/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/CAR

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/CAR_Public/150123.mbx C L A S S A C T I O N R E P O R T E R Friday, January 23, 2015, Vol. 17, No. 17 Headlines 15 WEST: Faces "Hernandez" Suit Over Failure to Pay Overtime AAA WELL: Faces "Espinosa" Suit Over Failure to Pay OT Wages ABBOTT LABORATORIES: Sued in Ill. Over Misleading Product Label ALABAMA: ACLU Gets $1.3 Million Award in HIV Prison System Case ALBANY, NY: Bidders Have Until Jan. 30 to Submit Camera Proposals AMERICAN DIRECTIONS: Illegally Terminates Employees, Suit Claims AMERICA SERVICES: Faces "Gijon" Suit Over Failure to Pay OT Wages APPLE INC: Faces Suit for Overstating Storage Capacity of Gadgets ARKANSAS: State High Court Upholds Order Denying Bid to Intervene ASTRAZENECA PHARMACEUTICALS: Teamsters Suit Over Nexium Remanded BAC HOME: "Fowler" Case Remanded to St. Louis Court CALIFORNIA: Suit Against Los Angeles Superior Court Dismissed CAVALRY PORTFOLIO: Has Made Unsolicited Calls, "Nguyen" Suit Says COMPUTER SCIENCE: Removes "Grubbs" Suit to Florida District Court COSCENTRIX: Expands Recall of DD Brand Candles Due to Fire Hazard DEUTSCHE BANK: Faces "Golan" Suit Over Failure to Pay Overtime DINASTIA CHINA: Faces "Hernandez" Suit Over Failure to Pay OT DISH NETWORK: Took Millions on Programs It Didn't Give, Suit Says DULCERIA LA ISLA: Suit Seeks to Recover Unpaid OT Wages & Damages ENRON CORP: Court to Hear Bid in Gas Price Fixing Suit EVERCORE TRUST: Faces "Coburn" Suit Over Violation of ERISA EXXON MOBIL: Court Tosses Reconsideration Bid in "Lester" Suit FARMERS' RICE COOP: Accused of Firing Workers Over Tainted Rice FUSHA 311 WEST: "Apolinar" Suit Moved From E.D. to S.D. New York GENCOR NUTRIENTS: Faces Class Suit Over Testofen-Related Claims GLOBAL CONCEPTS: Court Grants Final Approval to "Gjolaj" Accord HENRY MAYO: "Vasserman" Wage Suit Remanded Back to Lower Court HIP AT MURRAY: Faces "Reyes" Suit Over Failure to Pay Overtime INSTANT CHECKMATE: Faces Consumer Class Suit in California JAMES TRADING: Recalls Croker Kids Fleece Panel Hoodie JEFFERIES GROUP: Del. Chancery Court Clarifies Class Definition JEFFERSON PARISH: "Billizone" Suit Denied Class Certification JINON CORPORATION: Dismissal of "Lewis" Suit Upheld KAISER PERMANENTE: Mental Health Clinicians to Hold Strike KELLERMEYER BUILDING: April 13 Final Settlement Approval Hearing KEURIG: Recalls MINI Plus Brewing Systems Due to Burn Hazard LADENBURG THALMANN: April 10 Settlement Fairness Hearing Set LUMBER LIQUIDATORS: Case Conference in "Chavez" Suit Held MEDTRONIC INC: Court Nixes Bid to Stay Remand Order in "Hendrich" MORGAN KEEGAN: Trial in Mamtek Class Action Begins MORGAN STANLEY: Faces "Hix" Suit Over Failure to Pay Overtime NATIONAL COLLEGIATE: Restraints Trade of Women Players, Suit Says NIELSEN COMPANY: May 21 Final Approval Hearing on "Rulli" Accord OLYMPIC MOUNTAIN: Recalls Tealight Wax Warmers Due to Burn Hazard ORYX OILFIELD: "Robinsons" Suit Seeks to Recover Unpaid OT Wages PENNSYLVANIA: DHS Sued Over Delay of Health Insurance Benefits PFIZER INC: Champix Linked to Suicide Attempt Incidents PINE TREE HOUSE: "Aguilar" Suit Seeks to Recover Unpaid OT Wages PREMIER DIRECTIONAL: Suit Seeks to Recover Unpaid Wages & Damages RCI HOSPITALITY: Faces "Haynes" Suit Over Failure to Pay Overtime RM GALICIA: Has Made Unsolicited Calls, "Marquez" Suit Claims RJM ACQUISITIONS: Accused of Unlawful Debt Collection Practices SAAQIN INC: Faces "Bledsoe" Suit Over Failure to Pay Overtime SAFETY SIGNS: Faces "Seipel" Suit Over Failure to Pay OT Wages SANDRIDGE ENERGY: Pomerantz Law Firm Files Securities Class Suit SINGING RIVER: Pascagoula attorney Files Claim v. Jackson County SKECHERS USA: Faces "Jenkins" Suit Over Use of Toning Shoes SOLID BUILDERS: Faces "Padron" Suit Over Failure to Pay Overtime SOUTH CAROLINA: Pays $1.2MM to Estate of Mentally Retarded Inmate SYNGENTA CORP: "Hawthorne" Suit Consolidated in MIR162 Corn MDL SYNGENTA CORP: "Sondgeroth" Suit Consolidated in MIR162 Corn MDL TAKATA CORP: Faces "Weisberg" Suit Over Defective Airbags TAKATA CORP: Motley Rice Files Airbag Class Suit in So. Carolina TESLA MOTORS: Court Explains Dismissal of Securities Lawsuit TEXAS BRINE: Bayou Corne Residents Evacuate Under Settlement UBER TECHNOLOGIES: Sued for Bombarding People With Spam Texts UBS AG: "Hernandez" Suit Seeks to Recover Unpaid Overtime Wages UNITED NATIONS: Judge Dismisses Class Action Over Chlorea Outbreak VAN RU CREDIT: Accused of Violating Fair Debt Collection Act WALGREEN CO: Accused of Hiding Billion-Dollar Profit Shortfall WARNER MUSIC: Wins Final Court OK of Digital Download Suit Deal WHOLE FOODS: "Jackson" Suit Consolidated in Greek Yogurt MDL Asbestos Litigation ASBESTOS UPDATE: Esterline Continues to Defend Fibro Claims ASBESTOS UPDATE: Toro Company Still Subject to Fibro Cases ASBESTOS UPDATE: RPM Int'l. Units Emerge from Chapter 11 ASBESTOS UPDATE: OneBeacon Unit Closes Runoff Transaction ASBESTOS UPDATE: Bus Driver's Widow Wins $7.7MM in Fibro Suit ASBESTOS UPDATE: WR Grace Fibro Trust Now Accepting Claims ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Changes Old Town Hall Demolition Plan ASBESTOS UPDATE: Trial Nears in Fibro Reinsurance Fight ASBESTOS UPDATE: Libby Fibro Exposure Linked to Lung Defects ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Victim's Family Appeals for Information ASBESTOS UPDATE: Northamptonshire Firms Fined for Fibro Failings ASBESTOS UPDATE: La. District Court Nixes "Bystander Damages" ASBESTOS UPDATE: Parents Weren't Notified of Fibro Removal ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Removal to Begin at Bunkhouse ASBESTOS UPDATE: Jury Awards $3.6MM to Electrician's Family ASBESTOS UPDATE: Travelers Stuck with $500MM Tab in Manville Case ASBESTOS UPDATE: Calif. School Fibro Test Results Expected Soon ASBESTOS UPDATE: Nutshell Pub Closed Due to Fibro Removal ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Fears at Apollo Bay Playground ASBESTOS UPDATE: Court Awards Summary Judgment to Foster Wheeler ASBESTOS UPDATE: Ill. Appellate Ct. Upholds Fibro Defense Verdict ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Killed Former Derbyshire Cabinet Maker ASBESTOS UPDATE: Pa. Jurors Enter Defense Verdict for Crane Co. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Miss. Court Enters Judgment in Oilfield Suit ASBESTOS UPDATE: Bristol Mum to Sue Hospital for Fibro Exposure ASBESTOS UPDATE: Payout Came Too Late for Fibro Victim ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Claimants Denied Class Cert. in Suit ASBESTOS UPDATE: Maryland Firm Wants Malpractice Claims Nixed ASBESTOS UPDATE: NYC Judge Denies Efforts to Stay Decision ASBESTOS UPDATE: NSW to Appoint More Mr. Fluffy Inspectors ASBESTOS UPDATE: Knowsley Man Wins Fibro Payout From Shell ASBESTOS UPDATE: Kenbi Land Claim Help Up by $32MM Clean-up Bill ASBESTOS UPDATE: Prosecutor in Dust-up Over Fibro Threat ASBESTOS UPDATE: 2014 Fibro Filings in Madison Cty Down From 2013 ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Remnants Being Removed From NZ School ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Discovery at Centre Prompts Inspections ASBESTOS UPDATE: Pfizer Dodges Fibro Suit Over Unit's Products ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Fears Shut Dutch Town After Fire ASBESTOS UPDATE: Garlock Deal Sets Up Battle w/ Current Claimants ASBESTOS UPDATE: Waterboro Closes Library Over Toxic Dust ASBESTOS UPDATE: Toronto Deals With Fibro Concerns in Bldgs ASBESTOS UPDATE: Texas SC to Decide on $2.6MM Verdict v. Dow ASBESTOS UPDATE: Queanbeyan Council to Make Fibro Register Public ASBESTOS UPDATE: Ballina Contractor Fined for Dumping Fibro ASBESTOS UPDATE: Deadly Dust Led to Leed Man's Cancer Death ASBESTOS UPDATE: UC-Led Research Guides EPA in Libby Assessment ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Unearthed on "Healing Farm" Site ASBESTOS UPDATE: NJ Jurors Award $7.5MM in Cement Trial ASBESTOS UPDATE: Inquest Hears Worker "Likely" Exposed to Fibro ASBESTOS UPDATE: Greensboro to Appeal Fibro Exposure Fine ASBESTOS UPDATE: Gallia School Finds Fibro in Ceiling Tile ASBESTOS UPDATE: Ex-Sailor Exposed to Deadly Dust in Navy ASBESTOS UPDATE: GBP430,000+ Paid to 2 Fibro Victims ASBESTOS UPDATE: North Devon Homes Prosecuted for Fibro Exposure ASBESTOS UPDATE: Workman's Comp Court to Review Libby Victim Case ASBESTOS UPDATE: Council Pleads Guilty to Fibro Contamination ASBESTOS UPDATE: Unsealed U.S. Suits Reveal Fraud by Law Firms ASBESTOS UPDATE: Families of Fibro Victims Missing Out on Payment ASBESTOS UPDATE: Survey Delay Exposed Plumbers to Fibro Danger ASBESTOS UPDATE: Garlock Says Attys Told Clients to Hide Evidence ASBESTOS UPDATE: Travelers Should Pay $9MM in Fibro Coverage Row ASBESTOS UPDATE: Pfizer Not Liable for Quigley-Caused Death ASBESTOS UPDATE: Kent Makers Granted Summary Judgment in PI Suit ASBESTOS UPDATE: So. Carolina Court Quashes Subpoenas in "Parker" ASBESTOS UPDATE: South Carolina PI Claimants Denied Class Cert. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Time to Perfect Appeals in 13 NYCAL Suits Tolled ASBESTOS UPDATE: $2.5MM Judgment Against Port Authority Affirmed ASBESTOS UPDATE: Insurers Found Liable to Defend Illinois Tool ********* 15 WEST: Faces "Hernandez" Suit Over Failure to Pay Overtime ------------------------------------------------------------ Andrea Hernandez, on behalf of herself and others similarly situated v. 15 West 47 St. LLC, Isaac Chetrit, Joseph Chetrit, Jack Yadidi, and John Does #1-10, jointly and severally, Case No. 1:15-cv-00223 (S.D.N.Y., January 13, 2015), is brought against the Defendants for failure to pay overtime wages in violation of the Fair Labor Standard Act. The Defendants own and manage at least two 120,000-square foot office and retail buildings in Manhattan, located at 15 W. 47th Street, 22 W. 48th Street, New York, New York. The Plaintiff is represented by: Benjamin Nathan Dictor, Esq. EISNER & MIRER, P.C. 113 University Place New York, NY 10003 Telephone: (212) 473-8700 Facsimile: (212) 473-8705 E-mail: ben@eisnerassociates.com AAA WELL: Faces "Espinosa" Suit Over Failure to Pay OT Wages ------------------------------------------------------------ Jamie Espinosa, on behalf of himself and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. AAA Well Service LLC, Case No. 4:15-cv-00087 (S.D. Tex., January 13, 2015), is brought against the Defendant for failure to pay overtime wages for work performed in excess of 40 hours per week. AAA Well Service LLC provides numerous oil field well services, including reverse fishing, valve drilling, hot taping, freezing, well control, pumping, and engineering. The Plaintiff is represented by: Gabriel Assaad, Esq. KENNEDY HODGES LLP 711 W Alabama St Houston, TX 77006 Telephone: (713) 523-0011 E-mail: gassaad@kennedyhodges.com ABBOTT LABORATORIES: Sued in Ill. Over Misleading Product Label --------------------------------------------------------------- Sara Hawes and Clarice Chavira, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Abbott Laboratories, Inc., Case No. 1:15-cv-00308 (N.D. Ill., January 13, 2015), arises out of the Defendant's misleading labeling of EAS Myoplex Original. The product label states plainly 42g Protein on the front of the packaging, and indicates that there are 42 grams of protein per serving in the Nutrition Facts section, when in fact the actual total content per serving of protein is only approximately 38.085 grams. Abbott Laboratories, Inc. is an American pharmaceuticals and health care products company. The Plaintiff is represented by: Joseph J. Siprut, Esq. Gregory W. Jones, Esq. SIPRUT PC 17 N. State Street, Suite 1600 Chicago, IL 60602 Telephone: (312) 236-0000 Facsimile: (312) 267-1906 E-mail: www.siprut.com jsiprut@siprut.com gjones@siprut.com - and - Nick Suciu III, Esq BARBAT, MANSOUR & SUCIU PLLC 434 West Alexandrine, Suite 101 Detroit, MI 48201 Telephone: (313) 303-3472 E-mail: nicksuciu@bmslawyers.com - and - Tina Wolfson, Esq. Bradley King, Esq. AHDOOT & WOLFSON, PC 1016 Palm Avenue West Hollywood, CA 90069 Telephone: (310) 474-9111 Facsimile: (3100 474-8585 E-mail: twolfson@ahdootwolfson.com bking@ahdootwolfson.com ALABAMA: ACLU Gets $1.3 Million Award in HIV Prison System Case --------------------------------------------------------------- Robert Knight, writing for American Thinker, reports that Alabama taxpayers have been dunned only $1.3 million by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which sued to end the segregation of HIV- positive inmates in the state prison system. It's good news because the ACLU wanted $2.4 million for its successful litigation forcing prison officials to place inmates who have a communicable, fatal illness in proximity with inmates who don't. Taxpayers also had to pay a private law firm, Maynard, Cooper & Gale, another $1.76 million to defend the state against the ACLU's class-action suit, according to Al.com. In December 2012, U.S. District Judge Myron H. Thompson issued a 152-page ruling against Alabama's Department of Corrections, ordering it to integrate HIV-positive inmates with other inmates. Separating the inmates, the judge said, violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. The state and the ACLU have been wrangling over legal fees ever since, with the ACLU finally agreeing to accept $1.3 million, which includes fees of $195 per hour for ACLU attorney visits to the prisons. The opinion, which plays down the prevalence of prison rape, dismisses the idea that lifting the policy would increase the risk of spreading HIV. Parts of the opinion read like drafts from a Marxist professor's lecture to a college LGBT Studies class. Judge Thompson blamed the prison policy on animus toward homosexuals, minorities, and the poor: "First, HIV is most frequently found among historically marginalized populations: particularly, gay men. Prejudice against homosexuals intensifies prejudice against HIV, and prejudice against HIV becomes a proxy for prejudice against members of the gay community. "Because HIV is also more common among minorities and the poor, the stigma attached to HIV deeply implicates race and class prejudice, as well as homophobia." Merely connecting the dots from high-risk behavior to incidence of infections is enough to get your character assailed in Judge Thompson's court. A statement issued by the Department of Corrections said that officials tried to resolve the case multiple times with the ACLU "to avoid the cost and expense of a lengthy trial" but that "[u]nfortunately, the ACLU refused to respond to the department's requests until after the parties had incurred substantial expenses to avoid trial." Maynard, Cooper & Gale is also defending the state against a Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) lawsuit that claims Alabama's inmates are getting substandard health care. Correctional health care firm Corizon is paying the legal fees in that case, thanks to a provision in its $224 million contract with the state, according to al.com, the state has ponied up a total of $1.86 million in taxpayer money to fight prison lawsuits over the past four years. In August, Judge Thompson sided with the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and another abortion provider and issued a 172-page ruling that overturned an Alabama law requiring abortionists to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. The judge said it could close several clinics and thereby pose an "undue burden" on women who want abortions. The Alabama Women's Health and Safety Act of 2013 was signed by Republican Gov. Robert Bentley, an M.D. who decried the ruling: "Abortion is a fundamental assault on the sanctity of innocent human life, and I believe that it should only be done as a last possible effort to save the life of the mother," Gov. Bentley said in a statement. "As a doctor, I firmly believe that medical procedures, including abortions, performed in Alabama should be done in the safest manner possible. This law ensures that if a complication arises there is continuity of treatment between doctor and patient. This ruling significantly diminishes those important protections." Judge Thompson was appointed in 1980 by President Jimmy Carter, illustrating yet again that elections can have long-term consequences. ALBANY, NY: Bidders Have Until Jan. 30 to Submit Camera Proposals ----------------------------------------------------------------- Jordan Carleo-Evangelist, writing for Times Union, reports that bidders have until the end of this month to submit plans to the city for cameras that snap photos of cars that go through red lights at up to 20 intersections. The request for proposals issued on Jan. 9 lays out in the greatest detail yet what city officials are looking for -- including the requirement that the city maintain control of all traffic signals. The city also wants to be able to access the cameras' live streams remotely 24 hours a day -- a capability Deputy Police Chief Brendan Cox said would be used only in rare situations such as emergencies during which police need to see what is happening on the street. "There's no intent for us to be viewing that 24 hours a day or live, really, at all," Mr. Cox said. The recordings could be checked after the fact for use in criminal investigations, he said. Under the specifications laid out by the city, the camera company would conduct an initial review of potential violations and identify vehicles like police cars, ambulances and those involved in funeral processions that may be exempt. The company would then forward the images to the police department, which would maintain final say over whether motorists violated the law. The city's Parking Violations Bureau would adjudicate offenses, which are non-moving violations punishable by fines up to $50. "After the Police Department has determined which images are legitimate violations they will be returned to the (company) for processing and mailing," Albany's specifications state. Motorists in Florida are currently challenging a similar arrangement in at least two federal lawsuits. The lawsuits, which are seeking class-action status, were filed last fall against Arizona-based American Traffic Solutions and were prompted by a Florida state appeals court ruling that determined the city of Hollywood, Fla., had improperly delegated the authority to issue citations to a private company. While the suits stem from the wording of Florida state law, the same company has provided red-light cameras in three of the five New York communities that currently have them, including the state's largest and longest-running network in New York City. Cox said he believes the arrangement would pass legal muster in New York "because it's a civil penalty and because the police department is still certifying it." The contractor would have no control over the length of the city's yellow lights -- a concern in other cities where shortened lights have led to allegations of entrapment -- and would be barred from having even supervised access to the traffic signal controller. While the city would retain control over which intersections are selected, the solicitation asks companies to be able to provide additional data analysis to help choose them. Officials also want cameras capable of recording a car's speed but would use the data only for analysis and engineering purposes, such as determining whether added speed enforcement is needed on roads where drivers run lights at high speeds, Cox said. Albany could not use the cameras to issue speeding violations, which requires separate state authorization. The city is seeking cameras capable of producing video that would show alleged violators running the lights -- a capability called "vital" last year in an AAA of New York report because it can help confirm that a traffic signal's yellow light was working properly "and provide the context of a violation." New York City does not use video, which AAA says limits motorists' ability to contest wrongful citations. Under state law, the violations are issued to the registered owner of the car, not necessarily the driver. Mayor Kathy Sheehan's decision to pursue a camera program has been controversial. Mayor Sheehan has said the aim is to increase safety at some of the city's most crash-prone intersections, but the city is also relying on $2 million in red-light camera revenue to balance the 2015 budget. Critics point to corruption surrounding the nation's largest red- light camera system in Chicago and cite conflicting studies about whether the devices actually make streets safer. Some large cities like St. Petersburg, Fla., opponents say, are canceling their red-light programs. State lawmakers last year granted Albany permission to establish a five-year pilot program with the cameras that would end in 2020, and the Common Council voted 11-4 in October to move forward. City lawmakers would not need to approve the contract with the red-light camera vendor, Council President Pro Tempore Richard Conti said on Jan. 9. Proposals are due to the city by Jan. 30. AMERICAN DIRECTIONS: Illegally Terminates Employees, Suit Claims ---------------------------------------------------------------- Marcus Flatbush and Vonnie Young v. American Directions Group, Inc. and American Directions Workforce LLC, Case No. 2:15-cv-00056 (D. Ariz., January 13, 2015), is brought against the Defendants for failure to give employees at least 60 days prior notice of termination of their employment. The Defendants own and operate data collection firms in Arizona, California, Florida, Ohio, Texas, and Washington. The Plaintiff is represented by: Sean Christopher Davis, Esq. Trey A. R. Dayes III, Esq. PHILLIPS DAYES NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT LAW FIRM PC 3101 N Central Ave., Ste. 1500 Phoenix, AZ 85012 Telephone: (800) 562-5297 Facsimile: (602) 288-1664 E-mail: SeanD@phillipsdayeslaw.com treyd@phillipsdayeslaw.com AMERICA SERVICES: Faces "Gijon" Suit Over Failure to Pay OT Wages ----------------------------------------------------------------- Juan A. Aranda Gijon and all others similarly situated under 29 U.S.C. 216(b) v. America Services Industries, Inc., Lewis M. Rossi, Case No. 1:15-cv-20128 (S.D. Fla., January 13, 2015),is brought against the Defendants for failure to pay overtime wages for work performed in excess of 40 hours weekly. The Defendants own and operate a real estate company in Dade County, Florida. The Plaintiff is represented by: Jamie H. Zidell, Esq. J.H. ZIDELL, PA 300 71st Street, Suite 605 Miami Beach, FL 33141 Telephone: (305) 865-6766 E-mail: ZABOGADO@AOL.COM APPLE INC: Faces Suit for Overstating Storage Capacity of Gadgets ----------------------------------------------------------------- Apple doesn't tell consumers that its iOS 8 operating system can take up nearly a quarter of the storage space on their iPhones, iPads and iPods, a class action claims in California Federal Court, reports Arvin Temkar at Courthouse News Service. Lead plaintiff Paul Orshan claims that Apple touted its latest mobile operating system is "the biggest iOS release ever," but "fail(ed) to disclose to consumers that as much as 23.1 percent of the advertised storage capacity of the devices will be consumed by iOS 8 and unavailable for consumers." Orshan claims the statistics apply to 8 gigabyte and 16 gigabyte iPhones, iPads and iPods. He claims that a reasonable consumer does not expect that much discrepancy between the advertised storage capacity of a device and its available capacity. He says that an iPhone 6+ marketed as 16 gigabytes actually only has 12.7 gigabytes available to the user. For an iPod of the same size, there's only 12.3 gigabytes available. In addition, Orshan says, Apple "aggressively markets" its cloud- based storage system iCloud, which costs a monthly fee. "Using these sharp business tactics, defendant gives less storage capacity than advertised, only to offer to sell that capacity in a desperate moment, e.g., when a consumer is trying to record or take photos at a child or grandchild's recital, basketball game or wedding," according to the complaint. To put this in context, each gigabyte of storage Apple shortchanges its customers amounts to approximately 400-500 high resolution photographs," the complaint states. Orshan et al. seek class certification, an injunction and damages for unfair competition, false advertising, and consumer law violations. The Plaintiffs are represented by: Jonas P. Mann, Esq. AUDET & PARTNERS LLP 221 Main St., Suite 1460 San Francisco, CA 94105 Telephone: (415) 568-2555 Facsimile: (415) 568-2556 E-mail: jmann@audetlaw.com ARKANSAS: State High Court Upholds Order Denying Bid to Intervene ----------------------------------------------------------------- Associate Justice Paul E. Danielson of the Supreme Court of Arkansas affirmed a circuit court order denying the request of Fort Smith School District; Greenwood School District; Alma School District; and Van Buren School District to intervene as a matter of right in the litigation of Deer/Mt. Judea School District. The appellate case is captioned, FORT SMITH SCHOOL DISTRICT; GREENWOOD SCHOOL DISTRICT; ALMA SCHOOL DISTRICT; AND VAN BUREN SCHOOL DISTRICT, APPELLANTS, v. DEER/MT. JUDEA SCHOOL DISTRICT, APPELLEE. No. CV-14-576. (Ark.). Deer/Mt. Judea originally filed a suit alleging inequities in the State's school-funding practices and sought to enjoin actions by the State which violated the state law and the Arkansas Constitution that could inevitably result in the closure of the district's schools. After the circuit court granted Defendant's motion to dismiss, Deer/Mt. Judea appealed the circuit court's ruling wherein the appellate court reversed circuit court's dismissal of some Deer/Mt Judea's claim. Fort Smith filed its motion to intervene in the litigation alleging that the school districts seeking to intervene operated kindergarten-through-twelfth-grade schools and serving anywhere from 3,278 students in Alma to approximately 14,700 students. Fort Smith asserted that it agreed with Deer/Mt. Judea's contention that the State had violated state law by failing to comply with Act 57 of 2003 in evaluating whether a substantially equal opportunity for an adequate education was being afforded to Arkansas's students. Deer/Mt. Judea responded to Fort Smith's motion, requesting that the motion be denied. Deer/Mt. Judea asserted that the motion was untimely and that Fort Smith's interests were adequately represented by the existing parties. Eventually, the circuit court denied the motion for being untimely filed and its failure to justify their three-year delay in seeking to intervene. Fort Smith argues that the circuit court erred in denying its motion to intervene and contended that it is entitled to intervene as a matter of right because its interests are not adequately represented by either Deer/Mt. Judea or the State Defendants. In affirming the circuit court's order, Associate Justice Danielson held that they cannot say that the circuit court abused its discretion in denying the motion for intervention as untimely. Justice Danielson ruled that the circuit court observed that a three-year delay had occurred. Moreover, Justice Danielson stated that in order to overturn the circuit court's denial of intervention on the ground of timeliness, Fort Smith must demonstrate that the court abused its discretion by making a judgment call that was arbitrary or groundless. A copy of the Order dated November 19, 2014, is available at http://is.gd/ghXaVyfrom Leagle.com. Thompson and Llewellyn, P.A., by: William P. Thompson and James M. Llewellyn, Jr., for appellants. John C. Fendley, Jr. P.A., by: Clay Fendley -- clayfendley@comcast.net -- and Lewellen & Associates, by: Roy C. "Bill" Lewellen, for appellees. ASTRAZENECA PHARMACEUTICALS: Teamsters Suit Over Nexium Remanded ---------------------------------------------------------------- District Judge Robinson granted Plaintiffs' motion to remand in the case captioned TEAMSTERS LOCAL 237 WELFARE FUND, et al., Plaintiffs, v. ASTRAZENECA PHARMACEUTICALS LP, et al., Defendants, Civ. No. 14-587-SLR (D. Del.). Plaintiffs, six union health and benefit funds that purchased Nexium, alleged that defendants deceptive and misleading advertising campaign (1) violated the Delaware Deceptive Acts and Practices Statute, (2) violated the consumer protection statutes of all fifty states and the District of Columbia; (3) tortiously interfered with plaintiffs' contract and prospective business relations; and (4) caused defendants to become unjustly enriched. The class action was initially filed on November 18, 2004 in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware in and for New Castle County. Plaintiffs amended their complaint, reframing the first cause of action as violating the Delaware Consumer Fraud Act ("DCFA"), adding additional allegations concerning the deceptive conduct related to the DCFA and tortious inference claims. Consequently, the Superior Court ordered a stay of the action with the parties' initial consent while a consolidated related action ("the PEBTF action") proceeded in court. Plaintiffs requested relief from the stay while defendants requested the case remain stayed pending the outcome of the PEBTF action. Accordingly, the Superior Court granted a continuation of the stay. Thereafter, with the stay still in place, Defendants moved to dismiss the case for Plaintiffs' failure to prosecute but the Superior Court denied the motion. Instead, the Superior Court lifted the stay order and permitted Plaintiffs to file a second amended complaint with motion to remand. District Judge Robinson ruled that the federal removal statute is to be strictly construed against removal and all doubts resolved in favor of remand. A motion to remand based on lack of subject matter jurisdiction may be made at any time before final judgment is entered. The party seeking removal bears the burden of proving that removal is proper, including the burden to establish federal jurisdiction. A copy of the Order dated November 19, 2014, is available at bit.ly/1tsy6YS from Leagle.com. Teamsters Local 237 Welfare Fund, Plaintiff, represented by Pamela S. Tikellis -- pamelatikellis@chimicles.com -- Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP, A. Zachary Naylor -- zacharynaylor@chimicles.com -- Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP, Barbara J. Hart -- Barbara J. Hart bhart@lowey.com -- Scott V. Papp -- spapp@lowey.com -- Tiffany Joanne Cramer, Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP, Uriel Rabinovitz & Vera Gerrit Belger, Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP. Local 237 Teamsters Retirees Benefit Fund, Plaintiff, represented by Pamela S. Tikellis, Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP, A. Zachary Naylor, Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP, Tiffany Joanne Cramer, Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP & Vera Gerrit Belger, Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP. Local 237 Teamsters Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District Health and Welfare Trust Fund, Plaintiff, represented by Pamela S. Tikellis, Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP, A. Zachary Naylor, Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP, Tiffany Joanne Cramer, Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP & Vera Gerrit Belger, Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP. Local 237 Teamsters-North Babylon School District Health and Welfare Trust Fund, Plaintiff, represented by Pamela S. Tikellis, Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP, A. Zachary Naylor, Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP, Tiffany Joanne Cramer, Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP & Vera Gerrit Belger, Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP. Local 237 Teamsters-Brentwood School District Health and Welfare Trust Fund, Plaintiff, represented by Pamela S. Tikellis, Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP, A. Zachary Naylor, Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP, Tiffany Joanne Cramer, Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP & Vera Gerrit Belger, Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP. Local 237 Teamsters-Suffolk Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation Health and Welfare Trust Fund, on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated, Plaintiff, represented by Pamela S. Tikellis, Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP, A. Zachary Naylor, Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP, Tiffany Joanne Cramer, Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP & Vera Gerrit Belger, Chimicles & Tikellis, LLP. AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, Defendant, represented by Michael P. Kelly, McCarter & English, LLP, Alycia A. Degen, Daniel M. Silver -- dsilver@mccarter.com -- McCarter & English, LLP, David R. Carpenter, Joshua E. Anderson, Lillian H. Park & Mark E. Haddad. Zeneca Inc., Defendant, represented by Michael P. Kelly, McCarter & English, LLP & Daniel M. Silver, McCarter & English, LLP. BAC HOME: "Fowler" Case Remanded to St. Louis Court --------------------------------------------------- District Judge Ronnie L. White of the District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division, granted Plaintiff's motion to remand in the case captioned MIMI FOWLER, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. BAC HOME LOANS SERVICING, L.P., et al., Defendants, Case No. 4:14CV1127 RLW. (E.D. Mo.). The case is sent back to the Circuit Court of the County of St. Louis, State of Missouri. Plaintiff Mimi Fowler filed successive class actions involving claims in connection with attorney's fees paid by the class to reinstate Missouri mortgage loans. Further, Plaintiff alleged that Defendant Kozeny & McCubbin, L.C., illegally charged and collected from class members attorneys' fees in connection with the reinstatement of their mortgages. Kozeny was retained by mortgage lenders as their foreclosure counsel. Thereafter, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Remand maintaining that the case must be remanded because it involves a local controversy and home state parties within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1332(d)(4)(A). Defendant BANA filed its Notice of Removal asserting that the Court has jurisdiction pursuant to the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 ("CAFA") and a Notice of Remand contending that Fowler cannot file any other class action asserting the same or similar claims against at least one of the defendants involving identical claims within a three-year period. Defendants contended that Plaintiff has not met its burden with respect to the first three elements of the local controversy exception aside from the fact that Plaintiff's own Complaint contradicts her assertion that Kozeny, the sole Missouri defendant, is a defendant from whom significant relief is sought. In response, Fowler argued that the no other class action within three years requirement of the local controversy exception is not defeated and that she has met her burden with respect to the first three exception requirements. In his Memorandum and Order granting Plaintiff's Motion to Remand, District White held that the action does not constitute an "other class action" as contemplated under CAFA but rather is the same case. Moreover, Judge White ruled that all of the requirements for the local controversy exception are met and satisfied. A copy of the Memorandum and Order dated November 19, 2014, is available at http://is.gd/Kdy4yNfrom Leagle.com. Mimi Fowler, Plaintiff, represented by Jonathan F. Andres -- Andres@stlouislaw.com -- GREEN JACOBSON, P.C. BAC Home Loans Servicing, L.P., Defendant, represented by Jeffrey S. Russell -- jsrussell@bryancave.com -- BRYAN CAVE LLP, Michele R. Gardner -- michele.gardner@bryancave.com -- BRYAN CAVE LLP & Amy J. Thompson -- athompson@bryancave.com -- BRYAN CAVE LLP. Kozeny & McCubbin, L.C., Defendant, represented by Ira L. Blank -- ilb@bks-law.com -- THE ENTERPRISE LAW GROUP, LLC. CALIFORNIA: Suit Against Los Angeles Superior Court Dismissed ------------------------------------------------------------- District Judge Christina A. Snyder dismissed the action captioned MARK HEDGES, Plaintiffs, v. SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, Defendants, No. 2:14-cv-06006 CAS (SS) (C.D. Cal.). Plaintiff filed a lawsuit against Defendant Superior Court alleging that the latter refused to take action on the alleged violations of his rights stemming from an episode of involuntary psychiatric treatment and in denying his procedural due process rights. Plaintiff further alleged that he was denied access to an attorney while in prison nor was informed with his right to habeas corpus. Plaintiff attempted to file in the docket for his release case a request contending that the Superior Court was obligated to report any violations it knows about for the assessment of statutory penalties and for inclusion in an annual plan for corrections required by the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness Act ("PAIMI"), 42 U.S.C. Sec. 10801 et seq. However, the Superior Court refused to file the documents or comply with plaintiff's request asserting that the case closed upon plaintiff's release. Plaintiff's petition for certiorari was also denied. The Superior Court filed a motion to dismiss citing Eleventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which granted immunity of the states from suit. Hence, the Superior Court contended that it must be dismissed as a defendant. Judge Snyder held that a suit against the Superior Court -- whether for damages or injunctive or declarative relief -- is categorically barred. According to Judge Snyder, under the Eleventh Amendment, federal courts are prohibited from hearing suits brought by private citizens against state governments without the state's consent, even if the plaintiff is a citizen of the defendant state. Thus, Judge Snyder ordered the dismissal of the action filed against Superior Court. A copy of the Order dated November 18, 2014, is available at http://is.gd/DJhCf6from Leagle.com. Mark Hedges, Pro Se, Attorneys Present for Plaintiffs. Kevin McCormick -- kmccormick@dewaldlawgroup.com -- Attorneys Present for Defendants. CAVALRY PORTFOLIO: Has Made Unsolicited Calls, "Nguyen" Suit Says ----------------------------------------------------------------- Khoi Nguyen, on behalf of himself, and all others similarly situated v. Cavalry Portfolio Services, LLC, Case No. 3:15-cv- 00063 (S.D. Cal., January 13, 2015), alleges that the Defendant negligently and willfully contacted the Plaintiff on the cellular telephone, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, thereby invading Plaintiff's privacy. Cavalry Portfolio Services, LLC is a debt collector that maintains its principal place of business at 500 Summit Lake Drive, Suite 400, Valhalla, New York 10595. The Plaintiff is represented by: Ronald A. Marron, Esq. Alexis Wood, Esq. Kas Gallucci, Esq. LAW OFFICES OF RONALD A. MARRON 651 Arroyo Drive San Diego, CA 92103 Telephone: (619) 696-9006 Facsimile: (619) 564-6665 E-mail: ron@consumersadvocates.com alexis@consumersadvocates.com kas@consumersadvocates.com - and - Daniel G. Shay, Esq. LAW OFFICES OF DANIEL G. SHAY 409 Camino Del Rio South, Suite 101B San Diego, CA 92108 Telephone: (619) 222-7429 Facsimile: (866) 431-3292 E-mail: DanielShay@TCPAFDCPA.com COMPUTER SCIENCE: Removes "Grubbs" Suit to Florida District Court ----------------------------------------------------------------- The class action lawsuit titled Grubbs v. Computer Science Corporation, Case No. 2014-CA-006638NC, was transferred from the 12th Judicial Circuit in and for Sarasota County, Florida, to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida (Tampa). The District Court Clerk assigned Case No. 8:15-cv-00053-CEH-MAP to the proceeding. The lawsuit seeks to collect unpaid overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Plaintiff is represented by: Matthew K. Fenton, Esq. WENZEL FENTON CABASSA, PA 1110 N Florida Ave., Suite 300 Tampa, FL 33602 Telephone: (813) 224-0431 Facsimile: (813) 229-8712 E-mail: mfenton@wfclaw.com The Defendant is represented by: Jay P. Lechner, Esq. JACKSON LEWIS, PC 100 S Ashley Dr., Suite 2200 Tampa, FL 33607 Telephone: (813) 513-3218 Facsimile: (813) 512-3211 E-mail: jay.lechner@jacksonlewis.com - and - Keith L. Hammond, Esq. JACKSON LEWIS, PC 390 N Orange Ave., Suite 1285 Orlando, FL 32801 Telephone: (407) 246-8440 Facsimile: (407) 246-8454 E-mail: hammondk@jacksonlewis.com COSCENTRIX: Expands Recall of DD Brand Candles Due to Fire Hazard ----------------------------------------------------------------- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with CoScentrix, of Carson, Calif., announced a voluntary recall of about 168,000 (about 256,000 candles sold in jars and tins were recalled in November 2014 and about 126,000 candles sold in tins were recalled in April 2014) DD brand candles. Consumers should stop using this product unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product. The candle's high flame can ignite the surface of the wax, posing a fire hazard. The recall involves four types of DD branded single-wick candles: Mason jars in 5- and 12- ounce sizes, decorative jars in 10- and 20-ounce sizes, 13-ounce coffee tins and 13-ounce jars with a holiday theme. The candles were sold in a variety of fragrances and colors. The 5-ounce Mason jars are 2.25 inches wide by 3.75 inches high. The 12-ounce Mason jars are 3 inches wide by 5 inches high. The jars have gray metal lids. The DD logo and the word Handcrafted are in raised letters on the front of the jars. The candle fragrance and size are printed on a hang tang attached to the mouth of the jars. The 10-ounce decorative jars are 4 inches wide by 3 inches high. The 20-ounce decorative jars are 5 inches wide by 4 inches high and hold a candle. The jars have gray metal lids with the DD logo in raised letters on the top. The candle fragrance and size are printed on a rectangular label on the front of the jar. The 13-ounce coffee tins are 3.5 inches wide by 4 inches high and have a silver metal lid. The candle size and fragrance are printed on a label that wraps around the outside of the tin. The 13-ounce holiday candle jars are 3.75 inches wide by 4 inches high and have silver metal lids with the DD logo in raised letters on the top. The DD logo inside a floral wreath, the fragrance and size are printed directly onto the front of the jar in silver. The SKU number is on a label on the underside of each container. Candles with the following scents and SKU numbers are being recalled: Scent SKU# 5-ounce Mason jar Green Tea Leaf 746123 Pineapple Lavender 759258 Tomato Tart 721704 12-ounce Mason jar Apple Spiced Cider 956797 Apricot Cranberry Jam 5441431* Cherry Lime Spritzer 956862 Crushed Basil Leaves 910919 Ginger Vanilla 956755 Meyer Lemon and Juniper 909168 Night Potion 5441357* Peach Cobbler 956359 Pineapple Lavender 957068 Rasberry Whip 956706 10-ounce decorative jar Autumn Moonlight 957142 Beach Getaway 957712 Clementine and Mango 957506 Fern Leaf 957159 French Berries 957308 Sea Spa 957167 Southern Magnolia 957738 Spring Bouquet 957746 Tuscan Harvest 958009 Vanilla Orchid 958025 Vintage Luxe 958033 20-ounce decorative jar Autumn Moonlight 841130 Beach Getaway 881920 Clementine and Mango 878900 Fern Leaf 854968 French Berries 886392 Sea Spa 859652 Southern Magnolia 883264 Spring Bouquet 889527 Tuscan Harvest 891242 Vanilla Orchid 892216 Vintage Luxe 905919 13-ounce coffee tin Rooibos Tea 578476 13-ounce Holiday candle Holiday Wreath 507186 Pomegranate 516997 Sleigh Ride 512061 Snowfall 500777 *Candles with seven-digit SKUs are seasonal. CoScentrix has received one additional report of a candle's surface igniting and no additional reports of injury or property damage. In the two previous recalls CoScentrix received a total of 31 reports of the candle's surface igniting, one report of injury and 10 reports of property damage. Pictures of the recalled products are available at: http://is.gd/NGt5UK The recalled products were manufactured in United States and sold at Hobby Lobby stores nationwide and online at HobbyLobby.com from June 2014 through October 2014 for between $6 and $20. Consumers should immediately stop using the candles and return them to the nearest Hobby Lobby. Consumers with a receipt will receive a full refund. Consumers without a receipt will be issued a store credit. Online purchasers should contact CoScentrix for instructions on returning the product. DEUTSCHE BANK: Faces "Golan" Suit Over Failure to Pay Overtime -------------------------------------------------------------- Ron Golan, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated v. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Case No. 1:15-cv-00221 (S.D.N.Y., January 13, 2015), is brought against the Defendant for failure to pay overtime wages for work performed in excess of 40 hours weekly. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. is an investment bank that provides security brokerage services. The Plaintiff is represented by: Darnley Dickinson Stewart, Esq. GISKAN, SOLOTAROFF & ANDERSON & STEWART, LLP 11 Broadway, Suite 2150 New York, NY 10004 Telephone: (212) 500-5106 Facsimile: (212) 414-0347 E-mail: dstewart@gslawny.com - and - Pearl Zuchlewski, Esq. KRAUS & ZUCHLEWSKI LLP 500 Fifth Avenue, Suite 5100 New York, NY 10110 Telephone: (212) 869-4646 Facsimile: (212) 869-4648 E-mail: pz@kzlaw.net DINASTIA CHINA: Faces "Hernandez" Suit Over Failure to Pay OT ------------------------------------------------------------- Jaime Hernandez, Miguel Anacleto Hernandez, Abelario Cano Galindo, and Leonides Marcelino Vasquez, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated v. Dinastia China Inc. d/b/a La Dinastia, Lai Fong Chan Leon, and Kam Pui Lam, Case No. 1:15-cv- 00237 (S.D.N.Y., January 13, 2015), is brought against the Defendants for failure to pay overtime wages for work performed in excess of 40 hours per week. The Defendants own and operate a Chinese and Latin American fusion restaurant located at 145 West 72nd Street, New York, New York 10023. The Plaintiff is represented by: Michael Antonio Faillace, Esq. MICHAEL FAILLACE & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 60 East 42nd Street, Suite 2020 New York, NY 10165 Telephone: (212) 317-1200 Facsimile: (212) 317-1620 E-mail: faillace@employmentcompliance.com DISH NETWORK: Took Millions on Programs It Didn't Give, Suit Says ----------------------------------------------------------------- Courthouse News Service reports that Dish Network took "tens of millions of dollars" for satellite programming it failed to provide, a class action claims in Missouri Federal Court. DULCERIA LA ISLA: Suit Seeks to Recover Unpaid OT Wages & Damages ----------------------------------------------------------------- Eylleen A. De Jesus, on behalf of herself and others similarly situated v. Dulceria La Isla Corp. d/b/a La Isla Cuchifrito, 188 Bakery Cuchifrito, Inc. d/b/a 188 Restaurant Cuchifrtio, and Jose Coto, Case No. 1:15-cv-00232 (S.D.N.Y., January 13, 2015), seeks to recover unpaid minimum wages, unpaid overtime compensation, liquidated damages, prejudgment and post-judgment interest, and attorneys' fees and costs. The Defendants own and operate a restaurant located at 1524 Westchester Avenue, Bronx, New York 10472. The Plaintiff is represented by: Giustino Cilenti, Esq. Peter Hans Cooper, Esq. CILENTI & COOPER, P.L.L.C. 708 Third Avenue, 6th Flr New York, NY 10017 Telephone: (212) 209-3933 Facsimile: (212) 209-7102 E-mail: jcilenti@jcpclaw.com pcooper@jcpclaw.com ENRON CORP: Court to Hear Bid in Gas Price Fixing Suit ------------------------------------------------------ Thomas Content, writing for Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, reports that a sudden spike in natural gas prices 15 years ago -- a hike federal investigators ultimately determined had resulted from illegal manipulation by the likes of Enron Corp. -- cost Wisconsin businesses an estimated $100 million more in 2001 than they had paid a year earlier. Yet even though subsequent settlements with gas traders and suppliers resulted in federal penalties totaling $350 million, no money has ever been returned to the Wisconsin businesses that overpaid for natural gas. On Jan. 12, those businesses, including engine maker Briggs & Stratton Corp., catalog printer Arandell Corp. in Menomonee Falls and Carthage College in Kenosha, was set to have their plea heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. At issue: whether the state's antitrust laws or federal energy regulations should take precedence in the case. Lawyers for the Wisconsin plaintiffs say essentially that federal regulators were asleep at the switch when the manipulation was occurring early in the last decade, and that the businesses should be entitled to recover damages under state antitrust laws. In addition to Briggs, Arandell and Carthage, plaintiffs include the paper company known as NewPage, Sargento Foods, ATI Ladish Forging and Merrick's Inc. They contend that Wisconsin antitrust law exists to prohibit conspiracies to manipulate prices and allows injured parties to sue to recover damages caused by illegal price manipulation. "The issue before this court is whether known market manipulators should be able to avoid antitrust liability for voluntary, collusive activities that successfully caused rampant inflation of retail natural gas prices in Wisconsin," attorney Robert Gegios of Glendale law firm Kohner Mann & Kailas said in a filing with the court. Mr. Gegios and his firm have been involved in the case for more than eight years. On their side: the American Antitrust Institute, as well as attorneys general from Wisconsin, Kansas and 19 other states. "This has cut across a wide panoply of industries and commerce," Mr. Gegios said in an interview. "There was a lot of damage done with this increase in prices." The case made it to the U.S. Supreme Court after an appeals court in San Francisco sided with natural gas customers and overturned a lower-court ruling that had sided with the energy companies. Effect felt here The striking jump in natural gas prices in 2000-'01 created an energy crisis in California and contributed to the collapse of Enron. But it was also felt in Wisconsin, a state that relies heavily on natural gas. Heating costs soared for consumers in the state, while natural gas costs charged to many businesses in Wisconsin doubled in one year. A series of investigations by federal regulators subsequently found widespread manipulation by at least a dozen companies involved in the gas supply business, including Enron, Entergy Corp., El Paso LLC, Oneok Inc. and others. The investigations determined that the natural gas companies had fabricated trades and submitted fictional price information to key industry publications such as Gas Daily that were listing the official price of gas. The investigations led to guilty pleas for some gas traders. And for the energy companies involved, inquiries by the U.S. Department of Justice and Commodities Futures Trading Commission resulted in the settlements with penalties totaling more than $350 million. Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt was expected to be among those participating in oral arguments on Wisconsin's side on Jan. 12. "We will vigorously defend Kansas consumer-protection laws from the federal administration's power-grab," Schmidt said in a statement. "We think 75 years of state authority to protect consumers from natural gas price-fixing at the retail level should be left intact." The businesses, joined by the states, filed their lawsuits under antitrust laws because there was no other alternative for them to recoup the higher prices paid during the energy crisis. In supporting the state attorneys general and the businesses that contend they overpaid for natural gas, the American Antitrust Institute said Congress intentionally meant to allow the use of antitrust laws as a means to prevent anti-competitive practices that might arise following congressional moves to deregulate the natural gas industry. "Congress has deregulated the natural gas market since the late 1970s, eliminating price caps and narrowing FERC's active jurisdiction," the institute said. "Market forces are now the predominant price-setting mechanism in the natural gas industry." Role of federal regulators But the energy and utility companies that are defendants in the case say federal regulations should take precedence when it comes to the natural gas industry -- not state antitrust laws. A key issue before the Supreme Court is whether the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was the sole authority regulating natural gas companies during the period targeted by the class action suit. Lawyers for the natural gas companies as well as the U.S. solicitor general's office argue that the courts should respect FERC's role in regulating natural gas markets. Trade associations for the natural gas industry also say a ruling that favors the states and businesses buying natural gas could threaten to mire the industry in regulatory uncertainty at a time when it needs to invest hundreds of billions of dollars to expand pipelines and natural gas-fueled power plants to help implement the Obama administration's climate change regulations. "A very material source of risk in the sector arises from regulatory uncertainty. In particular, investors must be assured that the investments they make today will not be rendered unprofitable, or significantly riskier, tomorrow by changes in the basic rules of the game or their inconsistent application," the trade groups said. "It is therefore critical that the industry know who its regulators are, and the scope of the regulators' authority." Billions of dollars are at stake in the Wisconsin case and several similar cases, the energy companies say in their brief to the Supreme Court. Those companies say the Wisconsin suit and other lawsuits are looking to tap state antitrust and consumer- protection laws that could force natural gas companies to repay all the money the businesses spent on natural gas "as a 'punitive' measure, even if the alleged practices only caused a minor increase in the purchase price." "Invoking these generous state-law remedies, (the companies that bought natural gas) looked for a payday that -- in the aggregate -- could total billions of dollars," the natural gas companies say in their brief. In a recent regulatory filing, one of the defendants, Oklahoma- based Oneok, said it was impossible to determine how much the company could be liable for in damages and repayments if the natural gas companies lose their cases. A potential decision in the customers' favor "could result in future charges that may be material to our results of operations," Oneok said in a filing with securities regulators. Several suits, including in California, have already been settled, but cases in Wisconsin, Kansas, Missouri and Colorado are pending. EVERCORE TRUST: Faces "Coburn" Suit Over Violation of ERISA ----------------------------------------------------------- Donna Marie Coburn, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated v. Evercore Trust Company, N.A., Case No. 1:15-cv-00049 (D.D.C., January 13, 2015), is brought against the Defendant for violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Evercore Trust Company, N.A. provides specialized investment management, independent fiduciary, and trustee services to employees benefit plans. The Plaintiff is represented by: Daniel M. Cohen, Esq. CUNEO GILBERT & LaDUCA, LLP 507 C Street NE Washington, DC 20002 Telephone: (202) 789-3960 Facsimile: (2020 789-1813 E-mail: danielc@cuneolaw.com - and - Robert I. Harwood, Esq. Peter W. Overs Jr., Esq. HARWOOD FEFFER LLP 488 Madison Ave., 8th Floor New York, New York 10022 Telephone: (212) 935-7400 Facsimile: (212) 753-3630 E-mail: rharwood@hfesq.com povers@hfesq.com EXXON MOBIL: Court Tosses Reconsideration Bid in "Lester" Suit -------------------------------------------------------------- Before the Court in WARREN LESTER, EL AL. v. EXXON MOBIL CORP., ET AL. Section "L", CIVIL ACTION NO. 14-1824, (E.D. La.), is the plaintiffs' motion to reconsider the Court's denial of remand. Plaintiffs were allegedly exposed to naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) associated with the cleaning of used oilfield pipe at various pipe yards. The Plaintiffs are individuals residing in several states who either worked at, or lived near, these facilities. The Lester Plaintiffs, a number of whom allege to have contracted cancer from NORM, seek damages for personal injury, medical monitoring, property damage, and punitive damages. One of the Plaintiffs included in the Lester petition was Cornelius Bottley, who died from esophageal cancer in 2012. On July 16, 2014, three members of his surviving family filed a separate Bottley action, also in Civil District Court in Orleans Parish. With an upcoming trial flight, these Bottley Plaintiffs on July 31, 2014 moved the state court to transfer and consolidate their case with the Lester state action. Based on this motion for consolidation, Bottley Defendant Exxon Mobil Oil removed both Lester and Bottley to this Court under the Class Action Fairness Act ("CAFA"). Although Defendant Exxon Mobil Oil ("Mobil Oil") was a Defendant only in the new Bottley state court action, and not its Lester counterpart, it asserts that the motion to consolidate entitles it to remove both cases under CAFA. Plaintiffs thereafter filed a motion to remand both actions to state court, arguing that the Court lacked CAFA jurisdiction. Plaintiffs argued, inter alia, that Mobil Oil, as a non-party in the Lester state court action, was not a proper party for removal. Upon consideration of the parties' briefs, applicable law, oral argument, and post-argument memoranda, the Court denied remand. The Court explained that CAFA jurisdiction exists here because (1) Plaintiffs proposed a joint trial of 100 or more plaintiffs at the appropriate time and (2) the request for state court consolidation "commenced" a new action within the meaning of CAFA, thus permitting Mobil Oil to remove both Lester and Bottley. Plaintiffs have since moved to reconsider. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon, in an order and reasons entered January 12, 2015, denied the Plaintiffs' motion to reconsider saying Plaintiffs do not demonstrate any manifest error of fact or law but rather merely re-assert the arguments they already made previously. A copy of the Court's opinion is available at http://is.gd/oxrKykfrom Leagle.com. FARMERS' RICE COOP: Accused of Firing Workers Over Tainted Rice --------------------------------------------------------------- Nick Cahill at Courthouse News Service reports that a Farmers' Rice Cooperative fired three workers for complaining that rodent droppings, dead birds and mold contaminated improperly stored rice, the men claim in court. Lead plaintiff Peter Bianchini claims he accompanied a co-worker to witness a complaint to a supervisor of Farmers' Rice's "mixing inferior brands of rice and/or putrid unsanitary rice -- flush -- into regular or premium rice." He says the supervisor ordered the men "to leave the office immediately." Two days later, Bianchini says, he was fired after 9 years with the company. In July, JinJu Sushi filed a class action against Farmers' Rice in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging sale of tainted rice. The California Department of Public Health said it is investigating the allegations, which Farmers' Rice Cooperative has denied. "These claims are absurd. We have been in business since 1944 and sell rice to the most quality-conscious customers in the world. Our rice is as safe as it gets," Farmers' Rice spokesman Brandon Harder said in a statement. Along with tainted rice the newest suit alleges age discrimination against the cooperative. Farmers' Rice Cooperative has been a grower-owned rice marketing cooperative since 1944. It has more than 700 members, according to its Web site. Ninety-seven percent of the state's rice is grown in the Sacramento Valley and California supplies virtually all of America's sushi rice, according to the California Rice Commission. Farmers' Rice Cooperative could not be reached for further comment. FUSHA 311 WEST: "Apolinar" Suit Moved From E.D. to S.D. New York ---------------------------------------------------------------- The class action lawsuit entitled Apolinar, et al. v. Fusha 311 West Inc., et al., Case No. 1:14-cv-07421, was transferred from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Foley Square). The Southern District Court Clerk assigned Case No. 1:15-cv-00196-VEC to the proceeding. The Plaintiffs seek relief under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Plaintiffs are represented by: Brett R. Cohen, Esq. Jeffrey Kevin Brown, Esq. Michael Alexander Tompkins, Esq. LEEDS BROWN LAW PC One Old Country Road, Suite 347 Carle Place, NY 11514 Telephone: (516) 873-9550 Facsimile: (516) 747-5024 E-mail: bcohen@leedsbrownlaw.com jbrown@lmblaw.com mtompkins@lmblaw.com - and - Leonor Hidalgo Coyle, Esq. Lloyd Robert Ambinder, Esq. VIRGINIA & AMBINDER LLP 40 Broad Street, 7th Floor, Suite 1403 New York, NY 10004 Telephone: (212) 943-9080 Facsimile: (212) 943-9082 E-mail: lcoyle@vandallp.com lambinder@bivas.net GENCOR NUTRIENTS: Faces Class Suit Over Testofen-Related Claims --------------------------------------------------------------- Courthouse News Service reports that Gencor Nutrients, General Nutrition Corp. et al. sell Testofen with false claims about its effects on testosterone, according to a RICO class action in California Federal Court. GLOBAL CONCEPTS: Court Grants Final Approval to "Gjolaj" Accord --------------------------------------------------------------- District Judge Marcia G. Cooke granted final approval of the class action settlement and entry of final judgment in the case captioned MARK GJOLAJ, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, Plaintiff, v. GLOBAL CONCEPTS LIMITED, INC., d/b/a GLOBAL TV CONCEPTS, LTD., et al., Defendants, Case No. 12- Civ-23064-COOKE/TURNOFF (S.D. Fla.). Plaintiffs Cathie Colvin and Mark Gjolaj, on behalf of themselves and a putative nationwide class of purchasers of certain Riddex brand electromagnetic pest repelling aid devices, have entered into a Settlement Agreement with the Defendant. That deal was approved by the Court on a preliminary basis. The Parties requested for the entry of an order granting final approval to the proposed Settlement and for entry of final judgment. For the purposes of consummating the administration of the Settlement, the Court rules that: 1. Global will change its advertising, packaging, and promotional materials as outlined in Exhibit C to the Settlement Agreement. 2. Global will provide all eligible Settlement Class Members with either a $14.95 refund or an additional Device (model will be the Plus/Pulse), subject to the terms, limitations and restrictions set forth in the Settlement Agreement and as approved in the Preliminary Approval Order 3. The Court hereby awards $1,000.00 to each Plaintiff in compensation for the time, effort, and risk they undertook as representatives of the Settlement Class. 4. the Court approves Class Counsel's Application and awards to Class Counsel fees and costs in the total aggregate amount of $312,500.00, to be paid incrementally pursuant to the schedule set forth in the Settlement Agreement. A copy of the Memorandum and Order dated November 19, 2014, is available at bit.ly/1ASo5ge from Leagle.com. Mark Gjolaj, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, Plaintiff, represented by Andrei Rado -- arado@milberg.com -- Milbert, LLP, Brian William Warwick -- bwarwick@varnellandwarwick.com -- Varnell & Warwick, P.A., Charles J. LaDuca -- charlesl@cuneolaw.com -- Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP, Diana Gjonaj, Milberg, LLP, Jennifer Czeisler, Milberg, LLP, Johnathan P. Seredynski -- jseredynski@milberg.com -- Milberg, LLP, Sanford P. Dumain -- sdumain@milberg.com -- Milberg LLP, William H. Anderson, Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP & Jon Michael Herskowitz, Baron & Herskowitz. Global Concepts, Limited Inc., Defendant, represented by Edward Colin Thompson -- colin.thompson@dlapiper.com -- DLA Piper LLP, J Trumon Phillips, DLA Piper, Jon Michael Herskowitz, Baron & Herskowitz & Rachel Bloom Mervis, DLA Piper LLP. John Does 1-20, Defendant, represented by Jon Michael Herskowitz, Baron & Herskowitz. HENRY MAYO: "Vasserman" Wage Suit Remanded Back to Lower Court -------------------------------------------------------------- A California district judge entered an order granting Plaintiff's Motion to Remand and denying Defendant's Motion to Dismiss as Moot in the putative class action VASSERMAN v. HENRY MAYO NEWHALL MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, CASE NO. CV 14-06245 MMM (PLAX), (C.D. Cal.). A copy of Judge Margaret Morrow's Dec. 5, 2014 order is available at http://is.gd/X41RbMfrom Leagle.com. The lawsuit, filed in June 2014 in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges violations of state wage and hour laws against Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital. The Hospital removed the action in August 2014. On September 8, 2014, Vasserman filed a motion to remand the action to Los Angeles Superior Court for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The same day, Newhall Memorial filed a motion to dismiss Vasserman's complaint for failure to grieve and arbitrate her claims. Tanya Vasserman, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated and the general public, Plaintiff, represented by Bruce Zareh Kokozian, Kokozian Law Firm APC, Gregg Lander, Law Offices of Kevin T Barnes, Janelle C Carney, Law Office of Joseph Antonelli, Jason T Hatcher, Law Office of Joseph Antonelli, Joseph Antonelli, Law Office of Joseph Antonelli & Kevin T Barnes, Kevin T Barnes Law Offices. Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, a California corporation, Defendant, represented by Aaron F Olsen -- aolsen@ebglaw.com -- Epstein Becker & Green PC, Lisa Mariko Watanabe & Michael S Kun -- mkun2ebglaw.com -- Epstein Becker and Green PC. HIP AT MURRAY: Faces "Reyes" Suit Over Failure to Pay Overtime -------------------------------------------------------------- Gaspar Reyes and Ruben Bonilla, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated v. Hip at Murray Street, LLC d/b/a Harry's Italian Pizza, JMP Ventures, LLC d/b/a Harry's Italian Pizza, Paul Lamas, Peter Poulakakos, Daniel Mcdonald, Michael Jewell, Dominick Antonelli, Gary Eggers, Robert Luckey, Raymond O'Sullivan, Victor Wright, Robert Padala and Harry Poulakakos, Case No. 1:15-cv-00238 (S.D.N.Y., January 13, 2015), is brought against the Defendants for failure to pay overtime wages for work performed in excess of 40 hours weekly. The Defendants own and operate two Italian restaurants in New York. The Plaintiff is represented by: Michael Antonio Faillace, Esq. MICHAEL FAILLACE & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 60 East 42nd Street, Suite 2020 New York, NY 10165 Telephone: (212) 317-1200 Facsimile: (212) 317-1620 E-mail: faillace@employmentcompliance.com INSTANT CHECKMATE: Faces Consumer Class Suit in California ---------------------------------------------------------- Courthouse News Service reports that Instant Checkmate promises to provide online background reports on people for a monthly fee, then says that "the remainder of the advertised information" will cost another $19.99 per report, a class action claims in California Federal Court. JAMES TRADING: Recalls Croker Kids Fleece Panel Hoodie ------------------------------------------------------ The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with The James Trading Group, Orangeburg N.Y., announced a voluntary recall of about 1,113 Kids GAA Fleece Panel Hoodie. Consumers should stop using this product unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product. The sweatshirts have a drawstring around the neck area which poses a strangulation hazard to children. Drawstrings can become entangled or caught on playground slides, hand rails, school bus doors or other moving objects, posing a significant strangulation and/or entanglement hazard to children. In February 1996, CPSC issued guidelines about drawstrings in children's upper outerwear. In 1997, those guidelines were incorporated into a voluntary standard. Then, in July 2011, based on the guidelines and voluntary standard, CPSC issued a federal regulation. CPSC's actions demonstrate a commitment to help prevent children from strangling or getting entangled on neck and waist drawstrings in upper outerwear, such as jackets and sweatshirts. The recall involves James Trading Group's Croker Kids brand Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) licensed fleece hoodies. The hoodie has a full zippered front and 3-tone color panels of green, white and blue, with GAA embroidery on the left and right chest and on the hood. The word Ireland is printed on the back across the shoulders. The fabric is 75% cotton and 25% polyester. They were sold in kids sizes "2YR" through "12YR" shown on a hang tag and on the tag sewn into the neck. Model number GA2002 is on a hang tag. There were no incidents that were reported. Pictures of the recalled products are available at: http://is.gd/18QdDn The recalled products were manufactured in China and sold at Irish boutiques, specialty retail stores nationwide, and online at www.thejtg.com from January 2013 to December 2014 for about $50. Consumers should immediately take the jackets away from children and remove the drawstring from the jacket to eliminate the hazard or return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. JEFFERIES GROUP: Del. Chancery Court Clarifies Class Definition --------------------------------------------------------------- The Court of Chancery of Delaware issued an opinion on January 13, 2015, in In re Jefferies Group, Inc. Shareholders Litigation, CONSOLIDATED C.A. NO. 8059-CB. The parties in the case jointly requested on behalf of all parties that the Court resolve a dispute concerning the definition of the class to be included in the documentation of the proposed settlement of this action. Specifically, the parties agreed "to ask the Court to amend the definition of the class" in the Certification Order to read as follows: All persons or entities who or which held Jefferies common stock at any time during the period from November 11, 2012 through and including the exchange of shares of Jefferies common stock for shares of Leucadia on March 1, 2013 (the "class period"). Excluded from the class are Jefferies and Leucadia and any persons who served as one of their Directors (on or after April 1, 2012) or Section 16 Officers (on or after April 1, 2012), as well as the Individual Defendants and any members of their immediate family, and any person or entity which is or was an affiliate of any of the Defendants at any time during the class period, and each of the Defendants' (and the other aforementioned excluded persons' and entities') heirs, legal representatives, successors in interest, transferees and assigns of Jefferies stock. In his opinion, a copy of which is available at http://is.gd/NhIkJ6from Leagle.com, Chancelor Andre G. Bouchard agreed with the class definition the Plaintiffs have proposed. "In my opinion, a reasonable person in the position of the parties would have thought that the class definition in the Term Sheet did not include holders of Jefferies Deferred Shares. This conclusion is supported by the fact that the definition of the class in the Term Sheet, which appears to have been carefully negotiated when one juxtaposes it against the class definition in the Certification Order, applies, on its face, only to holders of Jefferies "common stock." This conclusion is further supported, in my view, by the difference in the characteristics of shares of Jefferies common stock and Jefferies Deferred Shares. In particular, although the parties did not provide the Court with an extensive explanation of the various rights and obligations associated with the securities falling within the definition of the term "Jefferies Deferred Shares," it is apparent that these securities contained various vesting terms and conditions that distinguish them from Jefferies common stock. For example, unlike the shares of Jefferies common stock, the Jefferies Deferred Shares did not convert into common stock of Leucadia upon consummation of the Merger but, instead, converted "into an equivalent award denominated by Leucadia common shares, with the same terms and conditions (including vesting terms and conditions) as applied pre-conversion,"" Chancelor Bouchard said. "Accordingly, I direct the parties to submit final settlement documentation to the Court containing a class definition consistent with the one proposed by Plaintiffs," he added. Michael J. Barry, Esq. GRANT & EISENHOFER P.A. 123 Justison Street Wilmington, DE 19801 E-mail: mbarry@gelaw.com - and - Gregory V. Varallo, Esq. RICHARDS, LAYTON & FINGER, P.A. One Rodney Square 920 North King Street Wilmington, DE 19801 E-mail: varallo@rlf.com JEFFERSON PARISH: "Billizone" Suit Denied Class Certification ------------------------------------------------------------- Magistrate Judge Sally Shushan declined to certify the putative class action lawsuit BILLIZONE v. JEFFERSON PARISH CORRECTIONAL CENTER CIVIL ACTION NO. 14-2594, (E.D. La.) in a Dec. 8, 2014 order at http://is.gd/1qUNeyfrom Leagle.com. The judge opined that the pro se litigants should not be allowed to serve as class representatives. Ernest Billizone, Sr., Plaintiff, Pro Se. Newell Normand, Sheriff, Defendant, represented by Daniel Rault Martiny -- dmartiny@bellsouth.net -- Martiny & Associates. JINON CORPORATION: Dismissal of "Lewis" Suit Upheld --------------------------------------------------- The Court of Appeals of California, Second District, Division Five, in an opinion dated Jan. 13, 2015, affirmed a lower court's judgment dismissing a putative class action complaint against Jinon Corporation, which allegedly violated the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act of 1971 when a customer was required to provide personal identification information in the form of his birth date to complete the sale of an alcoholic beverage. In support of its decision, the Court of Appeals stated that the pervasive regulation of the sale of alcoholic beverages, and in particular the prohibition against sale to a person under the age of 21, demonstrates that obtaining a purchaser's date of birth is a special purpose incidental but related to the credit card transaction. The exact same information could be entered in the cash register in a cash transaction for the same purpose, the Court of Appeals said, such that Jinon's decision to record the date of birth in the cash register created a record of the age of a purchaser of alcohol, which would constitute a defense to a criminal or licensing action alleging sale to an underage person. Accordingly, the Court of Appeals held that the trial court correctly determined that the exemption in section 1747.08, subdivision (c)(4), applies in the case. The appeals case is MARK LEWIS, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. JINON CORPORATION, Defendant and Respondent, NO. B257389 (Cal. App.). A full-text copy of the Decision is available at http://is.gd/iHeqLF from Leagle.com. Mehrban Law Corporation, Julie Mehrban; Law Offices of Morse Mehrban, Morse Mehrban, for Plaintiff and Appellant. Willenken Wilson Loh & Delgado, William A. Delgado, Esq. -- wdelgado@willenken.com -- and Aarti K. Wilson, Esq. -- awilson@willenken.com -- for Defendant and Respondent. KAISER PERMANENTE: Mental Health Clinicians to Hold Strike ---------------------------------------------------------- Robert Digitale, writing for The Press Democrat, reports that a weeklong strike was slated to start on Jan. 12 in California as the next chapter in a four-year battle between Kaiser Permanente and its mental health clinicians over what union leaders say is the health care provider's failure to adequately serve patients. As many as 2,600 psychologists, therapists and other mental health workers statewide are expected to join the strike, plus an additional 700 Kaiser employees in other areas, according to the National Union of Healthcare Workers. The union represents 65 mental health employees in Santa Rosa and nine in Petaluma. In preparation for the strike, Kaiser has been contacting patients and seeking to determine which appointments can be rescheduled to a later time, said Vice President John Nelson. "We certainly intend to meet any urgent needs next week," Mr. Nelson said. The conflict comes at a time when both sides say that the nation's mental health system needs great improvement. The disagreement concerns whether Kaiser is part of the problem or the solution. When the clinicians began bargaining with Kaiser four years ago, "their No. 1 issue was 'you're forcing us to break the law,'" said Sal Roselli, the union's president. Among their concerns, he said, was that many patients weren't initially being seen within 10 business days of a request as required by California law. Since then, Mr. Roselli said, the state Department of Managed Health Care has levied a $4 million fine against Kaiser for what it termed serious deficiencies in providing timely access to mental health services. Class action suits representing Kaiser mental health patients have been filed, and in Sonoma County last September a number of speakers at a public forum criticized the HMO for poor mental health services. "These clinicians have just said 'enough is enough,'" Mr. Roselli said of the strike. Mr. Nelson acknowledged that Kaiser, like the entire medical system, is "not where we want to be" in terms of providing mental health care. But he maintained that the HMO remains among the highest rated for its mental health services and it has worked hard to bring improvements. For example, he said, in the past three years Kaiser has increased its staff of therapists in California by 25 percent, while its total patient membership in that period grew by 8 percent. "We're hiring therapists at three times the rate of membership growth," Mr. Nelson said. Mr. Nelson said Kaiser has reached labor agreements with every one of its more than 30 unions during the nearly five-year period it has been in negotiations with the mental health workers union. That union, he said, has consistently followed a strategy of making allegations against the HMO because "apparently they think it will get them a better contract agreement." But Mr. Roselli noted that for more than four years his members have foregone raises that other Kaiser employees received. They did so, he said, for one reason: "to force Kaiser into providing adequate care." KELLERMEYER BUILDING: April 13 Final Settlement Approval Hearing ---------------------------------------------------------------- District Judge Cynthia Bashant preliminary approved a class action settlement in the wage and hour lawsuit ARELLANO v. KELLERMEYER BUILDING SERVICES, LLC CASE NO. 13-CV-00533-BAS(BGS) (S.D. Cal.) in a Dec. 5, 2014 order available at http://is.gd/OkfEEbfrom Leagle.com. The Settlement estimates that approximately $1,800,500 will be available for payments to the Settlement Class after deducting Class Counsel's fees and costs, enhancement fees to the named plaintiffs, and the settlement administrator's fees and expenses. The District Court conditionally certifies the following class for settlement purposes only: "All persons employed by Kellermeyer Bergensons Services, LLC (formerly known as Kellermeyer Building Services, LLC) as janitors/housekeepers in the State of California at any time from August 10, 2006 to October 27, 2014." The Settlement Class encompasses the Portillo Class, certified by the Alameda County Superior Court on March 26, 2013, including those individuals who previously opted out of the Portillo Class. Plaintiffs Agustin Arellano, Andres Lara, and Venancia Portillo are appointed as Class Representatives. Counsel for Portillo and Counsel for Arellano, as defined in the Settlement, are appointed as Class Counsel. CPT Group, Inc. has been selected to serve as the Settlement Administrator. The Court will convene a Final Approval Hearing on April 13, 2015, at 10:30 a.m. to consider whether to grant final approval of the proposed class action settlement. Agustin A. Arellano, Plaintiff, represented by James M Treglio -- jim@clarktreglio.com -- Clark and Treglio & Robert Craig Clark -- craig@clarktreglio.com -- Clark Law Firm. Andres Lara, Plaintiff, represented by James M Treglio, Clark and Treglio & Robert Craig Clark, Clark Law Firm. Kellermeyer Building Service, LLC, Defendant, represented by David R Ongaro -- David.Ongaro@tklaw.com -- Thompson & Knight LLP & Kyann Christina Kalin, Ongaro Burtt & Louderback LLP. Ms. Venancia Portillo, Intervenor, represented by Justian Jusuf, Law Office of Justian Jusuf. KEURIG: Recalls MINI Plus Brewing Systems Due to Burn Hazard ------------------------------------------------------------ The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Keurig Green Mountain Inc. of Waterbury, Vt., announced a voluntary recall of about 6.6 million in the U.S. and 564,000 in Canada Keurig MINI Plus Brewing Systems. Consumers should stop using this product unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product. Water can overheat during brewing, spray out and burn consumers. The recall involves Keurig MINI Plus Brewing System with model number K10 (previously identified as model number B31). Recalled brewers have an identification number starting with "31" followed by a range of numbers printed on a white sticker on the bottom of the brewer. They are single-serve, hot beverage brewers and were sold in 13 different colors with silver trim. Colors include black, red, white, cobalt blue, aqua blue, purple, platinum, emerald, yellow, orchid, bayberry, mauve and poinciana. The recalled brewers measure about 11 inches tall, have a "Brew" button, three cup size brewing options (6 oz., 8 oz. and 10 oz.), and a removable drip tray. The water tank is located on top of the unit towards the back. K10 is marked on the packaging. Recalled units were produced between December 2009 and July 2014 and can be identified by the serial number printed on a white sticker on the bottom of the brewer: Keurig MINI Plus Brewing System Serial Number Ranges ---------------------------------------------------- 31.0000.0000001 through 31.0000.0250560 31.0001.0000001 through 31.0001.0010328 31.0002.0000001 through 31.0002.0081312 31.0003.0000001 through 31.0003.0010328 31.0004.0000001 through 31.0004.0263772 31.0014.0000001 through 31.0014.0001250 31.0015.0000001 through 31.0015.0001250 31.1000.0000001 through 31.1000.0015984 31.1002.0000001 through 31.1002.0002664 31.2000.0000001 through 31.2000.1977238 31.2001.0000001 through 31.2001.0174310 31.2002.0000001 through 31.2002.0745280 31.2003.0000001 through 31.2003.0055668 31.2004.0000001 through 31.2004.1156585 31.2015.0000001 through 31.2015.0081287 31.2017.0000001 through 31.2017.0047310 31.2019.0000001 through 31.2019.0117035 31.2020.0000001 through 31.2020.0019028 31.2021.0000001 through 31.2021.0076016 31.2022.0000001 through 31.2022.0022444 31.2030.0000001 through 31.2030.0032028 31.2031.0000001 through 31.2031.0042714 31.2033.0000001 through 31.2033.0018685 31.2034.0000001 through 31.2034.0016074 31.2035.0000001 through 31.2035.0013366 31.3000.0000340 through 31.3000.1524059 31.3001.0000001 through 31.3001.0021252 31.3002.0000001 through 31.3002.0510030 31.3004.0000001 through 31.3004.0016532 Keurig has received about 200 reports of hot liquid escaping from the brewer, including 90 reports of burn-related injuries. Pictures of the recalled products are available at: http://is.gd/beCMUD The recalled products were manufactured in China, Malaysia and sold at Kmart, Kohl's, Target, Walmart and other retailers nationwide, and online at www.keurig.com, www.greenmountaincoffee.com and www.keurig.ca from December 2009 through December 2014 for about $100. Consumers should contact Keurig for a free repair. While waiting for a free repair, consumers can contact Keurig about steps to avoid a burn injury. LADENBURG THALMANN: April 10 Settlement Fairness Hearing Set ------------------------------------------------------------ TO: ALL PURCHASERS OF WORLDWIDE ENERGY & MANUFACTURING USA, INC. COMMON STOCK SOLD THROUGH BROKER-DEALER, LADENBURG, THALMANN & CO., INC., IN PRIVATE PLACEMENTS CLOSING ON JANUARY 26, 2010 AND FEBRUARY 9, 2010 ("CLASS") YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, pursuant to an Order of the Superior Court for the State of California, County of San Mateo, that a hearing will be held on April 10, 2015 at 9:00 am. in Courtroom 2E before the Honorable Marie S. Weiner Superior Court Judge of the Superior Court for the State of California, County of San Mateo, 400 County Center Redwood City, CA 94063 (the "Settlement Hearing") for the purpose of determining: (1) whether the proposed Settlement consisting of the sum of $1,615,000 plus interest, should be approved by the Court as fair, reasonable, and adequate; (2) whether the proposed plan to distribute the settlement proceeds is fair, reasonable and adequate; (3) whether the application for an award of attorneys' fees of one-third of the Settlement Amount and reimbursement of expenses of not more than $50,000 should be approved; and (4) whether the Litigation should be settled and resolved with prejudice. If you owned Worldwide Energy & Manufacturing USA, Inc. ("WEMU") common stock obtained in the private placements closing on January 26, 2010 and February 9, 2010, your rights may be affected by the Settlement of this action. If you have not received a detailed Notice of Pendency and Proposed Settlement of Class Action and a copy of the Proof of Claim and Release, you may obtain copies by writing to Worldwide Energy & Manufacturing USA, Inc. Securities Litigation Settlement, Claims Administrator, c/o Strategic Claims Services, P.O. Box 230, 600 N. Jackson Street, Suite 3, Media, PA 19063, or going to the website www.strategicclaims.net If you are a Class Member, in order to share in the distribution of the Net Settlement Fund, you must submit a Proof of Claim and Release no later than March 5, 2015, establishing that you are entitled to recovery. You will be bound by any judgment rendered in the Litigation whether or not you make a claim. Any objection to the Settlement, Plan of Allocation, or the Request for Award of Attorneys' Fees and Reimbursement of Expenses must be mailed or delivered such that it is received by each of the following no later than March 5, 2015: If you have any questions about the Settlement, you may call or write to The Rosen Law Firm, P.A., or to the Claims Administrator: Worldwide Energy & Manufacturing USA Inc. Securities Litigation Claims Administrator c/o Strategic Claims Services P.O. Box 230 600 N. Jackson Street, Suite 3 Media, PA 19063 Tel: (866) 274-4004 www.strategicclaims.net PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT OR THE CLERK'S OFFICE REGARDING THIS NOTICE. DATED: DECEMBER 22, 2014 BY ORDER OF THE SUPERIOR COURT JUDGEFOR THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN MATEO Contacts: Attorneys for Plaintiffs and the Class THE ROSEN LAW FIRM, P.A. Laurence M. Rosen (State Bar No. 219683) 355 South Grand Avenue, Suite 2450 Los Angeles, CA 90071 Telephone: (213) 785-2610 Facsimile: (213) 226-4684 or Attorneys for Defendant Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. MORVILLO ABRAMOWITZ GRAND IASON & ANELLO P.C. Robert J. Anello Judith L. Mogul 565 Fifth Avenue New York, New York 10017 Telephone: (212) 880-9478 Facsimile: (212) 856-9494 LUMBER LIQUIDATORS: Case Conference in "Chavez" Suit Held --------------------------------------------------------- A case management conference was scheduled to be held earlier this month in the lawsuit, CRELENCIO CHAVEZ and JOSE ZALDIVAR, an individual and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. LUMBER LIQUIDATORS, INC. a Delaware Corporation; and DOES 1 through 20, inclusive, Defendants. CARLOS ALVA, ET AL. Plaintiff(s), v. LUMBER LIQUIDATORS, INC. Defendant(s), CASE NOS. C-09-04812 SC, C-12-4383 SC (N.D. Cal.). The conference was set for January 9, 2015. District Judge Samuel Conti had approved a stipulation for the continuance of the case management conference. The conference was initially scheduled for early December 2014. A copy of Judge Conti's Dec. 8, 204 order moving the conference date is available at http://is.gd/aKpnxefrom Leagle.com. TAFOYA & GARCIA LLP, DAVID A. GARCIA, Esq. -- David.Garcia@TafoyaGarcia.com -- Los Angeles, CA, Attorneys for Plaintiffs JOSE ZALDIVAR and JOEL VILLASENOR. MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP, ERIC MECKLEY -- emeckley@morganlewis.com , JENNIFER SVANFELDT -- jsvanfeldt@morganlewis.com , KATHERINE DICK -- kdick@morganlewis.com -- San Francisco, CA, Attorneys for Defendant LUMBER LIQUIDATORS. MEDTRONIC INC: Court Nixes Bid to Stay Remand Order in "Hendrich" ----------------------------------------------------------------- District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig for the Eastern District of Missouri denied Defendant's motion to stay a remand order in the case captioned JIMMY HENDRICH, et al., Plaintiffs, v. MEDTRONIC, INC., et al., Defendants, Case No. 4:14CV01635 AGF (E.D. Mo.). Plaintiffs filed this action in Missouri state court, asserting various state law claims arising out of injuries allegedly caused by medical devices manufactured and distributed by the Defendants. Defendants removed the case to the District Court, pursuant to the Class Action Fairness Act ("CAFA") asserting that CAFA jurisdiction existed in all three cases because the cases were mass actions notwithstanding that each case involved less than 100 plaintiffs and that Plaintiffs proposed a joint trial for said cases. Thereafter, the Court ruled that Plaintiffs did not propose a joint trial of the three cases and that Defendants did not meet their burden of establishing that CAFA jurisdiction exists. Thus, the Court entered a remand order. Defendants moved to stay the remand order, arguing that the brief stay required for the expedited appeal process would prevent the parties from having to expend resources to litigate the cases simultaneously in state court and on appeal, and would avoid potentially inconsistent rulings resulting from such simultaneous litigation. District Judge Fleissig held that a stay is not warranted and that Defendants have not demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of the appeal because Defendant's primary argument on appeal rests on the incorrect assertion that Plaintiffs have proposed a joint trial of the three cases. The assertion was resoundingly rejected in all three district court cases, the court in each case having found that the assertion had no support in the record. A copy of the Memorandum and Order dated November 19, 2014, is available at http://is.gd/NeLptlfrom Leagle.com. Plaintiffs Jimmy Hendrich, et al. are represented by Eric D. Holland -- eholland@allfela.com -- HOLLAND AND GROVES, L.L.C. & Randall S. Crompton -- scrompton@allfela.com -- HOLLAND AND GROVES, L.L.C. Medtronic Inc., Defendant, represented by John Elliot Gibbons, BUCKLEY AND BUCKLEY, L.L.C., Martin J. Buckley -- mbuckley@buckleylawllc.com -- BUCKLEY AND BUCKLEY, L.L.C. & Murray S. Levin, PEPPER HAMILTON, LLP. Medtronic Sofamor Danek USA, Inc., Defendant, represented by Andrew E. Tauber -- atauber@mayerbrown.com -- MAYER BROWN LLP, Daniel L. Ring -- dring@mayerbrown.com -- MAYER BROWN LLP, John Elliot Gibbons, BUCKLEY AND BUCKLEY, L.L.C., Martin J. Buckley, BUCKLEY AND BUCKLEY, L.L.C., Murray S. Levin -- levinm@pepperlaw.com -- PEPPER HAMILTON, LLP & Sean P. Fahey -- faheys@pepperlaw.com -- PEPPER HAMILTON LLP. Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Inc., Defendant, represented by Andrew E. Tauber, MAYER BROWN LLP, Daniel L. Ring, MAYER BROWN LLP, Martin J. Buckley, BUCKLEY AND BUCKLEY, L.L.C. & Sean P. Fahey, PEPPER HAMILTON LLP. MORGAN KEEGAN: Trial in Mamtek Class Action Begins -------------------------------------------------- Rudi Keller, writing for Columbia Daily Tribune, reports that on Aug. 30, 2010, St. Louis law firm Armstrong Teasdale sent an email reminder to investment banking firm Morgan Keegan about $15,000 owed for work on the deal to bring Mamtek U.S. Inc. to Moberly. The email was sent to Kevin Thompson, managing director in Morgan Keegan's Public Finance Department, and Richard Murray, also a managing director in the firm's Public Finance Department. Mr. Murray, in an internal email to Thompson, joked about the prospects for payment. "I hope we're not the deadbeats we think Mamtek is!" he wrote. Exactly one year and two days later, Mamtek was officially in default on the $39 million industrial development bond issue underwritten by Morgan Keegan to finance an artificial sweetener plant. On Jan. 13, the first civil trial to recover those lost millions begins in federal court, with Morgan Keegan and Armstrong Teasdale as the defendants. U.S. District Judge Nanette Laughrey was set to preside over the class-action case on behalf of investors who purchased the bonds before Sept. 30, 2011, when official notices and news stories had spread word of the default and the bonds had been downgraded to junk status. The bonds were sold to 133 individual and institutional investors in multiples of $5,000. Some of the biggest investors, including Shelter Insurance Companies and Waddell & Reed Inc., have opted out of the case and are pursuing lawsuits in state court. The deadline to opt out of the case was on Jan. 5. The trial will focus on whether Morgan Keegan and Armstrong Teasdale violated Missouri securities laws by omitting material facts or making false statements to market the bonds. Morgan Keegan must also defend itself against a negligence claim. Morgan Keegan has since merged into Raymond James & Associates. In addition to defending itself, Morgan Keegan is trying to show that Mamtek CEO Bruce Cole and property valuation firm Pelligrino & Associates are partially or wholly to blame, Mr. Cole by providing false information and Pelligrino for its assurances about collateral. "We feel we have a very strong case and we look forward to going to trial," said J. Timothy Francis of the Birmingham, Ala., law firm James L. North & Associates. "It has been 2 1/2 years and a lot of time and effort spent, but we feel very strong about our case." Attorney Chuck Hatfield -- chuck.hatfield@stinsonleonard.com -- of Stinson Leonard Street, who will lead the defense team, declined to comment on the upcoming trial. The trial is scheduled to take as long as three weeks. Potential witnesses include Cole, Moberly Area Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Corey Mehaffy, former Missouri Department of Economic Development Director David Kerr and former Gov. Bob Holden. Mr. Cole was sentenced to 7 years in prison in November for theft and securities fraud. He is currently at the Tipton Correctional Center. The Department of Economic Development gave Mamtek the code name Project Sugar when it began considering incentives for the business pitched to the state early in 2010 by Holden and Tom Smith, a business consultant and former officer of the Missouri National Guard. Mr. Cole, a Beverly Hills businessman with ties to China, was promoting a new process he claimed could produce the artificial sweetener sucralose in large quantities. Based on claims by Mr. Cole and his partners in California and Hong Kong, the state helped find a city willing to participate in incentives. In July 2010, Gov. Jay Nixon announced that Moberly would issue $39 million in bonds and the state would help with up to $17.6 million in tax credits and other incentives to create up to 600 jobs. Mamtek promised it could have the plant operational by the end of the year and that it had a contract to sell the sucralose. The proprietary process for producing sucralose was promised as collateral for the bonds. Construction dragged into 2011, with the bond money being rapidly spent on equipment and engineering fees to redesign the plant that originally was based on Chinese industrial practices. The bonds were not legal debt of the city. When a payment of $3.2 million in interest and principal did not arrive, Moberly refused to dip into its own funds to cover the shortfall. The bonds went into default on Sept. 1, 2011 and construction halted on the half- finished plant. Mamtek was forced into bankruptcy and Mr. Cole was charged with theft and fraud a year later. A bankruptcy court judgment stripped Mr. Cole of $905,000 remaining from the sale of his Beverly Hills home, saved from foreclosure by a timely transfer of bond proceeds to his wife's checking account. Several other lawsuits against Morgan Keegan are pending in state courts and attorneys in those cases will be monitoring the trial closely. The biggest involve Shelter Insurance and Waddell & Reed, pending in Cole County Circuit Court and scheduled for trial in November, and State Securities Commissioner Andrew Hartnett, who is suing Morgan Keegan in Boone County Circuit Court to enforce state securities laws. MORGAN STANLEY: Faces "Hix" Suit Over Failure to Pay Overtime ------------------------------------------------------------- Shelley Hix, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Morgan Stanley & Co., LLC f/k/a Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, and Morgan Stanley, 1:15-cv-00217 (S.D.N.Y., January 13, 2015), is brought against the Defendants for failure to pay overtime wages for work performed in excess of 40 hours per week. The Defendants own and operate a financial services company that provides brokerage and related products and services to millions of investors nationwide. The Plaintiff is represented by: Fran L. Rudich, Esq. Jeffrey Alan Klafter, Esq. Seth Richard Lesser, Esq. KLAFTER, OLSEN & LESSER, LLP Two International Drive, Ste 350 Rye Brook, NY 10573 Telephone: (914) 997-5656 Facsimile: (914) 997-2444 E-mail: frudich@klafterolsen.com jak@klafterolsen.com SLesser@klafterolsen.com - and - Jason James Conway, Esq. KESSLER TOPAZ MELTZER & CHECK, LLP 280 King of Prussia Road Radnor, PA 19087 Telephone: (484) 270-1451 Facsimile: 610) 667-7056 E-mail: jconway@ktmc.com NATIONAL COLLEGIATE: Restraints Trade of Women Players, Suit Says ----------------------------------------------------------------- Justine Hartman and Afure Jemerigbe, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, et al., Case No. 3:15-cv-00178 (N.D. Cal., January 13, 2015), arises out of the Defendants' unlawful restraint of trade in the labor market for NCAA Division I women's basketball player services. The National Collegiate Athletic Association is an unincorporated not-for-profit educational organization founded in 1906 with its principal place of business in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Plaintiff is represented by: Elizabeth C. Pritzker, Esq. Jonathan K. Levine, Esq. Bethany L. Caracuzzo, Esq. Shiho Yamamoto, Esq. PRITZKER LEVINE LLP 180 Grand Avenue, Suite 1390 Oakland, CA 4612 Telephone: (415) 692-0772 Facsimile: (415) 366-6110 E-mail: ecp@pritzkerlevine.com jkl@pritzkerlevine.com bc@pritzkerlevine.com sy@pritzkerlevine.com NIELSEN COMPANY: May 21 Final Approval Hearing on "Rulli" Accord ---------------------------------------------------------------- Judge Vincent Chhabria of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California signed an order on Jan. 12, 2015, granting preliminary approval of a class settlement filed by Plaintiffs Steve Rulli, Jose Buenrostro, Edwin Bump, and Enrique Cruz, who alleged, among other things, that Nielsen Company (US), LLC, employees are owed compensation for hours worked, meal periods, rest breaks, untimely final pay and inaccurate itemized wage statements, and related penalties. Judge Chhabria also authorized the retention of Rust Consulting as Settlement Administrator for the purpose of the Settlement with reasonable administration costs estimated not to exceed $10,000 and conditionally appointed Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho and Shavitz Law Group, P.A. as counsel for the Class, and the Plaintiffs as class representatives for the Class. Each of the Class Member are given a full opportunity to object to the proposed Settlement and request for attorneys' fees, and to participate at a Final Approval Hearing, which the Court sets to commence on May 21, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. in Courtroom 4 of the United States District Court, Northern District of California, San Francisco Division. The case is STEVE RULLI, JOSE BUENROSTRO, EDWIN BUMP, and ENRIQUE CRUZ on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. NIELSEN COMPANY (U.S.) LLC, Defendant, CASE NO. 3:14-CV-01835 VC (N.D. Calif.). A full-text copy of Judge Chhabria's Decision is available at http://is.gd/sVAeqYfrom Leagle.com. David Borgen, Esq. -- dborgen@gbdhlegal.com -- and James Kan, Esq. -- jkan@gbdhlegal.com -- at GOLDSTEIN, BORGEN, DARDARIAN & HO, Oakland, CA; and Gregg I. Shavitz, Esq. -- gshavitz@shavitzlaw.com -- SHAVITZ LAW GROUP, P.A., Boca Raton, FL, Attorneys for Plaintiffs and the Putative Class. OLYMPIC MOUNTAIN: Recalls Tealight Wax Warmers Due to Burn Hazard ----------------------------------------------------------------- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Olympic Mountain Products Inc., of Kent, Wash., announced a voluntary recall of about 209,000 sets in the United States and 23,000 sets in Canada Tealight Wax Warmer sets. Consumers should stop using this product unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product. The tealights in the warmers can burn with an erratic or high flame, posing fire and burn hazards. The recall involves ceramic tealight warmer sets that include four tealight candles, four sets of scented wax cubes for melting, and a ceramic warmer with a metal stand and a glass dish to hold the wax cubes. The ceramic tealight warmers are white with a green glass dish or brown with an orange glass dish for the wax cubes. "Essenza" is printed on the front of the packaging and Costco item number #852473 is printed on the sides of the packaging. Olympic Mountain Products has received 22 reports of tealights with erratic or high flames, including two minor burn injuries to consumers and one incident resulting in minor property damage. Pictures of the recalled products are available at: http://is.gd/9txV6Y The recalled products were manufactured in U.S., Canada and China and sold exclusively at Costco Wholesale stores nationwide from August 2014 through October 2014 for about $20. Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled tealight wax warmer sets and return them to Costco for a full refund. Costco is contacting its customers directly. ORYX OILFIELD: "Robinsons" Suit Seeks to Recover Unpaid OT Wages ---------------------------------------------------------------- Jerome Robinson, Jason Burt and Sergio Rivera, Individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Oryx Oilfield Services, LLC, Case No. 2:15-cv-00039 (S.D. Tex., January 13, 2015), seeks to recover unpaid overtime compensation, liquidated damages, attorneys' fees, and costs, pursuant to the Fair Labor Standard Act. Oryx Oilfield Services, LLC is a full service construction company for the oil and gas industry in the State of Texas. The Plaintiff is represented by: William Clifton Alexander, Esq. SICO WHITE HOELSCHER & BRAUGH LLP 900 Frost Bank Plaza 802 N Carancahua Ste 900 Corpus Christi, TX 78401 Telephone: (361) 653-3300 Facsimile: (361) 653-3333 E-mail: calexander@swhhb.com PENNSYLVANIA: DHS Sued Over Delay of Health Insurance Benefits -------------------------------------------------------------- Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania, New Voices Pittsburg, and Michelle Bonaventura, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated v. Beverly D. Mackereth, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services and Dionisio Mignacca, Executive Director of the Philadelphia County Assistance Office, in Their Official Capacity, Case No. 2:15-cv-00135 (E.D. Pa., January 13, 2015), arises out of the Defendants' unlawful delay to transfer approximately 70,000 women who have been receiving limited Medicaid benefits through SelectPlan to full Medicaid coverage effective January 1, 2015, and to refer approximately 15,000 women receiving SelectPlan to the Marketplace for subsidized health insurance. Beverly D. Mackereth is the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services and is responsible for ensuring the DHS's Medical Program provides benefits with reasonable promptness and is operated according to reasonable standards. Dionisio Mignacca is the Executive Director of the Philadelphia County Assistance Office. The Plaintiff is represented by: Amy E. Hirsch, Esq. COMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICES INC. North Philadelphia Law Center 1410 West Erie Ave Philadelphia, PA 19140 Telephone: (215) 227-2400 E-mail: ahirsch@clsphila.org PFIZER INC: Champix Linked to Suicide Attempt Incidents ------------------------------------------------------- Champix is suspected of playing a major role in the deaths of 44 patients -- 30 of them by suicide -- since the popular stop- smoking drug was approved in Canada in 2007, a Vancouver Sun investigation has found. Lori Culbert and Tara Carman of the Vancouver Sun report that the Pfizer drug has also been linked to more than 1,300 incidents of suicide attempts or thoughts, depression, and aggression/anger across the country in the past seven years. The drug is the most popular of those offered by B.C.'s quit smoking program, which traditionally sees a jump in participation every January as people renew new year's resolutions to butt out. Numbers on the deaths and other side-effects come from a Health Canada database where doctors, pharmacists and drug companies report bad side-effects experienced by patients taking pharmaceuticals. But Health Canada admits on its website that side-effects are under-reported, and experts say the database could represent as little as one per cent of the patients who suffer complications. "A small proportion of the adverse reactions that have occurred on this drug in Canada would be in the adverse reaction database. Essentially it is spontaneous, voluntary reporting," said Barbara Mintzes, a pharmaceutical drug expert at the University of B.C. Even the incomplete numbers, though, are a concern, she said. When someone taking an anti-depressant attempts suicide, it's initially not clear whether that's caused by the pre-existing depression or the drug; but in the case of Champix, people are taking the drug to stop smoking -- not for a mental health condition. "You are looking at a lot of deaths, suicides and attempted suicides, and suicidal ideation in a population that you would have no reason to think would be otherwise at high risk of suicide," said Ms. Mintzes, an associate professor in the Faculty of Medicine's School of Population and Public Health. The Sun downloaded data from the Health Canada site for Champix and Zyban, the two drugs covered by Pharmacare as part of the province's Smoking Cessation program. Champix is the subject of a class-action lawsuit, which more than 200 Canadians have joined, alleging psychiatric side-effects. One of the plaintiffs is the mother of a B.C. woman who killed herself while she was on the drug. In recent years, Champix has been slapped with the toughest safety warnings in the U.S. and Canada, and France stopped covering the drug through its public Pharmacare system. In October, American consumer and health groups submitted a petition demanding the U.S. government further increase the warnings about Champix in relation to "suicidal behavior, aggression/violence, psychosis, and depression." In November, the Drug and Poison Information Centre warned there were nearly 100 Zyban overdoses in B.C. in 2013, including 47 cases of suspected suicide attempts. The Health Canada database showed 27 deaths and the death of one fetus with Zyban as the suspected cause, since the drug was approved in Canada in 1998. B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake was not available for an interview, but a spokesperson issued a statement that said B.C. decides which drugs to fund based on "the best scientific evidence available." It also listed several reviews and research papers that found Champix and Zyban are "effective and safe," and have helped many people quit smoking. "In October 2012, Health Canada reaffirmed that it considers the benefits of Champix, when used as directed on the label, to continue to outweigh the risks," said the email from ministry media relations manager Kristy Anderson. Patricia Clow of Victoria is a plaintiff in the Champix class- action lawsuit, on behalf of her daughter Heidi who killed herself in 2009 while taking the drug to quit smoking. The mother is convinced her otherwise healthy, happy, successful daughter was driven to suicide because of side-effects from the drug, and argues Heidi's apology-laden suicide note shows she wasn't thinking clearly. "Sorry. I'm cold. I'm done. I'm angry, upset . . . I hurt inside," the Royal Canadian Navy steward wrote. "I love you Mom! Sorry. Please. I just want to go." Ms. Clow believes the province should stop funding Champix. "(Heidi's suicide) just came totally out of the blue and totally unexpected. What she did and how she did it made no sense whatsoever," the grieving mother said. In a statement to The Sun, manufacturer Pfizer said adverse reaction reports, such as those provided to Health Canada, do not necessarily prove the side-effect was caused by a drug because they are voluntarily submitted and may not contain patients' full medical history. Pfizer also said quitting smoking can lead to depression, agitation or recurrence of a pre-existing mental health issue, regardless of whether the patient is taking a stop- smoking drug. "There is no reliable scientific evidence to demonstrate that Champix causes serious neuro-psychiatric events," said the statement provided by Pfizer's Christina Antoniou. "All medications have potential risks. The benefits and risks of all treatment options for quitting smoking should be part of the patient-physician dialogue before initiating treatment." The federal government oversees drug approvals in Canada, and insists every death is considered serious and important. "Health Canada continuously monitors the safety of drug products on the market by using information from a variety of sources, such as adverse reaction data, medical and scientific literature and foreign regulatory agencies," spokesman Michael Valerio said in an email. In each of the cases counted by The Sun, Champix was listed as the suspected cause of the adverse reaction; but Health Canada cautions that conclusion is only the opinion of the health professional or drug company making the report. "Other factors, such as the patients' underlying medical condition, or other medications taken at the same time need to be considered as potential causes or contributing factors," Mr. Valerio's email said. B.C. spent $8.7 million in the fiscal year 2013/14 on its quit smoking program, including filling nearly 66,000 claims for Champix and 8,000 claims for Zyban. The program spending and prescriptions are down from the previous year, according to the Health Ministry, but a flurry of new patients are expected this month. Indeed, Twitter Canada reported that "stop smoking" was the fourth-most popular New Year's resolution tweeted on Jan. 1. Nationally, there were 625,000 prescriptions filled for Champix and 38,000 for Zyban in 2013, according to IMS Brogan, an international company that collects health data. Health Canada's database shows 129 reports of adverse reactions to Champix and 13 to Zyban in 2013. The data downloaded from Health Canada was difficult to use because there are many duplicate entries that required deletion. The Sun's final analysis found that in the last seven years in Canada, in addition to the 44 deaths, there were about 350 reports of Champix causing suicide attempts or suicidal ideation, 30 reports of homicidal ideation, and 64 of amnesia. There were also approximately 600 reports of Champix causing depression, 230 of aggression, 180 of anger, and 150 of mental side-effects, including hallucinations and psychotic disorders. Academic studies of emergency room visits by patients reacting poorly to pharmaceuticals indicate, however, that only a tiny fraction of such incidents are reported to Health Canada, Ms. Mintzes said. Reports to Health Canada may improve in 2015, though, with the passage of a new federal bill last November that requires hospitals to report when patients suffer adverse reactions to drugs. The bill is called Vanessa's law, after a 15-year-old Ontario girl who collapsed from a heart attack while taking a prescription drug that had been of concern in the U.S. In November, the Fraser Health Authority launched a pilot project that makes it mandatory for health workers to report adverse reactions. It will be expanded across Metro Vancouver in 2015, said Michele Babich, executive director of Lower Mainland Pharmacy Services, which oversees pharmacy issues for the Fraser, Vancouver Coastal, and Provincial Health Services authorities, and for Providence Health Care. "Better understanding incidents of adverse drug reactions is important to us," Ms. Babich said in an email to The Sun. "Mandatory reporting of adverse reactions to drugs such as Champix and Zyban are now being recorded . . . and then reported to Health Canada." Law firms in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal are collaborating on the class-action lawsuit claiming Pfizer did not warn patients about the drug's risks, including suicide, suicidal thoughts and depression. More than 200 Canadians have joined the suit, said Doug Lennox, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. In response to the lawsuit, Pfizer Canada has said it stands by Champix and that it has provided accurate information about the drug's safety. Pfizer, though, paid nearly $300 million to settle similar lawsuits with 2,500 U.S. patients in recent years. Mr. Lennox said it is a frustrating trend that Canadians often get delayed and poorer court settlements compared with our American neighbors. The lawsuit is open to anyone who took Champix between 2007, when Canada approved it, and 2010, when the toughest pharmaceutical warning -- called a black box -- was applied. Champix's black box warning is unusual, Lennox said. A typical pharmaceutical warning tells patients to phone a doctor when they experience side-effects, but that's not the case for Champix because it can mess with how a person thinks. Instead, it says patients should ask their social circle to watch for any mental changes: "You are encouraged to inform friends and family of your quit (smoking) attempt, which includes treatment with Champix, and ask for their support and help in monitoring for potential psychiatric symptoms," the warning says. The simple reality is that black box warnings are unlikely to make taking the drug safer, argues James McCormack, a professor in UBC's pharmaceutical sciences department. Doctors are typically too busy to explain all the risks of prescription drugs to patients, and often won't even know about the warnings. "These black box warnings are great because they do alert people to the potential (of risk), but there's no systematic approach to how they would be used by health care providers," he said. "I'd say it's 95 per cent done for legal reasons. Not that it will actually prevent anything." A 2013 UBC-led study found that 66 per cent of pharmaceutical sales representatives failed to tell Vancouver doctors about common or serious side-effects in their drugs. And the international study, published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, also found the threat of serious harm or death was disclosed to Vancouver doctors in only five per cent of pitches for drugs that carried such a warning. In an ideal world, McCormack said, each time a patient is prescribed a drug and each reaction experienced would be recorded, but that would be too onerous for the overburdened health care system. Although the adverse-reaction tracking process appears less than ideal, he added, most prescription drugs are fortunately well tolerated. In Canada, Champix is reimbursed by government pharmacy programs in the Northwest Territories, B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. Champix was one of the drugs being studied by some of the eight scientists who were fired from the B.C. Health Ministry in 2012, in a scandal that ended with the government hiring back most of the workers and/or apologizing to them. Roderick MacIsaac, a PhD student who committed suicide after his dismissal, was working on an evaluation tool for the quit smoking program. Another of the fired scientists was Mr. MacIsaac's thesis adviser, while an economist (since rehired) was also assisting him. After the scientists were fired, work on Mr. MacIsaac's evaluation tool was never re-started. A lawyer hired by the government to review the botched firings concluded in a report last month that no senior health official would take responsibility for the dismissals, or explain why they happened. PINE TREE HOUSE: "Aguilar" Suit Seeks to Recover Unpaid OT Wages ---------------------------------------------------------------- Felix Aguilar, on behalf of himself and others similarly situated v. Pine Tree House Inc. d/b/a Kang Suh Restaurant, Ja Bun Kwak, and John Does #1-10, jointly and severally, Case No. 1:15-cv-00224 (S.D.N.Y., January 13, 2015), seeks to recover unpaid overtime wages and damages pursuant to the Fair Labor Standard Act. The Defendant own and operate Kang Suh Restaurant located at 1250 Broadway, New York, New York 10001. The Plaintiff is represented by: Benjamin Nathan Dictor, Esq. EISNER & MIRER, P.C. 113 University Place New York, NY 10003 Telephone: (212) 473-8700 Facsimile: (212) 473-8705 E-mail: ben@eisnerassociates.com PREMIER DIRECTIONAL: Suit Seeks to Recover Unpaid Wages & Damages ----------------------------------------------------------------- Dennis Scully, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Premier Directional Drilling, L.P., Case No. 4:15-cv- 00099 (S.D. Tex., January 13, 2015), seeks to recover unpaid overtime compensation, liquidated damages, attorneys' fees, and costs, pursuant to the Fair Labor Standard Act. Premier Directional Drilling, L.P. is a directional drilling company with operations nationwide in oil and gas formations. The Plaintiff is represented by: Michael A. Josephson, Esq. Andrew W. Dunlap, Esq. Lindsay R. Itkin, Esq. FIBICH, LEEBRON, COPELAND, BRIGGS & JOSEPHSON 1150 Bissonnet Houston, TX 77005 Telephone: (713) 751-0025 Facsimile: (713) 751-0030 E-mail: mjosephson@fibichlaw.com adunlap@fibichlaw.com litkin@fibichlaw.com - and - Richard J. (Rex) Burch, Esq. BRUCKNER BURCH, P.L.L.C. 8 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1500 Houston, TX 77046 Telephone: (713) 877-8788 Facsimile: (713) 877-8065 E-mail: rburch@brucknerburch.com RCI HOSPITALITY: Faces "Haynes" Suit Over Failure to Pay Overtime ----------------------------------------------------------------- Summer Haynes, individually, and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. d/b/a Bombshells Restaurant and Bar and BMB Dining Services Stemmons, Inc., Case No. 4:15-cv-00086 (S.D. Tex., January 13, 2015), is brought against the Defendants for failure to pay overtime wages in violation of the Fair Labor Standard Act. The Defendants own and operate a military-themed restaurant located 5300 Memorial Drive, Ste. 1000, Houston, TX 77007. The Plaintiff is represented by: Gabriel Assaad, Esq. KENNEDY HODGES LLP 711 W Alabama St Houston, TX 77006 Telephone: (713) 523-0011 E-mail: gassaad@kennedyhodges.com RM GALICIA: Has Made Unsolicited Calls, "Marquez" Suit Claims ------------------------------------------------------------- Guadalupe Mike Marquez and Jeffrey Whiteman, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. R.M. Galicia, Inc., d/b/a Progressive Management Systems, Case No. 8:15-cv-00052 (C.D. Cal., January 13, 2015), alleges that the Defendants negligently contacted the Plaintiffs on the cellular telephones, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, thereby invading Plaintiffs' privacy. R.M. Galicia, Inc. is engaged in the business of collecting debts from consumers nationwide. The Plaintiff is represented by: Abbas Kazerounian, Esq. Mohammad Kazerouni, Esq. Gouya Ranekouhi, Esq. KAZEROUNI LAW GROUP, APC 245 Fischer Avenue, Unit D1 Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Telephone: (800) 400-6808 Facsimile: (800) 520-5523 E-mail: ak@kazlg.com mike@kazlg.com gouya@kazlg.com RJM ACQUISITIONS: Accused of Unlawful Debt Collection Practices --------------------------------------------------------------- Glenn Miller, on behalf of himself and al others similarly situated v. RJM Acquisitions, LLC and John Does 1-25, Case No. 1:15-cv-00225 (S.D.N.Y., January 13, 2015), alleges that the Defendant used an automatic telephone dialing system to call the Plaintiff on the cellular telephone without prior express consent, concerning the collection of a debt. RJM Acquisitions, LLC is a company that uses the mail, telephone, and facsimile and regularly engages in business the principal purpose of which is to attempt to collect debts alleged to be due another. The Plaintiff is represented by: Benjamin Jarret Wolf, Esq. Joseph Karl Jones, Esq. LAW OFFICES OF JOSEPH K. JONES, LLC 555 Fifth Avenue 17th Floor New York, NY 10017 Telephone: (646) 459-7971 Facsimile: (646) 459-7973 E-mail: bwolf@legaljones.com jkj@legaljones.com SAAQIN INC: Faces "Bledsoe" Suit Over Failure to Pay Overtime ------------------------------------------------------------- Kelvin Bledsoe v. Saaqin, Inc., Case No. 2:15-cv-00181 (E.D.N.Y., January 13, 2015), is brought against the Defendant for failure to pay overtime wages for work performed in excess of 40 hours per week. Saaqin, Inc. owns and operates an online store called the Body Butter Store. The Plaintiff is represented by: Orin R. Kurtz, Esq. GARDY & NOTIS, LLP 501 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1408 New York, NY 10017 Telephone: (212) 905-0509 Facsimile: (212) 905-0508 E-mail: okurtz@gardylaw.com SAFETY SIGNS: Faces "Seipel" Suit Over Failure to Pay OT Wages -------------------------------------------------------------- Kurt Seipel, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated and the proposed Minnesota Rule 23 Class v. Safety Signs Inc. and Safety Signs, LLC, Case No. 0:15-cv-00071 (D. Minn., January 13, 2015), is brought against the Defendants for failure to pay overtime wages in violation of the Fair Labor Standard Act. The Defendant provides traffic-control equipment and services to help keep roads, work zones, construction crews, and pedestrians safe when roads are under construction. The Plaintiff is represented by: Brittany B. Skemp, Esq. Michele R. Fisher, Esq. NICHOLS KASTER, PLLP 80 S 8th St Ste 4600 Minneapolis, MN 55402-2242 Telephone: (612) 256-3200 Facsimile: (612) 338-4878 E-mail: bbachmanskemp@nka.com fisher@nka.com SANDRIDGE ENERGY: Pomerantz Law Firm Files Securities Class Suit ---------------------------------------------------------------- Pomerantz LLP on Jan. 10 disclosed that it has filed a class action lawsuit against SandRidge Energy, Inc. and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Western District of Oklahoma, and docketed under 14-cv-01256, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons or entities who purchased SandRidge securities between February 28, 2013 and November 3, 2014, inclusive. This class action seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. If you are a shareholder who purchased SandRidge securities during the Class Period, you have until January 12, 2015 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll free, x237. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased. SandRidge, together with its subsidiaries, explores and produces oil and natural gas properties primarily in the Mid-Continent region of the United States. As of December 31, 2013, the Company had 4,388 gross producing wells; approximately 3,624,000 gross total acres under lease; and 30 rigs drilling in the Mid- Continent, as well as estimated proved reserves of 433.4 million barrels of oil equivalent. The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) SandRidge was improperly accounting for penalties owed to Occidental Petroleum Corp. ("Occidental") under a Treatment Agreement on an annual basis when it was required to do so on a quarterly basis; (2) SandRidge's quarterly and annual financial and operating results for the periods ending December 31, 2012 through June 30, 2014 were overstated and required restatement; (3) defendant Ward engaged in improper related party transactions; (4) SandRidge lacked proper internal controls over financial reporting; and (5) as a result of the foregoing, the Company's financial statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. On November 4, 2014, the Company filed a Form 8-K with the SEC, announcing that its previously issued financial statements should no longer be relied upon because the Company was improperly accounting for penalties under the Treating Agreement with Occidental. On this news, shares of SandRidge declined $0.25 per share, nearly 6.5%, to close on November 4, 2014, at $3.56 per share, on unusually heavy volume. With offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and San Diego, The Pomerantz Firm -- http://www.pomerantzlaw.com-- concentrates its practice in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 70 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. SINGING RIVER: Pascagoula attorney Files Claim v. Jackson County ---------------------------------------------------------------- Gareth Clary, writing for GulfLive.com, reports that Pascagoula attorney Adam Miller filed a tort claim notice on Jan. 9, informing Jackson County and the Board of Supervisors that they will be named in an upcoming lawsuit in Jackson County Circuit Court related to the pension problems plaguing Singing River Health System. The notice is required under the Tort Claims Act when a governmental body is being sued. The health system and its board of trustees will also be named in the suit. "It's a matter of procedure to put them on notice," Miller said. "This is a step in the process." Mr. Miller said his client is Patricia "Patsy" Kelly, a retired nurse who worked for the health system for 32 years. She retired in 1996 and shifted her pension from PERS to SRHS's defined benefit plan in 1983. She will be seeking $500,000 per violation or the maximum amount covered by insurance, whichever is greater. The notice indicated that she "sustained severe emotional, mental and physical stress and has suffered financial hardship as a direct result of the actions of the Board of Supervisors and the Singing River Health System and the Board of Trustees." This will be the eighth lawsuit filed against SRHS, but it will be the first filed in state court and the first to name the county and the supervisors, who appoint the health system's board of trustees. Attorneys Earl Denham and Harvey Barton have filed 5 lawsuits in Jackson County Chancery Court seeking temporary restraining orders preventing SRHS from terminating its underfunded defined benefits pension plan. SRHS attorneys have had each of those lawsuits removed to federal court, where everyone is waiting a decision by Judge Louis Guirola on that key jurisdictional issue of where the cases need to be. Two class action lawsuits have also been filed in federal court in Gulfport. Mr. Miller is taking his case to state court and including the county and the supervisors. "They were either complicit or negligent, one of the two," Mr. Miller said of the supervisors. "They are liable, too." The notice indicated that the health system used the audit services of KPMG and "they misstated accounts receivable balances and the true financial position of Singing River Health System and the pension plan. "KPMG's actions were the result of a conspiracy between all parties involved to conceal the true financial situation of the health system and pension plan." Mr. Miller said when filed there will be charges of breech of contract, fraud, misrepresentation, concealment and gross negligence, among others. "Jackson County and the Jackson County Board of Supervisors at all times knew or should have know of the actions of the Singing River Health System and Board of Trustees in failing to contribute and fund the employee pension plan," the notice stated. "At all times since 2008, the Board (of supervisors) failed to inspect, verify, confirm and manage the actions of the hospital, the board of trustees and KPMG. The Board (of supervisors) breached their fiduciary obligations to Ms. Kelly along with every employee and retiree in the plan." Mr. Miller said it may be a while before the suit is actually be filed. He said there is a period of time when the county may or may not choose to respond to the notice. SKECHERS USA: Faces "Jenkins" Suit Over Use of Toning Shoes ----------------------------------------------------------- Dora Jenkins, individually and as administrator of the estate of Christina Ashley Smith v. Skechers, U.S.A., Inc., Skechers, U.S.A., Inc., II, and Skechers Fitness Group, Case No. 3:15-cv- 00059-TBR (W.D. Ky., January 12, 2015), alleges, among other things, that Skechers intentionally made numerous misrepresentations, and continues to make those representations, regarding the efficacy and health benefits of its toning shoes, including Skechers Shape-ups and Tone-ups. The case is part of the multidistrict litigation known as In re: Skechers Toning Shoe Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3:11- md-02308-TBR-LLK. Skechers is a shoe company that manufactures toning shoes, including Skechers Shape-ups and Tone-ups. Skechers markets and promotes its toning shoes as footwear that will provide countless health benefits including improved cardiac function and orthopedic benefits. Skechers markets and promotes its toning shoes to be worn in place of other athletic shoes during daily activities, exercise routines, and in the workplace. The Plaintiff is represented by: Richard W. Schulte, Esq. WRIGHT & SCHULTE, LLC 812 E. National Road Dayton, Ohio 45377 Telephone: (937) 435-7500 Facsimile: (937) 435-7511 E-mail: rschulte@yourlegalhelp.com SOLID BUILDERS: Faces "Padron" Suit Over Failure to Pay Overtime ---------------------------------------------------------------- Orlando R. Gonzalez Padron and all others similarly situated under 29 U.S.C. 216(b) v. Solid Builders, Inc. and Ignacio Hernandez, Case No. 1:15-cv-20129 (S.D. Fla., January 13, 2015), is brought against the Defendants for failure to pay overtime wages for work performed in excess of 40 hours weekly. The Defendants own and operate a construction company in Dade County, Florida. The Plaintiff is represented by: Jamie H. Zidell, Esq. J.H. ZIDELL, PA 300 71st Street, Suite 605 Miami Beach, FL 33141 Telephone: (305) 865-6766 E-mail: ZABOGADO@AOL.COM SOUTH CAROLINA: Pays $1.2MM to Estate of Mentally Retarded Inmate ----------------------------------------------------------------- Tim Smith, writing for The State, reports that the state has paid $1.2 million to the estate of an inmate with mental retardation who died in 2008 after being kept naked for 11 days in solitary confinement and developing hypothermia. Records from the state Insurance Reserve Fund also show the state paid an additional $199,000 to its private lawyers in the case, which was cited last year by former state Circuit Judge Michael Baxley in his landmark, 45-page order finding the state Department of Corrections had violated the rights of inmates with severe mental illness. The estate of Jerome Laudman sued individual officers in the case in federal court and filed suit against the prison system in state court. Both cases were settled last year, records show, with the federal suit being dismissed and the state agreeing to pay $1.2 million in the state case. "We settled the case for 1.2 million," Corrections Director Bryan Stirling said. "Corrections continues to make significant changes and improvements for the safety and security of officers and staff, inmates and the community." Sen. Mike Fair of Greenville, chairman of the Senate Corrections and Penology Committee, said of the settlement that "$1.2 million doesn't bring this man back to life. . . . (But) hopefully the family can have closure on that." Scott Evans, a lawyer for the Laudman estate, said the family of Laudman feels the settlement was a fair one. He said the maximum amount that can be paid in a state medical negligence claim in South Carolina is $1.2 million. He said $600,000 is the limit for a wrongful death claim and $300,000 for other types of claims. Laudman's final days and evidence of an attempted cover-up by correctional officers were detailed in documents reported by The Greenville News last year. Judge Baxley wrote in his 2014 order that an investigative report found Laudman had been "physically abused" by a correctional officer during his cell transfer and that a prison investigator later "found evidence of an attempted cover-up by correctional officers" who cleaned the cell before investigators could photograph it. Judge Baxley reported some inmates had died "for lack of basic mental health care, and hundreds more remain substantially at risk for serious physical injury, mental decompensation, and profound, permanent mental illness." Lawyers for the state and the plaintiffs in the class-action case that resulted in Judge Baxley's order have been in mediation talks for months working on solutions to the problems cited in the order. Fair said at the time of Laudman's death, prison protocols for dealing with the mentally ill were different than they are today. "Did the Department of Corrections knowingly do something wrong? Probably not," Fair said. "They know now. But then they might not have known that the outcome for mentally ill people put in lockdown could be what it was for Mr. Laudman and that that is not the appropriate treatment for the mentally ill." Laudman, who was 44 when he died, was admitted to the prison system in 1998, Evans said last year. He pleaded guilty to strong armed robbery and was sentenced to 10 years, he said. Laudman suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, mental retardation and bipolar disorder, according to documents in the federal lawsuit. He also had a speech impediment that made it difficult for him to communicate, according to the records. For much of his incarceration, the prison system's mental health treatment of inmates was strongly criticized. One report in 2000 described it as in a state of "crisis." The agency lacked adequate personnel and resources, the reports found. Among the recommendations was that the agency train its officers in how to handle the mentally ill. Laudman was committed to the prison system's Gilliam Psychiatric Hospital at least 13 times, according to the federal lawsuit. On Dec. 7, 2007, he was placed in crisis intervention at Lee Correctional Institution, the Bishopville prison where he was assigned, for displaying "severe emotional problems," according to the lawsuit. Crisis intervention, according to the lawsuit, is designed to provide intensive inpatient mental health treatment for "legitimate mental health disorders" for up to seven days. Instead, according to the suit, Laudman was placed on crisis intervention for up to several months. On Jan. 22, 2008, he was seen by his psychiatrist and prescribed medication. According to the lawsuit, he would never see the psychiatrist again, despite the psychiatrist's order for a follow- up in two weeks. On Feb. 7, Laudman was moved to the Lee Supermax, cells designed to "punish and provide intensive supervision to inmates exhibiting assaultive behavior," according to the suit. Why he was sent there and who authorized the move remains somewhat of a mystery, according to court documents. One administrator told a prison investigator that he was transferred because he was "trashing his room, was uncooperative and parading around naked," according to the prison system's investigative report. But the administrator didn't know who authorized the transfer and the investigation could find no one who knew, according to the report, which is included in the federal court files. According to the report, witnesses to Laudman's move said Laudman was sprayed with chemical munitions after initially refusing an order to be handcuffed, then handcuffed and thrown into the wrong cell. He was pulled out and thrown into the cell he was assigned. The officer accused of throwing Laudman denied the allegation, according to the internal report. When an investigator looked at the videotape of the transfer of Laudman, he noted that it contained only a few minutes of footage before it went blank, according to the internal report. The cell was bare, with a concrete pad for sleeping and no blanket, according to the suit. The lawsuit alleges that the entire area was cold and there were problems with the heating system. Laudman was stripped of all "basic necessities," according to the lawsuit, including mattress, sheets, socks, shoes, underwear and uniform." He also wasn't provided access to his medication while in the Supermax cell, according to the suit. Four days after Laudman was placed in his new cell, an officer noticed that he was sitting and stooped over "like he was real weak or sick," according to the internal investigative report. The officer also noted that food trays were piled up near the door, Laudman was naked and the room was bare. The officer didn't report what he saw, according to the report, because when he brought up issues in the past he was told to "leave it alone." Cell check logs for the time Laudman was in his Supermax cell show entries initialed by an officer who denied either making the initials or authorizing them, according to the internal investigative report. One date was blank and showed no cell check. In his order, Baxley wrote that, "The evidence before the court contains proven instances of fabricated cell check logs," and noted Laudman's cell checks as an example. Some inmates told the prison investigator after Laudman's death that they had tried to get officers to look at Laudman, believing something was wrong since he wasn't eating and not making his usual noises, according to the report. An officer told them that it was "out of his hands," according to the investigative report. On the last day of Laudman's life, Feb. 18, 2008, one of the officers repeatedly told a supervisor that "Laudman needed help," and was lying in his own feces, according to the internal report. When the nurses assessed Laudman, one reported he was "extremely cold to the touch, 'like ice all over his body,'" according to the lawsuit. The nurses said that he was unresponsive, with a pulse of 50 and pupils that were fixed and dilated, according to the prison internal report. One nurse noted that there were large bruises on Laudman's hip bones, "suggestive of hips pressing against a hard surface for a long period of time." Two inmates told an investigator that after Laudman was removed from the cell, other inmates were told to clean it. One said he was ordered to clean up the cell before any investigators arrived. He also said an officer advised him that if he was questioned by investigators "it would be best if he said nothing about it," according to the investigative report. He said he put the feces, vomit and a jumpsuit found near the shower area in a trash can, according to the report. The investigator said in his report that he noticed no smell of feces or vomit as reported by a nurse when he saw the cell but did notice "the distinct odor of cleaning supplies." When he asked a supervising officer, the officer told him the area hadn't been cleaned or anything removed from the cell and that the cell was in the exact same condition as when Laudman left. Laudman was transported to a hospital, which later reported he was suffering from hypothermia and had a core temperature of 80.6 degrees, according to the prison internal report. He later was pronounced dead from cardiac arrhythmia. SYNGENTA CORP: "Hawthorne" Suit Consolidated in MIR162 Corn MDL --------------------------------------------------------------- The class action lawsuit styled Hawthorne Farms, et al. v. Syngenta Corporation, et al., Case No. 3:14-cv-01359, was transferred from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois to the U.S. District Court District of Kansas (Kansas City). The Kansas District Court Clerk assigned Case No. 2:15-cv- 02114-JWL-JPO to the proceeding. The lawsuit is consolidated in the multidistrict litigation known as In re: Syngenta AG MIR162 Corn Litigation, MDL No. 2:14-md- 02591-JWL-JPO. The cases concern the Syngenta defendants' alleged decision to commercialize corn seeds containing a genetically modified trait, known as "MIR162," that reportedly controls certain insects. Corn with this trait has entered U.S. corn stocks but has not been approved for import by the Chinese government, which has imposed a complete ban on U.S. corn with this trait. The Plaintiffs are corn growers and grain exporters, who allegedly suffered economic losses resulting from China's refusal to accept MIR162 corn. The Plaintiffs are represented by: Eric D. Holland, Esq. Randall Seth Crompton, Esq. HOLLAND LAW FIRM, LLC 300 North Tucker Boulevard, Suite 801 St. Louis, MO 63101 Telephone: (314) 241-8111 Facsimile: (314) 241-5554 E-mail: eholland@allfela.com scrompton@allfela.com - and - David I. Cates, Esq. CATES MAHONEY, LLC 216 West Pointe Drive, Suite A Swansea, IL 62226 Telephone: (618) 277-3644 Facsimile: (618) 277-7882 E-mail: dcates@cateslaw.com - and - Charles E. Schaefer, Esq. LEVIN, FISHBEIN, SEDRAN & BERMAN 510 Walnut St., Suite 500 Philadelphia, PA 19106 Telephone: (215) 592-1500 Facsimile: (215) 592-4663 E-mail: cschaffer@lfsblaw.com SYNGENTA CORP: "Sondgeroth" Suit Consolidated in MIR162 Corn MDL ---------------------------------------------------------------- The class action lawsuit captioned Sondgeroth, et al. v. Syngenta Corporation, et al., Case No. 1:14-cv-08556, was transferred from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas (Kansas City). The Kansas District Court Clerk assigned Case No. 2:15-cv-02109- JWL-JPO to the proceeding. The lawsuit is consolidated in the multidistrict litigation known as In re: Syngenta AG MIR162 Corn Litigation, MDL No. 2:14-md- 02591-JWL-JPO. The cases concern the Syngenta defendants' alleged decision to commercialize corn seeds containing a genetically modified trait, known as "MIR162," that reportedly controls certain insects. Corn with this trait has entered U.S. corn stocks but has not been approved for import by the Chinese government, which has imposed a complete ban on U.S. corn with this trait. The Plaintiffs are corn growers and grain exporters, who allegedly suffered economic losses resulting from China's refusal to accept MIR162 corn. The Plaintiffs are represented by: Edmund S. Aronowitz, Esq. Adam J. Levitt, Esq. GRANT & EISENHOFER, PA 30 North LaSalle Street, Suite 1200 Chicago, IL 60602 Telephone: (312) 214-0000 Facsimile: (312) 214-0001 E-mail: earonowitz@gelaw.com alevitt@gelaw.com The Defendants are represented by: Jordan Mitchell Heinz, Esq. KIRKLAND & ELLIS 300 N. LaSalle Street Chicago, IL 60654 Telephone: (312) 469-7027 Facsimile: (312) 862-2200 E-mail: jordan.heinz@kirkland.com TAKATA CORP: Faces "Weisberg" Suit Over Defective Airbags --------------------------------------------------------- Robert E. Weisberg, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Takata Corporation, et al., Case No. 1:15- cv-20127 (S.D. Fla., January 13, 2015), alleges that the Defective Vehicles contain airbags manufactured by the Defendant that, instead of protecting vehicle occupants from bodily injury during accidents, violently explode and expel vehicle occupants with lethal amounts of metal debris and shrapnel. Takata Corporation is a specialized supplier of automotive safety systems that designs, manufactures, tests, markets, distributes, and sells airbags. The Plaintiff is represented by: Curtis Bradley Miner, Esq. COLSON HICKS EIDSON, PA 255 Alhambra Circle, Penthouse Coral Gables, FL 33134-2351 Telephone: (305) 476-7400 E-mail: curt@colson.com TAKATA CORP: Motley Rice Files Airbag Class Suit in So. Carolina ---------------------------------------------------------------- ABC News reports that Motley Rice LLC, one of the nation's largest plaintiffs' firms, filed on Jan. 9 a products liability action alleging serious, permanent, life scarring and post-crash enhanced personal injuries sustained by South Carolina resident Angelina Sujata related to a recalled Takata airbag. The filing is believed to be the first personal injury federal action in South Carolina involving shrapnel. On March 2, 2012, Angelina sustained serious injuries when her 2001 Honda Civic was involved in a rear-end collision in Chapin, S.C. Upon impact, the Takata airbag inflator in her car exploded with alleged excessive force, shooting sharp, metal shrapnel into her chest multiple times. As a result, Angelina was hospitalized and has had to have two surgeries, the most recent of which was to remove shrapnel that was later discovered in her body and was causing chest pain. She now lives with trauma from the crash and permanent scarring in multiple areas of her chest and upper torso. It wasn't until one year after her accident that Angelina learned her car was recalled for its airbag system (NHTSA Recall 13V-132). However, reports state that the Defendants knew of the dangerous airbags long before. An estimated 8 million vehicles have been recalled in the United States, with Honda vehicles currently comprising the bulk of potentially affected vehicles, with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration calling for more. At a Nov. 20, 2014, Senate hearing, Takata executives admitted that the company still uses ammonium nitrate as a propellant in its airbag inflators. This propellant is highly sensitive to temperature changes and moisture, and can break down over time. It is also less expensive than safer alternatives. "Airbags should be expected to work safely. They shouldn't kill people or shoot out metal," said Angelina. "I was so upset when I learned about the recall on my car for the airbag, more than a year after I was injured by it. It's time to push back, and I don't want another person to go through what I have. The way Takata and Honda have handled the recalls is totally unacceptable." The suit claims that the injuries sustained by Angelina would not have occurred under a normal, safe and expected airbag deployment in the collision, and that the defects in the vehicle consequentially caused serious injuries sustained in the crash. The suit also claims that Ms. Sujata's driver's frontal airbag system was unreasonably dangerous and defective because it was designed, manufactured and sold with an excessively energetic inflator in the driver's frontal airbag system which deployed with dangerously excessive explosive force and expelled shrapnel during air bag deployment in foreseeable collisions, including Angelina's 2012 crash, which made the vehicle unfit for its ordinary purpose of providing safe transportation. "While Angelina's injuries were not fatal, she has suffered extreme trauma and now has permanent scarring, as well as unexpected medical bills and other expenses, which serve as a constant reminder of her crash and the shrapnel that shot out of her airbag. As a result, she has spent two years trying to regain normalcy and learning to deal with her injuries," said Kevin Dean, Motley Rice catastrophic personal injury attorney. "Unfortunately, we've once again found ourselves in a situation where a corporation seems to have chosen profits over people." General negligence, gross negligence, reckless conduct and breach of warranty are the claims against the defendants Takata Corporation; TK Holdings, Inc.; Takata, Inc.; Highland Industries, Inc.; Honda Motor Co., Ltd.; Honda R & D Co. Ltd.; and American Honda Motor Co. and Honda of America MFG, Inc. regarding Takata's airbags. The complaint also alleges that design and testing all the way through distribution and sale, resulted in a defective and unreasonably dangerous automobile and automobile airbag system that was unable to reasonably protect the driver in the case of an accident. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Columbia Division, the case is Angelina C. Sujata vs. Takata Corporation et al. In November 2014, Motley Rice attorneys filed the first federal action on behalf of a South Carolina woman allegedly killed by the Takata airbag in her recalled Honda Accord. Motley Rice attorneys also filed a class action lawsuit in South Carolina, Horton et al v Takata et al., on Nov. 14, 2014, and similar class action lawsuits in Louisiana and Florida, on behalf of people who own vehicles that contain the recalled Takata airbags. TESLA MOTORS: Court Explains Dismissal of Securities Lawsuit ------------------------------------------------------------ District Judge Charles R. Breyer issued a memorandum of opinion on Dec. 5, 2014, fully explaining its decision to dismiss, without leave to amend, a securities class action complaint filed against Tesla Motors, Inc., et al. The Court granted Tesla's Motion to Dismiss at a Sept. 26, 2014 hearing. Tesla Motors is a publicly traded company which designs, manufactures, and markets two models of fully electric automobiles, the Roadster and the Model S. The case is IN RE TESLA MOTORS, INC. SECURITIES LITIGATION NO. 3:13-CV-05216-CRB (N.D. Cal.), filed on behalf of all persons who purchase Tesla stock between August 19, 2013 and November 17, 2013. It alleged that Tesla violated securities laws by making materially false and misleading statements about the risk of fire caused by the lithium batteries that power the Tesla Model S car. In the Memorandum Opinion, the District Court opined: "The alleged fires during the battery prototype design process do not, without more, establish that the risk of fire in the Model S is "significant," or that the Model S is not a safe car, or that any of Tesla's statements about the Model S's safety are untrue or misleading. The SAC [Second Amended Complaint] provides nothing more. It ultimately fails to state a claim because Plaintiffs are unable to plead particularized facts -- or even logical inferences -- showing that any of Tesla's alleged statements were false at all." A copy of the District Court's Memorandum of Opinion is available at http://is.gd/scGNFkfrom Leagle.com. Ross Weintraub, Derivatively on Behalf of Nominal Defendant Telsa Motors, Inc., Plaintiff, represented by Vahn Alexander, The Alexander Firm P.C., of 1875 Century Park E Ste 700, Los Angeles, California. Elon Musk, Defendant, represented by Charles Edward Elder -- celder@irell.com -- Irell and Manella LLP & Colin T Roth -- croth@irell.com -- Irell and Manella LLP. Tesla Motors, Inc, Defendant, represented by Charles Edward Elder, Irell and Manella LLP & Colin T Roth, Irell and Manella LLP. TEXAS BRINE: Bayou Corne Residents Evacuate Under Settlement ------------------------------------------------------------ David J. Mitchell, writing for The Advocate, reports that Nick and Brenda Romera and others are plaintiffs in a federal class-action lawsuit filed against Texas Brine Co. They reached a $48.1 million settlement in April. U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey has ordered that all property closings be scheduled by Jan. 15 and take place "as soon as practicable." Plaintiffs' attorneys and Texas Brine officials said they want them finished by Jan. 30. Separate damages claims over mental anguish are being resolved also, but attorneys said they are hopeful to have those checks out by January's end, too. Larry Centola, an attorney representing homeowners, and Texas Brine officials said they could not disclose how much has been paid out so far in property buyouts or how much the damages settlements would be worth. Through Jan. 13, sales records for 34 of the 38 closed buyouts from the class-action were filed with the Assumption Parish clerk of court. Combined, the documents reflect $8.07 million in sales, or an average of $237,260 per property owner. Buyouts ranged widely -- from about $40,500 to nearly $778,850. The buyout's sweep included small lots with mobile homes as well large new homes on multiple lots, land records show. The Romeros are among the second wave of families who have accepted property buyouts from Texas Brine and its insurers to settle claims related to the nearby sinkhole. The now 31-acre swampland hole emerged overnight in early August 2012, the result of a failed salt dome cavern operated by Texas Brine. Since then, the bucolic swampland community known for its fishing and close bonds has been forever changed as residents, under a persistent evacuation order, have left. The Romeros' closing is scheduled for Jan. 22, when they will get their property buyout check and also will have to turn over the keys to their house. Within the next several weeks, the last of those planning to leave are expected to have finally left Bayou Corne for good. When the buyouts are finished, roughly a dozen families will remain in what was once a community of about 150 families, leaving an uncertain future for what will be a mostly empty place near the occasionally rumbling and decreasingly gassy sinkhole. Sonny Cranch, Texas Brine's spokesman, provided a company statement saying Texas Brine plans to close on 36 of the 48 remaining properties by Jan. 22. The remaining 12 class plaintiffs will have a closing date set by Jan. 14, the statement says. Each closing also ends $875 weekly evacuation assistance payments that Texas Brine has been making to residents since fall 2012 at a cost to the company of nearly $11.8 million, Mr. Cranch said. Both through the class-action and earlier direct buyouts outside the court system, Texas Brine has bought out 104 property owners so far, according to figures provided by Mr. Cranch. Martin "Marty" Triche, Assumption Parish Police Jury president, said he does not know what the future holds for the unoccupied houses and mobile homes. "The question has been asked to Texas Brine by us and some other folks: After the buyout takes place, what are their intentions with the homes, with the properties they are purchasing?" Mr. Triche said. Texas Brine is buying the properties through a separate corporation, Bayou Corne Holdings, land records show. Though Texas Brine hopes to turn the bought-out property into "green space," the company says it will not decide until after settlements are finished. In the meantime, the company is cutting off utilities to the houses it purchased, cleaning them up and removing appliances. While a variety of litigation over the sinkhole remains against Texas Brine, Occidental Chemical Corp., insurers and others, Texas Brine settled this fall with parish government and the Sheriff's Office for their sinkhole-related expenses. The state has not settled with the company, said Laura Gerdes Colligan, spokeswoman for the Louisiana Attorney General's Office. Patrick Courreges, spokesman for the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, said the state has incurred about $16 million in sinkhole-related costs so far. Texas Brine also is making progress in removing methane gas released during the formation of the sinkhole that has posed a continuous threat to residents and required a parish evacuation order to remain in place, officials said. In the past year, the sinkhole also has been trending toward more stability. The failed salt dome cavern that scientists think breached deep underground and started sucking in surrounding sediment, causing the sinkhole to form, has been completely filled with sediment. The fill material, which has been described as having varying consistencies but, in some parts, like that of gelatin, will continue to compress inside the underground cavern. That will make room for more rock to fill the cavern, potentially leading to further surface instability but likely not at the levels once seen, scientists say. In an Oct. 9 report, the state's special expert commission on the sinkhole concluded that compaction could go on for "many years to come." Micro-earthquakes pointing to breaking rock or salt began to pick up Dec. 22 and have continued for weeks, halting work on the sinkhole and causing cracks in an abandoned sinkhole containment levee, parish officials said. Uncertainty also remains about the broader stability of the salt dome's western flank, from which the now damaged cavern had been mined and where surrounding caverns exist. The state panel ordered long-term monitoring and investigations into the stability of those caverns while mining is halted. UBER TECHNOLOGIES: Sued for Bombarding People With Spam Texts ------------------------------------------------------------- Arvin Temkar, writing for Courthouse News Service, reports that Uber bombards people with spam text messages to cellphones to try to recruit them as drivers, a class action claims in Federal Court. Four named plaintiffs from three states, from Oregon to New Hampshire, claim Uber violates the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and invades their privacy on a massive scale. Citing a Dec. 11 article in Vice, called "Uber's Text Message Spam is Driving People Crazy," the plaintiffs say: "People have been unable to get Uber to stop sending them text messages even after telling Uber multiple times to stop doing so." One person complained of getting 42 text messages from Uber in two weeks. Another says Uber texted her at 1:44 a.m. and 4:10 a.m. on Christmas Eve. Fourteen of 53 complaints filed against Uber with the FTC were for unsolicited text messages and calls, the complaint states, citing the Vice article. Plaintiff Julie McKinney says in the lawsuit that she has never been an Uber member, driver or user, but that in December she received at least three text messages from the company about working as a driver. Such prerecorded, automated phone calls are illegal under the TCPA, McKinney says. Lead plaintiff Kerry Reardon says she applied to be a driver, but decided against it. She says she has received dozens of automated text messages from a welter of Uber numbers, for which she has to pay, and which she cannot make them stop. The plaintiffs seek statutory damages of $500 for each negligent violation of the TCPA and statutory damages of $1,500 for each willful violation. They also seek punitive damages and an injunction. The Plaintiffs are represented by: Hassan Zavareei, Esq. TYCKO & ZAVAREII LLP 2000 L Street, N.W., Suite 808 Washington, D.C. 20036 Telephone: (202) 973-0900 Facsimile: (202) 973-0950 E-mail: hzavareei@tzlegal.com UBS AG: "Hernandez" Suit Seeks to Recover Unpaid Overtime Wages --------------------------------------------------------------- Edith Hernandez and Ana O'Keefe, on behalf of themselves and those similarly situated v. UBS AG and UBS Financial Services, Inc., Case No. 1:15-cv-00230 (S.D.N.Y., January 13, 2015), seeks to recover unpaid overtime wages and damages pursuant to the Fair Labor Standard Act. The Defendants own and operate a Swiss global financial services company with offices in New York City and other U.S. cities. The Plaintiff is represented by: Rachel Megan Bien, Esq. OUTTEN & GOLDEN, LLP 3 Park Avenue, 29th Floor New York, NY 10016 Telephone: (212) 245-1000 Facsimile: (212) 997-4005 E-mail: rmb@outtengolden.com UNITED NATIONS: Judge Dismisses Class Action Over Chlorea Outbreak ------------------------------------------------------------------ Telesur reports that a U.S. court has ruled the United Nations is immune from a class action lawsuit stemming from Haiti's cholera outbreak. On Jan. 9, a U.S. federal judge dismissed a class action lawsuit against the United Nations launched by Haitians who say U.N. forces should be held accountable for their nation's cholera epidemic. Judge J. Paul Oetken said the U.N. enjoys immunity against such cases. According to Judge Oetken, the U.N. would have to waive its immunity for the case to go ahead. Beatrice Lindstrom, a lawyer with the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti and supporter of the class action, has slammed the court's decision. "The court's decision implies that the U.N. can operate with impunity," she stated, according to the New York Times. Launched in 2013, the lawsuit alleges the U.N. should provide compensation to victims of Haiti's cholera outbreak, which began in 2010. The outbreak has been linked to Nepalese U.N. peacekeepers. Human waste from the peacekeepers was allegedly dumped in Haiti's waterways, leading to the rapid spread of the disease. An estimated 700,000 have contracted cholera since 2010 -- 6 percent of Haiti's population. Around 8000 people died from the epidemic, which today is widely viewed as the worst cholera outbreak in recent history. Although the epidemic is likely receding, thousands of new cases of the disease are reported every month. The U.N. has vowed to help curb the outbreak, but has refused to comment on the lawsuit. In late 2012, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pledged US$2.27 billion in funds to fight the disease in Haiti. Advocates of the class action have vowed to appeal the court's decision. VAN RU CREDIT: Accused of Violating Fair Debt Collection Act ------------------------------------------------------------ Latoya Burnette, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated v. Van Ru Credit Corporation and John Does 1-25, Case No. 2:15-cv-00217-SDW-SCM (D.N.J., January 12, 2015) accuses the Defendants of violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The Plaintiff is represented by: Ari Hillel Marcus, Esq. MARCUS LAW LLC 1500 Allaire Avenue, Suite 101 Ocean, NJ 07712 Telephone: (732) 660-8169 E-mail: ari@marcuslawyer.com WALGREEN CO: Accused of Hiding Billion-Dollar Profit Shortfall -------------------------------------------------------------- Walgreen's board and other top officials have been sued for allegedly failing to tell shareholders of an alleged multi-billion dollar profit shortfall, reports Lorraine Bailey at Courthouse News Service. In a derivative action filed in Chicago Federal Court, Walgreen shareholder Anne Cutler says company CEO Gregory Wasson, Chairman James Skinner, and 13 other corporate officers hid dire news about the pharmacy chain's performance until an August 6, 2014 announcement that caused its share price to plummet nearly 15 percent. Walgreens operates the largest pharmacy chain in America, with 8,309 locations. Pharmacy sales have accounted for approximately 75 percent of the chain's total sales for the past three years. In her complaint, Cutler says that with its announcement, Walgreen's board slashed its 2016 EBIT [earnings before interest & tax] goal by $2 billion, and reduced expected 2016 pharmacy earnings by $1.1 billion. A short time later, former Walgreen CFO Wade Miquelon claimed in court that he was wrongly made the scapegoat for a "shocking" calculation error leading to the reduction. In his defamation suit, Miquelon claims company directors were well aware that market forces would make Walgreens unable to meet its fiscal year 2016 earnings forecast, but that activist investors pressured the board not to revise the forecast. Cutler's derivative complaint relies on Miquelon's insider information, and also points to the "skyrocket[ing]" cost of essential generic drugs, which increased as much as 600 to 1,000 percent in 2013. "As generic drug prices continued to soar, the Company's internal EBIT forecast continued to decrease," the complaint says. "The Company's executives initially lowered EBIT forecast to $8.7 billion in July 2013, and continued to spiral downward thereafter, plummeting to an internal estimate of $7.2-7.5 billion by late May 2014." Cutler claims the board's August 2014 disclosures erased almost 49.5 billion in market capitalization. "Further, as a direct result of this unlawful course of conduct, the company is now the subject of numerous federal securities class action lawsuits filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of investors who purchased Walgreens' shares," she says. Cutler seeks disgorgement and damages for breach of fiduciary duty, waste of corporate assets, and unjust enrichment, as well as a shareholder vote on proposals to improve Walgreens' disclosure procedures. The Plaintiff is represented by: Norman Rifkind, Esq. LASKY & RIFKIND, LTD. 351 W. Hubbard Street, Suite 401 Chicago, IL 60654 Telephone: (312) 634-0057 E-mail: rifkind@laskyrifkind.com WARNER MUSIC: Wins Final Court OK of Digital Download Suit Deal --------------------------------------------------------------- District Judge Richard Seeborg granted final approval of a class action settlement in IN RE: WARNER MUSIC GROUP CORP. DIGITAL DOWNLOADS LITIGATION, CASE NO. CV 12-0559-RS, (N.D. Cal.). The Court found that the class satisfies the elements of Rule 23(a), (b)(2), and (b)(3). Pursuant to Rule 23(g), the Court appointed previously-appointed Class Counsel, Pearson, Simon & Warshaw, LLP, Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein LLP, Phillips, Erlewine & Given LLP, Hausfeld LLP, and Kiesel Boucher Larson LLP, as Counsel for the Class. The Court held that the objection of Debra Sledge, Joan Sledge, and Kim Sledge Allen is invalid because they have been excluded from the class as all Class Members who are parties to the Sister Sledge Class Contract did not submit claims. Only class members have standing to object to a class settlement. The Court dismissed on the merits and with prejudice the claims asserted in this litigation by Plaintiffs against WMG, with Plaintiffs and WMG to bear their own costs and attorneys' fees except as provided for in the Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement. In a separate ruling, Judge Seeborg granted plaintiffs' motion for attorney fees, litigation costs, and incentive awards. The Court concluded that Plaintiffs' requested fee award of $2,875,000 is fair and reasonable in light of the results obtained by Plaintiffs' counsel in this case. The Court found that Plaintiffs' counsel incurred a total of $97,429.54 in litigation costs and expenses in prosecuting this litigation as of December 31, 2014. The Court held that these costs and expenses were reasonably incurred in the ordinary course of prosecuting this case and were necessary given the complex nature and nationwide scope of the case. Accordingly, the Court approved a payment to Plaintiffs' counsel in the amount of their total costs and expenses incurred to reimburse them for such costs and expenses. The Court further approved an incentive award of $10,000 each to current class representatives Kathy Sledge Lightfoot, Ronee Blakley, and Gary Wright, and to former class representatives Debra Sledge, Joan Sledge, and Kim Sledge Allen. The attorneys' fees, costs, and incentive awards will be paid by Defendant Warner Music Group Corp. in accordance with the terms of the Settlement Agreement. Copies of the Court's January 12, 2015 orders are available at http://is.gd/OiFY65and http://is.gd/KeGhh2from Leagle.com. WHOLE FOODS: "Jackson" Suit Consolidated in Greek Yogurt MDL ------------------------------------------------------------ The class action lawsuit styled Chas Jackson, et al. v. Whole Foods Market, Inc., Case No. 2:14-cv-06705, was transferred from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas (Austin). The Texas District Court Clerk assigned Case No. 1:15- cv-00018 to the proceeding. The case is consolidated in the multidistrict litigation known as In re: Whole Foods Market, Inc., Greek Yogurt Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, MDL No. 1:14-mc-02588-SS. The actions in the litigation share factual issues arising from highly similar allegations that Whole Foods 365 Greek Yogurt contains much more sugar than stated on its label, that the Defendants' marketing of the Yogurt was false and deceptive, and that the Defendants were negligent in testing the Yogurt, and in ensuring that the label was accurate. The Plaintiff is represented by: Adrian Bacon, Esq. Suren Weerasuriya, Esq. LAW OFFICES OF TODD FRIEDMAN PC 324 S. Beverly Drive, Suite 725 Beverly Hills, CA 90212 Telephone: (877) 206-4741 Facsimile: (866) 633-0228 E-mail: abacon@attorneysforconsumers.com sweerasuriya@attorneysforconsumers.com - and - Todd M. Friedman, Esq. KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP Citigroup Center 153 East 53rd Street New York, NY 10022 Telephone: (212) 446-4800 Facsimile: (212) 446-4900 E-mail: todd.friedman@kirkland.com The Defendants are represented by: Joseph J. Orzano, Esq. SEYFARTH SHAW 560 Mission St., Suite 3100 San Francisco, CA 94111 Telephone: (415) 397-2823 Facsimile: (415) 397-8549 E-mail: jorzano@seyfarth.com Asbestos Litigation ASBESTOS UPDATE: Esterline Continues to Defend Fibro Claims ----------------------------------------------------------- Esterline Technologies Corporation continues to defend itself against claims relating to asbestos-containing products it manufactured, according to the Company's Form 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2014. The Company states: "We are subject to potential liabilities relating to certain products we manufactured containing asbestos. To date, our insurance has covered claims against us relating to those products. Commencing November 1, 2003, insurance coverage for asbestos claims has been unavailable. However, we continue to have some insurance coverage for exposure to asbestos contained in our products prior to that date. "As a result of the termination of the NASA Space Shuttle program, manufacturing of rocket engine insulation material containing asbestos ceased in July 2010. In December 2011, we dismantled our facility used to manufacture the asbestos-based insulation for the Space Shuttle program. We have an agreement with the customer for indemnification for certain losses we may incur as a result of asbestos claims relating to a product we previously manufactured, but we cannot assure that this indemnification agreement will fully protect us from losses arising from asbestos claims. "To the extent we are not insured or indemnified for losses from asbestos claims relating to our products, asbestos claims could adversely affect our operating results and our financial condition." Esterline Technologies Corporation (Esterline) is a manufacturing company serving aerospace and defense customers. The Company designs, manufactures and markets engineered products and systems. It operates in three segments: Avionics & Controls, Sensors & Systems, and Advanced Materials, including thermally engineered components and specialized elastomers and other complex materials, for aerospace and defense markets. Its products are mission- critical equipment, which have been designed into particular military and commercial platforms. It has divested non-core businesses operating as Pressure Systems, Inc., Muirhead Aerospace and Traxsys Input Products Limited. In July 2011, the Company acquired Souriau Group. In December 2013, the Company announced that it has completed acquisition of Joslyn Sunbank Company, LLC, a unit of Meggitt PLC. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Toro Company Still Subject to Fibro Cases ---------------------------------------------------------- The Toro Company is subject to litigation and administrative and judicial proceedings with respect to asbestos-related claims asserting, among other things, damages and liability for personal injury, according to the Company's Form 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2014. The Company is subject to litigation and administrative and judicial proceedings with respect to claims involving asbestos and the discharge of hazardous substances into the environment. Some of these claims assert damages and liability for personal injury, remedial investigations or cleanup and other costs and damages. The Company records a liability in its consolidated financial statements for costs related to claims, including future legal costs, settlements and judgments, where the Company has assessed that a loss is probable and an amount can be reasonably estimated. If the reasonable estimate of a probable loss is a range, the Company records the most probable estimate of the loss or the minimum amount when no amount within the range is a better estimate than any other amount. The Company discloses a contingent liability even if the liability is not probable or the amount is not estimable, or both, if there is a reasonable possibility that a material loss may have been incurred. In the opinion of management, the amount of liability, if any, with respect to these matters, individually or in the aggregate, will not materially affect its consolidated results of operations, financial position, or cash flows. The Toro Company (Toro) designs, manufactures, and markets professional turf maintenance equipment and services, turf irrigation systems, agricultural micro-irrigation systems, landscaping equipment and lighting, and residential yard and snow removal products. The Company operates in three business segments: Professional, Residential and Distribution. Its products are advertised and sold at the retail level under the names of Toro, Exmark, Irritrol, Hayter, Unique Lighting Systems, Pope, Lawn-Boy and Lawn Genie. In October 2013, the Company acquired Xiamen Xiangfeng Water Saving Equipment Co., Ltd. It also operates the BOSS(R) professional snow and ice management business. The Company also offers the Exmark Vantage X-Series stand-on mower. ASBESTOS UPDATE: RPM Int'l. Units Emerge from Chapter 11 -------------------------------------------------------- RPM International Inc.'s subsidiaries, Bondex International, Inc., and Specialty Products Holding Corp., emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Dec. 23, 2014, according to the Company's Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on December 23, 2014. On May 31, 2010, Bondex International, Inc., and its parent company, Specialty Products Holding Corp., filed voluntary petitions in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in an effort to permanently and comprehensively resolve all present and future asbestos personal injury claims related to Bondex and SPHC. On July 26, 2014, RPM International Inc., Bondex, SPHC and other related entities entered into settlement term sheets with the official representatives of current and future asbestos claimants setting forth the parties' agreement in principal to resolve all present and future asbestos personal injury claims related to Bondex, SPHC and other related entities. The agreement in principal contemplated the filing of a plan or plans of reorganization with the Bankruptcy Court. The Plan was subject to approval of the claimants, as well as the Bankruptcy Court and U.S. District Court in Delaware. On December 10, 2014, RPM issued a press release announcing that the Bankruptcy Court and the U.S. District Court in Delaware had confirmed the Plan. Effective as of December 23, 2014, Bondex, SPHC and other related entities have emerged from bankruptcy. Under the Plan, a trust has been created for the benefit of current and future asbestos personal injury claimants. The trust will be funded by contributions of: * $450.0 million in cash at closing of the Plan on the Effective Date, funded through RPM's revolving line of credit with a group of banks; * $102.5 million in cash, RPM stock, or a combination of the two, on or before the second anniversary of the Effective Date; * $120.0 million in cash, RPM stock, or a combination of the two, on or before the third anniversary of the Effective Date; and * a final payment of $125.0 million in cash, RPM stock, or a combination of the two, on or before the fourth anniversary of the Effective Date. A copy of the Company's regulatory filing is available at: http://is.gd/NlTjFO RPM International Inc. (RPM) through its subsidiaries manufactures, markets and sells various specialty chemical product lines. RPM's business is divided into two reportable segments: the industrial reportable segment (industrial segment) and the consumer reportable segment (consumer segment). The industrial segment (RPM Building Solutions Group, Performance Coatings Group and RPM2 Group), which comprises approximately 65% of its total net sales, includes maintenance and protection products for roofing and waterproofing systems, flooring, corrosion control and other specialty applications. The consumer segment (Rust-Oleum Group and DAP Group) comprises approximately 35% of its total net sales and includes rust-preventative, special purpose and decorative paints, caulks, sealants, primers and other branded consumer products. In July 2014, the Company announced that its Rust-Oleum Group has acquired Krud Kutter Inc. ASBESTOS UPDATE: OneBeacon Unit Closes Runoff Transaction --------------------------------------------------------- OneBeacon Insurance Group, Ltd., said its subsidiary closed the sale of the company's run-off business, according to the Company's Form 8-K dated December 23, 2014, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on December 23, 2014. On December 23, 2014, OneBeacon Insurance Group, Ltd., issued a press release announcing that its wholly owned subsidiary, OneBeacon Insurance Group LLC, closed the previously-announced sale of the Company's run-off business, which includes OneBeacon's remaining non-specialty commercial lines business and certain other run-off business, including the vast majority of its asbestos and environmental reserves. The Runoff Transaction was completed pursuant to the Stock Purchase Agreement dated October 17, 2012, by and between OneBeacon and Trebuchet US Holdings, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Armour Group Holdings Limited, and consistent with the conditions set forth in the order issued on December 23, 2014, by the Pennsylvania Insurance Department. At closing, and in exchange for nominal consideration, the Company transferred to Armour all of the issued and outstanding shares of four insurance operating entities containing the assets, liabilities (including gross and ceded loss reserves) and capital supporting the Runoff Business as well as certain elements of the Runoff Business infrastructure, including staff and office space. On a combined basis, the statutory balance sheet of the transferring legal entities, net of certain pre-closing adjustments, included approximately $188 million of cash and invested assets. In conjunction with the closing, the Company provided $101.0 million of seller financing in the form of surplus notes issued by the transferring companies. The cumulative combined loss from (a) the discontinued operations associated with the Runoff Business and (b) the loss from sale of the Runoff Business, which has also been reflected in discontinued operations for each period, totaled $115 million after-tax, including approximately $12 million of after-tax loss related to the Company's fair value estimate of the surplus notes. The Company may incur additional losses in the fourth quarter of 2014 based on any adverse change to its estimated fair value of the surplus notes that occurs in the fourth quarter, which would be based on an internal valuation model that is sensitive to several varying assumptions. While these variables involve considerable judgment, the Company does not currently expect any resulting change in the estimated value of the surplus notes to be material to its financial position. Any change in estimated fair value of the surplus notes in the fourth quarter would be recorded in discontinued operations. Any subsequent change in estimated fair value of the surplus notes would be recorded in net realized and change in unrealized investment gains within continuing operations. OneBeacon Insurance Group, Ltd. (OneBeacon), through its subsidiaries, is a specialty property and casualty insurance writer that offers a range of insurance products through independent agencies, regional and national brokers, wholesalers and managing general agencies. The Company's products relate to professional liability, marine, entertainment, sports and leisure, excess property, environmental, group accident, crop, programs, public entities, technology, surety, and tuition refund. The Company operates in two segments: Specialty Products, Specialty Industries, and Investing, Financing and Corporate. In February 2012, the Company sold its AutoOne Insurance business (AutoOne) to Interboro Holdings, Inc. (Interboro). In January 2013, the Company sold Essentia Insurance Company to Markel Corp. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Bus Driver's Widow Wins $7.7MM in Fibro Suit ------------------------------------------------------------- Elizabeth Doran, writing for Sycaruse.com, reported that the family of a former school bus driver from Fayetteville-Manlius, New York, has been awarded $7.7 million by a jury in a court case stemming from asbestos exposure, according to the law firm representing the family. Lewis Nash, who died in September 2012 at 81, worked as a F-M bus driver for 37 years and was exposed to asbestos regularly during that period, according to the Manhattan-based law firm Levy Konigsberg LLP, which represented his family. Nash worked at F-M as a school bus driver from 1957 to 1994. This is the largest asbestos-related verdict ever in the Syracuse area, said Amber Long, a lawyer for Lewis Konigsberg who worked on the case. "We are happy that the jury was receptive to our evidence, and did the right thing for Mr. Nash's family," Long said. Nash was exposed to asbestos in the district's bus garage, where mechanics performed routine maintenance on Navistar school buses, the lawyers said. He later developed mesothelioma, cancer of the lining of the lungs, which ultimately led to his death, Long said. Navistar, formerly known as International Harvester, sold school buses to F-M which had parts with asbestos. The asbestos was released into the air in the garage when maintenance work and repairs were being performed on the buses. The brakes, gaskets and clutches contained asbestos, Long said. The trial against Navistar began on Dec. 4, with testimony by the plaintiff's family and expert witnesses. The jury on Dec. 22 found Navistar to be responsible for Nash's death, Long said. Damages awarded to Nash's widow, Mary, are in part for physical and emotional hardship experienced by Nash during his illness, as well as for loss of her husband. ASBESTOS UPDATE: WR Grace Fibro Trust Now Accepting Claims ---------------------------------------------------------- Jennifer Lucarelli, writing for mesothelioma.com, reported that after 13 years, W.R. Grace & Co. is accepting and paying asbestos- related personal injury and death claims for which they, their predecessors, and their successors have legal responsibility, through a trust established under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. In 2001, facing mounting personal injury claims arising primarily from the addition of asbestos to their various commercial and residential fire protection and plaster products and also from exposure to vermiculite from their Libby, MT mining operation, W.R. Grace & Co. filed for reorganization under Chapter 11. In 2008, a settlement was reached with lawyers representing clients injured by Grace's asbestos-containing products that included a provision for the creation of an independent trust to pay all pending and future asbestos-related personal injury claims. After nearly 6 years of finalizing the settlement through the Chapter 11 plan and then concluding all remaining appeals, Grace emerged from bankruptcy on February 3, 2014 when their Joint Plan of Reorganization became effective. From the Joint Plan came the WRG Asbestos PI Trust Distribution Procedures which outlines payment procedures for all past unsettled asbestos-related claims dating back over 13 years and for any future claims. The Trust Distribution Procedures, or TDP, recognizes 8 Scheduled Disease levels ranging from minor asbestos disease, asbestosis, and pleural disease to the most serious and life-threatening asbestos-related disease, mesothelioma. If significant past exposure to asbestos-containing Grace products can be proven, based on the disease level of the claimant, the Trust will pay out a scheduled value with the most severe diseases receiving the largest payments. The scheduled value amounts have been calculated with the goal of paying all past claims equitably while assuring funds will exist to pay all expected future claims. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Changes Old Town Hall Demolition Plan ------------------------------------------------------------ Susan Tobias, writing for Press-Republican, reported that plans for demolishing the former town hall in Burke, New York, may need some adjustment. A contractor hired to inspect the structure "found a little bit of asbestos," Town Supervisor David Vincent said. Franklin County had offered to tear down the old building, but a special contractor might be needed to remove the section where the asbestos is located, he said. While further discussion is needed on that score, other municipalities are ready and waiting to help Burke keep costs down as well. The towns of Chateaugay and Bellmont have offered to donate their cheaper dumping fees for the demolition debris, Vincent said. That's because the Burke Adult Center, located next door to the former Town Hall, is shared with seniors from those other towns, as well. And the center would be interested in acquiring the property, once vacant, to expand its septic system, Vincent said. For about a year now, Burke has conducted business in its new facility, the former Border Patrol station on Route 11. Assisting greatly with the cost of renovating that building for the purpose were grants won by Town Justice John "Jack" Dunlavey for the Town Court there, Vincent said. "We've switched to a beautiful Town Hall," he said, also praising the Town Council for excellent overall efforts making Burke a better place to live. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Trial Nears in Fibro Reinsurance Fight ------------------------------------------------------- Amaris Elliott-Engel, writing for New York Commercial Litigation Insider, reported that four insurance companies are tussling over the scope of a trial before Manhattan Commercial Division Justice Eileen Bransten on how much money three reinsurers allegedly owe for their share of nearly $1 billion in asbestos settlements. Frontline insurer United States Fidelity & Guaranty Company (USF&G) settled claims brought against its insured Western Asbestos Company after a protracted coverage fight. MacArthur Corporation, whose subsidiary took over Western Asbestos, sued USF&G for bad faith in refusing to defend it against the asbestos suits. Ultimately, USF&G settled the bad-faith case, paying $975 million to resolve the asbestos claims. USF&G sought coverage from the reinsurers for $391 million, plus an expense component of $14 million. Some of the reinsurers settled, so now $262 million is being disputed, but the remaining reinsurers claim they owe just $34.7 million. Under the reinsurance "treaty" between USF&G and reinsurers American Re-Insurance Company, ACE Property and Casualty Insurance Company and Century Indemnity Company, the first $100,000 of every loss is borne by USF&G, and the second $100,000 of every loss is borne by the reinsurers. But the reinsurers are challenging how USF&G is allocating those losses. In 2013, the New York Court of Appeals remanded two issues in the case of United States Fidelity & Guaranty Company v. American Re- Insurance Company, 6045172002, for further fact finding, reversing former Commercial Division Justice Richard B. Lowe's decision to grant summary judgment to USF&G as well as the First Department's 4-1 decision upholding that ruling. Former Court of Appeals Judge Richard Smith, writing for the court, found there was an issue of fact on whether USF&G, when allocating settlement amounts, "reasonably attributed nothing to the so-called 'bad faith' claims" made against it. Smith, who retired Dec. 31, said a trial must determine if the allocation was "one that the parties to the settlement of the underlying insurance claims might reasonably have arrived at in arm's length negotiations if the reinsurance did not exist." He noted that USF&G could have faced an adverse verdict on the bad- faith claims after taking a "very aggressive position in refusing to admit, for almost a decade, that it had ever written liability insurance that covered the asbestos claimants." The high court also found an issue of fact on whether, in the absence of reinsurance, the parties could have reasonably agreed, in arm's length bargaining, to settle lung-cancer cases for $200,000, asbestosis claims for $50,000 and other cancer claims for $20,000. The parties agreed to value claims for mesothelioma, a cancer in the linings of the lungs and stomach, at $500,000. A bankruptcy court approved those valuations when MacArthur went through an insolvency procedure, USF&G said in court papers. In the most recent development, USF&G has moved for Bransten to limit the scope of issues in the trial on the remanded issues. USF&G's counsel, partners Mary Kay Vyskockil, Chet A. Kronenberg and George S. Wang, as well as counsel Jonathan M. Weiss of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, requested a short trial on whether reinsurance played any role in the parties' decision to not give any value to the bad-faith claims and to give $200,000 to plaintiffs for mesothelioma claims. The reinsurers, however, offered six expert reports, including a valuation expert calculating that USF&G liability for asbestos losses was actually $135 million and the rest of the $975 million settlement is attributable to the bad-faith claims. As a result, the reinsurers argue they only owe USF&G $34.7 million. "The reinsurers, by contrast, envision a lengthy trial in which expert witnesses, as opposed to [fact] witnesses, will conduct a de novo review of MacArthur's and USF&G's exposure on account of asbestos-related claims, claim values, the settling parties' methodology in 2002 to assess USF&G's exposure, and the theoretical value of the bad faith claims asserted by Western MacArthur but never tried," USF&G's counsel said. If Bransten permits the trial to have a broader scope, the proceeding would violate the "follow the fortunes" doctrine, which bars reinsurers from challenging settlements when parties have ceded part of their risk to their reinsurers, USF&G argued. Sidley Austin and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, counsel for the reinsurers, said that they are entitled to submit all relevant evidence to triable issues before Bransten because parties are not limited to the evidence submitted upon summary judgment. The reinsurers also want to introduce two separate experts on USF&G's alleged bad faith, which would include an insurance claims professional and a lawyer. USF&G forced MacArthur to accept $1.4 billion in default judgments against it from asbestos claimants so the plaintiffs would not execute the judgments on the hope that MacArthur would win its insurance-coverage dispute, argued ACE and Century's counsel, Sidley Austin partners Steven M. Bierman, William M. Sneed and James D. Arden and American Re-Insurance Company's counsel, Wachtell, Lipton partners Herbert M. Wachtell, Peter C. Hein and Ben M. Germana. The reinsurers also allege that USF&G added more than $100 million to its liability in order to inflate the amount it could claim from the reinsurers. The reinsurers' contention is that the "overwhelming majority of the settlement is reasonably attributable to the bad faith claims and that USF&G's allocation of all the settlement dollars to asbestos insurance claims is not 'objectively reasonable,' not 'legitimate,' and therefore invalid." Vyskockil, Bierman and Wachtell did not respond to requests for comment. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Libby Fibro Exposure Linked to Lung Defects ------------------------------------------------------------ People exposed to asbestos from mining in Libby, Mont., show long- term changes in lung imaging and function tests, even with relatively low asbestos exposure, reports a study in the January Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM). Thirty years after the Libby mine was shut down, abnormalities are still found on chest computed tomography (CT) scans and lung function tests in more than half of workers exposed to Libby amphibole asbestos (LAA). "[T]hese changes occur at substantially lower cumulative fiber exposure levels than those commonly associated with commercial asbestos," writes Dr James E. Lockey of University of Cincinnati and colleagues. The study was sponsored by the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry. The researchers followed up 431 living workers, from an original group of 513 LAA-exposed workers first studied in 1980. The workers were exposed to a particularly hazardous form of asbestos from contaminated vermiculite that had been mined in Libby for decades. Of 191 workers with available CT scans, 53 percent had asbestos- related changes of the tissue lining the lungs (pleura), while 13 percent had changes of the lung substance (parenchyma). Greater involvement on imaging scans was related to greater average reductions in lung function (forced vital capacity): up to 18 percent for those with extensive pleural and/or parenchymal changes. The CT scan abnormalities were present even in workers with lower levels of estimated lifetime exposure to LAA -- about three to ten times below current standards for commercial asbestos exposure. The asbestos-related lung abnormalities "can be particularly relevant when potentially combined with other respiratory [diseases] that can occur over a person's lifetime that can impact lung function," Dr Lockey and coauthors conclude. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Victim's Family Appeals for Information -------------------------------------------------------------- Staffordshire Newsletter reported that the daughter of a former scaffolder at Rugeley Power Station, in England, who died of an asbestos-related cancer is appealing to her father's former colleagues to come forward in the hope they have vital information about how he was exposed to the deadly dust. Father-of-four Gary Williams, from West Bromwich died in July 2013 after being diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer in the lining of the lungs, in October 2012. Before his death, the 66-year-old instructed specialist industrial disease lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate whether more could have been done to prevent him coming into contact with asbestos and now his daughter Claire is continuing the battle for justice on his behalf. Claire is backing calls by Irwin Mitchell for Gary's former colleagues at the British Building and Engineering Association (BB and EA) where he worked as a scaffolder from 1965 to 1971 to get in touch. It is believed they could hold vital evidence about the presence of asbestos at the various sites Gary was contracted to work at, as well as the working conditions at the company. Iain Shoolbred, an expert asbestos lawyer at Irwin Mitchell's Birmingham office, said: "The family were still struggling to come to terms with the loss of Gary's wife Betty, who died suddenly in the summer of 2012, when he was given the devastating news that he had a terminal illness caused by exposure to asbestos. "Before his death he told us that he could remember erecting and dismantling scaffolding at Rugeley Power Station and Round Oak Steel Works in Brierley Hill and them both being very dusty jobs due to the amount of asbestos lagging that was disturbed by the ongoing maintenance work. "We are very keen to hear from any of Gary's colleagues at British Building and the Engineering Association and also staff at Rugeley power station and Round Oaks steel works as they may hold vital evidence that could help in the family's battle for justice. "Employers have been well aware of the dangers of exposing staff to significant levels of asbestos since the first Asbestos Regulations were published in 1931, so there is no excuse for Gary not to have been warned about it or provided with protective clothing such as a mask." The recent Supreme Court judgment in the case of Percy McDonald puts additional onus on the occupiers of factories (including Power Stations) to ensure that all personnel engaged in work on factory sites are properly protected against substantial dust generated in its processes. Gary was diagnosed with mesothelioma in October 2012, one month after being sent for a routine chest X-ray due to health issues he suffers following a back injury. The scans showed fluid on his lungs and a shadow which a biopsy confirmed was caused by the aggressive and fatal cancer. The grandfather-of-nine underwent radiotherapy to try and control the cancer but sadly passed away in July 2013, leaving his family heartbroken and desperate for answers. Daughter Claire, 29 and from West Bromwich, said: "We were all absolutely devastated when our mum died and to find out just two months later that Dad was battling a terminal illness was very hard to come to terms with. "Before his death, Dad could vividly remember the scaffolding jobs at Rugely Power Station and Round Oak Steel Works as being dusty due to such extensive maintenance work being carried out to asbestos insulation. "As a family we have been through a horrendous time over the last two years and we want to see justice for what happened to our Dad. Sadly he never got to finish his legal battle, but we're determined to fight on for him as we know that's what he would have wanted. "We just hope anyone who thinks they have information, no matter how small, gets in touch as it could truly make such a huge difference." ASBESTOS UPDATE: Northamptonshire Firms Fined for Fibro Failings ---------------------------------------------------------------- H&V News reported that two firms from Northamptonshire, England, have been fined after a routine safety inspection revealed serious asbestos-related failings. Northampton Magistrates' Court heard that Lifting Systems, of Crown Works, Main Road, Far Cotton, Northampton, had contracted Durasteel Services, of Kingsfield Way, Kingsfield Heath Industrial Estate, Northampton, to refurbish an asbestos cement roof at its Crown Works in Far Cotton. When inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) visited the site on 22 October 2013 to check the work they found asbestos insulation board had been removed and stored on the premises, and that debris had been placed in waste skips around the site. A Prohibition Notice was served to immediately stop any further work. A subsequent investigation found that although Lifting Systems was the client, the company had undertaken a lot of the refurbishment work; including the removal of the majority of old asbestos cement roofing panels. It did not have an up to date asbestos register and did not carry out a demolition and refurbishment survey, which would have highlighted areas of asbestos to be considered during the refurbishment. Durasteel Services failed to carry out an assessment to identify the potential for asbestos to be disturbed and put effective control measures in place. The court was told that neither company had a licence to remove asbestos. Lifting Systems was fined a total of GBP14,000 and ordered to pay GBP523 in costs after pleading guilty to three breaches of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. Durasteel Services was fined GBP10,000 and ordered to pay costs of GBP523 after admitting one breach of the same regulations. Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Sam Russell said: "This case highlights the importance of businesses having strong policies to enable identification of asbestos as part of their normal working practices. The refurbishment work started three months before HSE visited the site, so the risks from asbestos had not been controlled for some time. "Durasteel Services was complicit in the removal of asbestos insulation board during the refurbishment. The company should have conducted an assessment to see if any work it undertook would have the potential to disturb asbestos materials and taken appropriate action to introduce control measures." ASBESTOS UPDATE: La. District Court Nixes "Bystander Damages" ------------------------------------------------------------- Joel Crane, writing for JD Supra Business Advisor, reported that in Comardelle v. Pennsylvania General Insurance Company et al., 2014 WL 5762841, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana denied a claim for "bystander damages" allegedly resulting from the mental pain of watching the suffering and death of a patient with asbestos-related mesothelioma. The plaintiffs alleged that their decedent, Michael Comardelle, was exposed to asbestos-containing products manufactured, distributed and sold by various defendants during his employment from 1963 to 1979. As a result of this exposure, the plaintiffs claimed that Mr. Comardelle developed mesothelioma, which was diagnosed on September 25, 2013. Mr. Comardelle died on May 3, 2014. The plaintiffs asserted that they were entitled to damages for "the mental pain and anguish which [they] endured from watching the suffering and death of their husband and father." The defendants argued that "bystander damages" were precluded under Louisiana law and moved for partial summary judgment. The District Court noted that, in Lejeune v. Rayne Branch Hosp. (La. 1990) 557 So.2d 559, the Supreme Court of Louisiana held that damages were recoverable for mental pain and anguish arising from injuries to third parties, subject to four restrictions. First, the claimant must view the injury-causing event, or come upon the accident before substantial change has occurred in the victim's condition. Second, the direct victim of the traumatic injury must suffer such harm that it can be reasonably expected that the claimant would suffer serious mental anguish. Third, the emotional distress must be serious and reasonably forseeable. Fourth, the claimant must have a close relationship with the direct victim. One year after Lejeune, the State of Louisiana codified Article 2315.6 of the Louisiana Civil Code, which allows for certain "persons who view an event causing injury to another person, or who come upon the scene of the event soon thereafter, [to] recover damages for mental anguish or emotional distress that they suffer as a result." However, the Supreme Court of Louisiana held that the right to "bystander damages" only exists under very limited circumstances. The District Court in Comardelle held that the plaintiffs were not entitled to "bystander damages" under Lejeune, or Article 2315.6, because the plaintiffs did not observe Mr. Comardelle's exposure to asbestos. Furthermore, even if the plaintiffs had seen the decedent's exposure, they would not be entitled to damages because seeing someone breathe in a dusty environment is not an inherently traumatic event. Accordingly, the plaintiffs' claim for "bystander damages" was dismissed with prejudice. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Parents Weren't Notified of Fibro Removal ---------------------------------------------------------- Mikaela Porter, writing for Hartford Courant, reported that parents of students at Enfield High School, in Connecticut, were confused when they heard that portions of the school would be blocked off so construction crews could begin scheduled asbestos removal. According to Superintendent Jeffrey Schumann, a letter from his office was distributed to parents of Enfield High students and school staff on Dec. 23, outlining construction work related to asbestos removal that would begin on Jan. 2, as part of the ongoing renovation at the high school. Some parents took to Facebook, asking Mayor Scott Kaupin why they weren't notified. Ken Kaufman, who has a daughter at Enfield High School, said he found out about the asbestos work when his daughter's boyfriend, who is on the wrestling team, told her they moved their practice and that the school was boarded up. "I haven't heard anything about the asbestos cleanup to this day," Kaufman said. "We get these robo-calls for the upcoming school play or something to that effect, but something as serious as this, they still haven't told anyone about it or haven't had the time to put something together for parents." Another Enfield High School parent, Lindsay Caouette, said she wasn't notified either. "At this point, there has still been no communication home regarding the work being done with our children in the school, which is concerning to me," Caouette said. Three locations, according to the letter, will be blocked off for asbestos abatement: the cafeteria, girls locker room and lower- level kitchen and mechanical spaces. Parents were further confused when they received communication that the asbestos removal was due to a burst pipe in the "A" wing of the school. Schumann said that a pipe did leak on the third floor of the "A" wing and caused flooding on the first, second and third floors. When the tiles on those floors began to dry, he said, crews noticed that the tiles -- vinyl asbestos tiles -- started to lift off the floor. If they cracked, Schumann said, "that could have been a dangerous situation." Schumann said the crews that were already at the school to remove the asbestos in the three previously scheduled areas worked on the worked on the areas affected by the flooding instead. Schumann said a hard copy of the letter was distributed to students on Dec. 23, and teachers and staff were notified. Due to the ongoing work, an updated letter will go home with students, Schumann said. The dates of the work have altered due to the burst pipe, Schumann said. The updated letter will also be posted on the school website, he said, and parents were to receive a phone call. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Removal to Begin at Bunkhouse ---------------------------------------------------- Mark Todd, writing for Star Beacon, reported that The Bunkhouse, a condemned commercial building in downtown Conneaut, Ohio, is sturdy enough to permit asbestos removal work -- which could save the city thousands of dollars. Finance Director John Williams, who also serves as interim city manager, said an inspector with Monit-Air, the removal firm that could handle the asbestos job, examined the building to gauge its stability and safety. "The inspector determined there are some structural issues with the Bunkhouse building, primarily the northwest corner, but not enough to prevent the asbestos abatement from moving forward," Williams said. That's good news for the city's budget. At the City Council meeting, Williams said if the building had been deemed too hazardous to enter, the entire structure -- upon demolition -- would have to be hauled to an asbestos-approved landfill, which would have been costly. As it stands, the city should now pay no more than $3,500 to have the material removed, Williams told council. Late last year, local contractor Hugh Ingram of NorthCoast Construction offered to knock down the building at no cost if the city paid landfill and asbestos mitigation expenses. Inspectors found asbestos in some of the building's flooring and between 200 and 300 feet of pipe insulation, Williams said. City officials said they feared the building's condition had worsened to the point where it might be too unsafe to send asbestos technicians inside. The next step is to secure the blessing of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Williams said. The asbestos project is on an "expedited plan," meaning work could begin as soon as possible, he said. The Bunkhouse, a long-closed night club, has been a headache for the city since bricks began falling from a section of the exterior wall almost a year ago. The building, condemned by the county building department, is in the control of the state because of unpaid taxes, officials have said. City officials have said they would like to take possession of the property after it is demolished. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Jury Awards $3.6MM to Electrician's Family ----------------------------------------------------------- Julie Kay, writing for Daily Business Review, reported that Benedetto Emanuele Caraffa, a citizen of Italy, worked as an electrician for Carnival Cruise Lines from 1985 to 2000. He developed lung cancer in 2001 and died in 2005. Caraffa allegedly developed cancer as a result of his near-daily exposure to asbestos in the machine spaces and engine rooms. He worked aboard Carnival's Mardi Gras, Carnivale, Festivale and Tropicale, which are now out of service. All four were steam ships, which the plaintiffs claimed were insulated with asbestos. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Caraffa's estate, his widow and his two adult children, seeking just over $10 million. The plaintiffs presented depositions from several Italian doctors who treated Caraffa as well as an Oakland Park pulmonologist, Dr. Edward Coopersmith, who all testified the asbestos exposure caused or contributed to his cancer. While Caraffa was a smoker early in his life, he quit in the 1980s before going to work for Carnival. The plaintiffs attorneys considered their most important witness the only crew member to testify at trial, Giorgio Rispoli, a former Carnival chief engineer. Rispoli said asbestos was throughout the areas Caraffa worked for 10 to 12 years before he was diagnosed with cancer. The doctors testified the incubation period for the cancer was about 10 to 12 years. The defense called South Miami pulmonologist Allan Feingold, who frequently testifies for defense lawyers on asbestos issues, as well as Dr. Thomas Sporn of Durham, N.C. Based on autopsy slides of Caraffa's lungs, both testified he did not have enough asbestos fibers to contract cancer and blamed smoking as the sole cause. The defense also called a corporate representative of Carnival Corp. who testified the cruise line didn't know asbestos was on its ships. He also maintained the plaintiff's case was purely circumstantial there was no proof of the presence of asbestos since the four ships have been scrapped. Following a nine-day trial, jurors deliberated for 3-1/2 hours before awarding the plaintiffs $10.3 million to $10 million for pain and suffering, $192,000 in damages for Caraffa's widow, $128,000 in lost earnings and $19,504 in funeral expenses. The award was reduced by 65 percent, the comparative negligence jurors assigned to Caraffa. "This was a hard-fought battle that lasted nearly nine years," Winkleman said. "We were ecstatic to finally get to the merits in front of a jury and for the jury to do the right thing." Margulies added: "This is the first time an asbestos case against a cruise line has gone to trial. I think it's an important case because older cruise workers who may have recently been diagnosed with pulmonary issues related to asbestos exposure on cruise ships now have a path for compensation." The defense filed three motions to set aside the verdict and for a new trial and remittitur. Plaintiffs filed a motion to set aside the finding of comparative fault. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Travelers Stuck with $500MM Tab in Manville Case ----------------------------------------------------------------- Scott Flaherty, writing for The Litigation Daily, reported that 30 years after asbestos liability drove Johns-Manville Corp. into bankruptcy, related litigation involving Travelers Indemnity Co.'s obligations to asbestos claimants may finally be over. Or maybe not. Travelers can still try its luck at the U.S. Supreme Court after the company and its longtime counsel at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett failed to cast aside an appellate ruling that put the insurer on the hook for more than $500 million. The hefty insurance tab stems from asbestos claims against Manville, which was acquired by Berkshire Hathaway in 2001. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit refused to hold a full-court rehearing to reconsider a panel's July ruling that the insurer must honor settlement agreements from 2003 and 2004 related to Manville's asbestos liability. The rehearing denial is the latest twist in a case with a long and factious history. The dispute traces back to the mid-1980s, when Manville, a former leading manufacturer of asbestos-based products, sought Chapter 11 protection. A bankruptcy judge approved a reorganization plan in 1986 that set up a trust that Manville and its insurers -- including Travelers -- would fund, and through which asbestos claims against the company would be processed. Alleged victims later sued Travelers directly, claiming that the insurer had an independent duty to warn about the dangers of asbestos. Travelers settled those actions, agreeing in 2003 and 2004 to pay up to $445 million in three funds separate from the original Manville bankruptcy trust. Those direct action settlements were at the heart of the decision the Second Circuit panel issued in July. In 2012, U.S. District Judge John Koeltl in Manhattan had relieved Travelers from paying into the direct action settlement funds after finding that certain conditions in the agreements weren't met. But the Second Circuit reversed Koeltl, putting Travelers back on the hook for the $445 million plus $65 million in interest. The appeals court's decision came as part of a string of appellate victories for Bancroft PLLC's Paul Clement, who argued the appeal on behalf of settlement counsel for two groups of asbestos plaintiffs. It also marked a loss for Simpson Thacher, which has represented Travelers for more than 30 years, and for partner Barry Ostrager, who has long been intimately involved in the Manville dispute for Travelers. In an Aug. 5 petition for an en banc rehearing, Ostrager and his team wrote that the appellate panel "undermined the ability of parties to settle, and ordered appellees to pay over half a billion dollars in a closely watched case on the basis of patently flawed reasoning." Ostrager declined to comment on the Second Circuit's rejection of the rehearing petition. He also declined to say if Travelers is planning a further appeal. If Travelers does opt to seek Supreme Court review, it wouldn't be the first time Simpson Thacher turned to the high court to pursue the insurer's interests in the sprawling Manville litigation. The news agency said it reached out to Bancroft's Clement, but didn't immediately hear back. Joseph Rice of plaintiffs firm Motley Rice, which served a lead role in negotiating the largest of the three direct action settlements, applauded the Second Circuit's ruling in a statement. "Travelers now has to finally live up to its commitment and provide rightful compensation to asbestos victims who waited more than a decade for this to be settled and done with," Rice said. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Calif. School Fibro Test Results Expected Soon --------------------------------------------------------------- Nicole Knight Shine, writing for Huntington Beach Independent, reported that results of asbestos tests conducted in the Ocean View School District in California are expected to be made public in two to three weeks, a regional air quality official said. Investigators from the South Coast Air Quality Management District looked at whether asbestos clean-up was done properly and whether asbestos remains in tested schools, said Mohsen Nazemi, the AQMD's deputy executive officer for engineering and compliance The AQMD agreed to test for asbestos, in part, to allay parents' concerns, Nazemi explained. Three elementary schools -- Oak View, Lake View and Hope View -- were closed late last year after asbestos, a carcinogen, was discovered during modernization of 11 campuses. The discovery and resulting clean-up disrupted families as 1,600 students were bused to other campuses. And it created a looming $7.8 million budget shortfall that halted upgrades planned for one campus. Nazemi said AQMD investigators took more than 40 samples from the air and from various surfaces between September and December 2014. The analysis was confined to about a half-dozen of the 11 schools, where upgrades were taking place. The AQMD routinely deals with sites where renovations are underway, but Nazemi called its role with the school district atypical because the AQMD wouldn't ordinarily take indoor air samples in school asbestos clean-up projects. "We generally don't go back to make sure the clean-up is sufficient," Nazemi said. Nazemi said the report would be made available to the school district and to the public. In August, the AQMD cited a contractor working at Mesa View Middle School for removing roofing tiles that contained asbestos without using proper safeguards. Between October and November, six complaints related to Ocean View schools were filed with the California Department of Occupational Health and Safety. The complaints, which remain open, involve Golden View, Lake View, Harbor View and Hope View elementary schools and Marine View and Mesa View middle schools. A department spokesman said investigations into complaints can take up to six months. According to district documents, previous test results at Lake View showed airborne asbestos in two classrooms higher than levels set in the federal Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act, which regulates how much asbestos can be present in public buildings like schools. At Hope View, a sample taken in one classroom contained a single asbestos fiber. No air samples taken at Oak View were above the legal threshold, according to district documents. Tests at eight other schools showed no significant level of asbestos in the air, the district said. The spiraling cost of removing asbestos has dug the district into a multimillion-dollar budget hole. On Dec. 9, the Orange County Department of Education warned school district trustees that the cost of removing asbestos, coupled with the modernization project, had created a $7.8 million shortfall. Two days later, Ocean View trustees voted to delay asbestos removal and construction at Oak View, where work had not yet begun. They also agreed to finish asbestos removal and architectural design at Lake View but to delay modernization work there. Cleanup and construction at Hope View are well underway. Trustees are expected to review a revised work plan at a special meeting. When Hope View, Oak View and Lake View were built decades ago, asbestos was used as fireproofing on metal beams above the ceilings. Over time, asbestos dust began to fall from the beams and settle on classroom ceiling tiles, district records show. Undisturbed asbestos isn't harmful, but it can become a hazard when the dust becomes airborne. Inhaling high levels of asbestos over a long period can cause cancer and other lung disease, experts say. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Nutshell Pub Closed Due to Fibro Removal --------------------------------------------------------- Bury Free Press reported that the Nutshell pub in Bury St Edmunds, in England, has been closed while asbestos has been removed from the historic building. Specialist environmental company Forest Environmental has been removing the matierials uncovered during refurbishment at the pub which is said to be the smallest in Britain. The company's equipment worked on site to clean the building of the contaminant. A spokeswoman for Greene King which owns the pub in The Traverse said: "As is often the case with older buildings, asbestos had been used in parts of the pub. Independent surveyors have deemed there was no risk to customers, but as a precaution, the material is being removed and the pub temporarily closed while this work is safely carried out. Bury's most famous pub should be back to business as normal." The Nutshell was owned by the Stebbing family in the 19th century and at one time was billed as a Museum of Art and Curiosities. Visitors were offered a variety of attractions including ancient musical instruments, relics from the past wars and works of art in ivory and cardboard. It was also used early on as a fruiterers. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Fears at Apollo Bay Playground ----------------------------------------------------- 3AW.com reported that a playground on the foreshore at Apollo Bay, in Australia, has been cordoned off amid fears asbestos sheeting has been dumped there. A caller to 3AW Breakfast said she was playing with her children in the park on the foreshore when workers in biohazard suits arrived. Chris Webb from the EPA says material and soil from the site has been sent for testing. "It will take a couple of days," Mr Webb said. "In the meantime, it's best for the area to be cordoned off as a precaution. "We take this quite seriously." ASBESTOS UPDATE: Court Awards Summary Judgment to Foster Wheeler ---------------------------------------------------------------- HarrisMartin Publishing reported that a South Carolina federal court has awarded summary judgment to Foster Wheeler in an asbestos exposure suit, saying that the plaintiffs had failed to prove that the decedent was exposed to asbestos in the defendant's boilers. In the Dec. 29 opinion, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina wrote that the plaintiffs had failed to establish any exposure to asbestos in Foster Wheeler's products, never mind with the requisite frequency and regularity as required by state law. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Ill. Appellate Ct. Upholds Fibro Defense Verdict ----------------------------------------------------------------- Legal Newsline reported that Fourth District appellate judges in Illinois affirmed a verdict for insulation distributor Sprinkmann Sons on Dec. 16, finding McLean County jurors could have regarded the position of asbestos plaintiff expert as unreasonable. The appellate court held that Presiding Judge Rebecca Foley correctly denied a motion to direct a verdict for plaintiff Carol Holloway on the strength of testimony provided by Arthur Frank of Drexel University. Sprinkmann Sons delivered insulation to a Eureka vacuum cleaner factory in Bloomington from 1962 to 1976, when Holloway worked there. Sprinkmann Sons dissolved in 2003. Plaintiffs attorney Lisa Corwin of Bloomington sued the remnant business in 2007, claiming fibers from insulation on pipes caused Holloway to develop asbestosis. Foley brought the case to trial in 2013, and Frank testified first. He identified himself as head of the environmental and occupational health department at Drexel and had researched the effects of asbestos on respiratory tissue for 45 years. "To get the disease asbestosis you need to cross this threshold of a certain amount of exposure," he said. He said he couldn't really tell how much exposure that would be. "Nobody really knows the dose but everybody agrees that it takes relatively a lot of asbestos to give you asbestosis," he said. Corwin asked why some people get sick and some don't if all are exposed. "In fact we are all exposed. Asbestos is a naturally occurring material," he said. "If you walk on the streets outside, we are all going to have a little exposure. "All of us have very low levels and have therefore a very low risk of getting disease but not zero and we don't really know why." Corwin asked if there was a scientific way to pinpoint a day, a product, or an event that caused exposure. Frank said, "No. What one has to say is that the cumulative exposure, the totality of all the exposures gave somebody disease." Former workers at the vacuum cleaner factory workers testified for Holloway. No one testified for Sprinkmann Sons. Corwin moved for a directed verdict on causation, and Foley denied the motion. Jurors found in favor of Sprinkmann Sons, and Corwin moved for a new trial. Foley denied it, and Corwin appealed to the Fourth District. Corwin wrote that Holloway testified that she worked all over the plant, but Fourth District judges didn't read her testimony that way. Justice Thomas Appleton wrote, "She testified that, throughout her 14 years of employment at Eureka, she was in all different parts of the plant for one reason or another, but that is not quite the same as saying she worked all over the plant." He wrote that the plant was a conglomeration of separate buildings, "and it is unclear how asbestos fibers could be blown from one building to another." He wrote that exposure to asbestos dust was theoretically possible, "but one can only speculate whether these exposures were frequent or intensive enough to cause or significantly contribute to her asbestosis." "Frank seemed to say that trivial, occasional exposures to asbestos dust would not be enough: a threshold of exposure had to be crossed. "And that could be exactly what the jury found to be unproven: the crossing of the threshold." Appleton found no evidence that Holloway was present in the same building as any repair work on insulation. He wrote that witnesses testified that insulation was wrapped in canvas or some other protective cover. "He (Frank) never opined that the pipe covering in the Eureka plant actually had caused plaintiff's asbestosis," he wrote. "On the one hand, he testified it took relatively a lot of asbestos to give you asbestosis, and he was unable to say how much 'relatively a lot' was. "On the other hand, he testified that when someone had asbestosis, each and every exposure to any asbestos product had to be regarded as a cause. "That seems to mean that if someone, by exposure to an undisturbed asbestos product, breathed no greater quantity of asbestos fibers than the person would have breathed in a pure state of nature, say, when hiking in the mountains, that product nevertheless must be regarded as one of the causes of the person's asbestosis. "The jury could have regarded that position as unreasonable while, at the same time, being confused by the paradox that a threshold of exposure, 'relatively a lot,' had to be crossed." He wrote that all plaintiff offered in the trial was speculation. Justices James Knecht and John Turner concurred. Kathy Molchin of Mapleton, Ill. represented Sprinkmann Sons. The Fourth District Appellate Court in recent years has wiped out a string of multimillion-dollar asbestos jury verdicts brought on conspiracy claims. Most recently, the court reversed a $17.8 million verdict in 2012, holding that the plaintiff did not present sufficient evidence to prove that Honeywell International and Pneumo-Abex conspired with other corporations to suppress the health hazards of asbestos exposure. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Killed Former Derbyshire Cabinet Maker ------------------------------------------------------------- Derby Telegraph reported that a verdict of death by industrial disease has been recorded on a man who spent decades at workplaces containing asbestos. Graham Bancroft, of Keele Drive, Church Gresley, was a cabinet maker, carpenter and joiner, both in the UK and in South Africa, during his working life, and it is thought he was exposed to asbestos several times over the years. He developed mesothelioma as a result of his exposure, and lost his fight against the disease last September. He was 69. Andrew Haigh, coroner for South Staffordshire, recorded a verdict of death by industrial disease, following a hearing at Burton Town Hall. He told the inquest: "Graham was only 69 when he died, which nowadays is a young age to die. "In 2012 he developed mesothelioma in his abdomen, which is nearly always asbestos related. "He has undergone treatment for his mesothelioma, including surgery, and he had a number of hospital admissions. "With the diagnoses that Graham had, the prognosis was probably poor in any event, because mesothelioma is a horrible condition." ASBESTOS UPDATE: Pa. Jurors Enter Defense Verdict for Crane Co. --------------------------------------------------------------- HarrisMartin Publishing reported that a Pennsylvania jury has reached a defense verdict for Crane Co. in an U.S. Naval asbestos exposure suit, rejecting the plaintiff's claims that exposure to asbestos-containing gaskets, packing and insulation used in connection with the defendant's valves caused the decedent to develop mesothelioma. The Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas for Philadelphia County jury deliberated for approximately one hour before returning a defense verdict for the lone remaining defendant in the action, Crane Co. Judge Lisette Shirdan-Harris presided over the trial. The plaintiffs asserted the claims on behalf of Robert Hicks. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Miss. Court Enters Judgment in Oilfield Suit ------------------------------------------------------------- HarrisMartin Publishing reported that a Mississippi state court recently entered judgment against Union Carbide in an asbestos- related oilfield exposure suit, finalizing a $2.5 million verdict entered late last year. Judge Lamar Pickard of the Mississippi Circuit Court for Jefferson County presided over the trial. Sources told HarrisMartin that while the verdict was reached on Oct. 7, the trial court entered judgment in the matter on Jan. 5. Union Carbide was the lone remaining defendant at the time of the verdict. The plaintiffs contended that Charlie Stampley was exposed to asbestos in Union Carbide's Super Visbestos while he was an employee. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Bristol Mum to Sue Hospital for Fibro Exposure --------------------------------------------------------------- Sophie Prideaux, writing for The Bristol Post, reported that a Bristol, England, mother dying of lung cancer is suing a London hospital after being exposed to asbestos while working there as a laundry operative. Catherine Elliott, from Pucklechurch, is seeking damages from the Royal Hospital Chelsea and the Ministry of Defence, which owns it, after she says her short stint working in the care home's laundry rooms caused her to develop mesothelioma. The 56-year-old gave evidence at a hearing at the Bristol Conference Centre in Shirehampton. Her evidence was brought forward ahead of the trial, due to take place on March 30 at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as it is thought Mrs Elliott will be too unwell to take to the stand by then. In November 2013, the mother-of- two was finally diagnosed with mesothelioma through exposure to asbestos after years of complaining to GPs that something was wrong. After diagnosis, along with her family Mrs Elliott tried to recall a time in her life when she may have been in close proximity with asbestos. In 1981 and 1982, Mrs Elliott worked in the laundry room for the care home, which houses British soldiers who are unfit for duty through injury or old age. During the evidence hearing, Mrs Elliott recalled that the laundry rooms at the hospital were a "myriad of pipes wherever you looked". She said: "It's incredible now, when I think about it. They were a brown colour. They were quite big and covered in almost like a skin material, like tight skin. I remember touching and feeling them as I'd never seen them before." Gabriel Beeby, appearing on behalf of the Royal Hospital Chelsea and the Ministry of Defence, said Mrs Elliott's recollection of the buildings might not be accurate after 30 years. But she said the job was the first time she had worked in a factory environment and the building's "history" and "characters" had stuck in her mind. Mrs Elliott said: "I was mesmerised by these people. The buildings and architecture. "It was a period of my life I well remember: a whole new world really." Mr Beeby also said it was claimed in a statement from Mrs Elliott's solicitors that she was exposed to asbestos in other ways, including from lagging, pinning on machines and sweeping up dust. Representatives for Gloucestershire County Council also attended the hearing, as Mrs Elliott mentioned in her witness statement that when she attended Grange School as a teenage girl in 1969, a boys school was being built in close proximity, which caused a lot of dust on site. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Payout Came Too Late for Fibro Victim ------------------------------------------------------ Chantelle Benjamin, writing for Mail & Guardian, reported that a former supervisor at a Richard's Bay chemical plant, in South Africa, Charlie Bruwer, died just two weeks after his successful December high court application to receive workers' compensation for asbestos-related cancer. Bruwer contracted mesothelioma -- cancer of the lining of the lung -- after working at the plant between 1976 and 2002. Part of his job involved overseeing the repair and replacement of gas lines, which were lined with asbestos insulation. Compensation came too late for Bruwer (72), a state pensioner who could not afford the medical care he needed, which included morphine patches that would have provided more effective pain relief. He died knowing that his wife, Alvera Bruwer (68), would not be left destitute. His stepson, Julian Fouche, believes Bruwer hung on to life just long enough to ensure that his wife was taken care of financially, despite medical experts predicting that he would be lucky to make it to the end of 2014. "Not knowing if his claim would be approved was a massive stress for him during his illness. She was his childhood sweetheart and all they had was their house in Gansbaai," he said. Human rights attorney Richard Spoor, who was part of the legal team that represented Bruwer, said many workers with mesothelioma die before their claims are approved because of delays in processing them at the department of labour's compensation fund. This makes a difference to the amount of money received by the relatives of claimants in terms of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, he said in his court submission. If the applicant dies before the claim is approved, their widow or relatives are required to launch a new claim with the compensation commissioner, which includes a formal postmortem report proving that the deceased died of mesothelioma. Spoor told the court the relatives are also not entitled to receive back payments of the claimant's pension -- that would have been calculated from the date of diagnosis if the claimant was still alive at the time the claim was approved. Court documents estimate that, in Bruwer's case, compensation would be R20 780 a month from the date of diagnosis. This would amount to more than R300 000 for the 15 months since his diagnosis. Spoor told the Mail & Guardian: "It is well known that most people with mesothelioma can expect to live about 13 months after diagnosis, so it's essential that their claims are processed quickly to afford them some quality of life before they die and to take some of the burden off their families. "Bruwer had a constitutional right to dignity and to prompt and fair administration, which was denied to him." The compensation fund has been plagued for many years by complaints of delays, failure to pay billions of rands in claims, audit queries and financial misconduct. Complaints of inefficiency led to an investigation by public protector Thuli Madonsela in 2010. She made a number of recommendations on how to improve the fund's performance. Probe halted In 2013 there was an unsuccessful attempt by the then director general of labour, Nkosinathi Nhleko, now minister of police, to suspend the compensation commissioner, Shadrack Mkhonto. The probe was halted by Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant, who said at the time that there was an ongoing investigation into the fund. In October last year the compensation fund received its second consecutive audit disclaimer from the auditor general's office, meaning that the office was unable to rely on the financial information supplied. The office found irregular spending of R139- million and underspending of R3.5-billion. The compensation fund has not delivered unqualified audits over the past few years, which means the auditor-general's office has continuously raised concerns about aspects of its financial statements. Bruwer, whose state pension and two retirement annuities would lapse on his death, knew his wife would not be able to survive on her state pension. They had been living on R2 797 a month at the time of his death. The department of labour and the compensation commission agreed on December 22 to approve Bruwer's claim, despite being given until January 16 this year to decide how they wished to respond to a Pretoria high court order by Judge Neil Tuchten, who found in Bruwer's favour. Bruwer's effort to get his claim approved had been a rollercoaster ride, starting with his diagnosis in September 2013, as documents submitted to the high court reveal. He had the support of his former company, Foskor, which bought the Richard's Bay chemical company where he had been employed, and submitted his claim on his behalf in October 2013. The application included a site report confirming that there was asbestos at the sulphuric acid and fertiliser plant, and detailed reports by medical experts diagnosing fatal mesothelioma in Bruwer. In March last year, a nurse employed at Foskor called the commission to check on the status of the application and was told to resubmit all the documentation relating to Bruwer's case. Six months later, after hearing nothing further about the claim, she went in person to the Richard's Bay labour centre where she was told the claim had been approved and Bruwer had been awarded 100% compensation. All that was needed were his banking details, which were supplied the same day. Claim passed on But the celebration was short-lived. A month later the money had still not been deposited into his account, and a further query by the nurse saw the claim being passed from the local Richard's Bay centre to the compensation fund. In November a candidate attorney, concerned about Bruwer's deteriorating condition, called the compensation fund call centre. He was told the claim had not yet been approved and it would take six to eight weeks to finalise. On December 1, the attorney was told by a call centre employee that a new system had been implemented and the claim could now take up to 16 weeks. Spoor then faxed a letter to the director general of the department of labour and the compensation commissioner, giving them seven days to approve Bruwer's claim or the matter would be taken to the high court. Spoor described Bruwer as a wonderful man "who never once complained about his condition". According to Fouche, just two weeks before Bruwer died he had attended a fundraising drive for a hospice. "Obviously he could only sit, but he gave his support," Fouche said. "He was a good man who was loved by his community and was thanked by hospice for his efforts to assist them." Bruwer said in his court application: "During those days there was no general appreciation of the dangers posed by the asbestos and respiratory equipment was not worn." Asbestos expert Jim te Water Naud‚, the manager of the Asbestos Relief Trust in Cape Town, said in his notes that mesothelioma has a long latency period and "typically manifests between 20 and 50 years after exposure to asbestos". The compensation commissioner, who administers the fund, was unable to respond immediately this week at the time of going to print to questions about why it took so long to process Bruwer's application and that of other claimants. In a report to Parliament in September last year, the compensation fund said it had implemented a turn-around strategy, which included a new management system, which went live in August to improve performance and supply chain management. It had also recovered over R84-million of the R518-million lost to financial mismanagement in the 2013 to 2014 financial year. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Claimants Denied Class Cert. in Suit ----------------------------------------------------------- Caroline Simson, writing for Law360, reported that a federal judge declined to certify a class of nearly 16,000 South Carolina residents who had sued their attorneys for allegedly mishandling their asbestos claims, saying that the issue of whether the individual claimants had viable workers' compensation claims trumped any issues common to the class. U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr. found that resolving the common issues of the class -- specifically, whether their attorneys neglected to advise the plaintiffs to take steps to protect their potential workers' compensation claims, prior to agreeing to target third-party asbestos manufacturers in litigation helmed by those attorneys -- wouldn't get them significantly closer to finding redress. Ultimately, the core issue under which the plaintiffs could recover would depend on whether they had a viable workers' compensation claim against their former employer, the judge concluded. "To use the vernacular, to allow this case to proceed as a class action for certain simple and relatively straightforward common threshold issues would be to allow the tail to wag the dog," Judge Anderson said. "The prospect of litigating, in one case, nearly 16,000 claims of workers' compensation disability issues, as well as damages, with only minimal advantage gained from the resolution of the threshold common issues, leads this court to conclude ... that the 'likely difficulties in managing a class action' render the class action device inferior to other available methods in this case." The purported class had proposed a trifurcated trial plan, under which an initial phase would have been used to prove the common issues, a second phase that would have been used to decide the compensatory damages to be awarded in the legal malpractice action, and a third phase that would have consisted of individual proximate cause and damages trials for class members, before separate juries. The plaintiffs' complaint had alleged that the defendant attorneys misled them into entering representation agreements to pursue claims against various asbestos manufacturer defendants, and didn't tell them that they could proceed separately against workers' compensation defendants. Specifically, the suit claims that the attorneys didn't tell their clients that under South Carolina law they could either proceed solely with a claim against the asbestos trusts, proceed solely with a workers' compensation claim or proceed with both claims simultaneously. Instead, the defendants used uniform documents with minimal disclosures regarding workers' compensation, and used only paralegals to sign retainer agreements with asbestos tort claimants en masse, allegedly breaching the duty owed to the plaintiffs. By pursuing the claims against the manufacturers without providing notice or obtaining a waiver from their employers, their entitlement to worker's compensation benefits was extinguished, according to the suit. Judge Anderson agreed that whether the attorneys had misled class members was a common issue, and in fact found that the purported class met the requirements for class certification under commonality, typicality and predominance. But ultimately, the significance of the phase one trial would be overwhelmed by the later evidence produced in subsequent trials, he said. And answering the question of whether individual workers had a viable workers' compensation claim would involve a "fact- intensive" inquiry on their individual medical history, allegedly lost wages and other issues. The July 2011 complaint included claims for legal professional negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract against the original attorneys, Richard H. Bishoff and John M. Deakle, who represented the nearly 16,000 plaintiffs in the original suit. The plaintiffs' underlying litigation, in which they were represented by the attorney defendants, alleged that they were injured after being exposed to asbestos during their employment at various manufacturing plants in South Carolina. The original complaint was filed only against Bishoff and Deakle, but later added numerous Mississippi attorneys as defendants. Those attorneys were added after the plaintiffs discovered that Bishoff and Deakle had associated many of their Mississippi colleagues as co-counsel, even though the plaintiffs had never met any of those Mississippi attorneys, according to the opinion. The opinion noted that most of the plaintiffs have settled their original tort claims. The plaintiffs are represented by Thomas A. Pendarvis of Pendarvis Law Offices PC; Chad A. McGowan, Susan F. Campbell and S. Randall Hood of McGowan Hood & Felder LLC; Brent P. Stewart of Stewart Law Offices LLC; and Ann M. Mickle and J. Alan Bass of Mickle & Bass. The defendants are represented by Richardson Plowden and Robinson PA, McGowan Hood and Felder LLC and Williams & Connolly LLP, among others. The case is Southern v. Asbestos Processing LLC et al, case number 0:11-cv-01800, in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Maryland Firm Wants Malpractice Claims Nixed ------------------------------------------------------------- Aebra Coe, writing for Law360, reported that Maryland law firm Brown & Gould LLP and founding partner Daniel A. Brown told a D.C. federal court a former client's legal malpractice suit over their handling of her toxic tort litigation is both time-barred and "flatly contrary" to the principals behind the judgment immunity rule. In a motion for summary judgment, the firm said Nieves Rocha's claim that her asbestos-related suit should have been filed not in D.C., but in Maryland, where a longer statute of limitations may have meant a win, doesn't stick. The jurisdictional choice was the best option at the time and the loss is merely a reflection of the court's interpretation of a then-unsettled area of law, the firm said. "It is flatly contrary to the principals behind the judgment immunity rule to suggest that a malpractice claim can be premised on a dispute over the 'better' of an array of available jurisdictional options, each with its own pros and cons to be assessed," Brown & Gould said. "That is all this case is about." Rocha accused the firm of malpractice after her claims -- related to her husband's mesothelioma death allegedly caused by exposure to asbestos during his work as a carpenter -- were dismissed as time-barred by a D.C. superior court. Brown & Gould said the widow first approached them about filing the suit the same day the statute of limitations was set to expire in D.C. Rocha was unable to offer any evidence of work her husband had done in Maryland, which had a longer statute of limitations, they said. The pertinent D.C. caselaw on statutes of limitation was unsettled at the time, and Brown believed an outward expansion of the time limit was possible given the "legislative intent" of the recently enacted laws, the attorney said. He said he filed the same day Rocha visited him, but the judge disagreed with his assessment of the legislature's intent. The judgment immunity rule bars a "hindsight-based" attack on a lawyer's informed exercise of professional judgment, the law firm's summary judgment motion said, and deciding where to sue "lies at the heart" of an attorney's exercise of protected, professional judgment. "Such a decision involves the weighing of multiple factual and legal factors and, in this case, the assessment of unsettled questions of law," the motion said. "Despite an attorney's best judgment, few cases, if any, can produce an assured or guaranteed result -- something the standard of care does not require." Even with the benefit of hindsight, it is still not a clear mistake to have sued in D.C. rather than Maryland, the firm said, despite claims the carpenter's work in the "D.C. area" could likely have meant Maryland, there was no solid evidence to prove that. The motion for summary judgment also argues that Rocha's malpractice suit is barred by the statute of limitations because she filed in June 2014, more than three years after her case was dismissed in D.C. superior court in January 2011. The firm filed an appeal on behalf of the client later that year, but says because there was a period of time in between during which they were negotiating a new contract for services the continuity of representation was broken, which they say caused the clock on the statute of limitations to begin ticking in January. "We have believed from the outset that this is a completely frivolous claim," counsel for Brown & Gould, J. Jonathan Schraub, told Law360. A request for comment to plaintiff's counsel was not immediately returned. Brown & Gould is represented by Michael T. Marr and J. Jonathan Schraub of Sands Anderson PC. Rocha is represented by Peter Tyler Enslein of the Law Offices of Peter Tyler Enslein PC. The case is Rochas v. Brown & Gould LLP et al., case number 1:14- cv-01136, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. ASBESTOS UPDATE: NYC Judge Denies Efforts to Stay Decision ---------------------------------------------------------- HarrisMartin Publishing reported that the New York trial judge overseeing the city's coordinated asbestos docket has denied defense efforts to indefinitely stay its decision reinstating punitive damages, saying doing so would effectively revoke the court's prior order. In the Dec. 15 order, Judge Sherry Klein Heitler of the New York Supreme Court for New York County opined that in light of the fact that the state's public policy permits punitive damages, it would be inappropriate to impose an "open ended stay" on the ruling. Justice Heitler issued the contested order in April 2014. ASBESTOS UPDATE: NSW to Appoint More Mr. Fluffy Inspectors ---------------------------------------------------------- ABC News reported that checks for Mr Fluffy loose-fill asbestos insulation in New South Wales houses will be increased after a surge in requests. Registrations for asbestos checks rose by 50 per cent over the past month to more than 2,600 after a new website and hotline opened. Concerned residents feared potentially deadly loose-fill asbestos could have been installed in their roof spaces during the 1960s and 1970s by the Canberra-based Mr Fluffy company. Breathing in asbestos fibres can cause the lung cancer mesothelioma. The ACT Government has begun a buyback and demolition scheme for affected houses, and the NSW Government will follow with a similar scheme. However authorities are still trying to determine exactly how many NSW houses had the insulation installed. Most of the affected NSW properties have been uncovered in Queanbeyan, in the electorate of Monaro, where asbestos contamination is firming as a key state election issue. Inspections are voluntary and there are currently 11 licensed inspection companies are working across 26 NSW council areas. Peter Dunphy from the NSW Heads of Asbestos Coordination Authorities said extra assessors would be selected to speed up the testing process. "We've had a huge response to the new contact system," he said. "Previously we were given people the WorkCover number, 13 10 50, but now we're using Service NSW's 13 77 88 and that's provided 24- hour coverage." Mr Dunphy also said a website had been setup for people to register or get more information about loose-fill asbestos. Mr Fluffy testing should be mandatory in Queanbeyan: Action group Brianna Heseltine from the Fluffy Owners and Residents Action Group told the ABC's AM program, the 57 Mr Fluffy properties identified so far in NSW were just the beginning. "We absolutely want to see a mandatory asbestos assessment survey rolled out around Queanbeyan," she said. "We think that that will be the epicentre of the Mr Fluffy disaster trail in NSW, and it's simply not right for people to live in a home that could be a ticking time bomb." Queanbeyan Mr Fluffy owner Petra Wiesner has been paying a mortgage on a house she can not live in because of health concerns. She warned the response to the asbestos crisis had become a key issue in a marginal NSW seat. "It's a health and a financial burden for the whole community," Ms Wiesner said. The politicians who talk and say the right things, they're certainly going to be much more respected than those that don't, but at the end of the day it's those that put it into action who are going to win the hearts and the minds of people who are affected by this issue." But sitting Nationals MP John Barilaro has denied it is an election issue. "It's something that regardless of what happens after the 28th March, we have started the journey in making sure that we get rid of this issue once and for all in our community," he said. "It's the right thing to do, it's been put in the too-hard basket for far too long by governments, and governments need to take responsibility in dealing with this issue." In the latest round of testing 477 NSW homes were checked, but none has returned a positive reading for loose-fill asbestos. Mr Dunphy said the testing process so far has been a major logistical exercise. "Obviously it is a difficult time for assessors to access properties with people on holiday at the moment," he said. "We do want to get those results as quickly as possible so we are increasing the number of people who will be testing." The figures are being monitored to determine if the current spike in testing requests continues. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Knowsley Man Wins Fibro Payout From Shell ---------------------------------------------------------- Joshua Taylor, writing for Liverpool Echo, reported that a dad-of- two won compensation from oil giant Shell after being exposed to asbestos dust on a North Sea rig more than 40 years ago. Bill Jones, 68, from Knowsley Village, England, launched a lawsuit last year after being diagnosed with a serious lung condition that left him in daily need of an oxygen pack. Shell UK denied responsibility, but the ECHO understands the company has now paid out a five-figure sum in a landmark case. Mr Jones said: "The case itself has gone on for a few years and it didn't help that Shell took a long time to present evidence. "It took a few days for it to sink in that this is the end of a long journey and it seems so strange that the ending has come so suddenly. "Any financial settlement had become irrelevant, it was the principle of my case -- seeing justice -- that was most important to me. "I now hope people who have read my story and are in a similar situation can get the help and support they need." Mr Jones worked on a Shell oil rig off the Norfolk-Suffolk coast from 1969 to 1971. He later started his own consultancy firm. Mr Jones began suffering severe breathlessness after retirement and was diagnosed with diffuse pleural thickening in November 2010 -- an incurable illness caused when asbestos fibres become embedded in the lining of the lungs. He believes he inhaled the toxic dust while emptying sacks of Flosal, a powdered chemical later banned because it contained asbestos, as part of his duties on the rig. Mr Jones's compensation bid was successful after an appeal in the Sunday ECHO last year led to his former colleagues coming forward to provide accounts of Flosal use on the rigs. Catherine Higgins, from Liverpool-based Catherine Higgins Law, the firm that helped Mr Jones with his lawsuit, said: "We had to overcome some technical legal challenges to establish that Shell was negligent or in breach of statutory duty. "For us lawyers, there were also the practical challenges of understanding the complex workings of the drilling rigs in the late 60s and early 70s -- a time when the industry was in its infancy. "Bill obtained some Shell handbooks from the relevant years, which provided valuable background information. "Bill also carried out his own research and helped to locate former colleagues." She continued: "One of the reasons why the case was such a challenge is that it appears to be the first case of its kind in this country -- where a rig worker has sued an employer for exposure to asbestos on the North Sea rigs. "We believe that Bill's case is a first in England and Wales." Mr Jones's case could return to court if his condition deteriorates. Shell said it would not make any comment on the case. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Kenbi Land Claim Help Up by $32MM Clean-up Bill ---------------------------------------------------------------- Nadia Daly and James Dunlevie, writing for ABC News, reported that Australia's oldest unresolved Aboriginal land rights claim is facing a huge asbestos problem which the Government says will cost almost $32 million to clean up. The Kenbi land claim was lodged in 1979 and 36 years later has still not been fully resolved. The claim covers the Cox Peninsula, west of Darwin, which had been used by the Commonwealth Government for over 70 years for communications and defence purposes during WWII, with a lighthouse and other government buildings spread over 4,750 hectares of land. A report by the Department of Finance submitted stated that buildings and their surrounding areas on the land are harbouring dangerous levels of asbestos, pesticides, heavy metals and other toxic pollutants, which "pose a significant risk to human health" and represent a "liability for the Commonwealth". The area has also been used as a dump for decades, with building debris from Cyclone Tracy in 1974 being offloaded there. Indigenous elder Tibby Quall, who lives near the Cox Peninsula, said he had never been told by the government or the Northern Land Council (NLC) that the land was polluted. "The Land Council has never said . . . there is asbestos and it's polluted," he said. "It's very sacred to us in this area. It's our land, our mother's land." Both the Government and the NLC, which represents traditional owners, said they had consulted "key stakeholder groups" about the health risks. Tibby's daughter, Sherana Quall, who lives in the area, said the news of the asbestos was deeply troubling. "It's terrible because you can see the wind will pick up the soil, the wind will pick up the dust," she said. "It'll carry into the community. If it's in the soils, it's going into the waters." $32 million to store hazards on site The department asked the Parliamentary Public Works Committee to approve $31.8 million to store pollutants on site in "containment cells" rather than moved off site to be disposed of. This represented a "significantly cheaper option" and would also provide employment for the local Indigenous population who could be involved in the clean-up, the department said. A previous remediation project began in 2010, but was aborted after it ran over time and over budget. As a result, some of the hazardous materials were placed in storage bags and put in some of the disused government buildings as a temporary measure. Speaking in Parliament, Michael McCormack, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance, said the project "will address the risk of contamination to local bore water which supplies the local population", which the report notes is the "only drinking water supply to the population of the Wagait township, the largest permanent community on the Peninsula". "Once concluded, the project will enable the land to be transferred to the traditional owners," Mr McCormack said. But the NLC said the clean-up should not stop the claim and the Government should hand the land back to the traditional owners first before negotiating a contract to deal with the hazards. "We're saying to the Government there's other ways of doing it. Hand the land back, do the land claim, and we can lease it back to the Commonwealth," deputy chairman John Daly said. Sherana Quall said the land at Cox Peninsula held a deep significance for her and she wanted to see the pollution dealt with correctly. "It's where my ancestors come from. It's where my family are from. This place to me is like home. I've worked and travelled all around Australia, studied down south. This place is just my home. "I think I'll probably want to die here". Tibby Quall, too, wants to remain on the land and looks forward to building a future there once the land claim is settled. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Prosecutor in Dust-up Over Fibro Threat -------------------------------------------------------- Bill Dolan, writing for NWI.com, reported that like the sands of time, dust regularly falls on offices of the prosecutor in Lake County, Indiana, who hopes it isn't laced with asbestos. "A number of our employees have been complaining about sinus problems and are very concerned," Prosecutor Bernard Carter said. Forty-year-old asbestos fireproofing hangs above the heads of more than 40 of his deputy prosecutors and clerical support staff along with countless visitors. He notes with irony the asbestos has been removed in the county jail, but not where his staff works. County Commissioner Gerry Scheub, D-Crown Point, said, "Unfortunately, there still is asbestos in the buildings, but as long as its not disturbed, it's not hurting anybody." Commissioners oversee county building maintenance. Nevertheless, Carter said he and his employees presented the Board of Commissioners with a petition to address the problem when they were dramatically reminded of it two months ago following a water line that burst in their office, spraying their law library and evidence closet with sewage. "The workmen who came in were all taped and dressed up like they were going into space. Our employees were walking around unprotected and wondering what they were being exposed to," Carter said. Scheub said, "Anytime anybody complains about air quality, we take that very seriously." He said commissioners ordered Rober Rehder, superintendent of county government buildings, to hire a firm to test the air quality. "He told commissioners they found nothing detrimental to anybody's health." Barb McConnell, one of Carter's chief deputies, said, "Testing hasn't been done in this office for years. We have had to tape plastic up in our victim-witness office so the stuff won't fall on their desks. When there is movement upstairs, you can't tell me that doesn't disturb it." It's no better for much of the floor above Carter's office. Public Defender David Schneider said asbestos is above the heads of his staff. Senior Lake Criminal Court Judge Salvador Vasquez said three of the four original courtrooms there still have it. "So far, no one has gotten sick. We haven't held a discussion about it, because out of sight, out of mind." Asbestos is a mineral fiber with heat-insulating and fire- resistance properties that was commercially sprayed into buildings until the mid 1970s, when it was linked to lung cancer in persons who inhaled large amounts. It was present in all three original buildings of the county government center when they opened four decades ago. A federal court mandate prompted county officials to remove it from the jail in the late 1980s. The state held the county in violation of occupational safety laws in 1990 after material was found on office floors in the courts building. Commissioners posted warnings that year forbidding employees from removing any drop-ceiling tiles except in a dire emergency. Commissioners spent $12 million between 1993 and 2006 removing asbestos from public and office areas, but the program was halted short of the mark because of cost overruns that occurred when money was diverted to new carpeting, lighting fixtures and other non-asbestos spending. There are no plans to address asbestos with any of the $12 million the county has just borrowed to address county government building maintenance, Commissioner Mike Repay, D-Hammond, said but he said commissioners need a professional assessment of where asbestos remains, so it can be dealt with in future rehabilitation projects. ASBESTOS UPDATE: 2014 Fibro Filings in Madison Cty Down From 2013 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Ann Maher, writing for Legal Newsline, reported that Madison County, Ill., asbestos filings in 2014 were down from the previous record-setting year by approximately 20 percent. In all, there were 1,300 cases filed in 2014, compared to 1,678 in 2013. While the number of new cases over the previous year are down, Madison County's docket has doubled in the last four years and tripled in the last seven. Filings in 2013 were remarkable for a wave of lung cancer claims, new cases in 2014 were dominated by mesothelioma claims. Out-of-state claimants continue to make up the vast majority of cases. Only 109 of the 1,300 2014 claimants reside in Illinois, or less than nine percent. Only 12 of the 109 Illinoisans reside in Madison County, or less than 1 percent. Fifteen firms or attorneys filed asbestos cases in 2014, but the Simmons firm of Alton filed the most with 29 percent of the total. More detail about the 1,300 cases: Disease -Mesothelioma cases: 76 percent, or 988; -Lung cancer cases: 23 percent, or 294; and -Other: 1 percent, or 18. Firms and cases -Simmons: 29 percent, or 379; -Gori: 19.5 percent, or 254; -Maune Raichle: 15.5 percent, or 202; -Napoli: 10.1 percent, or 132; -SWMK: 7.3 percent, or 95; -Shrader: 6.5 percent, or 85; -Flint: 5.4 percent, or 71; -O'Brien: 1.6 percent, or 21; -Richardson Patrick: 1.4 percent, or 19; -Goldenberg: 1.2 percent, or 16; and -Schoen: 0.9 percent, or 12; The remaining one percent were filed by Perica (six); Gori and Lanier (four); Bilbrey (one); and others (three) not immediately known as docket entries were unavailable at Madison County courthouse public access computers. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Remnants Being Removed From NZ School ------------------------------------------------------------ The Press reported that contractors are removing asbestos "crumbs" found in the remains of buildings in Aranui High School, in New Zealand, demolished about four years ago. Three buildings demolished at the school in 2010 as part of scheduled upgrades were removed but "some crumbs of materials remained buried and undisturbed", Ministry of Education head of education infrastructure Rob Campbell said. Surface materials were removed and the area isolated and the ministry engaged an expert consultant to investigate how to remove buried fragments. The removal would be done before school reopened this year, he said. "We have been advised that the risk to students or staff is minimal, as the materials which contained asbestos was buried undisturbed under the soil." Strict processes for managing asbestos would be carried out during any development, Campbell said. Aranui High and community campus establishment board chairwoman Haneta Pierce said plans initially involved moving the original Maori whare from the high school onto the new site. "Because of the asbestos, we can't do that," she said. Aranui High principal John Rohs said the whare had a lot of cultural significance for the community and had been on the grounds for more than 30 years. It had "a lot of asbestos in it which took us by surprise", he said. Original plans were to gift it to the new campus and Rohs was "deeply disappointed" it was no longer feasible. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Discovery at Centre Prompts Inspections -------------------------------------------------------------- CBC News reported that the City of Saskatoon, in Canada, says it appears protocols to report, remove or shield asbestos found at worksites were not followed during renovations at the Cosmo Civic Centre. The city says it has filed a dangerous occurrence report after materials containing asbestos were found on the building's mechanical room floor. The building's heating and cooling systems in the room have been under renovation since last May. Once the asbestos-containing materials were spotted in December, the city says it sealed the room off and provided support and health information for its employees. It also says it tested the mechanical room's air quality and found its ratio of fibres to cubic centimetres was 200 times better than permissible levels. Then, the area was cleared by a certified contractor. Following the incident, the city says it's ramping up its Asbestos Management Program. Of 55 buildings in total, there are still six buildings that need inspection for asbestos. It's now adding hazard signs to the six remaining buildings, and scheduling formal inspections. It says the Cosmo Civic Centre and other city buildings are safe to visit. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Pfizer Dodges Fibro Suit Over Unit's Products -------------------------------------------------------------- Sindhu Sundar, writing for Law360, reported that Pfizer Inc. persuaded a federal judge in Washington state to dismiss a wrongful death suit brought against it by the estate of a man who died of mesothelioma allegedly caused by his exposure to asbestos- containing products made by a bankrupt former unit. U.S. District Judge Robert Bryan granted Pfizer's motion for summary judgment and dismissed the suit by the estate of James Olson, who allegedly developed mesothelioma through exposure to Insulag, an asbestos-containing insulation product made by its bankrupt former subsidiary Quigley Co. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Fears Shut Dutch Town After Fire ------------------------------------------------------- NL Times reported that residents living near a paint and wallpaper warehouse in Wateringen, Zuid-Holland are advised to stay indoors after the warehouse burnt down. Residents of two hundred houses were advised not to go to school or work because of the asbestos released in the fire, confirms Jaqueline den Brabander, the spokesperson for the Westland municipality told NRC. The municipality expected to need the whole day to clean up the asbestos. "We do not know how much asbestos has fallen from the fire" says the Mayor of Westland, Sjaak van der Tak. "An asbestos removal company is now cleaning the area, but the asbestos has spread to gardens and streets and we have to investigate the situation further." The citizens are advised to only leave their houses in case of an emergency. "Take a day off!" says the Mayor van der Tak. The firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to area homes. Housing in the area was evacuated, leading 36 people to take shelter in the town hall. It is still unclear how much asbestos was released into the air and where it has fallen. On an update at 11.30 a.m., the municipality informs that Prins Clausstraat and Prins Hendrikstraat are almost cleaned and the residents can use Ambachtsweg to return to their homes. The municipality says that residents should only use the cleared areas and to avoid playgrounds. The cause of fire is currently being investigated. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Garlock Deal Sets Up Battle w/ Current Claimants ----------------------------------------------------------------- Daniel Fisher, writing for Forbes.com, reported that Garlock Sealing Technologies just announced a precedent-setting agreement to settle all claims by future asbestos claimants against the company, setting up a battle with lawyers representing current claimants who may want to keep more of that money for themselves. But by securing the assent of its largest single group of creditors, the EnPro Industries unit says it believes it has the votes necessary to exit bankruptcy. Garlock said it has agreed to pay $358 million over 40 years under the settlement it negotiated with Joe Grier, the court-appointed representative of future asbestos claimants. The present value of the deal after tax deductions and accounting for the time value of money and payments to certain pre-petition asbestos claimants, Garlock said, is about $236 million. That's almost double the $125 million a bankruptcy judge estimated to be Garlock's liability for present and future asbestos claims last January, but a fraction of the more than $1 billion plaintiff lawyers were seeking Garlock. The manufacturer produced gaskets containing a form of asbestos that is considered far less dangerous than the crocidolite used in pipe insulation, but plaintiff lawyers targeted Garlock with escalating demands for payment as companies that produced more dangerous types of asbestos have gone bankrupt. The agreement represents the first time lawyers for current claimants have split ranks with the representatives of future claimants, said EnPro Chief Executive Stephen Macadam, in a conference call. Conflict between present and future claimants is always a factor in asbestos cases, as in most mass torts, because at some point dollars that go to current claimants must come out of the pockets of people who haven't yet gotten sick. But the two sides have typically presented a unified front until now. Garlock may have been able to split the two by presenting evidence that lawyers on the current claimants committee were pressing dubious cases involving workers whose illness was actually caused by other products, draining money from Garlock's estate. "Suffice it to say, at this stage of the case, the disagreements between the (Future Claimants Representative) and the committee alone are sufficient prevent an agreement acceptable to both of them," Macadam said. Bankruptcy Judge George Hodges in Charlotte, North Carolina slashed Garlock's liability after seeing evidence that plaintiff lawyers had gamed the system by withholding evidence their clients had been exposed to more potent forms of asbestos in order to win big jury verdicts from Garlock, then submitting conflicting claims with manufacturers of other asbestos products that were already in bankruptcy. The plaintiff lawyers have rejected claims of fraud, saying the claims they filed with bankruptcy trusts don't bear the same weight of evidence as trial testimony. Of the $125 million Judge Hodges estimated to be Garlock's liability, $100 million was assigned to future claimants. The agreement with the future claimants representative contains some unusual features, including a requirement that all claimants present a complete work history, evidence of exposure to Garlock products, and turn over their claims with bankruptcy trusts set up by other manufacturers. These measures are designed to cut down on double-dipping by claimants who usually file conflicting claims with virtually every manufacturer, making it appear as if each company's product was the source of their illness. Garlock believes those measures will greatly reduce the size of claims. The company also agreed to set aside $130 million over the next 40 years to cover payouts to claimants who reject the company's settlement offers and sue instead. Under the proposed reorganization plan, the bankruptcy court in Charlotte -- the same one that slashed Garlock's estimated liability to well below the amount it has now agreed to pay -- would oversee pretrial discovery and case management. Macadam said he believes the result will be far fewer trials and the $130 million likely won't be spent. Garlock hopes to obtain enough votes to gain confirmation of its reorganization plan this fall. Lawyers for the current claimants will likely mount a stiff fight, as they have all along. Garlock might have some leverage against them, however, because it has sued five of the most prominent asbestos law firms for fraud and racketeering, accusing them of hiding evidence of their clients' exposure to other forms of asbestos in order to inflate jury verdicts and settlements. Those lawyers dismiss the lawsuit as meritless, but given the cost of defense, Garlock might be able to use the litigation to extract better terms in the bankruptcy. The settlement breaks with a historical pattern where companies driven into bankruptcy by asbestos claims seek to resolve all claims in one reorganization plan that steers most of the equity into a trust for the payment of claims. Plaintiff lawyers typically control those trusts and impose weak controls on payouts, favoring their current clients over future claimants. Garlock already broke with tradition by fighting hard against the plaintiff lawyers' estimates of its liability, winning significant rulings from Judge Hodges allowing them to probe into filings the people seeking money from their company have made with other bankruptcy trusts. With this agreement, Garlock is sure to anger the plaintiff bar even more, setting up a fight between their claims that their clients are owed hundreds of thousands of dollars or millions for handling Garlock gaskets and far lower estimates of liability by the representative for future claimants. Other companies with asbestos liability including Ford Motor F - 0.07% Co. and Volkswagen, and insurers like AIG have taken a close interest in the Garlock bankruptcy, as the files emerging from the case might help them dispute claims by asbestos lawyers that their products were the primary cause of illness in plaintiffs who have made conflicting claims against other companies. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Waterboro Closes Library Over Toxic Dust --------------------------------------------------------- The Associated Press reported that the Maine town of Waterboro has closed its public library because of a persistent bad odor and several code violations, including asbestos wall coverings. Town Administrator Gary Lamb says the library, housed in an old school built nearly a century ago, was closed by the town's code enforcement officer. The source of the odor, sometimes described as a sewer-type smell, has been a mystery for at least a decade and some suspect it has something to do with the septic system. Librarian Ruth Blake and Brigit McCallum, president of the library's trustees, tell The Journal Tribune that sometimes there's no smell and at others times it is pronounced. Asbestos was removed several years ago and McCallum says she was unaware of the new asbestos issue. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Toronto Deals With Fibro Concerns in Bldgs ----------------------------------------------------------- Fan-Yee Suen and Kendra Mangione, writing for CTV Toronto, reported that the City of Toronto has dealt with nearly 200 asbestos concerns in its public buildings over the last five years, CTV Toronto has learned. Documents obtained by CTV Toronto's Natalie Johnson under a freedom-of-information request reveals the city has had to remove or seal asbestos in 185 of its buildings since 2010. Last year, the city removed or sealed asbestos in 23 of its buildings. The work has cost the city more than $1 million annually. According to a manager at Toronto Public Health, asbestos can found in many buildings, and is a problem that many municipalities deal with. "It's in many buildings across the city, and we're no different from any city in North America in that regard," Reg Ayre told CTV Toronto. Until the early 1980s, asbestos was a popular material used widely in many construction projects. The tiny heat-and-fire resistant threads were used in ceiling and floor tiles, insulation, and pipes. But the discovery that it can lead to serious respiratory disease and lung cancer when disturbed meant many builders stopped using asbestos. "The concern is when it becomes friable, when it becomes powdery and it enters the breathable air, that's when you've got to be concerned," Ayre said. Experts say although asbestos can be found in many older buildings, the risk to the public is low -- especially if it not disturbed. "There's a lot of other things we should spend more effort on that would have bigger impact on people's lives," University of Toronto engineering professor Jeffrey Siegell said. City officials say they are removing or sealing asbestos in its buildings as a proactive measure during renovations, construction, demolition or maintenance. They add that the city actively manages its record of buildings containing asbestos, and inspect them regularly to ensure employees are not at risk. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Texas SC to Decide on $2.6MM Verdict v. Dow ------------------------------------------------------------ David Yates, writing for The Southeast Texas Record, reported that an issue of a property owner's liability for independent contractors is presently before the Texas Supreme Court and could determine whether a $2.64 million asbestos verdict against Dow Chemical stands. Justices heard oral arguments in the case of Magdalena Abutahoun et al v. Dow Chemical and were asked to decide whether Chapter 95 of the Texas Civil Code prevents Dow Chemical's alleged liability. Chapter 95 states a property owner is not liable for injury, death, or property damage to a contractor for failure to provide a safe workplace, unless the property owner exercises or retains some control or had actual knowledge of the danger and failed to adequately warn. The case stems from a suit brought by Robert Henderson, now deceased. Court records show that on June 11, 2010, Henderson, 68 at the time of his death, filed suit in Dallas County District Court against more than a dozen defendants, including Dow Chemical. Henderson, an insulator helper contractor, alleged he was exposed at Dow Chemical's Freeport facility from 1967-1968 while tearing off asbestos insulation. At trial, a jury found Dow Chemical was 30 percent at fault for Henderson's asbestos-related cancer, levying a $9 million verdict. On Aug. 16, 2011, the trial court entered a second amended final judgment of $2.64 million. The Fifth District Court of Appeals reviewed the award and reversed the judgment, finding that Chapter 95 barred the plaintiffs' claim based on Dow Chemical's alleged negligence as the premise owner. Now that the case is before Texas' highest court, the outcome could become a landmark decision on the effectiveness of Chapter 95 defenses going forward. In their appellate brief, the plaintiffs contend that even though Chapter 95 was enacted 18 years ago, the Texas Supreme Court has never analyzed the scope of Chapter 95's applicability. "Commentators on both sides of the bar have remarked on the need for this Court's review and the increasing unlimited expansion of the applicability of Chapter 95 by the courts of appeal," the brief states. Justices will ultimately determine whether Chapter 95, under specified circumstances, not only limits a property owner's liability for premises defects but also for its contemporaneous negligent activities. Baron & Budd attorneys Denyse Clancy, John Langdoc and Christine Tamer are representing the plaintiffs. They may be reached at: Denyse Clancy, Esq. John Langdoc, Esq. Christine Tamer, Esq. BARON & BUDD 3102 Oak Lawn Avenue #1100 Dallas, TX 75219 Tel: (214) 521-3605 E-mail: dclancy@baronbudd.com jlangdoc@baronbudd.com ctamer@baronbudd.com Dow is represented in part by Stephen Tipps -- stephen.tipps@bakerbotts.com -- attorney for the Houston law firm Baker Botts. Case No. 13-0175 ASBESTOS UPDATE: Queanbeyan Council to Make Fibro Register Public ----------------------------------------------------------------- David Butler, writing for The Queanbeyan Age, reported that mayor Tim Overall of Queanbeyan, in Australia, has announced that Council will "open the books" and make its register of known loose-fill asbestos- or Mr Fluffy-affected -properties public to prospective Queanbeyan buyers. The news follows a recent announcement from the NSW Government's asbestos taskforce that the Government will legislate towards a voluntary buyback and demolition scheme for affected asbestos homes in the state, similar to the ACT Government's $1-billion buyback scheme announced last year. The NSW Government's package would also include a 'mandatory disclosure' policy for all affected Mr Fluffy houses to declare that fact prior to any sale process going ahead. Queanbeyan Mayor Overall said that move from the State Government had given Queanbeyan City Council the support and confidence it needed to make the register available to prospective buyers. "One of the announcements from the NSW Government is that they will legislate for mandatory disclosure requirement in regard to property sales and leasings. "That being the case, I've recommended that Council will not wait for that legislation, and effective from the date of that announcement Council will be openly disclosing to any property enquiries regarding purchasing or leases as to whether they're on Council's register or not. "I believe it's appropriate that we don't wait for the legislation; that we act accordingly and open the books as it were to prospective purchasers," he said. Queanbeyan Council has kept its register of affected properties behind closed doors for over a decade, honouring a confidentiality clause made with residents in Queanbeyan who signed up for a voluntary insulation testing program with Council in the late eighties. However recent pressure had come upon Council late last year to use that information to protect Queanbeyan residents from the toxic insulation. State Government MP David Shoebridge grilled Council staff at an asbestos hearing in November as to why it hadn't acted on the information, or sought legal advice on the liability involved in holding the register. The liability question raised its head again in December when Canberra couple Eddie Casey and his partner Dale Freestone, along with their two young children, purchased and moved into a Mr Fluffy home in Bungendore, unaware that it contained the deadly asbestos. Although in a different local government area, the property was on Council's books as containing loose-fill asbestos. More than 2,600 building and home owners across the state have now signed up for free loose fill asbestos checks in the wake of the NSW Government's announcement of an asbestos taskforce and a subsequent buy-back and demolition program to clean up the toxic houses. Around 1150 of those homes are in Queanbeyan. Local member John Barilaro said the progress was the result of new confidence from property owners in the assistance package being offered by the State Government. "That announcement has given people confidence that Government is putting forward the support and resources to help people out of this issue," Mr Barilaro said. "If you give people confidence that we're here to support those [affected] landholders and home owners, that people will come forward because there's financial support in the short term and long term in the buyback and demolition [program]." He also welcomed the news that Queanbeyan Council will make its asbestos register public to prospective property buyers. "If the Council has got legal advice that they can disclose that information, that's good news. We don't want more people trapped in this Mr Fluffy issue." ASBESTOS UPDATE: Ballina Contractor Fined for Dumping Fibro ----------------------------------------------------------- Echo Net Daily reported that a contractor from Ballina, in Australia, has been fined $50,000 for illegally dumping demolition waste at a Lismore property. Barry Curtis and his company ABC Ballina Asbestos & Demolition Pty Ltd copped the fine in Lismore Local Court after being prosecuted by the Lismore City Council. The court heard that council compliance officers attended a property at Spring Street, East Lismore on May 12, 2014 to monitor the demolition of a fire-damaged premises. A short time later, council staff saw a truck from the demolition site driving south on Woodlawn Road towards Lismore and decided to investigate. The compliance officers discovered a large quantity of demolition waste dumped on a property at Houlden Road, North Lismore, and caught the tipper truck operator red-handed as the waste was being deposited. The compliance officers found a total of five truckloads of waste -- approximately 48 tonnes -- that included a mix of bricks, concrete, timber, paper, plastic, glass, tin, metal, wire and dirt. A sample of the waste was taken for analysis, which confirmed that the dumped material also included asbestos. The court heard that the owners of the property at Houlden Road did not know the demolition waste was being dumped on their land. Lismore magistrate David Heilpern said it was an 'offence of greed'. Mr Heilpern said the fact that a professional company with experience in asbestos would dump asbestos waste was 'horrendous and beggars belief'. Mr Heilpern noted previous enforcement action by council against Mr Curtis for waste dumping in the past, and stated that the offence was aggravated due to greed, public safety and that the defendants did not have the owners' permission. Mr Curtis and his company were convicted of waste dumping offences under the NSW Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1998, fined a total of $50,000 and ordered to pay Lismore City Council's legal costs of $5,403.80. A Lismore city council spokesperson said any further dumping offences by Mr Curtis or his company in the next five years could result in significantly greater penalties and may include a prison term under NSW pollution laws. 'The seriousness of illegal dumping cannot be underestimated as a significant risk to the environment and to human health, and the fine imposed development and compliance manager Peter Jeuken said. 'People also need to be careful in choosing a demolition contractor to use, because not only are transporters liable for illegal waste dumping, but customers who engage or accept waste from illegal waste dumpers can also be liable for fines, clean-up orders and legal costs.' Mr Jeuken urged anyone with information or who suspects illegal waste dumping activities, to contact the NSW EPA on 131 555. 'You can also phone your local council in confidence so that incidents can be investigated and appropriate action taken,' he said. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Deadly Dust Led to Leed Man's Cancer Death ----------------------------------------------------------- Yorkshire Evening Post reported that former workmates of a carpenter from Leeds, England, who died of cancer more than 40 years after being exposed to asbestos are being urged to contact a law firm. Grandfather-of-17 Terry Ellis of Seaccoft died aged 72 last June after a three-month battle with mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs. Lawyers from Irwin Mitchell say Mr Ellis identified two companies where he was exposed to asbestos in the 1960s. Mr Ellis worked as a carpenter for building company George Wimpey from 1961 to 1966 and for roofing contractor John Atkinson and Sons Ltd from 1966 to 1970. John Atkinson and Sons Ltd ceased trading in the mid 1970s. His former colleagues are being urged to come forward with information about the work he carried out. Mark Aldridge, a solicitor who specializes in industrial disease cases at Irwin Mitchell and represents Terry's widow, said: "Mesothelioma is an aggressive, incurable and terminal cancer. It causes victims and their families so much distress and is so often caused by exposure during the working life of the victim. Unfortunately, Terry was no longer in contact with his former colleagues who he worked with in the 1960s, so we need people who worked with him to come forward and tell us about his exposure to asbestos and what measures, if any, were taken to protect him and other employees from the dangers of asbestos." Mr Ellis's widow Maureen, 60, said: "It was absolutely heart- breaking to watch Terry deteriorate so quickly after his mesothelioma diagnosis. When we married in 2004 we had hoped to have a long and happy life together. We never thought that there was a spectre such as this in his past employment." ASBESTOS UPDATE: UC-Led Research Guides EPA in Libby Assessment --------------------------------------------------------------- Health Canal reported that based in part on a study led by researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed a Human Health Risk Assessment for a Superfund environmental cleanup site in Libby, Montana. From the 1920s until 1990, the town of Libby was the site of mining operations for vermiculite, a mineral used in building insulation and as a soil conditioner. According to the EPA, the vermiculite from the Libby mine contained a toxic form of naturally occurring asbestos that came to be known as Libby amphibole asbestos (LAA). When inhaled, LAA can cause cancer and non-cancer lung disease. The EPA risk assessment includes an estimate of the amount of LAA that a person can breathe every day for a lifetime that is likely to not result in adverse non-cancer health effects. According to the EPA, this is the first such estimate regarding non-cancer effects for any type of asbestos. The assessment also finds that LAA is carcinogenic to humans when inhaled and provides a quantitative estimate of cancer risk. In a December 2014 news release, the EPA said that it has been working in Libby since 1999 and that the Libby site was placed on the Superfund National Priorities List in 2002. In 2009, EPA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a public health emergency at the site. Removal actions have now been completed at more than 2,000 properties at the site, including the most contaminated areas, and the EPA says the cleanup has reduced cancer and non-cancer risks there. The EPA's final Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) health assessment was based in part on the work of the UC researchers, including faculty and staff members from UC's departments of environmental health and radiology and the UC College of Allied Health Sciences' Department of Rehabilitation Sciences. The researchers, in a study published in the January 2015 issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, analyzed the potential effect on human health of low-level exposure to LAA. James Lockey, MD, corresponding author of the study and professor emeritus in the UC Department of Environmental Health, said, "By following over 30 years a worker population in Ohio that worked with Libby vermiculite, we were able to identify progressive lung changes even though exposure to Libby vermiculite ceased in 1980. "These findings will help inform U.S. public health policy in regard to environmental exposure to certain types of naturally occurring mineral fibers such as asbestos that exist in various geologic formations within our environment, particularly in the western United States." Lockey and his colleagues set out to understand the health impact of LAA, starting with workers at a plant expanding Libby vermiculite in Marysville, Ohio, who were originally studied by UC investigators including Lockey in 1980. Of the original 1980 cohort of 513, 431 were living and eligible to participate in the most recent study update and 306 provided chest scans or radiographs for evaluation. The researchers evaluated chest images for evidence of radiographic changes historically associated with commercial asbestos exposure. Spirometry, a common test that measures how much air a subject inhales and exhales, was also conducted. The results, Lockey says, demonstrated that very low lifetime cumulative exposure to LAA was significantly associated with chest radiographic changes and corresponding declines in spirometric values. "These changes occurred at substantially lower cumulative fiber exposure levels than those commonly associated with commercial asbestos within the work environment," says Lockey. Co-investigators on the study were Kari Dunning, PT, PhD; Timothy J. Hilbert, MS; Eric Borton, MS; Linda Levin, PhD; Carol H. Rice, PhD; Roy T. McKay, PhD; Ralph Shipley, MD; Christopher A. Meyer, MD; Charles Perme, MD; and Grace K. LeMasters, PhD. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Fibro Unearthed on "Healing Farm" Site ------------------------------------------------------- Emma Macdonald, writing for The Canberra Times, reported that contractors hired by Australian Capital Terriroty (ACT) Health to work on a government-owned property near Tidbinbilla have potentially been exposed to asbestos on a site reserved for an indigenous bush healing farm. Workers may have come into contact with asbestos despite warnings from the long-term resident property manager Ben Broers that the area they were working in was contaminated. Mr Broers has subsequently had his contract terminated by ACT Health and has been asked to sign a confidentiality agreement. The directorate started building works two months ago at Miowera, a property in the Tidbinbilla Valley. The government bought the land in 2008 to build an indigenous drug and alcohol rehabilitation service -- to "reconnect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to land and culture, using participation in land management activities and programs". The 320-hectare site has extensive asbestos contamination due to remnants of two bonded asbestos sheet houses that burnt down in the 2003 fires, the asbestos sheeting from the Old Cotter Pub, and other asbestos refuse from around the region which has been dumped in a landfill gully. Hundreds of metres of asbestos fencing have also been bulldozed over the years, leaving asbestos footings submerged in the soil. The site has been mired in controversy since the government purchased the land almost seven years ago for $1.5 million -- fighting repeated planning objections by neighbouring landowners to the proposed $11 million eight-bed facility. Planning Minister Mick Gentleman used his call-in powers to override those objections in October with work beginning in November. On November 19, however, contractors unearthed and broke old asbestos piping while strengthening a bridge over Paddys River to access the site. Work Safety Commissioner Mark McCabe said he was satisfied that the risk had been managed when workers covered the pipe with soil and wet it down. Mr McCabe said the risk to the water supply was "extremely low". Mr Broers, meanwhile, sought to warn ACT Health directly that the site in which workers continued to dig and sandbag contained contaminated soil. He rang ACT Health on November 28 to explain the risks and, when work continued, further texted his manager on December 1. But it was not until the directorate received a Robson Environmental report on December 2 that work was stopped. A spokesman for Health Minister Simon Corbell said: "On receiving the advice on December 2 that asbestos-containing material was present around the bridge worksite, ACT Health spoke to the subcontractor and it was decided to halt the work until the plan was updated and a safe method work statement developed". Mr Broers, who has managed the property for eight years, was informed on January 5 his contract had been terminated. Mr Corbell's spokesman categorically denied it was a result of the asbestos incident and that the contract was due to expire in March. Mr Broers said he believed his outspokenness to bureaucrats over workers spending four days on a contaminated worksite had resulted in his contract not being rolled over as it had each year. Mr McCabe said Worksafe was now monitoring the site closely. He said ACT Health had not made the inspectorate aware of the full extent of on-site contamination. Robson Environmental has placed 30 red flags indicating asbestos sheeting fragments near the farm buildings. Following inquiries from The Canberra Times, Mr McCabe requested information from the directorate about "all aspects of the asbestos contamination at the site including plans for its removal and the remediation of land". Meanwhile, ACT Health has downplayed the risk to a general contractor Robbie Wallace who was hired on November 19 to mow tree lanes at the property -- an area subsequently confirmed to contain further broken asbestos sheeting, which was hidden by long grass. Mr McCabe said no mowing should have occurred in the area and he was still investigating the issue. Bonded asbestos sheeting is considered safe until broken into pieces, when asbestos fibres can become airborne. Mr Wallace is receiving legal advice. Neighbouring property owner Michael Shanahan, upon whose land the broken pipe is located, said the government takeover of the property had been rushed through and questioned whether planning and safety processes had been fully adhered to. Mr Corbell's spokesman said, "ACT Health is confident that they have followed appropriate processes and procedures and believe that the risk of any residents or workers having been exposed to asbestos fibres is extremely low". Mr Shanahan is one of the complainants who objected to the drug and alcohol centre being built. Similarly, neighbours David and Margaret Whittem objected and feel their concerns about safety and management of the site had been ignored. Mrs Whittem questioned why she had received no formal warning that asbestos had been disturbed on the river upstream from her property -- condemning both the directorate and WorkSafe's handling of the issue. Mr Shanahan believed Mr Broers had been a scapegoat after calling the directorate to account on the issue. "I do believe he is paying the ultimate price when all he has tried to do was warn of the risk to neighbours and workers on the site." ASBESTOS UPDATE: NJ Jurors Award $7.5MM in Cement Trial ------------------------------------------------------- HarrisMartin Publishing reported that New Jersey jurors have awarded $7.5 million to a New Jersey couple, finding that the plaintiff's exposure to asbestos-containing cement in boilers caused him to develop mesothelioma. Judge Ana C. Viscomi of the New Jersey Superior Court for Middlesex County presided over the month-long trial, which ended in a verdict on Jan. 14. The jury awarded $6.5 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages, sources told HarrisMartin. Plaintiffs William and Debbie Condon filed the lawsuit. In it, the plaintiffs said that William Condon came into contact with Pecora's Asbestos Furnace Cement. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Inquest Hears Worker "Likely" Exposed to Fibro --------------------------------------------------------------- Amani Hughes, writing for Get Surrey, reported that a former Epsom and Ewell Borough Council (EEBC) worker who died from mesothelioma was "most likely exposed to asbestos, though the circumstances of her exposure remain unclear", a coroner has ruled. Valerie Smith, 61, from Ewell, England, died on April 8 2014 from the rare type of cancer, which affects the lungs and abdomen. An inquest into her death, which heard from other former council employees, was held on January 13 at Woking Coroner's Court. Ms Smith worked for Epsom and Ewell Borough Council between 1987 and 2010, initially at the Old Town Hall in Epsom. In 1992, she transferred to the Parks and Recreation Department, based at the Rainbow Leisure Centre in East Street. It was while working there that Ms Smith believed she was fatally exposed to asbestos. The Rainbow Leisure Centre, previously the Epsom Baths, was refurbished in 1987/88 and it was believed that all traces of asbestos were removed from the building, and the majority of the pipes were replaced. John Vadgama, manager of the centre in 1988, told the inquest: "If there was any asbestos, it would have been dealt with during the refurbishment. "I worked at the Rainbow Leisure Centre from February 1988 and there were no issues arising of any asbestos being found." 'Not a designated person' Ms Smith believed she was exposed to asbestos when walking through a passageway that went underneath the swimming pool, which she said she used two to four times a week to get to her office. However, Mr Vadgama told the coroner that only authorised personnel could use the passage, which was accessed by four doors. "I used to visit [the centre] once a week or in the event of something needed to be looked at," he said. "The reasons we kept people out of there [the passageway] was there was a valve to the main swimming pool, somebody could have opened that, and there were thermostats of the showers of the swimming pool. "I think in the nature of anything, no system is absolutely perfect, I would say 90% to 95% of the time it was locked and 5% to 10% it was unlocked. "There were three duty managers, a plant operator, deputy manager, assistance manager and myself, those people had keys and access to that area. "It was necessary to access this area for maintenance, there was somebody down there every day, the keys would have been kept on the person, individuals did not have keys. "I never encountered somebody down there who should not have been down there. "Valerie Smith was not a designated person to be in the under passage, she worked in one of the offices." But the court heard that Ms Smith and some of her colleagues used the passage on a regular basis to access the parks office. 'Disappointed' During her time working at the Old Town Hall, asbestos was removed from the toilets on the ground floor and it was listed as having confirmed asbestos in an inspection some time after 1980. Diane Brighton, Ms Smith's sister, said: "She was exposed twice to asbestos, at the baths and at the refurbished toilets at the town hall. "The asbestos was removed but it was 10 metres from the area she was working from, it was just plastic that covered it." Coroner Martin Fleming recorded a narrative verdict of death by mesothelioma. "It's most likely she was exposed to asbestos, though the circumstances of her exposure remain unclear," Mr Fleming said. Ms Brighton issued a statement following the verdict, saying: "At the start of this journey, it was made clear to us that the reason for the inquest was not to apportion blame or to point a finger, but to try to find out the circumstances of how Valerie came to contract this terrible disease [which led to] her ultimate death. "We knew that it was going to be a difficult and complex case. Valerie was certain that she was exposed while employed at EEBC. "Unfortunately, due to time frames of 25-30 years ago, records and exact details have been difficult/impossible to obtain. "Obviously we were disappointed that the coroner reached a narrative verdict. "Ideally we would have preferred a definite conclusion, but we partly knew this was not going to be the case. "We feel that we have done all that is asked, and retained pride and dignity for Valerie." ASBESTOS UPDATE: Greensboro to Appeal Fibro Exposure Fine --------------------------------------------------------- Joe Killian, writing for Greensboro News & Record, reported that the city of Greensboro, North Carolina, faces a $3,250 fine for improper handling of asbestos leading up to the demolition of War Memorial Auditorium. Work toward demolition was stopped in October when it was revealed that city employees and contractors may have been exposed to asbestos before cleanup had begun. Inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause cancer and lung disease. An employee complaint on Oct. 10 prompted an investigation by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. City Manager Jim Westmoreland wrote to members of City Council to say the investigation resulted in a citation and penalty, but the city will meet with OSHA and may appeal through an administrative hearing. The city last faced an OSHA fine in August 2012, according to city records. That fine, related to a garbage truck fire in which a city employee was injured, was for $2,150. The citation was issued for not having appropriate signs and boundaries separating the contaminated area from the rest of the workplace at War Memorial. The city maintains that the contamination was the result of a "miscommunication" with contractors. Built in 1959, the auditorium was closed in September to be replaced by the planned downtown performing arts center. At the time, coliseum officials hoped to have it torn down and the land paved for 300 premium parking spaces by March in time for the men's and women's ACC basketball tournaments. Much of the contents, including scrap metal, was sold at auction in September. When a scrap company removed items, it disturbed some asbestos that insulated copper piping, city officials say. Workers continued to work in the area because of a miscommunication, city officials say, which may have endangered them. War Memorial Auditorium likely won't be razed until spring, after the city removes the asbestos and solicits bids for the building's demolition. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Gallia School Finds Fibro in Ceiling Tile ---------------------------------------------------------- April Jaynes, writing for My Daily Tribune, reported that the Gallia County, Ohio Local Schools Board of Education discussed removing asbestos from a school building before the district considers going forward with facilities energy conservation updates. Mike Jacobs, director of support services, said he recently discovered what appeared to be asbestos in ceiling tiles at Hannan Trace Elementary School. "A couple of weeks ago, when I was down at Hannan Trace Elementary, I noticed a ceiling tile was out in their staff luncheonette. As I looked at the ceiling tile, I noticed what looked to be potential asbestos," he said. Jacobs said documentation from the 1980s indicated there could be potential asbestos in the ceiling tiles. After having it tested, Jacobs said it was confirmed to be asbestos, but that the substance is currently not harmful. "It is right now what they considered non-friable, as long as it is not disturbed. It's safe. It's not a major concern as long as no one goes in there and starts building or tearing up or whatever," he said. Jacobs said the district is currently developing a plan to have the asbestos removed and that he recommends the removal process take place during the summer break before the district preforms any facilities energy conservation updates. "When we get ready to do our renovations for some of the energy conservation, they're going to be in that room because there are not only lights, but control mechanisms for the heating and cooling," he said. "I'm just very pleased that we caught it prior to them going up there." While the asbestos could create future problems if not removed, Jacobs said proper disposal of the substance will avoid potential problems. "When you hear the word 'asbestos,' many people freak out. They don't understand that as long as it's not messed with or milled, it's fine. But as soon as someone goes up there and starts prodding and probing, that's when it becomes an issue," he said. "So when you hear 'asbestos,' many people are afraid, but it's not really a health hazard unless it's disturbed improperly." Superintendent Jude Meyers also gave an update on the district's possible facilities energy conservation updates for all school buildings, and said that the proposed project has officially been approved. "The VISTA project was approved. We got our blessings from the state," he said. "I will tell you that the only item on the plan that was not approved as a potential option was the air conditioning because that is not an energy conservation. But if we get a low-cost loan, we can obviously save enough to possibly look at that as a side project to that." For now, the district must determine what kind of facilities updates to pursue, he said. "You're going to need to sharpen your pencils. We'll probably have the VISTA guys come to the (January) 26th meeting, because now -- if you remember all those lists and things -- now it's time to decide how far we want to go, what we want to spend (and) what we want to do. The quickest return investment would be the lighting because you get immediate cost savings with that. Now we've got to take that document and decide what we want to do as a district and move forward." ASBESTOS UPDATE: Ex-Sailor Exposed to Deadly Dust in Navy --------------------------------------------------------- Derby Telegraph reported that a former Royal Navy sailor and council office administrator of Derbyshire County, in England, died after being exposed to asbestos. An inquest was told how 85-year-old William Stanley Johncock developed mesothelioma in his 80s and was given end-of-life treatment at Babington Hospital, Belper, where he died on August 14. In a statement read out at Derby and South Derbyshire Coroner's Court, Roger Price, the executor of Mr Johncock's will, said: "I asked the man with Stan's (Mr Johncock's) naval records and he said there was no record as to whether or not he was exposed to asbestos (while serving in the Royal Navy). "He then worked in the laundry and dry cleaning business where there may have been asbestos on the clothing, but from then on he worked as an administration manager at Derbyshire County Council." A post mortem examination revealed a large tumour in his left lung that was 3cm thick in some places. It was also discovered that Mr Johncock, of Northfields, Kilburn, had a prosthetic valve in his heart that was placed there during surgery. His cause of death was given as mesothelioma. Paul McCandless, assistant coroner for Derby and Derbyshire, reached a conclusion that Mr Johncock died as a result of industrial disease. He said: "Mr Johncock was a man that served in the Royal Navy and although there is no evidence he worked directly with asbestos I am satisfied it is more likely than not he would have come into contact with it during his time serving." ASBESTOS UPDATE: GBP430,000+ Paid to 2 Fibro Victims ---------------------------------------------------- Alex Hickey, writing for Daily Post, reported that more than GBP430,000 has been paid out in compensation to two asbestos victims. The money has been paid out to a caretaker and a decorator after they were exposed to the potentially deadly substance in the former Clwyd County Council, England, area since 2012, according to information released under the Freedom of Information Act. There are fears it is just the tip of the iceberg with hundreds more across the region and the rest of Wales estimated to be suffering with asbestosis or mesothelioma which can claim lives or debilitate people. In 2012/13, GBP256,000 was paid out after a painter-decorator was exposed to asbestos dust whilst working on council buildings. Last year another GBP181,000 was paid out after a caretaker working at a school was exposed to asbestos fibres, making a total of GBP437,000 for the two cases. They were the only ones recorded in the Clwyd County Council area since 2010 and no details were revealed where or when the exposures had taken place. Flintshire Council paid out the compensation on behalf of the former Clwyd area which also encompassed Wrexham and Denbighshire. No cases have been recorded in North West Wales counties since 2010. Asbestos was widely used to insulate and fire proof houses in the 1960s. However it was discovered inhaling loose asbestos fibres could cause chronic lung conditions or even death and was finally banned in 1999. Flintshire Council told the Daily Post: "The very nature of asbestos related illnesses means that the original exposure to asbestos dust/fibres will have occurred many years ago (typically 25 to 30 years). "There have been two insurance claims received by Flintshire resulting in payments during the past five years. "Both claims are in respect of people who worked for the former Clwyd County Council and both claims have been paid by the insurers on risk at the time of the exposure. "Flintshire is involved only because of its role as the lead authority for dealing with the administration of outstanding liabilities of the former Clwyd County Council." Figures by the Health and Safety Executive showed between 2010-12 in Wales, there was a death rate of 50 per million people from mesothelioma. Jo Barnes-Mannings helped set up the group, Asbestos Awareness and Support Cymru (AASC), after her father, a fit and healthy carpenter, died at the age of 62 from mesothelioma, after working as a youngster in a factory which made fireplaces in the 1960s. "When my father was diagnosed, he was told he only had between 6- 12 months to live, it was a terrible shock. "No amount of money can compensate for the loss of life and the pain it causes," she said. "It is expected the problem will get worse, and is expected to peak between 2016-2020. Jo added: "Asbestos claims twice as many lives in Wales as RTC's (road traffic crashes) Nigel Davies, from Wrexham, told how he fears he was exposed to the deadly substance when contractors drilled through a council property he was renting: "It looked like a nuke had gone off personnel in white suits, oxygen masks the property sealed up. "I was absolutely gutted and all I could think off was my daughter. Being an ex-painter and decorator, I'm aware of the dangers of asbestos and how it can affect your health. "Thankfully the council have now changed its ways and carries out asbestos checks before major work is carried out but I still worry to this day of inhaling in this asbestos but won't know until something happens to my health." ASBESTOS UPDATE: North Devon Homes Prosecuted for Fibro Exposure ---------------------------------------------------------------- North Devon Journal reported that a social housing provider has been fined GBP1,000 after an employee of one of its subcontractors was exposed to potentially-deadly asbestos. North Devon Homes was taken to court by the Health and Safety Executive in relation to work carried out by Pilkington Plumbing & Heating Ltd (PPH) between July 17, 2012 and September 27, 2012. The court heard PPH had been contracted to refurbish the heating systems in 200 homes. An apprentice was carrying out work at 3 Jubilee Close in Ilfracombe on September 27, 2012 when he drilled a hole into a panel containing asbestos. The HSE was informed three days later and an investigation began. Stephen Covell, prosecuting on behalf of the executive, said North Devon Homes failed to give PPH all the information it had in its possession relating to asbestos at that property. The court heard the contractor accessed information via an online portal which did not contain copies of some relevant documents. "There were problems with the online portal," said Mr Covell. "The contractors had access to this and it was where they were supposed to get their information. "Some of the information was incorrect and some was absent. As far as 3 Jubilee Close was concerned some of the information had been put in wrongly." Mr Covell said the defendant's attention was drawn to the sparse information provided and those concerns "should have been addressed". "Its actions have increased the risk of those working on site to be exposed to asbestos," he said. Matthew Paul, for the defence, said there were "substantial disagreements" about the nature of the offences. He said the apprentice working at 3 Jubilee Close made a witness statement in which he said he knew there was asbestos at the property. He added PPH has plenty of experience dealing with the type of work they were doing. He said they had already pleaded guilty to two offences of breaching health and safety regulations in relation to work done while they were contracted by North Devon Homes. Mr Paul added: "North Devon Homes pleads guilty because it was accepted that Keynote (its online portal system) had not migrated all of its information to the system the contractors were told to access it on. "But this is not a case of the company being totally cavalier about the way it collated and presented information." He said the release of asbestos fibres at Jubilee Close was "extremely small" and it was only one hole. Magistrates fined North Devon Homes GBP1,000 and ordered it to pay court costs of GBP650 and a GBP100 victim surcharge. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Workman's Comp Court to Review Libby Victim Case ----------------------------------------------------------------- 8KPax.com reported that the Montana Supreme Court has ordered the Workman's Compensation Court to take another look at the case of a Libby woman who's been trying to resolve her husband's medical expenses years after dying of asbestos contamination. Edwin Moreau died of asbestos-related lung cancer in 2009 after working at the W.R. Grace Mine in Libby for nearly 30 years before he retired in 1992. His wife, Cristita Moreau, has been wrestling to secure her husband's benefits to cover medical expenses ever since. Moreau's claim for occupational disease benefits was initially refused by Transportation Insurance -- which is W.R. Grace's company covering claims from sick workers. But in 2010, she filed a petition with the Workman's Compensation Court, resulting in a settlement in 2013. The Libby Medical Plan -- a program established by W.R. Grace to handle workers' asbestos injuries and care -- paid Moreau $95,000 for her husband's expenses. But that program -- and W.R. W.R. Grace -- refused to accept reimbursement from the insurance company, and Moreau argued the difference between the insurance settlement and the declined reimbursement should be paid into her husband's estate or charity of choice. Transportation Insurance refused the payment and Moreau filed another petition. The Workman's Compensation Court denied the petition, saying she had no right to the insurance money, and any further money would actually be a "double payment." However, now the Supreme Court is ruling that Moreau does have standing as the "personal representative" of her husband's estate, and is ordering the Workman's Compensation Court to fully consider her petition and the merits of her case. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Council Pleads Guilty to Fibro Contamination ------------------------------------------------------------- Zoie O'Brien, writing for The Guardian, reported that workers were not protected from deadly asbestos at the Waltham Forest town hall, in England, the council has admitted. During a trial at Westminster Magistrates Court, District Judge Grant said the authority's offences were too serious for sentence to passed immediately and referred the case to crown court. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuter, Chris Tilley said an investigation found employees and contractors were exposed to all three kind of asbestos at Waltham Forest town hall in Forest Road, Walthamstow, including dust which causes lung cancer. He said: "We carried out a survey and asbestos was found in the basement area, the print room, even behind the skirting boards in the corridor. "It is the HSE's view that employees and contractors working in these areas were exposed to asbestos. "It has not been possible to identify when the dust was disturbed to cause contamination. "There has been a failure by Waltham Forest council to manage asbestos and ensure the health and safety of its staff and contractors." The court heard the council had failed to manage asbestos checks and did not warn contractors of the risk they may be facing when working in the area after asbestos was found in 2002. The issue came to light in 2012 when resident Nick Tiratsoo submitted a request for documents under the Freedom of Information Act but was told they were contaminated with asbestos. The HSE was subsequently alerted and an investigation launched. Mr Tilley continued: "We were unable to uncover any evidence to suggest Waltham Forest had taken any action to prevent people being exposed to asbestos in the town hall. "Waltham Forest failed in its obligation to protect people." Mitigating, town hall lawyer Richard Matthews QC, said the council has now acted to rectify the problem, but admitted the contaminated print room was used every day by staff. He said: "The regret is enormous. "The council takes this matter extremely seriously. "Everything possible is being done at the council to put the matter right and no expense is being spared in order to do that." The maximum fine which could be imposed by the magistrates court was GBP62,000. District Judge Grant decided this cost would not reflect the severity of the offences. He said: "It seems there have been serious failings on the part of the local authority for a lengthy period of time, at least since 2002 when the presence of asbestos was identified. "A considerable number of people have been put at risk by these serious failings." The council will next appear at Southwark Crown Court on February 2. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Unsealed U.S. Suits Reveal Fraud by Law Firms -------------------------------------------------------------- Tom Hals, writing for Reuters, reported that U.S. personal injury lawyers allegedly concealed evidence and induced clients to commit perjury to drive up asbestos-related settlements and garner bigger fees, according to lawsuits unsealed in the bankruptcy of a gasket maker. The unsealed racketeering complaints alleged that four law firms sued Garlock Sealing Technologies, which made asbestos-lined gaskets, while hiding evidence that their clients were exposed to asbestos products made by other companies. The evidence was allegedly hidden because the other companies were bankrupt, making Garlock a much more attractive target for an asbestos lawsuit, according to the complaints. Garlock, a unit of EnPro Industries, filed for bankruptcy in 2010 in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the face of the mounting cost of asbestos lawsuits. The unsealed complaints cite many examples of alleged fraud, including the Shein Law Center's handling of a lawsuit by Vincent Golini, who was diagnosed with deadly mesothelioma in 2009. Golini allegedly told Philadelphia-based Shein he was exposed to 14 asbestos products made by bankrupt companies including Owens Corning and Armstrong World Industries. But when Golini sued Garlock he denied exposure to any products made by a bankrupt manufacturer, according to the complaint. After Garlock settled with Golini, Shein had Golini file claims with the asbestos trusts that were set up by Owens Corning and other bankrupt makers of asbestos products. Those trusts often pay only a small fraction of a claim. Shein's lawyer, Daniel Brier of Myers Brier & Kelly, said the racketeering lawsuit is completely without merit and Shein represented its clients "ethically and properly". Garlock's Chapter 11 case has drawn national attention due to the company's allegations that personal injury lawyers fraudulently inflated judgments and settlements. The racketeering lawsuits were originally filed in early 2014. They were ordered unsealed last summer but only became available to the public. The allegations in the unsealed documents appeared to have already been discussed publicly in an opinion in 2014 by Judge George Hodges. That opinion set Garlock's liability for asbestos at $125 million and said the company's past settlements were tainted by fraud. The others were Belluck & Fox of New York; and Waters Kraus & Paul and Simon Greenstone Panatier Bartlett of Dallas. Mark Iola, a partner at Iola Galerston, also in Dallas, was also sued. Attorneys for the law firms said Garlock was trying to relitigate settled cases and blame others for the consequences of its own conduct. (Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Additional reporting by Jessica Dye in New York) ASBESTOS UPDATE: Families of Fibro Victims Missing Out on Payment ----------------------------------------------------------------- Nick Dole, writing for ABC News, reported that asbestos awareness groups in New South Wales say the families of asbestos victims need more time to seek compensation because some sufferers are dying before they get a chance to start legal proceedings. Under current laws, unless a victim initiates legal proceedings while they are still alive, their families may be entitled to nothing. Asbestos Diseases Foundation of Australia president Barry Robson said families are often too busy caring for their loved ones to think about their legal affairs. "For mesothelioma . . . on average, [the time] from diagnosis to death is 155 days. That's not a lot of time to get your head around a death sentence," Mr Robson said. He said families who have lost a loved one face added distress when they learn they have missed the compensation deadline. "It's just another kick in the guts," he said. Asbestos compensation lawyer Tanya Segelov, from law firm Turner Freeman, said some victims do not even know they have an asbestos- related disease. "Sometimes people aren't diagnosed until autopsy," she said. The Asbestos Diseases Foundation is also seeking changes to a law which reduces the amount of compensation victims' families can claim. Sydney widow Catherine O'Farrell was entitled to compensation following the death of her husband Bob Wallin in 2008. However, under a legal principle known as Strikwerda, her payout was reduced because her late husband had already received compensation for his suffering. She said she was left with hefty debts and a daughter to support. "It was a very hard slog and I just don't feel that any family should have to go through that," she said. Greens MP David Shoebridge said New South Wales should follow the lead of other states and change the law. "It's a damning indictment on politicians here in NSW that we haven't remedied the law. It's just such an obvious injustice," he said. "The path to decency has been mapped out by every other state and territory." The Government has indicated it will not accept legal changes that put pressure on the asbestos compensation scheme, which it says has "viability issues". A spokeswoman for Attorney-General Brad Hazzard said the Government "will do all it can to ensure the scheme's ongoing capacity and in that context will consider any changes that assist the scheme". ASBESTOS UPDATE: Survey Delay Exposed Plumbers to Fibro Danger -------------------------------------------------------------- The Construction Index reported that fines totalling just GBP2,500 have been handed down to two companies whose negligence exposed workers to deadly asbestos fibres. Two employees of Pilkington Plumbing & Heating, in England, were exposed to asbestos during extensive boiler renovations on houses in Ilfracombe. They began work to carry out removal of a back boiler and to drill a wall panel at a house despite having not received an asbestos survey from the client, North Devon Homes. The incident, on September 27, 2012, was investigated by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), which prosecuted North Devon Homes for safety failings at Barnstaple Magistrates Court. The court heard that Pilkington had requested asbestos survey information on the properties but decided to go ahead without having carried out a sufficient assessment of work liable to disturb asbestos. Instead, it relied on general information on North Devon Homes' website for contractors, but this was not specific to each property being worked on and was incomplete or misleading, HSE said. As a result, asbestos insulation board (AIB) was disturbed; the workers were exposed when fillets of a fire surround were moved, an AIB panel above a door was drilled and another AIB panel moved. Residents in the affected properties, which were all being refurbished, had been vacated during remedial works to remove asbestos containing materials. Pilkington Plumbing & Heating Ltd, of Pilton Street, Pilton, Barnstaple pleaded guilty to two breaches of Control of Asbestos Regulations at an earlier hearing before the same court (on 8 October) and was fined GBP1,500 with GBP642 costs. North Devon Homes Ltd, of Westacott Road, Barnstaple, pleaded guilty to a breach of Construction (Design Management) Regulations and was fined GBP1,000 and ordered to pay costs of GBP650. HSE inspector Barry Trudgian said after the hearing: "As a result of North Devon Homes' failure to provide the required information and Pilkington not waiting for the asbestos details before starting work, two workers have been needlessly exposed to asbestos. "The risks associated with asbestos in housing stock are well- known and the regulations governing its removal are long-standing. This incident could have been avoided if Pilkington had carried out a suitable and sufficient assessment of the work liable to disturb asbestos." ASBESTOS UPDATE: Garlock Says Attys Told Clients to Hide Evidence ----------------------------------------------------------------- Caroline Simson, writing for Law360, reported that Garlock Sealing Technologies LLC has accused multiple asbestos plaintiffs' firms of scheming to artificially inflate claims against the company prior to its 2010 bankruptcy, claiming in four adversary suits unsealed that the firms coached plaintiffs to conceal evidence of exposure to other companies' asbestos products. The bankrupt sealing company argues in the suits, originally filed under seal in January 2014, that the law firms purposely held off on filing claims against bankrupt companies, to pursue claims against Garlock and other solvent companies. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Travelers Should Pay $9MM in Fibro Coverage Row ---------------------------------------------------------------- Caroline Simson, writing for Law360, reported that a New York magistrate judge recommended that Travelers Indemnity Co. pay more than $9 million in legal fees, costs and prejudgment interest to two companies facing liability from multiple asbestos claims against a subsidiary, saying the costs were not unreasonable. The court had already determined in a September 2012 ruling that the insurer wrongfully refused to defend the underlying asbestos and silica claims filed against its insured, Chicago Pneumatic Tool Co. -- a former subsidiary of Danaher Corp. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Pfizer Not Liable for Quigley-Caused Death ----------------------------------------------------------- Sharleen Sprague filed a case arising from the death of James Olson as a result of malignant pleural mesothelioma that the Plaintiff alleges was caused by exposure to asbestos containing products made by Quigley Co., Inc., a former subsidiary of Defendant Pfizer, Inc. Quigley has undergone a reorganization pursuant to Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, and the reorganization plan channels almost all asbestos lawsuits against Quigley and Pfizer into an asbestos trust under Section 524(g) of the Bankruptcy Code. The channeling injunction does not cover "a claim against [Pfizer] alleging a theory of apparent manufacturer liability under Restatement (Second) of Torts Section 400." The Plaintiff moves for certification of questions to the Washington State Supreme Court regarding the scope of Section 400 under Washington law and whether she has provided enough evidence to "justify a jury in finding liability." Pfizer moves for summary dismissal of the case, arguing that the Plaintiff cannot prove it was an "apparent manufacturer" under Section 400 and so the bankruptcy injunction prohibits the Plaintiff's suit. In an order dated Jan. 12, 2015, Judge Robert J. Bryan of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, Tacoma, denied the Plaintiff's motion to certify and granted Pfizer's motion for summary judgment and dismissed the case. Judge Bryan ruled that "[a] parent/subsidiary relationship alone would not give rise to a conclusion that Pfizer manufactured the product." In this case, the Plaintiff has not shown that there are issues of fact as to her Section 400 claim and the Plaintiff's remaining case is barred by Quigley reorganization plan that channels all asbestos product related claims against Quigley and Pfizer to the 524(g) trust. The case is SHARLEEN SPRAGUE, Personal Representative of the Estate of JAMES OLSON, Plaintiff, v. PFIZER, INC., Defendant, CASE NO. 14-5084 RJB (W.D. Wash.). A full-text copy of Judge Bryan's Decision is available at http://is.gd/uBRq2nfrom Leagle.com. Sharleen Sprague, Plaintiff, represented by Chandler H Udo, Esq. - - chandler@bergmanlegal.com -- BERGMAN DRAPER LADENBURG PLLC, Glenn S Draper, Esq. -- glenn@bergmanlegal.com -- BERGMAN DRAPER LADENBURG PLLC, Matthew Phineas Bergman, Esq. -- matt@bergmanlegal.com -- BERGMAN DRAPER LADENBURG PLLC, Anna D Knudson, Esq. -- annak@bergmanlegal.com -- BERGMAN DRAPER & LADENBURG PLLC, Brian F Ladenburg, Esq. -- brian@bergmanlegal.com -- BERGMAN DRAPER & LADENBURG PLLC, Jeffrey M Odom, Esq. -- jodom@pcslegal.com -- PEPPLE CANTU SCHMIDT PLLC & Leonard J Feldman, Esq., STOEL RIVES. Pfizer Inc., Defendant, represented by Marissa Alkhazov, BETTS PATTERSON & MINES, Arthur E Brown, Esq. -- arthur.brown@kayescholer.com -- KAYE SCHOLER, Hayden A Coleman, Esq. -- haydencoleman@quinnemanuel.com -- QUINN EMANUEL URQUHART & SULLIVAN, LLP & Sheila L Birnbaum, Esq. -- sheilabirnbaum@quinnemanuel.com -- QUINN EMANUEL URQUHART & SULLIVAN, LLP. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Kent Makers Granted Summary Judgment in PI Suit ---------------------------------------------------------------- Plaintiff Marilyn F. Quirin, special representative of the estate of Ronald J. Quirin, has sued defendants Lorillard Tobacco Company, Hollingsworth & Vose Company, and Georgia-Pacific, LLC, on a negligence theory, alleging that Mr. Quirin developed and died from mesothelioma substantially caused by his exposure to asbestos-containing materials while smoking Kent cigarettes and working with asbestos-containing joint compound manufactured, sold, distributed, or supplied by Georgia-Pacific. Lorillard, H&V, and Georgia-Pacific filed a motion for summary judgment on the Plaintiff's claim for damages for loss of consortium under the Illinois Wrongful Death Act, 740 ILCS 180/1 - et seq., arguing that the Plaintiff cannot establish that Mr. Quirin was exposed to each defendant's asbestos-containing products after his marriage to the Plaintiff on Feb. 18, 1977, and thus that the Plaintiff is not entitled to damages for loss of consortium under the IWDA. In a memorandum opinion and order dated Jan. 8, 2015, Judge Joan B. Gottschall of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, granted Lorillard and H&V's motion for summary judgment on the Plaintiff's claims for damages for loss of consortium under the IWDA, but denied Georgia-Pacific's motion on the same issue. With respect to Lorillard and H&V, Judge Gottschall pointed out that a string of cases decided by Illinois appellate courts held that "the post-marital discovery of a pre-marital injury cannot create a cause of action for loss of consortium where none existed in the first place" and that a "manufacturer owes no duty to [a person's] future spouse" when the manufacturer wrongfully exposes a person, without warning, to asbestos-containing products. In this case, it is undisputed that: Lorillard and H&V stopped manufacturing cigarettes with an asbestos-containing filter in 1956; Mr. Quirin stopped smoking Kent cigarettes in the early 1960s; and Mr. Quirin married his wife in 1977. Since Mr. Quirin's last possible exposure to Kent cigarettes containing asbestos occurred well before his marriage, Lorillard and H&V are entitled to summary judgment on the issue of claims for damages for loss of consortium as against the named plaintiff, Marilyn Quirin, Judge Gottschall ruled. With respect to Georgia-Pacific, Judge Gottschall found that, at most, Quirin's testimony creates a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Quirin was exposed to asbestos-containing Georgia- Pacific products in 1977, the same year he married the Plaintiff. The fact-finder, not the court, should resolve this factual question, Judge Gottschall said. The case is MARILYN F. QUIRIN, Special Representative of the Estate of RONALD J. QUIRIN, Deceased, Plaintiff, v. LORILLARD TOBACCO COMPANY et al., Defendants, NO. 13 CV 2633 (N.D. Ill.). A full-text copy of Judge Gottschall's Decision is available at http://is.gd/OXnx3Ffrom Leagle.com. Marilyn F. Quirin, Plaintiff, represented by Demetrios T Zacharopoulos, Waters & Kraus Llp, Gary Paul, Waters, Kraus & Paul, Gibbs C Henderson & Robert Neil Wadington, Robert N. Wadington & Associates. Lorillard Tobacco Company, Defendant, Cross Defendant and Cross Claimant, represented by Kurt Edward Reitz, Esq. -- kreitz@thompsoncoburn.com -- Thompson Coburn, James E. Berger, Esq. -- james.berger@hugheshubbard.com -- Hughes, Hubbard & Reed Llp, James David Duffy, Esq. -- dduffy@thompsoncoburn.com -- Thompson Coburn LLP, Kevin C. Mcginley, Esq. -- kmcginley@thompsoncoburn.com -- Thompson Coburn Llp, Ricardo G. Cedillo, Esq. -- rcedillo@lawdcm.com -- Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza & Ryan Gregory Webb, Esq. -- rwebb@thompsoncoburn.com -- Thompson Coburn Llp. Crane Co., Defendant, Cross Claimant, and Cross Defendant, represented by Catherine Lynn Carlson, Esq. -- cathie.carlson@guntymccarthy.com -- Gunty and McCarthy, James Paul Kasper, Esq. -- jamie.kasper@guntymccarthy.com -- Gunty & McCarthy Law Offices, Susan Gunty, Esq. -- susan.gunty@guntymccarthy.com -- Gunty and McCarthy, David Fusco, Esq. -- david.fusco@klgates.com - - K&l Gates, David A. Rammelt, K&L Gates LLP, Michael James Ross, Esq. -- michael.ross@klgates.com -- K&L Gates Llp & Terry Budd, Esq. -- terry.budd@klgates.com -- K&L Gates LLP. Georgia-Pacific LLC, Defendant, Cross Defendant and Cross Claimant, represented by Adam H Doeringer, Esq. -- adoeringer@smbtrials.com -- Swanson, Martin & Bell, Llp & Michael William Drumke, Esq. -- mdrumke@smbtrials.com -- Swanson, Martin & Bell. Hollingsworth & Vose Company, Inc., Defendant, Cross Defendant, and Cross Claimant, represented by Kurt Edward Reitz, Thompson Coburn, James E. Berger, Hughes, Hubbard & Reed Llp, James David Duffy, Thompson Coburn LLP, Kevin C. Mcginley, Thompson Coburn Llp & Ryan Gregory Webb, Thompson Coburn Llp. ASBESTOS UPDATE: So. Carolina Court Quashes Subpoenas in "Parker" ----------------------------------------------------------------- Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr., of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Rock Hill Division, in an order dated Jan. 12, 2015, a full-text copy of which is available at http://is.gd/cMfGSUfrom Leagle.com, granted a motion to quash deposition notices and subpoenas filed by certain defendants in the purported class action lawsuit filed South Carolinians who allege exposure to asbestos during their employment. According to Judge Anderson, the subpoenas served and depositions noticed by defendant William R. Couch and Couch Law Firm to Brent P. Stewart, Esq., and Ann McCrowey Mickle, Esq., would serve no useful purpose in the controversy. Prior to rendering his decision, Judge Anderson, in an order dated Jan. 8, 2015, a full-text copy of which is available at http://is.gd/LLdNBrfrom Leagle.com, directed Mr. Stewart and Ms. Mickle to file affidavits providing the following information as to six named plaintiffs in the lawsuit: 1. Did you consult with any of the named Plaintiffs prior to that Plaintiff settling his or her asbestos tort claim? If so, provide the name of the Plaintiff, and the date(s) of consultation. 2. Without divulging the advice, did you provide any advice regarding workers' compensation to any of the named Plaintiffs prior to that Plaintiff settling his or her asbestos tort claim? If so, provide the name of the Plaintiff, and the date(s) of advice. ASBESTOS UPDATE: South Carolina PI Claimants Denied Class Cert. --------------------------------------------------------------- Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr., of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Rock Hill Division, denied the motion for issue certification under Rule 23(c)(4) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for a class consisting of approximately 15,896 South Carolinians who allege to have sustained injuries from exposure to asbestos during their employment, primarily at various South Carolina manufacturing plants. Judge Anderson ruled that although the Plaintiffs' threshold issues could arguably meet all of the prerequisites of Rule 23(a)(1)-(4), and the predominance requirement of Rule 23(b)(3), the Court nevertheless finds that a class action, under the unique circumstances presented in this controversy, is not "superior" to other available methods for fairly and efficiently adjudicating the controversy. The Plaintiffs thus fail to satisfy the second prong of Rule 23(b)(3), and the Court therefore denied the motion. The case is Odell Parker; Ruth Parker; Larry Southern; Roy Southern; Yvonne Harris; and Barbara Patterson, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated in the State of South Carolina, Plaintiffs, v. Asbestos Processing, LLC; Richard H. Bishoff, PC; Richard H. Bishoff; John M. Deakle; A. Joel Bentley; A. Joel Bentley Law Office; William R. Couch; Couch Law Firm; David O. McCormick; Cumbest, Cumbest, Hunter & McCormick; Crymes G. Pittman; Pittman, Germany, Roberts & Welsh, LLP; John Michael Simms; and Lawyer John Doe and Jane Doe, Defendants, NO. 0:11-CV- 01800-JFA (D.S.C.). A full-text copy of Judge Anderson's order dated Jan. 8, 2015, is available at http://is.gd/L00amWfrom Leagle.com. Odell Parker, Plaintiff, represented by Ann McCrowey Mickle, Ann McCrowey Mickle Law Offices, Brent P Stewart, Stewart Law Offices, Catherine Guerry Brown Kerney, Pendarvis Law Offices, Chad A McGowan, McGowan Hood Felder and Johnson, J Alan INACTIVE Bass, Mickle and Bass, Jenna W Garraux, Stewart Law Offices, Steven Randall Hood, McGowan Hood and Felder, Susan F Campbell, McGowan Hood and Felder, Thomas A Pendarvis, Pendarvis Law Office & Whitney Boykin Harrison, McGowan Hood and Felder. Ruth Parker, Plaintiff, represented by Ann McCrowey Mickle, Ann McCrowey Mickle Law Offices, Brent P Stewart, Stewart Law Offices, Catherine Guerry Brown Kerney, Pendarvis Law Offices, Chad A McGowan, McGowan Hood Felder and Johnson, J Alan INACTIVE Bass, Mickle and Bass, Jenna W Garraux, Stewart Law Offices, Steven Randall Hood, McGowan Hood and Felder, Susan F Campbell, McGowan Hood and Felder, Thomas A Pendarvis, Pendarvis Law Office & Whitney Boykin Harrison, McGowan Hood and Felder. Larry Southern, Plaintiff, represented by Ann McCrowey Mickle, Ann McCrowey Mickle Law Offices, Brent P Stewart, Stewart Law Offices, Catherine Guerry Brown Kerney, Pendarvis Law Offices, Chad A McGowan, McGowan Hood Felder and Johnson, J Alan INACTIVE Bass, Mickle and Bass, Jenna W Garraux, Stewart Law Offices, Steven Randall Hood, McGowan Hood and Felder, Susan F Campbell, McGowan Hood and Felder, Thomas A Pendarvis, Pendarvis Law Office & Whitney Boykin Harrison, McGowan Hood and Felder. Roy Southern, Plaintiff, represented by Ann McCrowey Mickle, Ann McCrowey Mickle Law Offices, Brent P Stewart, Stewart Law Offices, Catherine Guerry Brown Kerney, Pendarvis Law Offices, Chad A McGowan, McGowan Hood Felder and Johnson, J Alan INACTIVE Bass, Mickle and Bass, Jenna W Garraux, Stewart Law Offices, Steven Randall Hood, McGowan Hood and Felder, Susan F Campbell, McGowan Hood and Felder, Thomas A Pendarvis, Pendarvis Law Office & Whitney Boykin Harrison, McGowan Hood and Felder. Yvonne Harris, Plaintiff, represented by Ann McCrowey Mickle, Ann McCrowey Mickle Law Offices, Brent P Stewart, Stewart Law Offices, Chad A McGowan, McGowan Hood Felder and Johnson, J Alan INACTIVE Bass, Mickle and Bass, Jenna W Garraux, Stewart Law Offices, Steven Randall Hood, McGowan Hood and Felder, Susan F Campbell, McGowan Hood and Felder, Thomas A Pendarvis, Pendarvis Law Office, Catherine Guerry Brown Kerney, Pendarvis Law Offices & Whitney Boykin Harrison, McGowan Hood and Felder. Barbara Patterson, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated in the State of South Carolina, Plaintiff, represented by Ann McCrowey Mickle, Ann McCrowey Mickle Law Offices, Brent P Stewart, Stewart Law Offices, Catherine Guerry Brown Kerney, Pendarvis Law Offices, Chad A McGowan, McGowan Hood Felder and Johnson, J Alan INACTIVE Bass, Mickle and Bass, Jenna W Garraux, Stewart Law Offices, Steven Randall Hood, McGowan Hood and Felder, Susan F Campbell, McGowan Hood and Felder, Thomas A Pendarvis, Pendarvis Law Office & Whitney Boykin Harrison, McGowan Hood and Felder. Asbestos Processing LLC, Defendant, represented by Alexis Kaylor Lindsay, Esq. -- alindsay@sowellgray.com -- Sowell Gray Stepp and Laffitte, Elizabeth Van Doren Gray, Esq., Sowell Gray Stepp and Laffitte, Jason D Maertens, Esq. -- jason.maertens@smithmoorelaw.com -- Smith Moore Leatherwood, Joseph Calhoun Watson, Esq., Sowell Gray Stepp and Laffitte & Susan F Campbell, McGowan Hood and Felder. Richard H Bishoff PC, Defendant, represented by Jason D Maertens, Smith Moore Leatherwood, Kurt Matthew Rozelsky, Esq. -- kurt.rozelsky@smithmoorelaw.com -- Smith Moore Leatherwood, Michael J Giese, Esq. -- mike.giese@smithmoorelaw.com -- Smith Moore Leatherwood, Dane Hal Butswinkas, Esq. -- dbutswinkas@wc.com -- Williams and Connolly & Richmond Turner Moore, Esq. -- rtmoore@wc.com -- Williams and Connolly. Richard H Bishoff, Defendant, represented by Jason D Maertens, Smith Moore Leatherwood, Kurt Matthew Rozelsky, Smith Moore Leatherwood, Michael J Giese, Smith Moore Leatherwood, Dane Hal Butswinkas, Williams and Connolly & Richmond Turner Moore, Williams and Connolly. John M Deakle, Defendant, represented by Jason D Maertens, Smith Moore Leatherwood, Kurt Matthew Rozelsky, Smith Moore Leatherwood, Michael J Giese, Smith Moore Leatherwood, Dane Hal Butswinkas, Williams and Connolly & Richmond Turner Moore, Williams and Connolly. A Joel Bentley, Defendant, represented by Leslie Arlen Cotter, Jr, Esq. -- lcotter@richardsonplowden.com -- Richardson Plowden and Robinson & Sheila M Bias, Esq. -- sbias@richardsonplowden.com -- Richardson Plowden and Robinson. A Joel Bentley Law Office, Defendant, represented by Leslie Arlen Cotter, Jr, Richardson Plowden and Robinson & Sheila M Bias, Richardson Plowden and Robinson. William R Couch, Defendant, represented by Daniel C Leonardi, Esq. -- dleonardi@nexsenpruet.com -- Nexsen Pruet, Jennifer Butler Routh, Esq. -- jrouth@nexsenpruet.com -- Nexsen Pruet, Susan Pedrick McWilliams, Esq. -- smcwilliams@nexsenpruet.com -- Nexsen Pruet Jacobs and Pollard, Tanya Amber Gee, Esq. -- tgee@nexsenpruet.com -- Nexsen Pruet, Dane Hal Butswinkas, Williams and Connolly & Richmond Turner Moore, Williams and Connolly. Couch Law Firm, Defendant, represented by Daniel C Leonardi, Nexsen Pruet, Jennifer Butler Routh, Nexsen Pruet, Susan Pedrick McWilliams, Nexsen Pruet Jacobs and Pollard, Dane Hal Butswinkas, Williams and Connolly & Richmond Turner Moore, Williams and Connolly. David O McCormick, Defendant, represented by R Hawthorne Barrett, Esq. -- tbarrett@turnerpadget.com -- Turner Padget Graham and Laney & Thomas Charles Salane, Esq. -- tsalane@turnerpadget.com -- Turner Padget Graham and Laney. Cumbest Cumbest Hunter & McCormick, Defendant, represented by R Hawthorne Barrett, Turner Padget Graham and Laney & Thomas Charles Salane, Turner Padget Graham and Laney. Crymes G Pittman, Defendant, represented by John William Fletcher, Esq. -- jfletcher@barnwell-whaley.com -- Barnwell Whaley Patterson and Helms & Morris Dawes Cooke, Jr, Esq. -- mdc@barnwell- whaley.com -- Barnwell Whaley Patterson and Helms. Pittman Germany Roberts & Welsh LLP, Defendant, represented by John William Fletcher, Barnwell Whaley Patterson and Helms & Morris Dawes Cooke, Jr, Barnwell Whaley Patterson and Helms. John Michael Simms, Defendant, represented by Alexis Kaylor Lindsay, Sowell Gray Stepp and Laffitte, Elizabeth Van Doren Gray, Sowell Gray Stepp and Laffitte & Joseph Calhoun Watson, Sowell Gray Stepp and Laffitte. William Howell Morrison, Intervenor for limited purpose, Intervenor, represented by Steve Allen Matthews, Esq. -- smatthews@hsblawfirm.com -- Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Time to Perfect Appeals in 13 NYCAL Suits Tolled ----------------------------------------------------------------- The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department, on Jan. 13, 2015, issued several orders enlarging to the June 2015 Term the time to perfect appeals in the following asbestos-related personal injury cases: * IN RE: NEW YORK CITY ASBESTOS LITIGATION. ENGLE, v. AIR & LIQUID SYSTEMS CORPORATION -- CRANE CO., MOTION NO. M-6008 (N.Y. App. Div.). A full-text copy of the Decision is available at http://is.gd/2txKaufrom Leagle.com. * IN RE: NEW YORK CITY ASBESTOS LITIGATION: D'ANDRADE, v. A.W. CHESTERTON COMPANY -- CRANE CO., MOTION NO. M-6012 (N.Y. App. Div.). A full-text copy of the Decision is available at http://is.gd/mfARH1from Leagle.com. * IN RE: NEW YORK CITY ASBESTOS LITIGATION: BATTIPAGLIA, v. A.C. & S., INC. -- CRANE CO., MOTION NO. M-6003 (N.Y. App. Div.). A full-text copy of the Decision is available at http://is.gd/XNjEddfrom Leagle.com. * IN RE: NEW YORK CITY ASBESTOS LITIGATION. BONFEY, v. A.C. & S., INC. -- CRANE CO., MOTION NO. M-6009 (N.Y. App. Div.). A full-text copy of the Decision is available at http://is.gd/nvMfA5 from Leagle.com. * IN RE: NEW YORK CITY ASBESTOS LITIGATION. AMBIS, v. A.C. & S., INC. -- CRANE CO., MOTION NO. M-6010 (N.Y. App. Div.). A full-text copy of the Decision is available at http://is.gd/kehQl6 from Leagle.com. * IN RE: NEW YORK CITY ASBESTOS LITIGATION. McLAUGHLIN, v. AIR & LIQUID SYSTEMS CORPORATION -- CRANE CO., MOTION NO. M-5999 (N.Y. App. Div.). A full-text copy of the Decision is available at http://is.gd/LGY9J7from Leagle.com. * IN RE: NEW YORK CITY ASBESTOS LITIGATION. HISCHE, v. AIR & LIQUID SYSTEMS CORPORATION -- CRANE CO., MOTION NO. M-6006 (N.Y. App. Div.). A full-text copy of the Decision is available at http://is.gd/NEQ9BZfrom Leagle.com. * IN RE: NEW YORK CITY ASBESTOS LITIGATION. VIOHL, v. A.O. SMITH WATER PRODUCTS -- CRANE CO., MOTION NO. M-6013 (N.Y. App.). A full-text copy of the Decision is available at http://is.gd/D5WTS2from Leagle.com. * IN RE: NEW YORK CITY ASBESTOS LITIGATION. PORTA, v. A.O. SMITH WATER PRODUCTS -- CRANE CO., MOTION NO. M-6004 (N.Y. App.). A full-text copy of the Decision is available at http://is.gd/M59AJTfrom Leagle.com. * IN RE: NEW YORK CITY ASBESTOS LITIGATION. PERRY, v. A.O. SMITH WATER PRODUCTS -- CRANE CO., MOTION NO. M-5997 (N.Y. App. Div.). A full-text copy of the Decision is available at http://is.gd/IFuTaqfrom Leagle.com. * IN RE: NEW YORK CITY ASBESTOS LITIGATION: CICHY, v. A.O. SMITH WATER PRODUCTS -- CRANE CO., MOTION NO. M-6001 (N.Y. App. Div.). A full-text copy of the Decision is available at http://is.gd/rIQVFRfrom Leagle.com. * IN RE: NEW YORK CITY ASBESTOS LITIGATION. GILL, v. A.O. SMITH WATER PRODUCTS -- CRANE CO., MOTION NO. M-6011 (N.Y. App. Div.). A full-text copy of the Decision is available at http://is.gd/hz6rFRfrom Leagle.com. * IN RE: NEW YORK CITY ASBESTOS LITIGATION. LONDON, v. A.C. & S., INC. -- CRANE CO., MOTION NO. M-6005 (N.Y. App. Div.). A full-text copy of the Decision is available at http://is.gd/KDJY3t from Leagle.com. ASBESTOS UPDATE: $2.5MM Judgment Against Port Authority Affirmed ---------------------------------------------------------------- The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department, affirmed on Jan. 15, 2015 a lower court's ruling awarding in favor of the estate of George P. Andrucki and against defendant Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in the amount of $2,500,000 plus interest. In this case, the Appellate Division, on a prior appeal, reversed and vacated the $2.5 million judgment, finding that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction because Mr. Andrucki's death, which was due to mesothelioma, required service of a new notice of claim upon the Port Authority. The Court of Appeals reversed that order and remitted the case "for consideration of issues raised but not determined." The Appellate Division found that the trial court properly awarded damages to the plaintiffs without the benefit of an inquest. The Appellate Division said the trial court is permitted to make an assessment of damages without a jury, and although a defaulting defendant is ordinarily entitled to participate in an inquest on damages, a court may "dispense with the requirement of notice and a hearing where the defendant has failed to proceed to the trial of an action reached and called for trial." The case is IN RE NEW YORK CITY ASBESTOS LITIGATION. MARY ANDRUCKI AS ADMINISTRATRIX FOR THE ESTATE OF GEORGE P. ANDRUCKI, ET AL., Plaintiffs-Respondents, ALUMINUM COMPANY OF AMERICA, ET AL., Defendants, PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY, Defendant- Appellant, 10070, 190377/10 (N.Y. App. Div.). A full-text copy of the Decision is available at http://is.gd/XObH31from Leagle.com. Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney, Ltd., New York (Christian H. Gannon, Esq. -- cgannon@smsm.com -- of counsel), for appellant. Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C., New York (Daniel T. Horner of counsel), for respondent. ASBESTOS UPDATE: Insurers Found Liable to Defend Illinois Tool -------------------------------------------------------------- The Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Second Division, affirmed a trial court's decision finding that Travelers Casualty & Surety Company and Century Indemnity Company, as former insurers of Illinois Tool Works Inc. and ITW Finishing LLC, have a duty to defend Illinois Tool and that the insurers should bear the entire cost. Illinois Tool are companies engaged in the manufacture and distribution of tools, equipment, finishing systems, and consumables. In 1993, Illinois Tool acquired Miller Electric and began its expansion to the distribution of welding products. Illinois Tool was made defendant in numerous toxic tort cases alleging that the plaintiffs in those cases were injured as a result of exposure to asbestos, benzene, manganese, and other harmful materials. Illinois Tool was named as successor-in- interest to the welding companies it acquired. The Appellate Court held that the duty to defend has been referred to as litigation insurance (Perdue Farms, Inc. v. Travelers Casualty & Surety Co. of America, 448 F.3d 252, 258 (4th Cir. 2006)), because it protects the insured from the expense of defending suits brought against it. From all indications, Illinois Tool should not be named as a defendant in the toxic tort cases, the Appellate Court said, but it was insured against being wrongly sued. The Insurers, in this case, are responsible for defending Illinois Tool from the allegations against it, however groundless, the Appellate Court further held. The Appellate Court ruled that the Insurers must provide a defense for all cases where the bare underlying allegations, if proved, would render Illinois Tool individually liable. If Illinois Tool is alleged to be individually liable or liable both directly and as a successor, there is a duty to defend, the Appellate Court said. The duty to defend is joint and several, the Appellate Court added. If Illinois Tool is alleged to be liable solely as a successor, there is no duty to defend, the Appellate Court clarified. The appeals case is ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC. AND ITW FINISHING LLC, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. TRAVELERS CASUALTY AND SURETY COMPANY, CENTURY INDEMNITY COMPANY, AND THE TRAVELERS INDEMNITY COMPANY OF CONNECTICUT, Defendants-Appellants, NO. 1-13-2350 (Ill. App.). A full-text copy of the opinion dated Jan. 13, 2015, is available at http://is.gd/YjfbeWfrom Leagle.com. ********* S U B S C R I P T I O N I N F O R M A T I O N Class Action Reporter is a daily newsletter, co-published by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Washington, D.C., USA. Ma. Cristina Canson, Noemi Irene A. Adala, Joy A. Agravante, Valerie Udtuhan, Julie Anne L. Toledo, Christopher G. Patalinghug, and Peter A. Chapman, Editors. Copyright 2015. All rights reserved. ISSN 1525-2272. This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or publication in any form (including e-mail forwarding, electronic re-mailing and photocopying) is strictly prohibited without prior written permission of the publishers. Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed. The CAR subscription rate is $775 for six months delivered via e-mail. Additional e-mail subscriptions for members of the same firm for the term of the initial subscription or balance thereof are $25 each. For subscription information, contact Peter A. Chapman at 215-945-7000 or Nina Novak at 202-362-8552. * * * End of Transmission * * *