Target & Coach Bags Separated at Birth? (perish the thought)

May 19th, 2010. By AbiK

Now I ask you, do these bags look the same? Do they resemble each other? Ok, maybe to both questions—particularly if you’re not in the market for such. But to those who shop handbags, these two bags are as far apart as Melanie Griffith and a natural look.

Never mind that. Coach took Target to task for being a copycat. Not for the bags shown here—those are just illustrative of similar-style bags—to the untrained eye, of course—each company offers (and, they sort of go with our color scheme at LawyersAndSettlements.com).

The design infringement lawsuit was filed last October when Coach got to feeling that Target (and supplier LF USA, owned by supplier-to-all in the industry Li & Fung) was selling handbags that were just a tad too similar in design to Coach bags themselves. Never mind that Target never had a prayer in h#ll of actually reproducing anything remotely Coach-like—according to the filing Target’s bags were “exact and/or confusingly similar reproductions of Coach’s Ergo designs and Signature Patchwork designs.”

Right.

Target customers would’ve confused the bags for possibly being…Coach bags?

A Coach-carrying member of the Town & Country set would now perhaps source her satchel at…Target?

Out of confusion?

I certainly understand the concept of infringement. And, I do realize that Target’s done wonders to bring design to the masses—at a nice price. But seriously.

So Coach Inc. and Target Corp. finally settled their knock-off lawsuit. The terms of the settlement are apparently confidential, but “amicable”—as these things always are…kiss-kiss—oh please—don’t even worry about it! you look fabulous!

Wake Up Canada and Smell the Asbestos

May 18th, 2010. By janem

Canadians are proud of their healthy lifestyle– surrounded by wide open spaces, fresh air and clean water. But there’s a nasty blight on this near-perfect landscape: Quebec’s asbestos mine. Yep, Canadians still allow asbestos mining, despite the World Health Organization’s (WHO) plea to ban asbestos in every country and despite medical and political professionals warning about asbestos mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.

Quebec exports mined asbestos to many underdeveloped countries and Canada is the leading exporter of chrysotile asbestos–putting at stake the lives of countless people who will be exposed to the deadly asbestos fibers and likely unaware of the danger. Even if they knew the risk of asbestos exposure, many people couldn’t afford, or don’t have access to, safety equipment. And their employers aren’t likely to have safety regulations in place.

WHO estimates that 125 million people around the world are exposed to asbestos in the workplace today, and in 2004 alone, 107,000 people died from occupational exposure to the fibre. The use of asbestos is restricted in the US, but not banned.

Last week in Ottawa about 100 medical and political professionals–including a handful of people from Quebec’s own professional, medical, academic and scientific communities– held an anti-asbestos rally to protest the last active asbestos mining in Asbestos (yes, the town is actually called Asbestos!), Quebec. Increasing pressure on the government couldn’t come at a better time: asbestos industry officials are waiting on yet another loan from the government, this time to approve another underground asbestos mine. It would mean about 30 years of exports and it could create 450 jobs. BIG DEAL.

The two asbestos mines in Quebec only have about 700 people on the payroll. In 1979, the Canadian asbestos industry was valued at US$652 million, and that amount has decreased significantly. Not much for so much misery it has caused.

So how about the government coming up with another means of income for miners? After all, they’ve done it before with pulp and paper mills that went belly-up.  In 2008  the Canadian government spent nearly $20 million in the past two decades to promote exports of the mineral, almost all of it going to developing nations.  How about spending on alternative job creation instead of asbestos promotion?

Do Canadians want to be known for the next 30 years as the biggest exporter of asbestos? That’s grounds for separation from Quebec!

Of course the asbestos industry defends itself by denials and lies. Industry spokespersons in Asbestos (town of) claim that chrysotile is less dangerous than other forms and with care can be used safely. But just about everyone in the know vehemently disagree.WHO claims that all types of asbestos cause asbestosis, cancer and mesothelioma and in a report last year, the former Assistant Surgeon General of the US said that “the chrysotile lobby relies on misinterpretations, false claims, and undocumented statements to advance its global propaganda campaign for the continued use of chrysotile asbestos. . . . Blow away their smoke . . . and truth emerges for all to see: asbestos is deadly . . . and the continued use of chrysotile is unconscionable.”

Possibly Most Moronic Beer Heist – this guy’s Tortelicious

May 18th, 2010. By LucyC

Welcome to Totally Tortelicious—a review of some of the more bizarre legal stories making news—and there’s certainly no shortage of them.

So is this guy really cheeky—or just really—well—stupid?

Can I steal the chilled ones instead? A man from Tennessee (sounds like the opening line of a very bad joke…and it nearly is) stole some beer from a gas station. Problem was—the beer was warm.

What was he thinking? Warm beer? I don’t think so!

So he turned around and walked right back into the gas station and asked the store clerk if he could exchange the warm brews for some cold ones… (or does he just have an incredible sense of entitlement?)

Apparently the clerk asked the man if he had in fact paid for the beer in the first place, as she didn’t remember ringing them in. How could she? She had been in the back of store doing some restocking.

He must have woken up at this point—because he reportedly ran from the store. Was it something she said?

Guess my heart goes out to the guy—he’s clueless. So the video above is a little gesture of good will—to help him out next time he has some warm beer on his hands.

He’s Got a Garage (Contra)Band? You know there must have been something in the water last week—or maybe smoke in the air. Here’s another one—a man from Buffalo called the police to report two teenagers who were breaking into his garage.

Apparently, he didn’t stop to think about what the teens were trying to steal—could it have been his pot plants per chance? This guy had quite a green thumb—and his own little grow-op in his garage to prove it. Now that will attract teenagers.

So the police came, as they do when you report a burglary, and charged the teens accordingly. But of course they had to do an investigation, and they found 51 healthy pot plants. So they arrested the homeowner on drug charges. Ya think? It’s a good thing you can’t be charged for stupidity. I wonder if he’s a contributing member of the gene pool…

How does a Garden Hose end up Costing $63,015.31? No, this is not a skill-testing question or some bizarre riddle for MENSA members. It represents the legal fees incurred by a police officer who was accused by the town of Ansonia, CT, of stealing a garden hose, from some civic department.

Just one garden hose, by the way. And, no, I don’t know how long it was…or what material it was made of, or whether it had one of those fancy spray nozzles on the end…

In any event, the cop went to court and was acquitted. Yup—the jury decided he hadn’t stolen the garden hose after all. (A jury? Who knows…)

So officer Mustafa Salahuddin sent his lawyer’s bill into the city to pay, and after ‘much deliberation,’ the town agreed to pay! Are you kidding? How many hours manpower could this case have taken? I know all garden hoses look pretty much the same, but seriously, the town could have had their choice of garden hoses—they could have had a whole new civic garden—for that kind of dough. Were these people elected?

I can’t help thinking that the lawyer should have been charged with theft.

How Does the Avandia Settlement & TIDE Trial Affect Me?

May 18th, 2010. By Kristine B

If you’ve read the news lately, you may have heard that GlaxoSmithKline agreed to settle approximately 700 Avandia lawsuits for a reported $60 million. You may also have heard the calls to end the Avandia safety trial known as the TIDE trial. This may have you concerned about how these developments affect you, and rightfully so.

This week, Pleading Ignorance takes a look at how the Avandia settlement and the controversy over the Avandia and Actos TIDE trial may affect you.

Avandia Settlement

GlaxoSmithKline has reportedly agreed to settle 700 lawsuits for approximately $60 million. How this settlement affects you depends on where you are in the lawsuit process, if you are involved at all.

Obviously, if you’re one of the 700 lawsuits that have been settled, then your lawsuit is now done; you’ll receive your share of the settlement and no longer have to worry about the litigation.

If you are one of the remaining lawsuits (reported to number in the thousands), how this settlement affects you is less clear. Details about the settlement have been kept quiet. Based on how big businesses operate, my guess (this is just speculation here) is that GlaxoSmithKline has not admitted to any wrongdoing (something most businesses attach to their settlements). The settlement, however, shows that the drug maker is willing to sit down with plaintiff’s lawyers to negotiate, which could be a good thing for the remaining lawsuits.

That said, there is no guarantee that a settlement in those 700 initial lawsuits will translate into a settlement for the remaining lawsuits. It’s a good sign, but it’s no guarantee.

If you are considering contacting a lawyer but haven’t done so yet, the statute of limitations might be running out for you. One of the things that plays into how much time you have to file is whether or not your state follows a discovery rule. What’s that? Basically, it’s the point in time in which an individual would have likely been aware that a claim could be made against a defendant—or that a claim existed. In the case of Avandia, that would mean the point at which a person most likely knew they Read the rest of this entry »

Asbestos News Roundup: 5.13.10

May 13th, 2010. By LucyC

A roundup of recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of. 

Asbestos Lawsuits 

Charleston WV: Forty companies have been named as defendants in an asbestos lawsuit filed by Pamela S. Massie and William D. Kautz. The couple allege that the defendants were responsible for Dale M. Kautz’s asbestos mesothelioma and resulting death: he was diagnosed with mesothelioma on May 1, 2008, and died on June 24, 2008.

Dale Kautz was non-smoker. He worked as a farmer, laborer and mechanic, and also worked on construction and maintenance on family farm from 1956 through to 2006. Among the numerous allegations, the suit claims that the defendant companies were negligent and provided contaminated buildings.

The 40 companies named as defendants in the suit are: A.O. Smith Corporation; A.W. Chesterton; Baldor Electric Company; Black & Decker (U.S.), Inc.; Borg-Warner Automotive, Inc.; Case IH Agricultural Equipment, Inc.; Caterpillar, Inc.; Clark Material Handling Company; Cleaver-Brooks Company, Inc.; Cooper Industries, LLC; Crane Co.; Eaton Electrical, Inc.; Farm Fans, Inc.; Flowserve US, Inc.; Ford Motor Company; Garlock, Inc.; General Electric Company; the Gorman-Rupp Company; Honeywell International, Inc.; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Ingersoll-Rand Company; John Deere Company; Kalsey-Hayes Company; Lennox Industries, Inc.; Mat Holdings, Inc.; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Navistar, Inc.; New Holland, Inc.; Rockwell Automation, Inc.; Schneider Electric USA, Inc.; State Electric Supply Company; the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company; the Cincinnati Gasket, Packing & Manufacturing, Inc.; Uniroyal, Inc.; Valley Brook Concrete & Supply, Inc.; Viacom, Inc.; Westinghouse Electric Corporation; Vimasco Corporation; West Virginia Electric Supply Company; and Wheel Horse Products, Inc. (WV Record.com) 

Madison County, IL: A couple who filed an asbestos lawsuit in Madison County on May 3, have also filed an asbestos complaint six days earlier, on April 27^th, in St. Clair County. In the suit filed Read the rest of this entry »