Posts Tagged ‘ Lawsuit ’

After Alcohol Wipe Screw-Ups, Triad Decides to Play with Makeup

October 18th, 2012. By

Ok, could be makeup. Could be some anti-aging wonder. Could be your run-of-the-mill hand soap. Who knows? The initial reports regarding Triad Group’s foray into cosmetics have been a bit lacking in detail as to what exactly will be coming of the manufacturing lines at Triad’s Hartland, WI production plant.

Triad, if you recall, was at the heart of the alcohol prep pad, alcohol swab and alcohol swabstick, aka alcohol wipe recall of last year—the one connected to the death of 2-year old Harrison Kothari in Texas who contracted acute bacterial meningitis caused by Bacillus cereus bacteria. The Kotharis have settled with Triad—as have a dozen others who filed contamination lawsuits (details of the settlements have not been disclosed).

Fast-forward a year. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Triad, which filed for bankruptcy protection on the heels of its $5 million insurance policy being drained on the lawsuits just mentioned, has indicated it would like to re-establish itself as a cosmetics company.

Every cat has nine lives, right?

The Journal Sentinel quoted Triad’s COO, Eric Haertle, as saying at the company’s first meeting with creditors in bankruptcy court, “We are in the infancy stage of these opportunities. We have talked to industry vendors. I am encouraged and optimistic about the support we are receiving if we can put a plan together and resume operations.”

What’s interesting here is not so much that Triad even wants to emerge like a phoenix from the ashes—hey, it’s a business wanting to cut its losses and get on with things—no, the interesting thing is their costume change; they’ll now wear the i.d. of “cosmetics company” rather than that of “medical device” company—and that has benefit for a company whose odds of reincarnation under their former classification are next to nothing.

See, in order for Triad to go back to being a medical device company and manufacturing as it had before, it faces some intense scrutiny by the FDA. According to the Journal Sentinel, both the FDA and Triad would need to agree to the FDA’s consent decree which would impose a $15,000 per day fine—per violation—should Triad fail to comply with FDA policies. Additionally, the decree would subject Triad to FDA inspections without prior notice–and those inspections could cover everything from equipment to raw materials to finished products to packaging. The decree also calls for the company to post a $4 million bond.

No small undertaking to set up shop again.

But, there’s an escape hatch: re-establishing itself as a cosmetics company means less rigorous regulation and oversight by the FDA. And given that the consent decree to operate as a medical device company again could cost Triad millions—with no guarantee they’ll even pass with flying colors—well, the land of lipstick bullets, lotions and potions suddenly has tremendous appeal.

On second thought, maybe there is a clue as to what cosmetics will be coming off Triad’s production line—those Triad alcohol swabsticks look a lot like those cotton swabs used to smudge eyeliner (for that smoky eye look) or to clean up little makeup mistakes…hmm…just wondering…

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Posted in Defective Products, Drugs/Medical, lawsuits, Settlement | No Comments »

Extortion Lawsuits? Yuba City Coughs Up $15k To Make George Louie Go Away

October 17th, 2012. By

George Louie. If you live on the east coast or do not follow news regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) you probably haven’t heard of Mr. Louie. But PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) and hundreds of businesses and attorneys sure have. In fact, if you run a case locator search over at PACER right now—even narrow your search to just civil cases—you’ll find 1,060 records for George Louie.

See, he’s one prolific lawsuit filer. He files them pro se (that is, for himself—without an attorney). And, to many, he’s like that mouse that gets in your house and after you set traps, caulk openings, and even shove steel wool into any and every infinitesimal hole—guess what? Sure as shootin’ the darn thing manages to rip open the box of Bisquick® in the pantry. Yep, he’s that kind of annoying.

Given I write for  a legal new site, LawyersandSettlements.com, I’m all for justice—and ADA compliance. But I’m not for abusing the system or drumming up lawsuits against small businesses that can potentially drive them into bankruptcy when perhaps there are non-litigious workarounds to improve the situation. I daresay that the small businesses who’ve been targeted by Mr. Louie would do what they could (key words there: ‘what they could’) to provide their wares or services to him or help get him access to their establishments. Most small businesses aren’t in the business of trying to alienate customers. But why work with your foe when you can sue them!

So, note to Louie: if the very change you’re trying to affect can’t take effect because the business you’ve targeted can’t afford to make the change, thereby driving it into bankruptcy at worst or non-compliance penalties at best, what have you accomplished? You’re certainly not winning allies, and you—or the community—risks losing a part of what was helping to contribute to a more vital neighborhood.

But then what’s a community to do when under siege from a court-clogging wannabe hero (or grudge-holder, as Louie reportedly told the  Marysville Appeal-Democrat, “I hold grudges”)  who’s costing more time, money and effort than the community can bear?

Enter Yuba City, CA.

Yuba City just took a bold—some would say insane—step to put the brakes on George Louie.

They paid him off. Or, I should say, they settled with him, by agreeing to pay him $15,000 in order for him to stop bringing frivolous lawsuits against them and area businesses. According to the MercuryNews (10/15/12), Yuba City’s economic development manager, Darin Gale states Louie has “agreed not to file ADA lawsuits in our city, period. There’s no timetable. It’s forever.”

Now, what this means for future and copycat lawsuit opportunists is yet to be seen.  But what does this settlement accomplish?

Well, the obvious is that it gets George Louie off Yuba City small businesses’ backs. As CBS News-Sacramento reported (10/13/12), local business owner Jayne Sawyer—who owns  JJ’s Tools and Merchandise—said in regard to the possibility of being targeted by a Louie lawsuit, “We’d probably have to close it down. We do not have the capital; we’re barely breaking even.” Then she says, “It’s just sad because it’s not what the law [ADA] intended to do.”

But it surely doesn’t leave a good taste in everyone’s mouth regarding efforts to put the spotlight on ADA non-compliance. As Yuba City property manager Bill Meagher, who had two tenants sued by Louie, was quoted as saying, “These are extortion lawsuits.” Well, a $15k pay-off could be seen as such.

In addition to the Yuba City settlement, while Louie can continue to file lawsuits in federal court, a report by the Sacramento Bee (10/17/12), indicates Louie was placed on a state list of “vexatious litigants” in June 2011 by a Contra Costa Superior Court judge. So he can no longer file lawsuits in California courts.
At the end of all this, is what Louie’s lawsuits and subsequent backlash will mean to ADA non-compliance efforts. There was probably a time (maybe a decade ago?) when Louie showed promise as an ADA advocate. But for now, he’s gone from the proverbial thorn in the side of complacency to basically an annoying murine intruder who needed to be stopped.

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Posted in Discrimination, Emerging Issues, lawsuits, Settlement | 1 Comment »

DIY Legal Help: Do you Really Need a Lawyer?

November 3rd, 2011. By

LawyersandSettlements.com receives a lot of inquiries asking whether or not it’s really necessary to obtain a lawyer if you’re trying to file a lawsuit. Pleading Ignorance is responding to all those questions and the answer is…yes, and no. But there’s a very simple and basic “litmus test” you can try to help you figure out what—or who—you need..

One way to help determine whether you’d benefit from having a lawyer is to consider how much is in it for you. Now, that might sound a bit opportunistic, and to some degree it is—but it’s also the reality of most personal injury lawsuits: someone’s been injured, someone caused the injury, and damages will be due. The question everyone wants the answer to is “how much?”

While you won’t be able to gauge exactly how much you might receive in damages—nor will anyone else until your case unfolds–you probably will have an estimate of what your out-of-pocket expenses have been for things like medical care, physical therapy, car repairs, lost wages…things like that. Once you add those up so you have a rough estimate (keeping in mind it will most likely not include everything you might be able seek damages for in an actual lawsuit), your next step is to visit your state’s Small Claims Court information center to find out what the maximum damages your state allows are—that’s the maximum you’d be allowed to recover in Small Claims Court.

If your expenses, as a result of the harm or injury done to you or your property, exceed your state’s maximum allowed damages in Small Claims Court, chances are you’ll need to consider a formal civil lawsuit, which in most instances will require a lawyer. Formal civil lawsuits need to follow civil procedure (i.e., “Rules of Civil Procedure”), and that process tends to be a bit (ok, a lot) more complicated for most folks. So if you’re seeking to recover damages that exceed what you’d potentially recover from Small Claims Court, an attorney can help you navigate the process and the filing of all the necessary forms and paperwork.

The following is a list of links for each state’s Small Claims Court information:

If after reviewing the expenses associated with your injury you conclude that the damages you’re seeking would be more than what your state Small Claims Court allows, you can submit a complaint for an attorney to review here.

For additional state legal news and information, visit our State Law Pages.

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Posted in Emerging Issues, lawsuits, Lawyers | 2 Comments »

Need a Job? What about Full-Time Plaintiff? Cha-ching!

July 6th, 2010. By

Today, I am embarking on a career change: 

FULL-TIME PLAINTIFF.

I may not be around as much, as I will always be in court—and my name will be in the news a lot, so at least you’ll know what I’m up to. I won’t have to blog as frequently, to keep you apprised of life in the Hunter household. 

You will salivate at the size of my bank account, even after legal fees are deducted. Of course, the strategy is to sue for legal fees, too. 

What set me on this course to dramatically improve my fortune? 

Look north, to Canada, and you will see what opened my eyes. 

Last week, two sets of parents sued the Greater Toronto Hockey League, one of its clubs and four coaches for $25,000 each for the heinous act of cutting their sons from a midget junior ‘A’ team during tryouts in April. 

“Their direct actions have caused irreparable psychological damage to [plaintiff’s] self esteem as an impressionable teenager and demoralized [plaintiff] as an athlete and team hockey player with his peers,” one claim reads. “The conduct by all defendants destroyed the dignity of my son, whom in good conscience gave his team nothing but his best efforts.” 

Statement of claim 2: “When [plaintiff] was advised of his termination by my wife and I, he vowed never to play the game he loved since childhood. And, moreover, his misguided group of defendants demoralized my wife and I, whom had gone well beyond the call of duty as parents in support of the [defendant] for two seasons.” 

That was the clincher, dear friends—although I’ve been giving this career change serious thought for some time…ever since I heard of the Canadian lawsuit back in the winter by a woman who is suing her mobile phone service provider for ruining her life. How? Well, due to a billing change by the service provider, the plaintiff’s husband Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted in Consumer Fraud, Lex Levity | No Comments »

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