stay up-to-date on these important topics every day.”

The LawyersandSettlements.com Top 10 Pharmaceutical Topics of 2012, along with the potential side effects readers were seeking information on, are:

1. Yasmin/YAZ (gall bladder disease, blood clots, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism)

2. NuvaRing & Mirena (blood clots, infection, perforation of the uterus)

3. Pradaxa (uncontrollable bleeding, lack of an available antidote)

4. Granuflo (elevated bicarbonate levels, risk for metabolic alkalosis)

5. SSRIs (birth defects including heart defects, spina bifida, cleft palate, club foot, PPHN)

6. Actos (bladder cancer, heart failure, kidney failure, rhabdomyolysis)

7. Diethylstilbestrol/DES (cancer)

8. Crestor / Statins (diabetes, cardiomyopathy, rhabdomyolysis)

9. Fosamax (bone fractures, esophageal cancer)

10. Propecia (sexual dysfunction, erectile dysfunction, sterility, prostate cancer)

LawyersandSettlements.com readers are looking for the latest and most comprehensive legal news available. Those seeking legal help can request assistance by completing a form which is then distributed to attorneys specializing in these cases. Over two and a half million people visit the site yearly, and hundreds of thousands of request forms have been submitted by qualified readers looking for legal guidance.

Tags: Actos, Birth Control Side Effects, Class Action Lawsuit, Crestor, DES, Drug Injury, Drug Lawsuit, Fosamax, Granuflo, Lawsuit, Legal News, Mirena, NuvaRing, Pradaxa, Propecia, SSRI, statins, Yasmin, Yaz
Posted in Class Action, Drugs/Medical, Emerging Issues | No Comments »

Michael Jackson Class Action Seeks $$ – What Else?

November 19th, 2012. By AbiK

Michael Jackson might be dead but he will not die. At least when it comes to lawsuit filings.

The latest in the Michael Jackson post-death legal saga is a class action lawsuit filed by his former assistant, Michael Amir Williams. Williams claims that he was hired to attend to MJ during the “This Is It” tour—the one that the gloved one was gearing up for just before his untimely death—and that he and others who were hired to do the same were deprived of $ 7.5 million in pay.

The Michael-Jackson-owes-me lawsuit was filed against concert promoter AEG Live in Los Angeles last week. But there’s a twist to this one.

According to a Reuters report, Williams is targeting AEG Live because the promoter also hired Dr. Conrad Murray. Dr Murray, if you recall, was the man convicted of involuntary manslaughter for supplying and administering propofol to Jackson, ultimately leading to his death.

So Williams and other ‘This Is It’ crew member who’d make up the would-be class are employing some kind of transitivity theory here: AEG Live hired Murray; Murray was convicted in Jackson’s death leading to the “This Is It” tour to be cancelled and Williams et al not getting paid; therefore, AEG Live should be on the hook for Williams et al not getting paid.

Needless to say, the folks at AEG aren’t buying it. Reuters quotes AEG lawyer, Marvin Putnam (O’Melveny & Myers) as calling the class action lawsuit “frivolous”. He goes on to say that “This lawsuit is clearly frivolous; it is literally barred by at least four different legal doctrines. The easiest is that Mr. Williams was a personal employee of Michael Jackson’s, and was never a beneficiary of Mr. Jackson’s contract with AEG Live. As such he has no legal standing to sue on that contract.”

Williams is suing for breach of express terms of contract, breach of implied terms of contract, and breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. As far as what he’s seeking for the class, it’s the usual “unspecified damages”–plus court and attorneys’ fees.

And if you’re thinking Michael Jackson is the only dead celebrity who lives on in our court system, he’s got company—Anna Nicole Smith is still visiting the bar as well.

Tags: California Labor, Class Action Lawsuit, Michael Jackson, Wage & Hour
Posted in Celebrity, Class Action, lawsuits | No Comments »

Asbestos News Roundup: 11.8.12 – Asbestos At Work Class Action

November 8th, 2012. By LucyC

The weekly roundup of recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of. An ongoing list of reported asbestos hot spots in the US from the Asbestos News Roundup archive appears on our asbestos map.

Asbestos Exposure at Work – Who’s Paying for It?

Week after week we report on asbestos lawsuits filed by men and women who have become seriously, if not fatally ill from exposure to the carcinogen throughout their working lives. This week, we came across an employment class action lawsuit filed by employees of a staffing agency who worked with the toxic substance, but also allege they were denied wages by the agency.

Filed October 22, the class action lawsuit states that WMS Solutions, which has offices in Baltimore and Bethesda, has violated state and federal regulations by making employees pay for job-related equipment and training out-of-pocket, and has not paid them for time spent in required training courses.

If you are working around asbestos you should have protective clothing and equipment. If you don’t have protective gear, such as masks, appropriate clothing and gloves, not only are you at serious risk of developing an asbestos related illness, your family and loved ones may suffer take home or second hand asbestos exposure, the consequences of which can also be devastating, as the lawsuits below illustrate all too clearly.

Asbestos Law

Charleston, WV: Mary C. Bowen, widow of the deceased Thomas Jarrett Bowen, has filed an asbestos lawsuit naming 30 companies she claims are responsible for her late husband’s lung cancer and death.

On November 3, 2010, Thomas Jarrett Bowen was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died from the disease on December 5, 2010.

Mrs. Bowen alleges in the lawsuit that her husband was exposed to asbestos and/or asbestos containing products during his employment as a laborer from 1964 until 2001.

Mary Bowen is suing the defendants based on theories of negligence, contaminated buildings, breach of expressed/implied warranty, strict liability, intentional tort, conspiracy, misrepresentation and post-sale duty to warn. Additionally, some of the defendants are also being sued as premise owners and as Thomas Bowen’s employers for deliberate intent/intentional tort, according to the lawsuit.

The 39 companies named as defendants in the suit are A.W. Chesterton Company; Caterpillar, Inc.; CBS Corporation; Cleaver-Brooks Company, Inc.; Crane Co.; Dravo Corporation; Eaton Corporation; Erie City Iron Works; Flowserve Corporation f/k/a the Duriron Company, Inc.; Flowserve Corporation, as successor-in-interest to Durametallic Corporation; FMC Corporation; General Electric Company; Goulds Pumps, Inc.; Grinnell, LLC; Honeywell International; Howden North America, Inc.; IMO Industries Inc.; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Ingersoll-Rand Company; ITT Corporation; McJunkin Corporation; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Nagle Pumps, Inc.; Nitro Industrial Coverings, Inc.; Ohio Valley Insulating Company, Inc.; Rapid American Corporation; Riley Power, Inc.; Rockwell Automation, Inc.; Rust Engineering & Construction, Inc.; Schneider Electric; State Electric Supply Company; Sterling Fluid Systems (USA), LLC; Swindell Dressier International Corporation; Tasco Insulations, Inc.; United Engineers & Constructors and Washington Group International; Vimasco Corporation; West Virginia Electric Supply Company; Yarway Corporation; and Zurn Industries, LLC. (wvrecord.com)

Charleston, WV: A Paynesville widow has filed an asbestos lawsuit, alleging her husband’s death from asbestos-related disease was caused by exposure to the carcinogen during his working life. She has named 93 companies she asserts are responsible for her husband’s asbestos mesothelioma and subsequent death.

Clyde Junior Blankenship was diagnosed with mesothelioma, from which he died on June 30, the lawsuit states. He worked as a welder and a mine operator from 1974 until 2012.

The defendants are being sued based on theories of negligence, contaminated buildings, breach of expressed/implied warranty, strict liability, intentional tort, conspiracy, misrepresentation and post-sale duty to warn, according to the suit.

Certain defendants are also being sued as premise owners and as Clyde Blankenship’s employers for deliberate intent/intentional tort, according to the suit.

The 93 defendants named in the suit are: 3M Company; A.O. Smith Corporation; A.W. Chesterton Company; Adamson Global Technology Corp.; Ajax Magnethermic Corporation; Aladdin Carpet Mills, Inc.; Allied Glove Corporation; Borg-Warner Corporation; Breeding Insulation Company, Inc.; Cabin Craft, Inc.; Caterpillar, Inc.; Certainteed Corporation; Challenge-Cook Bros. of Georgia, Inc.; Chicago Boiler Company; Clark Equipment Company; Cleaver-Brooks Company, Inc.; Continental Steel Tank Company, Inc.; Copes-Vulcan, Inc.; Coronet Industries, Inc.; Crane Co.; Crown Cotton Mills Proprieties, Inc.; Dalton Carpet Finishing Company, Inc.; Dalton Supply Company; Dravo Corporation; E.T. Barwick Industries, Inc.; Eaton Electrical, Inc.; Elite Processing, LLC; Flowserve FSD Corporation; Flowserve US, Inc.; FMC Corporation; Ford Motor Company; Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation; General Electric Company; Genuine Parts Company; Georgia Pacific Corporation; Goulds Pumps; Grinnell, LLC; Hercules, Inc.; Hobart Brothers; Honeywell International; Howden North America, Inc.; IMO Industries, Inc.; Devalco Corporation; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Ingersoll-Rand; ITT Corporation; J. H. Fletcher & Co.; Joy Technologies, Inc.; Lattner Boiler Company; Lincoln Electric Company; Maremont Corporation; McNeil Corporation; Mestek, Inc.; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Mine Safety Appliances Company; Modern Carpet Industries, Inc.; Mohawk Industries, Inc.; Nacco Materials Handling Group, Inc.; Nagle Pumps, Inc.; Oakfabco, Inc.; P&H Mining Equipment, Inc.; Pneumo Abex Corporation; Rapid-American Corporation; Riley Power, Inc.; Rockwell Automation, Inc.; Rust Constructors, Inc.; Rust Engineering & Construction, Inc.; Rust International, Inc.; Schneider Electric USA, Inc.; Shaw Industries, Inc.; Spiraxsarco, Inc.; State Electric Supply Company; Sterling Fluid Systems (USA), LLC; Sunbeam Corporation; Sunoco, Inc.; Surface Combustion, Inc.; Swindell Dressler International Corporation; Tasco Insulations, Inc; The Dow Chemical Company; The Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Co.; The Sager Corporation; Union Carbide Chemical & Plastics Company; United Conveyor Corporation; United Engineers & Constructors and Washington Group International; Viacom, Inc.; Vimasco Corporation; Weil-McLain Company; West Point-Pepperell, Inc.; West Virginia Electric Supply Company; World Carpets, Inc.; Yale Materials Handling Corporation; Yarway Corporation; and Zurn Industries, LLC. (wvrecord.com)

Charleston, WV: On August 9, 2012, Paul Everett Beckman Sr. was diagnosed with asbestos mesothelioma. Consequently, Mr. Beckman and his wife have filed an asbestos lawsuit naming 81 companies they claim are responsible for his illness.

In their lawsuit, the Beckmans claim the defendants exposed Mr. Beckman to asbestos during his career as a mechanic and laborer since the 1940s and through his wife, who worked at Owens Illinois Glass Factory, and his father and brother, who were utility workers with Consol Energy.

The defendants are being sued based on theories of negligence, contaminated buildings, breach of expressed/implied warranty, strict liability, intentional tort, conspiracy, misrepresentation and post-sale duty to warn. Certain defendants are also being sued as premise owners and as Beckman’s employers for deliberate intent/intentional tort, according to the lawsuit.

The 81 companies named as defendants in the suit are: 3M Company; A.W. Chesterton Company; Airtek, Inc.; Aurora Pump Company; Autozone Stores, Inc.; Beazer East, Inc.; Borg-Warner Corporation; Caterpillar Inc.; Certainteed Corporation; Clark Equipment Company; Cleaver-Brooks Company, Inc.; Consol Energy, Inc.; Copes-Vulcan, Inc.; Crane Co.; Dravo Corporation; Eaton Electrical, Inc.; F.B. Wright Co. of Pittsburgh; Fairmont Supply Corporation; Flowserve FSD Corporation; Flowserve US, Inc.; FMC Corporation; Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation; Gardner Denver, Inc.; General Electric Company; Genuine Parts Company; George V. Hamilton, Inc.; Georgia Pacific Corporation; Georgino Industrial Supply (Pittsburgh), Inc.; Goulds Pumps; Grinnell, LLC; Harvey Hubbell, Inc.; Hercules, Inc.; Honeywell International; Howden North America, Inc.; I.U. North America, Inc.; IMO Industries, Inc.; Devalco Corporation; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Ingersoll-Rand; ITT Corporation; J. H. Fletcher & Co.; Joy Technologies, Inc.; Kelsey-Hayes Company; Lewis-Goetz And Company, Inc.; Maremont Corporation; McJunkin Red Man Corporation; McNeil Corporation; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Mine Safety Appliances Company; Morgantown-National Supply, Inc.; Nacco Materials Handling Group, Inc.; Nagle Pumps, Inc.; Nitro Industrial Coverings, Inc.; Ohio Valley Insulating Company, Inc.; Owens-Illinois, Inc.; P&H Mining Equipment, Inc.; Petroleum Pipe and Supply Company, Inc.; Pettibone/Traverse Lift, LLC; Phillips Corporation; Pneumo Abex Corporation; Premiere Refractories, Inc.; Rapid-American Corporation; Riley Power, Inc.; Ritter Technology LLC; Rockwell Automation, Inc.; Schneider Electric USA, Inc.; State Electric Supply Company; Sterling Fluid Systems (USA), LLC; Sunray Electric Supply Company; Tasco Insulations, Inc.; The Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Co.; Union Carbide Chemical & Plastics Company; Uniroyal, Inc.; United Conveyor Corporation; United Engineers & Constructors and Washington Groups International; Viacom, Inc.; Vimasco Corporation; West Virginia Electric Supply Company; Yale Materials Handling Corporation; Yarway Corporation; and Zurn Industries, LLC. (wvrecord.com)

Unpaid Wages and Asbestos Exposure: Class Action Filed Against WMS Staffing

Bethesda, MD: Employees listed with the WMS staffing agency in Bethesda, who work with asbestos and other toxic materials, have filed an employment class action lawsuit alleging they were victims of “intentional schemes to deny them wages.”

WMS provides temporary staff to work sites and contractors to work in asbestos removal, as well as mold and lead removal, the lawsuit contends.

Filed October 22, the lawsuit contends that WMS Solutions, which has offices in Baltimore and Bethesda, has violated state and federal regulations by making employees pay for job-related equipment and training out-of-pocket, and has not paid them for time spent in required training courses.

Class members are seeking unpaid wages and the costs of training programs, physicals and personal protection equipment that the company is required by law to provide to employees at no cost, the complaint states.

Marvin Blandon, one of the named plaintiffs in the lawsuit and a WMS employee, said that without proper training, he could get sick or bring asbestos home on his clothes to his wife and baby: this type of asbestos exposure is called ‘second hand’ or ‘take home’ asbestos exposure.

“I’ve been forced to pay hundreds of dollars just to make sure I don’t get sick from my work,” Blandon said through a translator. “Specialty training, equipment and trips to the doctor are also required so that I can do my job safely, and my employer should pay for them, not me.”

According to the lawsuit, WMS deducted $110 from Blandon’s wages in 2011, for a Washington, DC, asbestos license fee, and may have made other unauthorized deductions from his wages during his employment with them. Blandon further claims he has paid approximately $300 for annual asbestos refresher course fees, as well as about $32 for a respirator he is required to wear when performing asbestos abatement work.

To date, over 30 WMS workers have joined the asbestos employment class action lawsuit, however hundreds of workers may be affected. (gazette.net)

Tags: Asbestos, asbestos at work, asbestos class action lawsuit, Asbestos Exposure, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Mesothelioma
Posted in Asbestos Mesothelioma, Class Action, lawsuits | No Comments »

Top 10 Lawyer Interviews for the First Half of 2012

August 27th, 2012. By AbiK

The journalists at LawyersandSettlements.com conduct hundreds of lawyer interviews each year on the latest legal issues—lawsuits, mass torts, class actions, settlements—that our readers are most interested in. The attorneys our journalists interview provide a birds-eye view into the cases we report on. Here are the top 10 attorney interviews that readers clicked during the first half of this year (in reverse order):

10. Attorney Stacy Hauer, co-lead counsel in the Minnesota State Court American Medical Systems litigation, discusses the transvaginal mesh lawsuits being consolidated into an MDL (multi-district litigation).

9. Attorney Tim McCarthy shares insight on the Starbucks class action lawsuit regarding the company’s switch from Tassimo to Keurig single-serve coffee. The lawsuit alleges consumer fraud.

8. Attorney Dr. Shezad Malik discusses the outcome of the FDA advisory panel meeting held at the end of 2011 regarding the safety and efficacy of oral contraceptives, including drospirenone-based birth control drugs Yasmin and Yaz.

7. Attorney Brenda Fulmer, who specializes in medical device litigation, talks about allegations surrounding  CardioGen 82 over-radiation.

6. Attorney Eric B. Brown shares some information on making a Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) claim and what needs to be included to prove a 100 percent inability to work.

5. Attorney Shaun Setareh—a California labor law attorney—answers five commonly asked questions on filing a wage and hour lawsuit.

4. Attorney Dr. Shezad Malik, who is both an attorney and a cardiologist, discusses Yasmin and Yaz settlements and how Bayer had indicated it would handle settling Yaz claims.

3. Attorney Barry Kramer informs readers about excessive emergency room charges and how it is typically uninsured patients who are victims of hospital overcharging—and compounding the issue, emergency room costs are increasing.

2. Attorney Dr. Shezad Malik on the Yaz litigation concerning oral contraceptives that contain drospirenone and their alleged side effects which range from gallbladder problems to DVTS to stroke—and even death.

1. Attorney Stacy Hauer discusses the legal claim “loss of consortium” and how it plays into the allegations regarding the transvaginal mesh litigation. She explains that, “The woman and their partners who have been injured have significant loss of intimacy in their relationships due to their injuries.”

Tags: California Labor, Class Action, Emergency Room Overcharge, Lawyer Interviews, Overtime Pay, Transvaginal Mesh, Yaz
Posted in Class Action, lawsuits, Lawyers | No Comments »

Sue Like A Lady: Skinnygirl Margarita Class Action Moves Forward

July 30th, 2012. By AbiK

That Skinnygirl class action lawsuit—the one about the much lusted-after ready-to-drink Skinnygirl Margarita—is moving ahead. The class action alleges false and misleading claims over the inclusion of sodium benzoate—a chemical preservative—as an ingredient while Skinnygirl manufacturer, Beam Inc. (which acquired Skinnygirl Cocktails from founder Bethenny Frankel) advertised the cocktail as “all natural”.

According to Skinnygirl class action (Case 1:11-cv-05149-NLH-KMW filed in U.S. District Court, District of NJ) court documents, plaintiffs Maureen Stewart and Kelly Lamicella took umbrage with Skinnygirl’s assertion that it’s a “healthy alternative to other commercial margarita products currently available”.

To some, there would seem to be a bit of incongruency—that someone concerned about “healthy alternatives” would have no issue slinging back what’s essentially a shot of tequila hiding out in some agave nectar, lime juice and triple sec. It does sort of beg the question of what’s worse on the system?—an onslaught of tequila or some sodium benzoate? Ask me in the morning, right?

To be fair, there have been reports indicating that sodium benzoate can become a carcinogen if mixed with some other substances, including vitamin C, which of course would be found in lime juice (and that necessary wedge of lime on the glass rim). And, Whole Foods did drop Skinnygirl Margarita from its stores after finding out sodium benzoate was present in the drink.

But the heart of the issue in the Skinnygirl class action—regardless of health or not—is: does the company falsely advertise its product? Does Skinnygirl Margarita contain all-natural ingredients as advertised, or not?

Beam sought to have the case dismissed based on the the plaintiffs’ allegation of unjust enrichment because the Skinnygirl Margaritas were purchased via a third party—i.e., a liquor store in NJ—not directly from Beam.

A claim of unjust enrichment is typically made when a company allegedly benefits (usually financially) from a false advertising claim. Alleged unjust enrichment is a claim in the current Hebrew National false advertising class action lawsuit—the plaintiffs claim Hebrew National benefitted unjustly by falsely calling their hot dogs “kosher” because the company could then charge a premium price over non-kosher hot dogs.

For the Skinnygirl lawsuit, District Judge Noel Hillman didn’t buy Beam’s motion to dismiss, so the class action’s moving ahead…

Tags: Beam Inc, Bethenny Frankel, Skinnygirl Class Action Lawsuit, Skinnygirl Margarita
Posted in Celebrity, Class Action, Consumer Fraud | 9 Comments »