the jere beasley report, nov. 2010

Distributed to over 53,000 subscribers each month

www.BeasleyAllen.com

November 2010

2 www.BeasleyAllen.com

I. CAPITOL OBSERVATIONS

15-Passenger Vans are rolling Death traPs

Our firm has filed a wrongful deathlawsuit on behalf of Plaintiff HoraceWalton,whosedaughter,JenniferLeanneWalton,waskilledonOctober3, 2010,whenthe1987Dodge15-passengervaninwhichshewasridingrolledoverseveraltimesandcrashed.Thevanbecameuncon-trollableafterthetreadonareartiresepa-rated,causingthetiretogoflat.ThesuitwasfiledintheCircuitCourtforRussellCounty,Alabama,allegingproductsliability,failuretowarn,negligenceandwanton-nessfortheunsafeconditionsofthevanand tire. Defendants include ChryslerGroup,L.L.C.,ChryslerGroupVans,L.L.C.,andR&JTireCo.Inc.

Therealtragedybehindthiscrashandother fatal rollover crashes involving15-passengervansisthatfederalregulatorsandautosafetyexpertshaveknownforyearsthatthesevansareunfittotransportpeople,andyettheycontinuetobemanu-factured.Thisvehicleis,bydesign,inher-ently unstable and unsafe and yet it isallowedtoremainontheroad.Asaresult,peopleareinjuredandkilled.Thistypeoftragedyiscompletelyunnecessary.These15-passengervansaretoodangeroustobeontheroadandarerollingdeath-traps!

Fifteen-passengervanswereoriginallydesigned tohaulcargo,notpassengers,andsotheylacksomebasicsafetyfeaturesthatarestandardinothervehicles.Studieshaveshownthatthevansarethreetimesmorelikelytoflipandrollinacrashwhenthey are fully loaded. According to theNationalHighwayTrafficSafetyAdministra-tion(NHTSA),therewereapproximately564,00015-passengervansinuseintheU.S.onJuly1,2007,butonly7%were2004ornewermodels,meaningthevastmajor-ityof15-passengervansinusetodaylackeventhemostbasicsafetyimprovementsandNHTSA-requiredwarningsandadviso-ries.Federallawevenprohibitsthesaleof15-passengervansfortheschool-relatedtransportofhighschoolageandyoungerstudents.

BenBakerandthiswriterfromourfirm,alongwithDerrellDowdell,alawyerfrom

Columbus,Georgia,willhandlethecaseonbehalfoftheWaltonfamily.Thefamilywantsthepublictoknowhowdangerousthesevansareandwantstogetthemoffthehighwayssothatotherswon’thavetosufferthelossoftheirlovedones.

some say too much corPorate regulation

ForyearsleadersintheNationalRepub-licanParty—andtheirextremerightwingsupporters—haveharpedon toomuchgovernmentregulation.Ithasbeensortofa rallying cry for those in CorporateAmerica who finance GOP candidates.Eventhoughthemessagewasintendedforthataudienceprimarily,ithashadaninflu-encewithmany in themedia.Unfortu-nately,lotsofordinarycitizenshavealsobought into this political myth. But inreality,overtheyears,wehavehadsomeoftheweakestregulationfromthefederalgovernment of CorporateAmerica thatmoneycanbuy.Let’stakealookatwhatthatsortofregulationhasactuallycausedintheU.S.Wehaveseen:

• thelackofregulationofWallStreetandthe large financial institutionswhicha lmost destroying our Nat ion’seconomy;

• thefailuretoregulatethebigoilcompa-nieswhichledtothelargestoilspillinthe Gulf of Mexico in our Nation’shistory;

• theweakregulationofthecoalminingindustryresulting inthe lossofa tre-mendous number of lives in a largenumberofmineexplosions;

• the weak regulation of the powerfuldrug companies allowing dangerousdrugssuchasVioxxtobeputonthemarket;and

• thefailuretoregulateforeignproductscoming into theU.S.causing tremen-dous safety and health problems forAmericanconsumers.

Actuallybothnationalpoliticalpartiesmustsharetheblameforfailingtoprop-erly regulate the automobile, drug, oil,food,chemicalandminingindustriesandtomonitortheiractivities.Hopefully,thatwill soon change. I would like to hearthosewhobelieveweakregulationisgood

fortheAmericanpeopleexplainhowthatcanbe.It’sgoodforthegiantsinCorpo-rateAmericaandbadforallconsumers.

a yes Vote on amenDment three Will Be gooD For alaBama

Alabama voters will soon have anopportunitytomakesureourstate’shigh-waysareupgradedandmadesafer.Amend-mentThree—aproposaltospendabout$100millionayear,fortenyears,onthestate’s transportation infrastructure—deservesayesvoteonNovember2nd.Sen.LowellBarronandmybrother,Rep.BillyBeasley,successfullyguidedtheproposed

IN THIS ISSUEI. CapitolObservations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

II. AReportontheGulfCoastDisaster. . . . 3

III. DrugManufacturersFraudLitigation. . . 5

IV. PurelyPoliticalNews&Views. . . . . . . . 6

V. RecentSettlementsbyFirm. . . . . . . . . . 7

VI. CourtWatch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

VII. TheNationalScene. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

VIII. TheCorporateWorld. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

IX. CampaignFinanceReform. . . . . . . . . . 12

X. CongressionalUpdate . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

XI. ToyotaLitigationUpdate . . . . . . . . . . . 13

XII. ProductLiabilityUpdate . . . . . . . . . . . 14

XIII. MassTortsUpdate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

XIV. BusinessLitigation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

XV. AnUpdateonSecuritiesLitigation. . . . 18

XVI. InsuranceandFinanceUpdate . . . . . . 19

XVII. EmploymentandFLSALitigation. . . . . 19

XVIII. PredatoryLending. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

XIX. PremisesLiabilityUpdate. . . . . . . . . . . 21

XX. WorkplaceHazards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

XXI. Trasportation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

XXII. NursingHomeUpdate. . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

XXIII. HealthcareIssues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

XXIV. EnvironmentalConcerns. . . . . . . . . . . 26

XXV. TheConsumerCorner. . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

XXVI. RecallsUpdate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

XXVII.FirmActivities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

XXVIII.SpecialRecognitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

XXIX. FavoriteBibleVerses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

XXX. ClosingObservations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

XXXI. PartingWords. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

www.JereBeasleyReport.com 3

constitutional amendment through theLegislature.Itmustnowbeapprovedbythevoters.ThisisclearlyaninvestmentinAlabamaandonethatwillpayforrepairand replacement of aging roads andbridgesacrossthestate.Eachcountyandcitygetsitsfairshareofthismoney.Allofthiscomesatatimewhenjobsinourstatearebadlyneeded.Roadsandbridgesallover the stateare indesperateneedofrepair.

IfAmendmentThreepasses,atotalof$1billion, without any new taxes, will bespentonimprovingtransportationinfra-structureovertenyears.Inatypicalyearthemoney-$100millioneachyear—willbedistributedasfollows:

• $39millionallocatedfor theAlabamaDepartmentofTransportationtospendin all counties, with 55% distributedbasedoncountypopulationand45%dividedevenlyamongallcounties;

• $35milliondividedevenlyamongAla-bama’ssevenCongressionaldistrictsforprojectsearmarkedintheamendmentorchosenby thestate transportationdepartment;

• $25milliontobespentontransporta-tionprojectschosenbycounties,withmoney distributed according to thesame55%/45%split;and

• $1millionallocatedtoarepairfundforlocalshortlinerailroads.

The amendment, if adopted, wouldrequireeachcountytogive10%ofthisallocationtoitsmunicipalities,distributedbasedonpopulation,forprojectschosenbythemunicipalities.It’sbeenestimatedthatprojectsfundedbytheamendmentwouldcreate30,000newjobs.Theproj-ects—withoutadoubt—willgivearealboosttothestate’seconomy.Ifthisamend-mentfailstopass,Idon’tknowwherethemoneyneededforroadsandbridgeswillcomefrom.IstronglyrecommendayesvoteonAmendmentThree.

Source: Mobile Press Register

II. A REPORT ON THE GULF COAST DISASTER

rhon Jones aPPointeD to Key Position in the mDl

RhonJones,whoheadsourfirm’sEnvi-ronmentalLawsection,hasbeenselectedtohelpdirectthelitigationrelatedtotheBPoildisaster.Rhonisoneof15lawyersoutofmorethan100whoappliedwhowilloverseetheconsolidatedlitigationaspartofthePlaintiffsSteeringCommittee(PSC). TheBP litigation,which involveshundredsofcasesagainsttheoilgiantandotherDefendants,wasconsolidatedunderU.S.District JudgeCarlBarbier inNewOrleansinAugust.

This appointment puts our firm in aleadershiprolewiththeBPoillitigation.Consolidatingthecasesintoamultidistrictlitigation(MDL)willallowthecommitteeoverseeingtheprocesstomakesurethecasemovesforward.Thisalsowillallowthecasestomovemorequicklytoresolu-tion.LawyersonthePSCwillcoordinatethelitigationandworktogetheronissuessuch a s d i scove r y and p re t r i a lmotions.Thisisamostimportantappoint-mentandRhonwilldoagoodjob.

OurfirmhasfiledanumberoflawsuitsinDistrictCourtsinAlabama,Mississippi,FloridaandLouisianatohelpprotectbusi-nessesandindividualsharmedbytheoilspill.Complaintshavebeenfiledonbehalfofabroadrangeofclientsincludingcom-mercialfishingbusinesses,retailestablish-ments,therestaurantindustry,realestatemanagementcompanies,propertyowners,persons sufferingpersonal injuries andothers.ThesecaseswillallbesenttotheMDLinNewOrleans.

mDl JuDge gets things moVing

JudgeCarlBarbier,whoispresidingovertheoilspillMDL,hassetaschedulefortrialsinthelawsuitsarisingoutoftheoilspill.The“testcase”forclaimsfiledagainstBPby individualsandbusinessesundertheOilPollutionActwill takeplace inJune2011.Aseparatetrialwillbeheldin2012toassignpercentagesoffaulttoBPandtheothercompaniessuedinconnec-

tionwiththerigexplosionandfirethatcausedover200millionbarrelsofoiltobespilledintotheGulf.

BPhasinformedJudgeBarbierthatitiswaivinga$75millioncaponitsliabilityfor certain economic damage claimsspawnedbytheGulfoilspill.BPlawyersfiled a pleading saying the company iswaivingthestatutorylimitationonliabilityunder the 1990 Oil PollutionAct. BPdeniesengaginginanygrossnegligenceinconnection with the explosion on theDeepwaterHorizonrigandresultingspill.

FeinBerg WorKing For BP anD Being PaiD Very Well

Lotsoffolksdidn’trealizethatKennethFeinberg,whoisresponsibleforcompen-satingvictimsofBP’sGulfofMexicooilspill, is actually on BP’s payroll. Somebelievethatputshiminconflictwithhisrole, which was supposed to be as an“independent”claims adjuster, and thatcan’tbegood for thevictims. TheGulfCoastClaimsFacilitythatFeinbergrunshasbeencriticizedbyGulfCoastresidentsandpolicymakers for theslowpaceofpaymentsandtheinadequatecompensa-tionbeingpaidtothevictimsoftheoilspill.Untilrecently,Feinberghadrefusedto disclose his compensation packageeventhoughnumerousrequestshadbeenmadetohim.Hefinallydidso,butonlythroughalawyer.

Thusfar,Feinbergandhislawfirmhavebeenpaidmorethan$2.5millioninalittleoverthreemonthstoadministerthe$20billionfundsetupbyBPtocompensatevictimsofthemassiveoilspillintheGulfofMexico.BPagreedtopayhisfirm,Fein-bergRozenLLPinWashington,aflatfeeof$850,000amonthfrommid-JunethroughOctober 1st. The report was issued onFeinberg’s compensation by formerU.S. AttorneyGeneralMichaelMukasey.Interestingly,thecompensationdisclosurerevealsthatFeinbergisactuallyconsideredanemployeeofBP.TysonSlocum,directorofenergyprogramsforPublicCitizen,theWashington-based consumer advocacygroup,believesthisraises“concernsaboutthemanagementofthefund.”Interestingly,Feinberg’sbrotherDavidislistedonthelawfirm’swebsiteasdirectorofspecialprojects.The$850,000monthlypaymentstoFeinberg’sfirmwillcontinuethroughyear-endandthenwillbereviewed.Thepublicisentitledtoafulldisclosurerelat-


ingtoFeinberg’scompensationpackageandIdon’tbelievetheyhavegottenit.

Source: Bloomberg

alaBama restaurant association hires our Firm on oil sPill claims

OurfirmhasbeenhiredbytheAlabamaRestaurantAssociation(ARA)toprovidelegalcounseltobusinessessufferingasaresultoftheBPOilSpill.Restaurantsandotherhospitalityindustrybusinesseshavelostandunfortunatelycontinuetolosesig-nificant revenue as a result of the oilspill. The disaster in the Gulf severelyimpactedtheavailabilityandpricingofcommercialseafood.Italsocrippledthetourist industry at the beginning of itspeakseason.ARAPresidentLawrenceM.Fidelinalettertohismembership,stated:

Initially we, as many of you, were hopeful that BP would fully and fairly compensate your losses through the claims process. Unfortu-nately, the BP claims process has miserably failed to live up to these expectations as reflected through the outright denial of claims based on arbitrary rules such as how close the location of a business is to the Gulf Coast. Many of our members not in proximity to the coast have been and continue to be affected finan-cially as a result of the oil spill.

Aphonenumberandwebsitespecifi-callyformembersoftheAlabamaRestau-rantAssociation has been set up. TheAssociation’s staff will be available toanswer questions and respond to anyinquiriesfrommembersconcerninganyaspectofthedisaster.

BP,FeinbergandtheGCCFarealloneand the same, regardless of what theypretend.Basedonwhatwehaveseen,thenewGCCFprocess isnomorefairthantheoldone.Infact,it’svirtuallythesame.RestaurantsandthehospitalityindustryinAlabamahavetakenabeatingovertheoildisasterandthesebusinessesdeservefullcompensation,notpenniesonthedollarforclearlossestheyhavesuffered.

OurfirmhasfiledanumberoflawsuitsinDistrictCourtsinAlabama,FloridaandLouisianatohelpprotectbusinessesandindividualsharmedbytheoilspill.Com-plaints have been filed on behalf of abroadrangeofclientsincludingcommer-

cial fishing businesses, retail establish-ments,therestaurantindustry,realestatemanagementcompanies,propertyowners,persons sufferingpersonal injuries andothers.

40-FolD increase in carcinogenic comPounDs in gulF

ResearchersfromOregonStateUniver-sityhavefounda40-foldincreaseinpoly-cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)betweenMayandJunejustofftheshoreofLouisiana’sGrandeIsle.Thesamplingdeviceusedbytheresearchteamwasspe-cificallydesignedtomeasurethefractionofPAHs in theenvironment that couldmaketheirwaythroughabiologicalmem-brane.Dr.KimAnderson,anOSUprofessorofenvironmentalandmoleculartoxicol-ogy,hadthistosay:

This is a measure of what would enter into an organism. There was a huge increase of PAHs that are bio-available to the organisms—and that means they can essentially be uptaken by organisms throughout the food chain.

WatersamplestakenofftheMississippi,AlabamaandFloridacoasts—aswellasairsamples taken along the coast—alsoshowedelevatedlevelsofPAHs,butnotnearlyofthesamemagnitude.ThesamplestakeninAugustwerestillbeingtestedatpresstime.TheoperativequestionishowmanyofthePAHshavebiodegradedintheinterim.Thereweresomewherebetween4and5millionbarrelsofoilspilledintotheGulf’swatersbetweenApril20thandJuly15th.

PAHsareaclassofmorethan100hydro-carbonpollutantsand17getparticularattention because exposure can haveharmfulhealtheffects.Almosteveryoneofthose17particularlytoxiccompoundsexperiencedthe40-foldincreasethattheentire class did. Different organisms—plankton,fish,shellfishorhumans—havedifferentexposure risks toPAHs in thewateraccordingtotheresearchers.Theyalsohavedifferentcapacitiestometabo-lizethePAHs.It’snotknownhowmanyofthesetoxiccompoundsactuallyendedupinthefoodchain.Tomakethatdetermina-tionwilltakemorestudiesandresearch.It’svery importantthat theUSDAmake

surethattheseafoodthatgoestomarketissafetoeat.

Wehavewritteninpriorissuesonthechemicalsdumped into theGulfbyBP.Basedonhis findingsand thatofotherresearchers,Dr. Andersonsuspects thatthe abundant use of dispersants by BPincreasedthebioavailabilityofthePAHs.InlateJuly,wereportedthatscientistshadfoundsignsofanoil-and-dispersantmixundertheshellsoftinybluecrablarvaeintheGulf.Itappearedatthatpointtobeanindicationthatdispersantshadbrokenuptheoilintotoxicdropletssotinythattheycaneasilyenterthefoodchain.Buttwomonthslater,thoseresearchershaveyettofinalizetheirconclusions.Sothequestionremainsopen.

Butthebottomlineisthatresearcherstesting thewatersoffLouisiana in JunefoundhugelyelevatedlevelsofPAHs,someof which are known carcinogens. Thethingweshouldallbeconcernedaboutisthat thesamples takenoff theshoreofLouisiana’sGrandeIsleregistereda40-foldincrease in PAHs between May andJune.That’snotagoodthing!

Source: Huffington Post

FolKs outsiDe the coastal region aren’t getting the true Picture

PeoplewholiveoutsidetheGulfCoastregion aren’t getting a complete storyabouttheeffectsoftheoilspill,andmuchof what is being reported is inaccu-rate. The furtheryouget fromtheGulfCoast,thelesstheconcernsovercondi-tionsthereare.Thelong-rangeeffectsarebeing pretty much watered down. Anemergencysurvey,conducteddoor-to-doorincoastalAlabamarecently,confirmedele-vatedlevelsofdepressionandstressfol-lowing the oil spill. The survey alsodetectedpossibleeffects,suchasrespira-toryailments,accordingtoapreliminaryreport.EpidemiologistsfromtheCentersforDiseaseControlandPreventionjoinedwithlocalheathworkersandcounselorsto collect the data starting in lateAugust. The initial report, issuedbytheCDC’snationalCenterforEnvironmentalHealth, was based on responses fromhouseholds in the southern parts ofMobileandBaldwincounties.

Concern about mental health issueslinkedtotheGulfspillisbasedonexperi-ences after the Exxon Valdez spill in


Alaska.Theratesofsuicide,domesticvio-lence,anddivorcespikedinareasofAlaskamost af fected by the contamina -tion.AccordingtotheCDCreport,finan-cial anxietieswouldalso likelyhaveanimpactonmentalhealthandshouldbeconsidered a component of outreachefforts. This is an area of concern thatmustbewatchedclosely.

FolksontheCoastarehurtingandit’simportantforpeopleoutsidetheregiontobegivencompleteandaccurateinforma-tion.AftertheExxon Valdezspill,theratesofsuicide,domesticviolenceanddivorcesoaredintheareasmostaffectedbythecontaminationofPrinceEdwardSound.ManyhealthofficialsareconcernedthatthesameisaheadforGulfcommunitieswhere,forgenerations,familieshavemadealivingfromlocalwaters.

Sources: Mobile Press Register and AL.com

enVironmental grouPs sue BP For imPact on gulF WilDliFe

Several non-profit watchdog groupsfiledalawsuitlastmonthagainstBPunderthe Endangered Species Act for theongoing unlawful harm and death ofendangered and threatened wildlifecausedbythecompany’smassiveoilspillblowout.Atleast27endangeredorthreat-enedanimalspeciesareknowntoinhabittheGulfregion,includingfivespeciesofendangered sea turtles, four species ofendangeredwhales,threatenedandendan-geredbirdsandFloridamanatees. Testi-monyduringthePresident’sNationalOilSpillCommissionrevealedthatmorethan50%ofthetotaldischargeofoilfromtheDeepwaterHorizonblowoutremains intheGulfecosystem,muchofitincoastalandmarinesediments.

DefendersofWildlife,theSouthernEnvi-ronmental Law Center and Save theManateeClubareaskingthefederalcourttoorderBPtomitigatetheongoingharmfromtheoildisastertoendangeredandthreatenedwildlife that arepartof theweb of life in the Gulf of Mexico. TheharmfuleffectsoftheBPoilwellblowoutonendangered and threatenedwildlifewillcontinueformanyyears.ThePlaintiffsin the lawsuit are asking the court tocompelBPtoprovidetheresourcesneces-sarytoensurethat imperiledspecies intheGulfrecoverfromthisdisaster.

Source: The Locust Fork News-Journal

III. DRUG MANUFACTURERS FRAUD LITIGATION

Drug comPanies to Pay $82 million to settle meDicaiD FrauD suits in haWaii

About 40 pharmaceutical companiesthatinflateddrugpriceswillpaytheStateof Hawaii $82 million to settle theclaims. AttorneyGeneralMarkBennettmadetheannouncementofthesettlementonOctober6th.Thecompaniesbumpedupthepricesof theirdrugsbought forMedicaidprescriptionsfrom1993to2006,resultinginthestateoverpayingformedi-cationsfortensofthousandsofpatients.In an extreme example, the Medicaidprogrampaid$1,480foranulcermedica-tionthatwasavailablefor$27.70.LillianKoller, director for the Department ofHumanServices,hadthistosay:

We’re committed to the integrity of our Medicaid program, to making sure that the resources are there to help the neediest people in the state. We can’t allow people to be stealing from us.

ThesettlementsweremadepublicafterCircuitJudgeGaryChangvacatedaconfi-dentialityorder.ThelargestshareofthesettlementcomesfromMerck&Co.,thecountry’s second-largestdrugmanufac-turer,whichwillpay$28million.Thecom-panies that settled includeAstraZenecaPharmaceuticals,GlaxoSmithKlinePLC,PfizerInc.,Johnson&Johnson,NovartisPharmaceuticals, and Bristol-MyersSquibb. Thegovernmentpaid fordrugsbased on the manufacturer’s figure fortheir average wholesale price, whichexceededpricespaidbypharmacies.ThecostofprescriptiondrugsinHawaii’sMed-icaidprogramsoaredfrom$45millionin1999 to $117 million in 2004. Themethodsusedtoinflatedrugpriceswentundetectedforaconsiderabletime.TheAttorneyGeneralhadthistosay:

The feds didn’t see it. We didn’t see it. Everybody that we sued was doing it. We alleged that this was an indus-try practice.

TheactualdamagessufferedbyHawaiiwerebetween$20millionand$25million.

Sothiswasaverygoodsettlementforthestate.Taxpayersweretheonesultimatelycheated by the price gouging becausetheirfederalandstateleviesfundMedic-aid.Thepaymentwillgivestategovern-ment in Hawaii more money and willreducetheneedtoraisetaxesorfurthercutservices.Thestateisconsideringaddi-tional lawsuitsagainstothercompaniesinvolvedinrelatedschemes,accordingtotheAttorneyGeneral’soffice.

ThesettlementinHawaiiisthelatestina series of ongoing litigation in statesthroughoutthecountryagainstpharma-ceutical companies alleging Medicaidfraud.OurfirmrepresentedtheStateofHawaii, along with the firms of Miner,Barnhill&Galland,whichhasoffices inWisconsin and Chicago, and PriceOkamoto&LumofHonolulu.

Hawaiiisyetanotherexampleofhowthedrugmanufacturershavesystemati-callyperpetratedtheirfraudulentpricingschemeson state and federalMedicaidprograms to line their pockets at theexpenseofthetaxpayersofthiscountry.Butforthejurysysteminthiscountry,thisfraudulentschememayhaveneverbeenfullyunveiled.TheHawaiijudicialsystemistherealherointhiscaseandtheStateofHawaiiisthebeneficiary.ThelawsuitwasfiledbytheStateofHawaiiin2006,alleg-ingthatformorethanadecadethedrugmakershadpublishedinflatedpricesforprescriptiondrugs,causingtheoverpay-mentofmillionsofdollarsindrugcosts.

Sources: Release from Attorney General’s Office and Associated Press

Jury returns $4.6 million VerDict against mercK

AjuryinMassachusettshasreturneda$4.6millionverdictagainstthedrugmakerMerck & Co. in favor of the Common-wealthofMassachusetts.AjuryfoundthatWarrickPharmaceuticalsoverchargedMas-sachusettspharmacistsforgenericversionsoftheasthmamedicationalbuterol. Thejudgeinthecasedeferredadecisiononhowthepenaltiesshouldbecalculated,butsaidthepenaltiescouldbesubstan-tial.Thecasewasfiledin2003andtriedinfederalcourtinBoston.WarrickPharma-ceuticals,whichclosedin2008,wasaunitof Schering-PloughCorp.Merck,whichmergedwithSchering-PloughinNovem-ber2009,saysitwillappealtheverdict.

Source: Associated Press


Johnson & Johnson must Pay louisiana $257.7 million

A jury in Louisiana has returned a$257.7millionverdictagainstJohnson&Johnson for making misleading claimsaboutthesafetyof thecompany’sRisp-erdalantipsychoticdrug.Thejuryfoundthat J&Jdefrauded the state’sMedicaidsystembywrongfullytoutingRisperdalassuperiortocompetingantipsychoticdrugsandminimizingitslinkstodiabetes.TheLouisianaverdictisthesecondtriallossinastatelawsuitbroughtoverRisperdalmar-keting.AWestVirginiajudgeinanon-jurytrial last year awarded $3.95 million,findingthecompanymisleddoctorsabouttherisksandbenefitsofRisperdal.

Thejuryfound35,542violationsofthestate’sMedicalAssistanceProgramsInteg-rity Law in the Louisiana case andimposedapenaltyof$7,250foreachvio-lation.Thestate’scasecenteredondrugsafetyclaimsthatJ&JandOrtho-McNeilJanssenmadeinNovember2003corre-spondenceto700,000doctors.Inthoseletters,J&JtoutedRisperdalassaferthancompetingantipsychoticssuchasIndia-napolis-basedEliLilly&Co.’sZyprexaandLondon-basedAstraZenecaPlc’sSeroquel.Risperdal global sales peaked at $4.5billion in 2007, declining after thecompanylostpatentprotection.TheFDArespondedwithawarning lettersayingJ&Jmadefalseandmisleadingclaimsthatminimizedthepotentiallyfatalrisksofdia-betesandoverstatedthedrug’ssuperior-itytorivalmedicines.

Lawyers for the state asked jurors toholdJ&Jliableforthe7,604lettersitsentto Louisiana doctors and regulatorsmakingthoseclaimsalongwithmorethan27,542salescallsinthestatemadebythedrugmaker’srepresentativesin2003and2004. The state sought a total of $351millionindamages,includingpenaltiesof$10,000foreachfraudulentclaimandmis-representationinviolationoftheMedicalAssistanceProgramsIntegrityLaw.PatrickMorrow,alawyerwithMorrow,Morrow,Ryan&Bassell,locatedinOpelousas,Loui-siana,representedthestateanddidaverygoodjob.

Source: Bloomberg

mcKesson corP to Pay connecticut $15 million Fine For artiFicially Boosting Drug charges

Connecticutwill receive$15millionunderasettlementwithMcKessonCorpo-ration, apharmaceuticaldistributor, forartificiallyinflatingdrugcostsincurredbyconsumersandstate-fundedhealthcareprogramsinthatstate.Theinflatedcostsaffected over 400 brand name drugs,includingAllegra,Asmacort, Celebrex,Flonase,Lipitor,Neurontin,Nexium,Pre-vacidandValium.

AttorneyGeneralRichardBlumenthalsuedMcKessonforallegedlyconspiringtoinflatetheaveragewholesaleprices(AWP)for pharmaceuticals—creating a larger“spread”between thecostby the stateMedicaidprogramandtheactualchargestohealthcareproviders, suchasphysi-ciansandpharmacies.McKesson’sprac-ticesgavewindfallprofitstoitspharmacycustomers,whichincreasedMcKesson’smarketshareattheexpenseofstatetax-payersandconsumers.Thevictimsofthisscheme, according to the AttorneyGeneral,includedpatientsandtaxpayersinConnecticutwhoreliedonthesedrugstotreatasthma,allergies,pain,arthritisandcholesterol.

Source: ctwatchdog.com

IV. PURELY POLITICAL NEWS & VIEWS

a Final looK at the stateWiDe races

Thegeneralelectionwillsoonbehereandmost folks—includingthiswriter—willbegladtoseethenegativeadsandpoliticalposturingcometoanend.Ithasbeenamostinterestingcampaignseason.Idon’trecallatimewhenthenegativefeel-ingsamongstthepublicwereanygreater.Overthepastfewweeks,therehavebeenseveraleventsthathavegottenmoreatten-tionthanhavetheactivitiesofthecandi-dates. There have been more rumorsfloatingaroundthannormaland,asusual,mostofthemaretotallyfalse.Also,someofthepoliticaladshavebeenfullofdown-rightliesanddistortions.Theexpertsarepredictingtherewillbelotsof“split-ticket”votinginAlabamaonNovember2nd.

the goVernor’s race WinDs DoWn

Theredoesn’tseemtohavebeenanysignificantchangeintheraceforthetopjobinAlabama.IfwhatIamhearingfromaround the state is correct, Dr. RobertBentleywillbe thenextgovernor andwillwinbyafairlylargemargin.Fromallaccounts,hehasrunaverygoodraceandwillgetvotesfromlotsoffolkswhowillvote forDemocrats inother statewideandlocalraces.Dr.Bentleycomesacrossas a good man who doesn’t have anextremeagenda.Theonecertaintyaboutthis election,however, is that themanelectedwill inheritastategovernmentthatisflatbroke.Thatwillrequireagov-ernorwhoknowshowtodealwiththelegislatureandwhocancrosspartylinesinanefforttofindsolutionstoourfiscalandotherproblems.

the race For lt. goVernor has heateD uP

TheraceforthenumbertwojobinstategovernmentbecameveryheatedinearlyOctober and that trend has contin-ued.Therehavebeenlotsofchargesmadeandsomeofthemmayaffecttheoutcomeofthisracetosomedegree.Butregardlessofthewildandrecklesschargesmadebyhisopponent, Ibelievethat JimFolsomwillbereelected.HehasreceivedsupportfromgroupssuchastheBusinessCouncilofAlabamaandAlfaandthathasallowedhim to raise a considerable amount ofcampaignmoney.Hisadsalsowereverygood.JimidentifieswithordinarycitizensinAlabamaandhehasarecordofworkingtocreategoodpayingjobsforourstate.

the race For attorney general ProViDes a clear choice For alaBamians

There is a very clear choice for thevotersthistimeintheraceforAttorneyGeneral.EventhoughLutherStrange,theRepublicannominee,hasoutspentJamesAnderson,theDemocraticnominee,byalargemargin,Jameshasmadethisaverycloserace. Thechoice isverysimple—eitherareallawyeroraWashingtonlobby-istwillbethenextAttorneyGeneral—andthevoterswillmaketheirchoiceknownonNovember2nd.IthoughtJamesmade

some points with the voters when hemadehistaxreturnspublic.

suPreme court races haVe Been Very Quiet

The races for the three seats on theAlabamaSupremeCourthavebeenfairlylowkeyandveryquiet.Mostfolks,accord-ingtorecentpolls,can’tnamemorethantwoJusticesontheCourtatpresentandthatinitselfisastory.WhentheCourtismentioned,it’susuallyalongthelinesof“whydotheJusticeshavetorununderpartylabels?”Occasionally,somebodywillsaythattheydon’tlikeitthattoomuchmoneyisbeingspentintheseraces.

Thepollshaveshownthatwhenpoten-tial voters are told that the currentmembersoftheCourtvotedagainsttheStateofAlabamainboththeExxonandMedicaidfraudlawsuits,over80%ofthosepolledsaytheywon’tvoteforanymemberoftheCourt.Ihavebeenalittlebitsur-prisedthatthosevoteshaven’tbeendis-cussed more by the candidates. Thepeople ofAlabama deserve a SupremeCourtwherealitigantwhoappearsbeforetheCourtwillgetjustice.Avictimofcor-poratewrongdoingisentitledtonomorethanalevelplayingfieldwherethelawwillbefollowedandthefactsofthecaseconsidered.Victimsshouldhaveachancetowinwhentheircasehasmerit.Idon’tbelievethat’sexpectingtoomuch!

a Final looK at the legislatiVe races

Theraces forbothHouseandSenateseats around the statehavebeenhotlycontested with most of the candidatesreallyslugging itout. Ihavesaidbeforethat in legislative races elections areusuallydecidedonlocal issuesandthatbeliefhasn’tchanged.Inanefforttoinflu-encevoters,Ihaveheardso-calledliberalcandidatesclaimtobeconservativeandevena fewconservativesmentioncon-sumer issuesandpeople. TheGOPhasspentthe largestamountseverontheircandidatesanditwillbeinterestingtoseewhat effect it has had. Somebody inauthority may eventually ask how thatmoneywasraised,howmuch,andfromwhom.Someinterestingpoliticalactioncommitteeswereusedbythefund-raisersandtheir fund-raisingtookplaceoveraperiodofseveralyears.

goP sPenDing Big BucKs in an eFFort to taKe oVer congress

As of mid-October, the third partygroupssetuptofundRepublicancandi-datesfortheU.S.Senatehadalreadyspentover$40milliononTVandradioads.ThisiscomparedtothegroupsaidingDemo-cratic candidates that had spent $5.5million.It’sestimatedthatthesegroupsonbehalfofGOPcandidateswillspendover$200millioninanefforttotakeoverinCongress.Thesadpartofthisstoryisthatnovoterwilleverknowwherethismoneycame from. I doubt very seriously,however, that one red cent came fromworkingmenandwomenorfromretirees.It’sbeenreportedthatsignificantamountscamefromforeigncountries.

The Department of Justice has beenaskedtoinvestigatetheU.S.ChamberofCommerce’suseofmoneyfromforeigncorporationstoinfluenceelectionsinthiscountry.Anewreportthatcameoutlastmonthindicatesthatforeigncompaniesarefundingsomeofthe$75milliontheChamber of Commerce is spending todefeatDemocraticCongressionalcandi-datesonNovember2nd.

I am told that funnelingmoney fromforeign interests intoU.S.elections is afederalcrime.ButtheChambersaysithasinternalsystemsthatkeepthemoneysep-arate.SincetheGOPhasbeeninstrumen-tal in our government allowing theoutsourcingofjobsandgivinghugetaxbreakstomulti-nationalcorporations,thisissomethingthatshouldgettheattentionofthepublic.ButIamafraidfolkssimplydon’thaveaccesstothistypeinformation.

V. RECENT SETTLEMENTS BY FIRM

ForD exPlorer case settleD

Graham Esdale, working with PaulMartin, a lawyer fromPoncaCity,Okla-homa,recentlysettledaportionofacasearising out of an automobile accidentwhich occurred on November 1, 2006near Ponca City. Killed in the accidentwereJoshHarvey,hiswife,CaseyRhodd,Casey’seight-monthunbornchild,andone

of their sons, six-year old Kaw-LigaHarvey.Alsoinjuredintheaccidentwerefive-yearoldKyleHarveyandhisbrother,one-yearoldKellenHarvey.Theaccidentoccurred when the Harvey family wasreturninghomeaftervisitingwithfamilymembers.Whiletravelinghome,theHar-vey’s1994FordExplorerwasstruckintherearbyaMercuryCougartravelingoverthespeedlimit. Atthetimeofthecolli-sion,Mr.Harveyandhiswifewerebothproperlybelted.Butonimpact,theirseat-backscollapsedrearward,causingthemtobeejectedoutoftheirseats.Thechildren,who were seated behind them, werestruckintheprocess.Nolongerbeinginthedriver’sseat,Mr.Harveywasunabletocontrolthevehiclewhichlefttheroadandrolledoverseveraltimes.

ThedriveroftheMercuryCougarhadbeendrinking.Approximatelytwohoursaftertheaccident,hisbloodalcoholwastested and found to be over the legallimit.ItwaslearnedthattheDefendantdriverhadbeengamblinganddrinkingatacasinoforaboutfourhoursbeforetheaccidentoccurred. Thedriverhad runoutofmoneyandreturnedtohishomeapproximately20milesawaytogethischeckbook and was returning to thecasinowhenheranintothebackoftheFordExplorer.OtherwitnessesobservedtheDefendantdriverleavingthecasinoapproximately 45 minutes before theaccidentandsaythatheappearedtobeintoxicated.

TheclaimsagainstFordMotorCompanywerebasedonthedefectivedesignofthefront bucket seats in the 1994 FordExplorer.Theseatswerenotofsufficientstrengthtomaintaintheoccupantinasafeuprightseatedpositionina foreseeablecollision.While the federalgovernmentrequiresvehiclestopassoccupantprotec-tionstandardsat35mphfrontalimpacts,thereisnocorrespondingrequirementforrearimpacts.Inthiscase,theimpactveloc-ityoftherear-endcollisionwasapproxi-mately24mph.Certainly,motorvehicleseatsshouldmaintainoccupantsintheirseateduprightpositionina foreseeablecollision of this survivable magnitude.Experttestimonyinthiscaseestablishedthathadtheseatsremainedupright,noneoftheoccupantswouldhavereceivedcat-astrophicorlife-threateninginjuries.

ThePlaintiffssettledtheirclaimsagainstFordMotorCompany foraconfidentialamount. The remaining claims are still



pendingagainsttheDefendantdriverforcausingthisaccidentandagainst7ClansParadiseCasinoforservingalcohol toavisiblyintoxicatedpatronwhotheyknew,or should have known, was going tooperateavehicleonOklahomahighways.GrahamandPauldidaverygoodjobfortheHarveyfamily.Theywillnowproceedwith the rest of this case which willincludeclaimsagainst thedrunkdriverandthecasino.

another roll-oVer case settleD

GrahamEsdalefromourfirm,workingwith HalronTatum andTatumTurner,lawyersfromChatom,Alabama,recentlysettled a case against Mazda and FordMotorCompany involving a 2002FordEscape,whichisasportutilityvehicle.ThediscoveryphaseofthiscaserevealedthatMazdawasresponsibleforthedesignandtestingof the restraint systemandroofstructureoftheFordEscapeanditssistervehicle,theMazdaTribute.

ThisaccidentoccurredonJune25,2006inWashington County,Alabama, whenBonnie Blackwell swerved to avoid anobject in the road.Whileattempting toregaincontrolofthevehicle,itside-swipedatree,begantoslidesidewaysandrolledoveroneandone-halftimes.Despitebeingproperlybelted,Ms.Blackwellwas ren-deredaquadriplegicinthisaccident.

Expert testimonyestablishedthatMs.BlackwellreceivedherinjuryasaresultofexcessiveslackbeingintroducedintotherestraintsystemcombinedwiththeA-pil-larandroofheadercrushinginonher.Itwasalsoestablishedbyexpertsthatthisinjury could have been prevented byeither limiting excessive slack in therestraintsystem,therebyreducingoccu-pantexcursion,orbystrengtheningtheroof,whichwouldlimitroofintrusion.

MazdaandForddefendedthiscasejustliketheyhavedefendedotherroofcrushcasesoverthelast20years.Theyalwaysclaim that roofs stronger than theminimumfederalstandarddonotprovideanyadditionaloccupantprotection.Thecompaniesclaimroofcrushisnotcausallyrelatedtooccupantinjurybecausebeltedoccupants“dive”intotheroofbeforeanydeformationoccurs.Thisdefensestrategyhas become known as the“f lat earthdefense.” Folks used to say that shipswould falloff theedgeof theearth.Sonow the auto manufacturers’ claims of

“diving”havealsobeenexposedaslegendandmyth.

Credible, trustworthy organizationssuch as the Insurance Institute forHighwaySafety(IIHS),theCenterforAutoSafety, Monash University, and PublicCitizen, among many others, beganresearchingandinvestigatingthe“diving”theory.Theyhaveallnowconcluded,withnoexceptions,thatroofcrushiscausallyrelatedtooccupantinjuryandthatstron-gerroofswillsavelives.EvenNHTSAnowagreeswiththem.ThisisbestevidencedbythefactthatNHTSAhasnowdoubledthecurrentroofstrengthrequirementforallpassengercarsand light trucks. ThenewstandardwillbephasedinstartinginSeptember2012.

The shameful aspect of this is thatBonnieBlackwell, alongwithcountlessothercatastrophicallyinjuredandkilledindividuals,wasexposedtodefectiveroofdesignsby theauto industry. Insteadofbuildingstrongerroofs,ahandfulofmanu-facturers,the“flat-earthers,”preferredtoperpetuatefraudincourtroomsacrossthiscountry. It’s a sad commentary on ourtimes thatonmanyoccasions theygotawaywith it. Theamountof the settle-ment in this case is confidential. ButGrahamand theTurner firmdidaverygoodjobforawomanwhobadlyneededtheirhelp.

leaKing unDergrounD storage tanK case settleD

Ourfirmrecentlysettledalawsuitforthree clients whose property wasadverselyaffectedbyleaksfromtwosepa-rate underground storage tank (“UST”)systemslocatedinWalkerCounty,Ala.Inthiscase, the twoUSTs leakedgasolineanddieselfuelintothesoilandgroundwa-teronandnearourclients’properties.Thetoxicgasolineanddieselconstituentscon-taminatedourclients’propertywithdan-gerouschemicals,includingbenzene.

AsinmanyUSTleakcases,ourclientswere not aware that a UST leak hadoccurreduntil theownersof theUSTsremovedthesystemsandconductedtankclosureenvironmentaltestingrequiredbytheAlabamaDepartmentofEnvironmentalManagement.Afterdiscoveryoftheleaks,our environmental experts conductedextensivetestingofthesoilandgroundwa-teronourclients’propertyandconfirmedtheexistenceandextentofthegasoline

anddieselcontaminationontheproper-ties.Becauseof thecontamination,ourclients suffereda significant loss in thevalueoftheirproperty.

Rhon Jones andChrisBoutwell fromourfirm’sToxicTortsSectionalongwithco-counsel Edward Jackson of Jackson,Fikes,Hood&Brakefield,PC, located inBirmingham,workedonthiscaseanddidaverygoodjobfortheirclients.Thetermsandamountofthesettlementareconfi-dential,butourclientswerewellpleasedwiththeoutcome.ThecasewasreferredtousbyThomasCarmichael,averygoodlawyerfromJasper,Ala.Ifyouwouldlikemoreinformation,believethatyourhealthorpropertyhasbeenharmedbyaleakingUST,orhavequestions,youcancontactChrisBoutwell([email protected])inourofficeat800-898-2034.

aPartment Fire cases settles

Our firm settled a case last monthagainstanapartmentcomplexinAndalu-sia,Alabama,anditsmanagementcompany,HuffManagement,Inc.Ourclientsufferedsecondandthirddegreeburnsover20%ofherbodywhena fire startedon thestoveinthekitchenoftheapartmentshewas renting from the Defendants. Thevictimturnedoneofthestovepilotsonmediumtoheatsomegreasetocookherdinner. She left the kitchen for just amoment when an ordinary grease firewentundetectedandspreadrapidlyoutofcontrolbecausethesmokedetectors intheapartmentdidnotwork.Neitherdidthecomplexprovidefireextinguishersasrequiredbylaw.

In addition, the fire stop canistersinstalledunderthehoodofthestovetoextinguishgreasefiresdidnotdeploy.Hadthe canisters deployed, the grease firewouldhavebeenextinguished immedi-ately,beforeitcouldposeanythreat.Thereasonthecanistersfailedtodeploywasbecausethecanistersexpiredfouryearspriortothefire.Whenourclientreturnedtothekitchen,shewasfacedwiththetaskofputtingoutafirewhichthreatenedtheentirecomplexwithoutanextinguisherandwhichshouldhaveneverspreadlikeitdid.Whileshewasattemptingtoextin-guish the fire, our client was severelyburned.Herburnslefthertotallydisabledandunabletoworkatherpresentjobandanyjobinthefuture.


Duringthepretrialphaseofthecase,welearnedthattheDefendantsnotonlytamperedwithsomeofthekeyevidence,the fire stop canisters, but actuallydestroyedtheminanattempttocoveruptheir wrong doing. At the outset, welearned from some of the Defendants’employeeswhowereinourclient’sapart-mentwithindaysofthefirethatthefirestopcanistersfailedtodeploy.But,whenwedeposedtheDefendants’fireexpert,heproducedphotosthathetookthreeweeksafterthefireshowingthatthecanistersdiddeploy.Whenweaskedtoexaminethecanisters,however,theDefendantsstalledandeventuallystatedthattheycouldnotfindthecanisters.Afterseveralrequests,theDefendantsfinallyproducedcanistersthattheyhadattachedtothestove’shoodthatwasinvolvedinthefire.Remarkably,thesecanisterswerenottheonesinvolvedin the fire. The Defendants not onlydestroyedthecanisters,whichimplicatedtheminthiscase,buttheyactuallyaffixedothercanisterstothestove’shoodinanattempttocoveruptheirwrongdoing.ItwasnotuntilwefiledvariousmotionsforsanctionswiththeCourtdidtheDefen-dantsadmitthattherealcanisterswerenolongeravailable.

Whilesomeofthemotionsforsanctionswerepending,thecasesettledforaconfi-dentialamount.ThecasewaspendinginCovington County before JudgeAshleyMcKathan.LaBarronBooneandRickMor-rison,lawyersinourfirm,alongwithWesLairdofOpp,Alabama,handledthiscaseanddidaverygoodjobforourclient.

case against DrunK DriVer in georgia settleD

On November 15, 2009, our client,CaitlinSkeen,wasapassengerinavehicledriven byWilliam Owen on a GeorgiahighwayinGwinnettCounty.Owen,whowas19yearsold,wasundertheinfluenceofalcohol,fellasleepandlostcontrolofthe vehicle, causing it to leave theroadway.Thevehiclewentairborneandflipped,ejectingourclient.Shelostcon-sciousnessandsuffered severe injuries,includingaskull fracture,aconcussion,multiplefractures inherthoracicspine,fracturedleftshoulderbladeandleftarm.Shealsosufferedhearinglossinoneear.Our client was required to undergo amulti-levelthoracicspinalfusionandwashospitalizedforseveraldays.Thiscasewas

settledforaconfidentialamount,butallavailableliabilityinsurancecoverageandunderinsuredmotoristcoverageavailablewerepaidaspartofthesettlement.JuliaBeasley from our firm represented thePlaintiffanddidaverygoodjob.

VI. COURT WATCH

high court taKes uP Baycol class action case

The U.S. Supreme Court will decidewhetheraU.S.DistrictCourtcanenjoinastatecourtfromcertifyingaproductliabil-ityclassactionafteritrefusedtocertifyaclassinsimilarcasesbroughtbydifferentPlaintiffs.TheCourthasagreedtoreviewanEighthCircuitcaseinvolvingprescrip-tiondruguserswhoallegedinjuryastheresultoftakingBaycol,whichismanufac-turedbyBayer.ThePlaintiff’scasewasoneofthousandsofsimilarBaycolsuitsconsol-idatedinamultidistrictlitigationproceed-ingbeforethedistrictcourt.ThenamedPlaintiffsoughttorepresentaclassofWestVirginiausersofthedrug.

Afterthedistrictcourtdeniedclasscer-tification,twodifferentBaycolusersfiledalawsuitinWestVirginiastatecourt,alsoseeking certificationof aWestVirginiaclass. In response,Bayer filedamotionundertheAnti-InjunctionActforthedis-trict court to enjoin the relitigation instatecourtofthecertificationofaWestVirginiaclass. AlthoughtheAnti-Injunc-tionActgenerallyprohibitsfederalcourtsfrominterferinginstateproceedings, italso permits injunctions necessary toprotect federal judgments. ThedistrictcourtinthiscaseenjoinedthestatecourtBaycolproceedings.

TheEighthCircuitconcludedthattheinjunctionwasauthorizedbytheActandjustified under principles of collateralestoppel. TheCourtconcludedthat“inthecontextof [multidistrict litigation]proceedings,certificationinastatecourtof thesameclassunder thesame legaltheories previously rejected by thefederaldistrictcourtpresents an issuesufficiently identical towarrantpreclu-sionunderfederalcommonlaw.”Adeci-sion from the U.S. Supreme Court isexpectedlaterthisterm.

Source: LawyersUSAonline.com

laWyers shoulD FolloW the rules on Pretrial DiscoVery

Itgoeswithoutsayingthatlawyersonbothsidesshouldfollowtheruleswhendealingwithpretrialdiscoveryissues. Afederal judge in Mobile has orderedlawyers forThyssenKrupp topaymorethan$11,000toaPlaintiff’slawyerinadis-criminationlawsuitforfailingtocooperatewiththeotherside.U.S.MagistrateJudgeKatherineNelsonpreviouslyhad foundthat the lawyershadfailedtoturnoverdocuments and make the steel mill’shuman resources manager and otheremployeesavailablefordepositions.Thejudge found“a pattern on the part ofDefendant’scounseltothwarteveryeffortofthePlaintiff’scounseltoschedulethedepositionscriticaltoPlaintiff’scase.”

ThePlaintiff’slawyernowhasallofthedocumentshesoughtandhasquestionedThyssenKrupp’semployeesunderoath.Plaintiff ReginaWhite, who is black,allegedinherlawsuitthatshetookajobas an operations controller making$85,000ayearandlaterdiscoveredthattwowhitewomenhiredtothesameposi-tionafterher receivedsalariesof thou-sands of dollars more. The case isscheduledfortrialforthismonth.Thereisno excuse for lawyers—regardless ofwhichsidetheyrepresent—torefusetofollowtherulesthatgovernpretrialdis-covery.It’sgoodtoseejudgesmakingsuretherulesarefollowed.

Source: AL.com

VII. THE NATIONAL SCENE

50 states inVestigate mortgage-serVices inDustry

TheAttorneysGeneralofall50states,includingAlabama,havestartedaninvesti-gationintowhethersloppinessordeceitledtothe latestepisodeofthenationalforeclosuredrama,furtherthreateningtherecoveryoftheU.S.housingmarket.IowaAttorney GeneralTom Miller, who isheadingthebipartisaninvestigation,said:

This is not a silver bullet to keep mil-l ions of Americans in their homes. This is a chance to right the


law and get the process right, a chance to have some extra time ... And maybe a chance to do some modifications.

AttorneysGeneralareinvestigatingalle-gationsconcerningtheaccuracyandlegit-imacyofdocumentsthat lendersusetoevictpeoplefromthehomes.Employeesoffourlargelendershaveacknowledgedindepositionsthattheysignedoffonfore-closure documents without readingthem.Theinitialfocuswillbeonwhetherindustryemployees—so-called“robo-sign-ers”—signedoffonthousandsofforeclo-sureseverymonthwithoutreviewingthefilesaslegallyrequired.Whilerobo-signingisoneproblem,other issues shouldbeexamined. The immediate goals of theinvestigation appear to be a halt ofimproperforeclosuresandareviewofthepastandpresentmortgageserviceprac-tices.

There are over 400,000 homeownerforeclosuresongoingatpresent.Incourtsthroughoutthenation,lawyersforhome-ownershaveallegedthatlendersforgedsignaturesandimproperlynotarizeddocu-mentsintherushtoforecloseonhome-owners. ConnecticutAttorney GeneralRichardBlumenthalsaidinastatement:

Banks blatantly broke the law, papering the courts with defective documents to railroad consumers into fast, possibly fraudulent foreclo-sures. At the best, banks engaged in careless negligence, at worst, out-right fraud.

Suchpracticesmighthaveviolatedlawsagainstunfairanddeceptivetradeprac-tices,whichcouldresultincivilpenalties.OhioAttorneyGeneralRichardCordray,whorecentlyfiledthenation’sfirstlawsuitagainstamortgageserviceroverallegedlyfraudulentaffidavits,said:

This is the clearest signal yet to the major mortgage lenders and ser-vicers that they need to take serious measures to fix problems with affi-davits. What we have seen are not mere technicalities, as some suggest. Rather, this is about the private property rights of homeowners facing foreclosure and the integrity of our court system, which cannot enter judgments based on fraudu-lent evidence.

Thejointinvestigationintothepracticesoftheboomingmortgage-servicingindus-trycouldpressurefinancialinstitutionstorewriteaseaofcorruptpaperwork.Previ-ouscallsforanationwideforeclosuremor-atoriumhadindustryinsidersworriedbutthe states stopped short of requestingsuchameasure.

OnOctober11ththeObamaAdministra-tionrejectedcallsforanationwidemora-torium on foreclosures amid growingconcernsaboutthemarket’srecovery.Amoratoriumwouldhavehelpedfamiliesonthevergeoflosingtheirhomes.Butthebankingindustryclaimeditwouldleadtoabacklogofhomeson themarket andfurtherdepressprices.ItappearsthelattergrouphasmorecloutintheWhiteHouse.

Inrecentweeks,majorlenderssuchasJPMorganChase,Ally Financial’sGMACMortgageunitandBankofAmericahaveconcededthatpaperworksupportinganunknownnumberofforeclosurescontainerrorsrangingfromwrongdatestoforgedor inconsistent signatures. In someinstances,mortgagecompanyemployeessigned foreclosure documents withoutfirstverifyingtheinformationinthem.Inresponse,thebankshavesuspendedtensof thousands of pending foreclosures.Bank ofAmerica, for example, has sus-pendedallitsforeclosuresin23states.

Source: ABC News

transocean orDereD to Pay $4 million For WorKer’s inJury

AfederaljuryhasorderedTransoceantopaymorethan$4millionindamagestoanoilfieldworkerinjuredinanoffshorerigaccident. Dan Averette, a 32-year-oldworker,filedthelawsuitasaresultoftheJuly14,2007, accident aboard theAmi-rante,arigownedbyTransoceanEnter-prise Inc. And operated byTransoceanOffshore Deepwater Drilling Inc. Theworker, a casing stabber employed byFrank’sCasingCrewandRentalTools,wasinjuredwhentherig’shydraulicbasketmalfunctionedwhilehewasworkinginit.Itwasprovenattrialthattheaccidentlefthimwithpermanentbraindamage.


VIII. THE CORPORATE WORLD

Wyeth PromoteD Dangerous oFF-laBel use oF hrt meDications

LetterswritteninJuly2000bysalesrep-resentativesofWyeth-AyerstLaboratories,a division of Pfizer pharmaceuticalcompany, have recently been madepublic. The letters, addressed toWyethexecutivesandtotheAlabamaOfficeofEthics and Business Conduct, expressseriousconcernsbyWyethemployeesthatthe company encouraged and evenrequireditsdrugsalesrepresentativestopromotedangerousoff-labelusageofitshormone replacement therapy (HRT)drugs,PremarinandPrempro. TheseofflabeluseswereneverapprovedbytheU.S.Food&DrugAdministration.

Aswehavewritteninpriorissues,Pre-marin,PremproandotherHRTtherapiesaretraditionallyusedtotreatsymptomsofmenopauseinwomen.Off-labelusespro-motedtophysiciansbyWyethrepresenta-tivesincludedpreventionandtreatmentofcardiovasculardisease,Alzheimer’sdiseaseand colorectal cancer. It’s now widelyknownthatPremarinandPremprohavesincebeenlinkedtothedevelopmentofbreastcancer.

The sales representativeswhowrotetheselettersmarketedmedicationstophy-sicians inAlabamaandGeorgia in theirwork forWyeth. In one of the letters,CynthiaL.Waldrep,whowasaTerritorySpecialist,wrote,“I fear that [patients’]livesmaybeplacedinseriouspotentialdanger.”Shegoesontosay,“Itappearstheonlythingthatmattersnowisincreasingmarket share.”Also Charles H. Payne, aWyeth-AyerstTerritory Manager, wrote,“Thisisapotentiallylifethreateningsitua-tion for the women in Alabama andGeorgiaandIwillnotbeintimated[sic]orcoercedtorelentinmyactionstocorrectthisproblem.”

TheseletterswerekeptconfidentialaspartofongoinglitigationagainstWyeth,but recently were released as publicrecord.Ourfirmisrepresentingnumerousclientswhowereeither injuredorhadfamilymemberstodieasaresultofusingPremarinandPrempro.Theemployeesofthiscompanytookaboldandcourageous


stepinspeakingoutagainsttheirunethi-calpractices.Bymarketingthesedrugsforusesthatwereneverapproved,Wyethputthelivesofthousandsofwomenatseriousrisk.Now,sincethese letterscanfinallycometolight,morepeoplecanlearnthatalltoooftenBigPharmaisonlyconcernedaboutitsownbottomline,notthehealthandwell-beingofthepublic.

military Vehicle Firm to Pay $24 million in settlement

ArmoredvehiclemakerForceProtec-tionInc.hasagreedtopay$24milliontosettleaclass-action lawsuit thatallegedsomeitsformertopexecutivesprofitedbysellingstockwhilefailingtowarnshare-holdersaboutaccountingproblemsandotherissues.Theproposedsettlement,amajority of which will be covered byinsurance,willhavetobeapprovedbyaU.S.DistrictCourt.

The lawsuitwas filedmore than twoyearsagobyaclassof individualshare-holders.Itwasallegedthatcertainexecu-tivesdidnotnotifytheirinvestorsaboutdelaysindeliveringthecompany’strade-markblast-resistantvehicles to theU.S.military or about the failure to fix itsaccountingsystem.Thoseshortcomingsaffectedthecompany’sabilitytowincon-tracts fromtheDepartmentofDefense,accordingtothelawsuit.

Theexecutivesprofitedbysellingstockfortensofmillionsofdollars,accordingtotheComplaint.ItwasallegedfurtherthataformerForceProtectionchairman,inves-torFrankKavanaugh,soldmorethan$64millionworthofsharesbeforesteppingdowninJune2007.GordonMcGilton,thecompany’s ex-president who left inJanuary2008,soldsharesworthmorethan$23million.Butinsteadofdisclosinginfor-mationaboutthedifficultiesForceProtec-tionfaced,executivesreassuredinvestorsof their confidence in the company’sfuture.Asaresult,thesharepricecontin-uedtotradeatahighrate,accordingtoallegationsintheComplaint.ThefilingofthesuitinMarch2008cameafterayearofdramaticdeclineinthecompany’sstock.Itdropped from a high in May 2007 of$30.27tolessthan$3ashare.

Thecompany’s accountingproblemscametolightwhenForceProtectionsaiditwouldbelateinfilingitsannualreportfor2007andwouldrestateearningsforsomepreviousreportingperiods.Execu-

tivesblamedtheproblemonanaccount-ingerror.Withindays,twotopexecutivesresigned. Thosemen,RaymondPollard,chiefoperatingofficer,andMichaelDurski,chief financial officer, were named asDefendants in the lawsuit, along withKavanaugh,McGiltonandMichaelMoody,thecurrentpresidentandchiefexecutive.

Executivesdidn’taddressthecompany’svehicledeliveryproblemsevenafteragov-ernmentreportfoundthatForceProtec-tionhadmissed98%ofitsdeadlines.Thelackofaccountingoversightjeopardizedthecompany’sabilitytosecurefuturecon-tracts.Adayafterthepricehititspeakin2007,KavanaughmadehisfinalreportedsaleofForceProtectionshares,accordingto filings with the SEC. Those filingsshowed he sold more than 5.3 millionshares in the tenmonths leadingup tothatpeak.ForceProtectionstillfacesothershareholderlawsuitsinseveralstates.

Source: Post and Courier

goVernment settles With tWo oF the three largest creDit carD comPanies

TheJusticeDepartmenthas filedsuitagainstthethreelargestU.S.creditcardcompaniesforanticompetitivepractices.Aproposed settlement has already beenreachedwithMasterCardandVisa,twoofthe Defendants. Attorney General EricHolder,discussingthesettlement,toldanewsconference:

We want to put more money in con-sumers’ pockets, and by eliminating credit card companies’ anticompeti-tive rule, we will accomplish exactly that. The companies put merchants and their customers in a no-win sit-uation and consumers are being held hostage.

The Justice Department and variousstateAttorneys General sued all threecompaniesinfederalcourtinBrooklyn.ItwasallegedtheDefendantswereattempt-ingtoinsulatethemselvesfromcompeti-tion.Undertheproposedsettlement,VisaandMasterCard agreednot toprohibitmerchants fromofferingcustomersdis-countsorrebates forusingaparticularkindofcard.

It’sallegedinthelawsuitthatthecardcompaniesareimpedingmerchantsfrompromotingtheuseofcompetingcreditorchargecardswithloweracceptancefees.

Eachtimeconsumersuseacreditcardtomakeapurchase,themerchantmustpayafee.Suchfeesbroughtin$35billionlastyeartothethreecreditcardcompaniesandtheiraffiliatedbanks.ThesettlementagreementwithVisaandMasterCardaremostsignificant,leavingonlyoneDefen-dantinthelawsuit.


Former countryWiDe chieF settles sec charges

CountrywideFinancialCorp.co-founderAngelo Mozilo has agreed to a $67.5millionsettlementtoavoidgoingtotrialoncivilfraudandinsidertradingcharges.Hehadbeenaccusedofprofitingwhiledolingoutriskymortgagesandmisleadinginvestors about the risks. Two otherformer Countrywide executives alsosettledbeforetrialonchargesfiledbytheSecurities and Exchange Commission.Interestingly,employmentagreementsthatprotectthemenfromlawsuitsinvolvingthefailed lendermeanBankofAmericaCorp.,whichboughtCountrywideinJuly2008,willactuallypaymostofthesettle-ment.Thesettlementwillallowtheexecu-tivestoavoidtheriskofaguiltyverdictthatcouldhavebeenusedagainsttheminlawsuitsbyshareholders.Itmaywellalsohelp them if prosecutors decide to goforwardwithacriminalprobeintotheiractivities.However,it’sdoubtfulthiswillhappen.

TheSECaccusedthemenofmisleadingshareholdersaboutthequalityoftheloansonCountrywide’sbooks.ThecivilCom-plaintalsoaccusedMoziloofactingonhisinsideknowledgeofthecompany’spre-cariousstatewhenhesoldsharesbetweenNovember2006andOctober2007aheadof itscollapse, reapingmore than$139million.Mozilowasthenation’shighest-profileDefendantyettofacetrialforriskybusinesspracticesleadingtothehousingcollapsethatsentthecountryintoreces-sion.Underthesettlement,Moziloagreedtoneveragainserveasanofficerordirec-torofapubliclytradedcompany.Sambolagreednottodosoforthreeyears.

Source: MSNBC

cVs to Pay $75 million Fine in meth case

CVSPharmacy Inc.hasagreed topay$75millioninfinesforallowingrepeatedpurchases of a key ingredient in themakingofmethamphetamineinat leastfivestates.Thenation’slargestoperatorofretailpharmacieswillpaywhatisbelievedtobethelargestcivilpenaltyundertheControlledSubstancesAct.Thecompanyalso will forfeit about $2.6 million inprofitsearnedfromthesalesofpseudo-ephedrine,whichcanoftenbefoundincoldmedicineandisusedtomakemeth.

CVSdidn’tprovideenoughsafeguardstomonitorhowmuchpseudoephedrinesomeonewasbuying.Thecompanyvio-latedfederaldrugregulationsinArizona,Georgia,California,Nevada,andSouthCar-olina and possibly 20 other states.U.S.AttorneyAndreBirotteJr.observed:

This case shows what happens when companies fail to follow their ethical and legal responsibilities. CVS knew it had a duty to prevent metham-phetamine trafficking, but it failed to take steps to control the sale of a regulated drug used by methamphet-amine cooks as an essential ingredi-ent for their poisonous stew.

Thecompanypaidthe$75millionfinelastmonth.Theremainingforfeitureisduewithin30days. ThomasRyan,chairmanandCEOofparentcompanyCVSCare-mark,admitted that thecompanyunac-ceptably breached its policies, but hasworkedtofixtheproblem.RyansaidCVSwillmakecertainthiskindoflapsenevertakesplaceagain.Hesays thecompanyhasstrengtheneditsinternalcontrolsandcompliancemeasures. Thiswill requireimproving handling and monitoring ofCVS’pseudoephedrinebyimplementingenhancedtechnologyandmakingotherimprovementsinthestoresanddistribu-tioncenters.

FederalagentsbeganinvestigatingCVSin2008afterthearrestofseveralpeopleinSouthernCaliforniaforunlawfulposses-sionofpseudoephedrinewiththeintentto manufacture meth. They said thosepeoplehadboughtlargeamountsoftheingredientfromCVSstoresintheregion.InvestigatorslearnedCVShadcommittedthousandsofviolationsofa federal lawlimitingtheamountofpseudoephedrineacustomercanbuyinaday.Althoughthe

pharmacy chain created an automatedsystemtorecordindividualsales,itdidn’tpreventmultiplepurchasesbysomeoneonthesameday.Insomelocations,itwasreportedthatbuyerswouldclearentirestoreshelvesofcoughandcoldmedicinesand that alone would make anybodyrealizewhatwasgoingon.

Thecompanydideventuallychangeitssalespracticesbutonlyafter itbecameawareof the investigation,accordingtoprosecutors.Byagreeingtopaythefine,CVS will not face potential criminalchargesandthecompanywillimplementacomplianceandethicsprogramoverthenextthreeyears.CVShasmorethan7,100storesintheU.S.

Source: CBS News

IX. CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM

reForm is BaDly neeDeD on the national leVel

Thereisanurgentneedforcampaignfinancereformonthenationallevel.Ourcurrent lawsaregrossly inadequateandit’squiteobviousthatmanychangesarebadlyneeded.Butdon’texpectanythingtohappenthisyear.Hopefully,thepublicwillfinallydemandreformveryearlynextyear.NowthattheU.S.SupremeCourthasturnedCorporateAmericaloose,allowingcompaniestospendunlimitedamountsinraces,anymeaningfulreformmustaddressthatissue.Also,thirdpartygroupshavetobecontrolled.Currently,underexistinglaw,it’simpossibletolearnwherethehun-dredsofmillionsofdollars arecomingfrom that are being funneled throughthesegroups.Butyoucanrestassuredthatnoneof it iscomingfromworkingmenandwomen.Whenyouconsider thatatleastfourshadowgroupshaveaccesstowellover$250milliontospend,virtuallywithoutrestriction,onCongressionalcan-didates,it’stimefortheAmericanpeopletodemandreform.

the neeD For reForm in alaBama is great

Thenextgovernorwillhaveanoppor-tunitytodosomethingthatnogovernorinrecentmemoryhasreallytriedtoaccom-plish: tobringabout real reformofAla-bama’sbrokencampaignfinancingsystem.Until agovernorand legislative leadersreallymakecampaignfinancereformatoppriority,andthendomorethantalkaboutit,nothingofrealsignificancewillhappen.It’sclearasabell thatweneed reformacross theboard inour state.Notonlyshouldamounts thatcanbedonatedtocandidatesberestricted,buttheamountsthatcandidatescanspend instateelec-tions must also have reasonable limits.Limitsontheamountsthatpoliticalpartiescangivemustalsobeapartofrealreform.Inaddition,third-partygroupsthatdonothavetodisclosethesourcesoftheirfundsshouldnotbeallowedtoparticipateatallinstateelections.

Judicialracesmustbetreateddifferentlythanotherracesforobviousreasons.Can-didates for judicial positions must berequired to run in non-partisan elec-tions.Theamountsthatcanbegiventocandidates and the amounts they canspendmusthavereasonablelimits.NoPACmoney, no political party, and no thirdpartygroupmoneyshouldbeallowedinjudicialraces.

Hopefully, the next governor willmakecampaign finance reformoneofhistopprioritiesandbe100%commit-ted.Thatistheonlywaythatrealreformwillevercomeabout.Butwhenyougetdown to it, it will really be up to thepeopleofAlabamatomakesurereformisatoppriority.

X. CONGRESSIONAL UPDATE

a mixeD PerFormance By congress

When Democrats gained a strongermajorityinboththeHouseofRepresenta-tivesandtheSenateafterthe2008elec-tion, mostAmericans hoped to see asignificantamountofprogressivelegisla-tionpassandbecome law.Butunfortu-nately,ithasn’tworkedoutthatway.While


the Congress has made some improve-ments that affect consumers, it simplyhasn’tdoneenough.ItappearsthateventhoughanumberofthemembersofCon-gressreallywanttodotherightthing,thepowerful, special interests still run theshow. In most cases, lawmakers haveallowedindustriestoblocklegislationthataffected them or at least water itdown.Theefforttobringaboutfinancialreformisaclassicexampleofhowthingswork inCongress.Wegotreform,but itwasn’tnearlystrongenoughandlefttoomanyloopholes.

AfterthefinancialsectorandtheU.S.economycrashedintheFallof2008,tax-payers demanded thatWall Street bereinedin.Thepublicwantedguaranteesthat theirmoneywouldneveragainbeusedtobailoutanindustrythathadactedsorecklessly.Theywaitedforchange,butinmanyareasofconcern, theyare stillwaiting.LegislationthatwouldstopWallStreetandthebigbanksfromrippingoffconsumersandendangeringtheeconomywasintroduced.Thebigbankscounteredwith their own lobbyists to block pro-posedconstraintsontheirwindfall-induc-ing,riskybehavior.WallStreetbroughtinthe troops in an effort to kill or waterdownthelegislation.Organizationsinthefinancialservicessectorhavedeployedatleast1,447formerfederalemployeestolobbyCongressandfederalagenciessincethebeginningof2009,includingatleast73formermembersofCongress.

Despitethefinancialindustry’sefforts,Congress passed legislation in July toreform the sector. The new legislation,which President Barack Obama signedintolaw,mademanyadvancesforconsum-ersincludingcreatingaConsumerFinan-cial Protection Bureau and making thederivatives market more transparent.PublicCitizenalsohelpedrollbackbadthingsthatindustrylobbyistshadsnuckintothebill,suchasaproposaltoderegu-lateexistingstateinsurancesolvencyandotherstandardsviatradeagreementpre-emption.But,thelawomittedmeaningfulrestraints on executive and top tradercompensation,afinancialspeculationtaxandrulestobreakupthebiggestbanks.RobertWeissman, president of PublicCitizen,observed:

Particularly because it does not break up the megabanks, the new financial reform law does not ensure that we will not have a

repeat of the financial crisis. Another round of reform will be needed to achieve that objective.

Hopefully, the ObamaAdministrationwillrealizenextyearthattheymustworkhardertogettheirprogramsthroughCon-gress. ThePresidentandhis teammustalsoworktoloosenthe“hold”thepower-fulspecialinterestsandtheirlobbyisthaveonCongress.

Source: Public Citizen

XI. TOYOTA LITIGATION UPDATE

toyota says it FixeD 3.7 million Vehicles in recall

ToyotaMotorCorp.saidlastmonththatithadfixedabout3.7millionvehiclesintheUnitedStates aspartof itsmassivesafety recalls. Theworld’s largest auto-makersaidinaprogressreportMondaythatithadaggressivelyrespondedtosafetyproblemsattheurgingofitspresidentandothertopcompanyofficials.Thatsoundsgood, but I believe the litigation thecompany faceshadmore todowith itthananythingelse.

ItshouldbenotedthatU.S.regulatorsfinedToyota$16.4millionearlierthisyearforfailingtopromptlytellthegovernmentaboutitscardefects.Thegovernmenthasreceivedabout3,000complaints aboutsudden acceleration and estimated theproblemcouldbeinvolvedinthedeathsof93peopleoverthelastdecade.


allstate Files suit against toyota

AllstateInsuranceCo.hassuedToyotaMotorCorp.,seekingtorecovermorethan$3milliontheinsurerandaffiliatespaidinclaimsforaccidentslinkedtounintendedacceleration inToyota vehicles. Thelawsuit,filedinLosAngelesSuperiorCourtlastmonth,marksarelativelynewfrontinthewaveoflitigationagainsttheJapaneseautomakerforeconomiclossesstemmingfromcomplaintsaboutToyotasthathavespedoutofcontrolandcrashed.Allstate

saiditexpectstobeoneofseveralinsur-ance companies that are taking thisaction.Theallegationsarelikethoseinamajorclass-actionconsumersuitpendinginfederalcourtagainstToyota.TheAllstatecomplaint says the automaker longignoredevidenceofaccelerationproblemsinitsvehiclesandfailedtoinstallabrakeoverride system that would have pre-ventedaccidents.

TheAllstateactionasserts,ashaveotherlawsuits, that acceleration f laws wererootedinadefectinanelectronicthrottlesystemToyota introduced in the1990s,and that Toyota ‘’essentially hid theproblem’’insteadofrecallingthecarsorchangingthedesign.“Thishasresultedinnumerousclaimsofinstancesofpropertydamageand injuries, including in someinstancesfatalities,’’thesuitsays.

ClaimspaidbyAllstateandaffiliatestopolicyholdersorthirdpartiesforaccidentsinvolving unintended acceleration inToyotastotalmorethan$3million,accord-ingtothesuit.Thatsumisafractionofthe$10billionintotalpotentialU.S.civilliabil-ityToyotaisestimatedtofaceoverallfromunintendedacceleration.Butsimilarsuitsfromotherinsurancecarriersareboundtomultiply theeffectof suchsubrogationclaims.

Theunprecedentedmagnitudeof therecallshasdamagedToyota’sonce-sterlingreputationforsafetyandreliabilityinitslargest market. The National HighwayTrafficSafetyAdministrationisinvestigat-ingreportsthatasmanyas89crashdeathssince2000maybelinkedtounintendedaccelerationinToyotacars.

Source: Insurance Journal

shareholDers File consoliDateD comPlaint on Vehicle recalls

ToyotaMotorCorp.hasbeenaccusedbyU.S.investorsofviolatingsecuritieslawbyfailingtodiscloseacceleration-relateddefectsthatitknewabout,accordingtoallegationsinaconsolidatedComplaintinaclass-action lawsuit. Theshareholders,ledbytheMarylandStateRetirementandPensionSystem,said in theOctober4thfilinginfederalcourtinLosAngelesthatinternaldocumentsshowToyotadeliber-atelyconcealedunintendedsuddenaccel-erationproblemsintheU.S.Theysaidthecompanyknewaboutthedefectsasearly


as2000and“stonewalled”regulators toavoidrecalls.Theinvestorssaid:

As government regulators and the media began to focus on this serious safety problem in the Toyota vehicles, Defendants initially denied that any unintended acceleration problem existed, despite a plethora of inter-nal evidence to the contrary, and instead blamed driver error and media-induced publicity.

Toyota’srecallsrelatedtosuddenaccel-erationdefectshaveerased$30billioninmarket capitalization, the investorssaid.TheMarylandpensionfundseekstorepresentinvestorswhoboughtToyota’sAmericandepositaryreceipts fromMay10,2005, toFebruary2,2010. Thefundalso wants to represent investors whoboughtthecarmaker’scommonstockindomestictransactionsduringthatperiodaswellas,throughclaimsmadeunderJap-anese law,all investorswhoboughtthecommonstockduringthattime,accordingtotheComplaint.

Source: Bloomberg

XII. PRODUCT LIABILITY UPDATE

the Fight against PreemPtion

Severalmonthsago,wereportedonalandmark achievement by the ObamaAdministrationrelatedtofederalpreemp-tion.OnMay20,2009,PresidentObamareversedoneofthemostnefariousprac-ticesoftheBushAdministrationbyissuinga memorandum (Preemption Memo)aimedatcurbingfederalpreemptionbyregulatory fiat. With the PreemptionMemo,thePresidentmadeclearhisintentto limit federal agencies’ efforts topreemptstatelawclaimsmerelybydeclar-ingthattheywouldconflictwithfederalregulatorypurposes.Thispositionrepre-sentsaradicalshiftfromthattakenbytheBushAdministration,whichaggressivelyencouraged federal agencies to seek topreemptstate tort law inprecisely thatfashion.

Ifyourecall,theunderlyingpremiseoffederalpreemptionisthatwhereaclearconflictexistsbetweenafederalrule/regu-

lation and state law claims, the federalrulesgovernandstatelawclaimsarepre-empted.Forthefirst150yearsofgovern-ment in the United States, there wererelatively few occasions when theSupreme Court was called upon toexaminetheextentofanyallegedconflictbetweenfederalandstatelaws.However,asourcountrygrew,andasour federalgovernmentgrew,sodidfederalrulesandfederalregulations.Withinthelast20yearsorso,therewasadramaticincreaseinthedemandsuponourcourts todeterminetheextentoffederalpreemptionofstatelawclaims.

DuringGeorgeW.Bush’sPresidency,hisAdministrationsawfederalpreemptionasan opportunity to enact stealth tortreform.Sevenfederalagenciesissuedover60 proposed or final rules that wereaccompanied by introductory state-ments—commonlyknownaspreambles—statingthattherulepreemptsstatetortlawonthegroundsthatlawsuitsinvolvingtheregulatingmatterswouldconflictwiththeagencies’regulatorygoals. Themostnotoriousexampleofthispracticewasthepreamble toa2006UnitedStatesFoodandDrugAdministrationlabelingregula-tion, which stated that the agency’sapproval of a prescription drug’s label“preemptsconflictingorcontraryStatelaw,” including lawsuits seeking toholddrugmanufacturersliableforfailingade-quatelytowarnofadrug’sdangers.Thispreemption preamble was particularlyegregiousbecause itrepresenteda180-degreereversaloftheFDA’spriorviewsonthematter:beforetheBushAdministra-tiontookpower.TheFDAenthusiasticallyendorsedtortlitigationascomplementingtheagency’sabilitytoensurethesafetyofprescriptiondrugs.

Hopefully, the BushAdministration’saggressivepracticeofseekingtoexpandfederal preemption of state tort lawthroughregulationendedwithPresidentObama’sPreemptionMemo.Butthefightis not over. Recently, the United StatesSupremeCourtgrantedcertioraritodeter-minewhetheroneoftheFederalMotorVehicleSafetyStandards(FMVSS)issuedby the National HighwayTraffic SafetyAdministration preempts a state lawproduct liabilityclaim.InWilliamson v. Mazda Motor of America, Inc.,thePlain-tiffseekstoholdMazdaaccountableforthedeathofThanhWilliamson,killedinahead-oncollisionwhenherbody“jack-

knifed”aroundalap-onlyseatbeltinstalledintheaisleseatofherfamily’s1993Mazdaminivan. Although the vehicle’s otheroccupantshadlap/shoulderseatbeltsandsurvivedthecrash,therewasnolap/shoul-derharnessinstalledforThanh’sseat.

Thanh’sparentsfiledalawsuitinCali-forniastatecourtagainstMazdaonstatetortclaims,includingproductsliabilityandnegligence. TheirComplaint alleged, inpart,thatThanh’sseatshouldhavebeenequipped with a lap/shoulder belt torestrainheruppertorsoinafrontalcolli-sion.Althoughlap/shoulderbeltsareuni-versally understood to provide greatersafetytocaroccupants,MazdaarguedthatthePlaintiffs’claimswerepreemptedbytheFMVSSthatgaveMazdathechoiceofinstallingeitherlap-onlyorlap/shoulderseatbelts intherear-centerseatsofcarsandintheaisleseatsofminivans.

BoththetrialcourtandtheCaliforniaCourt ofAppeals agreed, holding that,underabroadreadingofGeier v. Ameri-can Honda Motor Co.,Standard208—thefederal standard inquestion—“preemptscommonlawactionsalleging[that]aman-ufacturer chose the wrong seat beltoption....”InGeier,theU.S.SupremeCourtheldthata1984versionofStandard208preemptedaclaimthatacarmakershouldbeheldliableforfailingtoinstallanairbag.

InWilliamson,both theU.S.Govern-ment,throughtheSolicitorGeneral,andPublicJustice,havearguedthatGeierhasbeen misapplied by courts across thecountry,allowingfederalpreemptioninahost of areas that Congress neverintended. Theymaintainthat,toresolvethemassiveconfusioncausedbyGeier,theCourtshouldlimitpreemptiontocircum-stanceswhereCongresshasexplicitlysaidstatelawshouldbepreempted,orwherethestatelawclaimwoulddirectlycontra-dictaspecificfederallawmandate.Need-lesstosay,duringtheBushAdministration,theU.S.GovernmentwouldhaveneversidedwiththeWilliamsonfamilyonthispreemptionissue.

Clearly,Mazdashouldnotbepermittedtohidebehindapreemptiondefenseforits unsafe seatbelt. As the public wellknows,athree-pointrestraintmoreeffec-tivelyprotectsoccupantscomparedtoalapbeltonly.Hopefully,theUnitedStatesSupremeCourtwillaccepttheargumentsof the United States Government andPublicJusticeandwillgreatlycurtailthemisuseofthepreemptiondoctrinebycar


manufacturers.Automobilemanufacturersshouldnotbeable toavoid liability fortheirwrongdoinginmanufacturingdefec-tiveproductsthatkillandseriouslyinjurepeople.Ifyouneedmoreinformationonthis subject, contact Cole Portis, whoheads up our firm’s Personal Injury/ProductLiabilitySection,orDanaTaunton,alawyerintheSectionat800-898-2034,[email protected]@beasleyallen.com.

Source: Public Justice

$19 million VerDict in seatBelt case against ForD

AfederalcourtjuryinArkansasreturneda$19milliondollar verdict lastmonthagainstFordMotorCompany.ThePlaintiffinthecasewasparalyzedinaDecember27,2005motorvehicleaccidentinGreeneCounty,Arkansas,approximately13milesfromJonesboro.Heswervedasadograninfrontofhis1998FordWindstarandthevan began to roll. The Plaintiff waswearinghisseatbelt,butduringtheroll-overhewasejectedandsustainedparalyz-ing injuries. The Plaintiff is now atetraplegic,withpartialuseofhishandsandarms.

Thedefectclaimfocusedonthedesignofthebuckleandparticularlythereleasebuttonhousedwithinthebuckleoftherestraint system on the 1998Windstar.ThedesignutilizedbyFordfeaturedapro-trudingbutton.Thetopofthebuttonislocated above the top of the bucklehousingpermittingeasieraccess to thebutton. The protrusion of the buttonrendersthedesignofthebuckledefectiveandunreasonablydangerousbecause itpresentsanunnecessaryhazardforinad-vertentrelease.

During the late 1980s and into the1990s, Ford adopted a release buttondesignedfortheirseatbeltbuckleswhichwasdesignedprimarilytoaddressaesthet-ics. Unfortunately, a protruding buttondesignincreasestheriskforaccidentalorinadvertentreleaseoftheseatbelt.SincethedesignwasmanufacturedbyTRW,itwas suppliednotonlyon anumberofFordvehiclesbutalsoothermanufacturersutilizedtheprotrudingbuttonaswell.Bythe late 1990s, the entire industry, toincludeFord,startedmovingawayfromtheprotrudingbuckle toa saferdesignwithaflushbutton.Also,latermodelvehi-

clesoftenusedaconsoleorsomeotherform of shielding for the buckle andbuttonfrominadvertentrelease.

Thosewhohave theFordprotrudingbuttonintheirvehiclesshouldbeawareitdoespresentadangerintheeventofanaccidentifanindividualorobjectcomesincontactwiththebuttoncausinganacci-dentalrelease.Consumersareentitledtohaveseatbeltsthatworkproperly.Unfor-tunately, the protruding button designcausestheseatbeltsnottoworkproperlyandprotectoccupants. JimPratt,averygoodlawyerwithHare,Wynn,Newell&Newton,locatedinBirmingham,Alabama,representedthePlaintiffanddidanexcel-lentjobinthecase.

aPPliances in the home that can tiP oVer are Dangerous

Many people don’t realize there arecertainappliancesintheirhomesthatcancreaterealhazards.Thisisbecauseappli-ances,suchasovensthatareunsecure,cantip over. At least 34 people have beenkilled in tip-over accidents in homesacrossthecountrysince1980.Theacci-dentsarefrustratingforsafetyadvocates,whohavetriedforyearstogetboththemanufacturersandconsumerstorecog-nizetherisk.Forexample,theinstallationofasimplebracketcansecureanappliancetoawallandthatwillsolvetheproblem.

TheU.S.ConsumerProductSafetyCom-missioncounted107incidentsresultingininjury or death from 1980 through2006.Thoseincluded33fatalities—nearlyhalfinvolvingchildrenunderagetwo—and84 injuries.Regardlessofage,mostinjuries were burns from hot liquidsspilledfrompotsorpanswhenarangetipped.Ofcourse,therealdangeriswhenastoveorotherappliancetipsoverandfallsonaperson.

Pressureputonanopenoverdoor,asfrom a climbing child, may result inenough leverage for a stove to pitchforward.Forexample,RavenHolbert,agethree,ofSedalia,Missouri,diedinDecem-ber2001aftersheopenedthestovedoorinherfamily’skitchenwhilereachingforcookiesonacountertop. Shedied twodayslaterfromtheblowtoherchest.In2009,aModesto,California,toddlerdiedtwodaysbeforehissecondbirthdaywhenheclimbedontoanovendoorcausingtheover to tip over. Investigators said heopenedtheoventousethedoorasastep.

Theproblemdatestothe1980s,whenappliancemanufacturersbeganmakingstoves lighter. Eventually, the industryagreed toavoluntarily fixand itbeganprovidinganti-tipbracketsbeginning in1991. Every new stove is supposed toinclude warnings and instructions oninstallingthebrackets.Now,thechallengeis getting homeowners and applianceinstallerstousethem.In2007,consumerexperts estimated that as many as 45million American homes had stoveswithoutananti-tipdevice.Manycommuni-ties requireabracket as aconditionofgetting an occupancy permit. In thoseareas,enforcementinspectorsarenotsup-posedtopassapropertyunlesstheovenisinstalledtothemanufacturer’sspecifica-tions.

JoanClaybrook,formerpresidentofthePublicCitizenadvocacygroupinWashing-ton,pressedpolicymakersforyearsaboutthisissue.“WetriedtolobbyCongresstoaskforarecall,”shesaid.“Theywouldn’tdoit.”Claybrooksaidtheindustryshouldredesignstovestoremainstablewithoutabracket.Manufacturersclaimtheirprod-uctsarealreadysafe,ifinstalledproperly.Butsafetyprinciplesrequirecertainthingstoprotectthepublic.

Whendesigningaproduct,thefirstobli-gationistodesignoutthedanger.Therehavebeenlotsoflawsuitsagainstmanufac-turers,homebuildersandinstallersduetothissafetyhazard.In2008,Searssettledaclassactionlawsuit,agreeingtofixatleast3.9millionstovesthatitsoldandinstalledfromJuly2,2000,throughSeptember18,2007.Thecompanyagreedtoinstallanti-tipdevicesforfree,orpay$100toanyonewho has paid Sears or a third party toinstall the device. More information isavailable fromtheAssociationofHomeApplianceManufacturersonlineathttp://www.aham.org/consumer/ht/d/sp/i/2319.

Source: STLToday.com

an uPDate on motorcycle litigation

Asmanyofyouknow,motorcycleuseinon the rise in this country. In the lastdecade, motorcycle r idership hasincreasedover50%.Nolongeraremotor-cyclistslimitedtothe“easyrider”stereo-type known for decades. In fact, it’sestimatedthatalmost10%ofallmotorcy-cleownersarewomen.Harley-Davidsonhasdevelopedastrongfollowingamong


babyboomersandretirees.Asaresult,thenumberoffatalitiesandserious injuriesinvolvingmotorcycleridershasincreasedsteadily.MoremotorcyclistswerekilledlastyearthananyyearsincetheNHTSAbegancollectingfatalcrashdatain1975.

Many of the injuries and deaths arecausedbyeitherdefectivemotorcyclesand/or unsafe components. Last year,Aprilia,BigDog,BMW,Buell,Decati,Harley-Davidson,Honda,Kawasaki, Suzuki andYamahaall institutedrecallsconcerningsafetyissueswiththeirmotorcycles.Someof the defects commonly found withmotorcyclesincludedefectivetires,swingarms, forks, throttles,kickstands,wheelspokes, crash bars, helmets and brakesystems.

Oneof themost recent safety issuesconcerningmotorcyclesareunsafebrakesystems. Defects in the braking systemwhichincreasestoppingtimeanddistanceor the ability to control the bike in abrakingmaneuverhavebeenatthefore-frontofmotorcyclelitigationoverthepastdecade.Oneoftheissueswithmotorcyclebrakesinvolvesthemanufacturer’sdeci-siontoequipmotorcycleswithanti-lockbrakingsystems(ABS).Whilemanufactur-ersofothervehicles,suchastractortrailertrucks, install anti-lock brakes on theirvehicles,motorcyclemanufacturershavelaggedbehind.

BMW first equipped its motorcycleswithABSin1988.Bytheyear2000,mostoftheEuropeanmanufacturersequippedtheir production models withABS. By2005, the Japanesemanufacturerswereofferingthemasoptions.Finally,in2008,Harley-DavidsonbegantomakeitsbikeswithABS.

In 2008, the Insurance Institute ofHighwaySafety (IIHS)documented theeffectivenessofanti-lockbrakes inpre-venting thenumberofcrashesand thefatality rateassociatedwithmotorcyclecrashes.TheIIHSreportindiscussingtheusefulnessofABSstated:

Stopping a motorcycle is trickier than stopping a car. For one thing, front and rear wheels typically have sepa-rate brake controls. Both underbrak-ing and overbraking the front and rear wheels contribute to crashes. In an emergency, a rider faces a split-second choice to brake hard, which can lock the wheels and cause a motorcycle to overturn, or to hold

back on the brakes and risk running headlong into the emergency.

This is when antilocks can help. They reduce brake pressure when they detect impending lockup and increase the pressure again when traction is restored. Brake pressure is evaluated multiple times per second, so riders may fully brake without fear of locking the wheels.

In summary, the IIHSconcluded thatABS-equippedmotorcycleswereinvolvedin38%fewerfatalcrashesthanmotorcy-cleswithoutthisfeature.

Motorcyclemanufacturershaveknownforyearsthatthemostcommonmotorcy-cleaccidentisthecaseofanautomobiledriverturningleftinfrontofthemotorcy-cle.Insuchanemergency,themotorcyclerider needs a braking system to helpcontrolhismotorcycleandavoidapoten-tially fatal accident. A motorcycleequipped withABS would provide theriderwithsuchasystem.Unfortunately,therearethousandsofmotorcyclesmadeinthelastdecadewithoutABS.Themanu-facturer’sdecisionnottoequipitsmotor-cycleswiththisfeaturehascostandwillcostseverallivesinthefuture.Ifyouneedadditional information on this subjectcontactRickMorrison, a lawyer inourProductLiabilitySection,[email protected].

XIII. MASS TORTS UPDATE

an uPDate on Fosamax litigation

Aswehavereportedinpastissues,ourfirmiscurrentlyinvolvedinlitigationwithMerck involvingthedrugFosamax. Thedrug has been linked primarily to twotypesofinjuries.OneisOsteonecrosisofthe Jaw (ONJ) and the other injury isFemurFracture.ONJisadebilitatinganddisfiguringconditionwhichliterallymeans“jawdeath.”YoumayrecallourreportingontheBolescaseintheFosamaxMDLinNewYorkwhichinvolvedONJandtookplacelastyearresultinginahungjury.Thecasewasrecentlyre-tried,resultinginan$8millionverdictforthePlaintiff.Since

that time, JudgeKeenanhasenteredanorder giving thePlaintiff theoptionoftakingareducedverdictof$1.5millionorre-tryingthedamagesportionofthecase.TherearethreemoreFosamaxONJcasesscheduledtogototrialintheMDLoverthe next eight months. Lawyers in ourfirm’sMassTortsSectionhavestayedbusyonthesecasesandtheyarecurrentlypre-paring to try a Fosamax ONJ case inJanuaryinAlabama.

Thesecondtypeofinjuryweareinves-tigating is subtrochanteric femur frac-tures.Thesefracturesareoccurringwithlittleornotraumatothefemur.Theyarealsoreferredtoas“low-energy”femurfrac-tures.OnOctober13,2010theFDAsentoutanadvisorytopatientsandhealthcareprofessionalswarningthemoftheriskoffemoralfractureslinkedtooralbisphos-phonates,includingFosamax.Thereiscon-solidated lit igation in New JerseyregardingFosamaxclaims,someofwhichinvolvefemurfractures.TherearecasesinNewJerseyscheduledtogototrialthisyearaswell.Ifyouwantadditionalinfor-mationontheFosamaxLitigationpleasecontact Chad Cook in our MassTortsSection at 800-898-2034orby email [email protected].

DePuy hiP rePlacement litigation

OnAugust26,2010,DePuyOrthopedics,Inc.,asubsidiaryofJohnsonandJohnson,recalled two of its metal-on-metal hipimplantdevices. The recallwasdue todevicemalfunctioncausingahighrateofrevisionsurgeriesandmetaldebrisfromthe devices’ components spreadingthroughoutapatient’sbody.StudiesthatledtotherecalloftheDePuyASRXLAce-tabularSystemandASRHipResurfacingSystemsconfirmthatanyonewhohashadone of these hip replacements have apotentialclaimagainstDePuy.

InordertolimitDePuy’sexposureanddetermine how many potential claimsexist, DePuy has attempted to havepatientssignaconsentform,whichwouldallowDePuytoobtainvaluableinforma-tion about the patient’s case before alawsuitisfiled.Inmanycases,DePuyhassent form letters to the orthopedicdoctorswhohaveperformedthesurger-ies,inorderforthedoctorstosendthelettertotheirpatients.Theseformlettersrequest patients to contact DePuy inorder to obtain a claim number and


consentformforthepatientstosign.Insomeinstances,thetreatingsurgeonhas“required”theirpatientstocontactDePuyinordertogetaclaimnumberbeforethesurgeonagreestoseetheirpatientforafollow-upappointment.

Patientswhosignthisconsentformandsubsequently decide to pursue a legalactionagainstDePuymayhavenegativelyaffected their claims. If patients havealreadysignedaDePuyconsentform,theycan revoke thisconsentat any timebynotifyinginwritingthepersonororgani-zation thatprovided the consent form.DePuy isworkingwithanorganizationcalledBroadspiretoobtainconsentformsfrom patients and/or provide claimnumbers.TheDePuyconsentformstakeapotentialclient’sprivacyrightsawayforlittleinreturnandshouldbeavoided.Ifyouwantmoreinformationonthissubjectplease contact NavanWard at [email protected].

aBBott WithDraWs Diet Pill in u.s. anD canaDa

Abbott Laboratorieswill finallywith-drawitsdietpillMeridiaintheU.S.AndCanada. Thiscomesalmost ayear afterstudiesshowedthedrugincreasestheriskofheartattackandstrokeinpatientswithahistoryofheartdisease.TheFoodandDrugAdministrationsaysitrequestedthewithdrawalbecausethedrug’sriskswerenot justified compared with“the verymodestweightlossthatpeopleachieveonthisdrug.”Dr.JohnJenkins,theFDA’sdirec-torfornewdrugs,saidinastatement:

Physicians are advised to stop pre-scribing Meridia to their patients and patients should stop taking this medication.

Onthis sameday,HealthCanada, thenation’shealthdepartment, announcedthatAbbott would voluntarily pull thedrugfromthemarketthere.Meridiahasbeenavailableinbothcountriesformorethanadecade.EuropeanregulatorspulledtheproductoffthemarketinJanuaryaftera study showed that patients who hadheartdiseasehadan11%chanceofheartattacksor strokewhile taking thedrugcomparedwitha10%riskforthosenottakingit.RegulatorsintheU.S.AndCanada

said they based their decisions on thesamedata.

MeridiaisnotwidelyusedintheU.S.,withasteepdecline inprescriptions inrecentyears.About283,000prescriptionsforitwerefilledlastyear,justmorethanhalf the number that were filled in2005.Thetypicalpatientstaysonthedrugfor about 50 days, according to FDAfigures.Eightypercentofusersaremiddle-agedwomen. Abbott,which isbased inChicago,saysitstillbelievesitsdrughasapositive risk-benefit profile, but thecompanyagreedtocomplywiththeFDA’srequest.ApanelofFDAadvisorshaddeliv-ered a split vote of 8-8 on whether toallowcontinuedmarketingofMeridia.TheFDAisnotrequiredtofollowtheadviceofthegroup,thoughitoftendoes.


meDtronic to Pay $268 million to settle suits oVer DeFiBrillator Wire FlaWs

Medtronic Inc., the world’s largestmakerofheartdevices,hasagreedtopay$268milliontosettlelawsuitsoverclaimsthatfracturedwiresinalineofitscardiacdefibrillatorscausedatleast13deaths.Thecompany is resolvingclaims thatwiresconnectingimplantableSprintFidelisdefi-brillatorstopatients’heartsweredefec-tive.Medtronichaltedsalesoftheso-calleddefibrillatorleadsinOctober2007aftertheywerelinkedtousers’deaths.

The settlement covers about 8,100casesor“virtuallyall”U.S.claims,Garlandsaid.Thesettlementresolvescasesinbothfederalandstatecourts.Itwillprovideanaveragepayoutofmorethan$33,000topatients who have defibrillators withwiresthathavebrokenorareconsideredlikelytobreak.Theamountwilldependontheextentoftheinjuriesanddefects.Medtronichadmorethan50%ofthe$5.8billion global market for defibrillatorsbeforesalesoftheleadswerehalted.Thewiresdeliverelectricaljoltsfromthestop-watch-sizedefibrillatorstoregulatefalter-ingheartbeats.About268,000patientshadthetargetedleadsatonetime,accordingtothecompany.Theywereintroducedin2004,theofficialssaid.Thecompanyesti-matesthat170,000peopleworldwidestillhavedefibrillatorswiththeSprintFidelisleadsinsidethem.

The fractures were caused by poorweldingandqualitycontrolatMedtron-ic’smanufacturingfacilityinPuertoRico.Patientsalsoallegedthewiresweredefec-tivelydesigned.MedtronicacknowledgedinMarch2009thattheflawedwires“mayhavebeenapossibleorlikelycontribut-ingfactor”in13deaths.U.S.DistrictJudgeRichardH.KyleinMinnesota,whoisover-seeingallsuitsovertheheartwiresfiledin federal courts around the U.S., dis-missedthosecasesinJanuary2009afterfindingtheywerepreemptedbyfederallaw.TherulingwasbeingreviewedbyafederalappealscourtinSt.Louiswhenthesettlementwasreached.ThesettlementovertheSprintFidelisdefibrillatorsisthesecondsuchresolutionoveralineoftheMedtronic’sheartdevices.Thecompanyagreed in2007 topaymore than$114milliontosettlelawsuitsoveritsMarquislineofdefibrillators.

Source: Bloomberg

XIV. BUSINESS LITIGATION

FeDeral goVernment Files antitrust suit against BcBs oF michigan

TheJusticeDepartmenthassuedBlueCrossBlueShieldofMichigan,assertingthat thecompanyhasviolatedantitrustlawsinordertogainacompetitiveadvan-tageagainstrivalhealthinsurancecarriers.BCBS-Michigan is the state’s dominanthealthinsurer,coveringmorethan60%ofMichigan’s3millioninsuredresidents.Thesuit, filed in Federal District Court inDetroit, alleges thatBCBS-Michiganhasused its market power as leverage tocoercehospitalstochargehigherpricestoBCBS-Michigan’scompetitors.

Antitrustisthelawofcompetition.Anti-trustlawseekstoencourageandenforcecompetitivemarkets.Antitrustlawisprin-cipallycodifiedinthefederalShermanActandClaytonAct,andmanystatesalsohaveenactedstatutesmodeledaftertheseActs.Inmanycases,antitrustlawprovidesfortrebledamagesandattorney’sfeesagainstan offending party for anticompetitiveconduct.

Ourfirmhasrecentlyfiledasimilaranti-trustsuitonbehalfofaFloridahospital


a ga ins t a ma jor phar maceut ica lcompany. Theclass action suit, filed inFederalDistrictCourtinTampa,involvesthemarketforthedrugadenosine,whichis used by healthcare providers as anadjunct tocardiacstress tests. JapanesepharmaceuticalgiantAstellascontrolsover90%ofthemarketforadenosineusedincardiacstresstests,andalsoholdsapatentovertherecommendedmethodofadmin-istering adenosine in connection withstresstests.ThesuitallegesthatAstellashasusedthismarketpowerasleveragetocoercehealthcareproviderstopurchaseitsbrandedadenosinedrugasopposedtochemicallyidentical,butcheaper,genericalternatives. Astellas charges approxi-mately450%moreforitsbrandeddrugascompared to the price charged by itsunbranded competitors. The overallexcesscosttoU.S.healthcareprovidersexceeds$100millionannually.

IntheMichigansuit,theJusticeDepart-menthas focusedoncontractualprovi-sionsstipulatingthathealthcareprovidersmust charge other insurers up to 40%more than they charge BCBS-Michi-gan.TheJusticeDepartmentassertsthatthese“mostfavorednation”clausessimul-taneouslyhaveinflatedhealthcarecostsandpreventedcompetinginsurersfromentering the market. This is consistentwithfindingsoftheGovernmentAccount-ingOffice,whichrevealgrowingconcen-tration in insurance markets for smallgroups, suchas thosewith50or feweremployees.A2008studyshowedBCBSasthelargestcarrierin36ofthe44statesthatidentifiedtheirtopcarriers.

Thisisanareaoflawthatishighlyspe-cializedandforthatreasonmostlawyerswon’ttakethesecases.Ourfirmhandlesantitrustcasesonbehalfofbusinessesofalltypesandsizes.PleasecontactArchieGrubb at 1-800-898-2034 or [email protected] learnmoreaboutourantitrustpractice.

Source: New York Times

unaBomBer Victim Wins $625 million Patent suit against aPPle

Asmallbusinessfoundedbyavictimofthe Unabomber has been awarded a$625.5millionverdictbyaTexasjury.ThejurorsfoundthatAppleInc.infringedonthree of the business’s patents. ThecompanywascreatedbyDavidGelernter,

a brilliant NewYork native-turned-YaleUniversityprofessorandauthortargetedbytheUnabomberinJune1993.ThecaseinvolvedtechnologycommonlyusedonitsenormouslypopularMacintoshcom-puters,iPodsandiPhones.

ApplerequestedthatthetrialjudgeholdoffonimposingthepayouttothePlaintiff,MirrorWorlds LLC., a small technologycompany.U.S.DistrictJudgeLeonardDaviswill hear arguments from both sidesbeforedecidingonApple’srequest. Thepatents involve the well-knownAppletechnologiesCoverFlow,whichallowsuserstoeasilyflipthroughalbumcoversand other content; Spotlight, used tosearchthecomputerharddrive,andTimeMachine,whichautomaticallysavescopiesoffiles.ThelawsuitwasfiledsevenyearsafterMirrorWorldslaunchedapatentedproductcalledScopewarein2001.

Amongotherthings,theproductorga-nized information in a style similar toCoverFlow.ThefederalcourtjuryfoundAppleinfringedonallthreepatentsheldbyMirrorWorlds, awarding the smallercompany$208.5millionforeachone.Gel-ernterwasblindedinoneeye,lostmostofhisrighthandandsufferedvariousotherinjurieswhenabook-sizedparcelsentbyUnabomberTedKaczynskiexploded17yearsagoinhisYaleoffice.His1991book“MirrorWorlds”predatedthepopularityoftheInternet,andpredictedtheuseofcom-putersforreal-time,real-worlddata.

Source: New York Daily News

XV. AN UPDATE ON SECURITIES LITIGATION

shareholDers File FrauD laWsuit oVer recalls against Johnson & Johnson

Johnson&Johnsonhasbeensuedforfraudoverclaimsitliedtoinvestorsaboutcontamination at manufacturing plantsand about the repurchase of defectiveMotrintabletsfromstoreshelvesbyJ&J-hiredconsultants. The shareholder suitalleges that J&J made misleading state-mentsbeforedisclosingcontaminationatplantsinPuertoRicoandPennsylvania.Aspreviouslyreported,theMotrinrecall isnowunderinvestigationbyCongress.The

ComplaintalsocitestheApril30threcallofmore than40 typesofchildren’smedi-cines.It’sallegedinthelawsuit:

As a result of the blatant, systemic, and repeated failure of Defendants to maintain proper manufacturing practices at their facilities, Defen-dants have been forced to issue over eight separate recalls including dozens of products and hundreds of millions of individual packages.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court inNewark,NewJersey,comesamidaU.S.criminalinvestigationoftherecallsandaprobebyaCongressionalpanel.ThePlain-tiffseekstoproceedasaclass-action,orgroup,lawsuitforinvestorswhoboughtsharesbetweenOctober2008and July2010.It’sallegedthatJ&Jwithheldmate-rialinformationbeforeitsdecisioninApriltoshutdownaplantinFortWashington,Pennsylvania,wherecontaminationledtotheunpublicizedrecallofdefectiveMotrintabletsin2009.ThepurchasesbyJ&Jhavebeenlabeleda“phantomrecall.”

Source: Bloomberg.com

neW yorK city Pension FunD settles aPPle oPtion BacKDating laWsuit

Apple Inc. has agreed to pay $16.5milliontosettleaclassactionsuitbytheNewYork City Employees’ RetirementSystemthatthecompanyimproperlyback-dated stockoptionsbetween2001and2006. Apple will return $14 million toshareholdersandcontributeatotalof$2.5milliontocorporategovernanceprogramsat various U.S. universities, includingHarvard,YaleandColumbia.Administrativeandattorneys’feesof$4millionwillbepaidseparatelybyApple,bringingthetotalvalueofthesettlementtoover$20million.CorporationCounselMichaelA.Cardozo,thecity’schieflegalofficerandcounseltothecity’spensionfunds,saidinawrittenstatement:

This settlement is an excellent example of shareholder advocacy and compensates shareholders for systemic options backdating at the company. We are happy to have reached an accord with Apple after four years of litigation.

The city must obtain preliminaryapprovalofthesettlementinU.S.District


CourtfortheNorthernDistrictofCalifor-niatomorrow.Thoseeligiblefordistribu-tionsfromthesettlementfundpurchasedApplecommonstockatapriceinexcessof$65.71betweenAugust24,2001,andJune29,2006.TheNewYorkCityEmploy-ees’ Retirement System, the court-appointedleadPlaintiffintheclassaction,isthelargestmunicipalpublicemployeeretirement system in the country withmorethan300,000activemembersandretirees.

Source: Bloomberg

XVI. INSURANCE AND FINANCE UPDATE

ohio settles antitrust laWsuit With marsh

Ohio has settled its antitrust lawsuitagainstMarsh&McLennanCos.for$4.75million. Public entities throughout thestate—including universities, schools,cities and counties—will receive reim-bursementsfromthesettlement,accord-ing to Attorney Genera l RichardCordray.ThelawsuitwasfiledinanOhioState Court and accused Marsh, theworld’slargestinsurancebroker,ofcon-spiringwithvariousinsurerstoeliminatecompetitioninthecommercialcasualtyinsuranceindustry.

Itwasallegedthatfrom2001-2004,theinsurersandMarshconspiredtoprovidecustomers with fictitious quotes thatcreatedafalseimpressionthatcompetitivebiddinghadproducedthebestpossibleprice.TheOhioAttorneyGeneral’sOfficehasrecoveredmorethan$27millionasaresultoftheentireantitrustlawsuitagainstMarshandvariousinsurers.TheAttorneyGeneral settledwithAmerican Interna-tionalGroupandHartfordFinancialSer-vicesGroupearlierthisyearformorethan$9million.ThecasewillcontinueagainstDefendants ACE American InsuranceCo.AndTheChubbCorp.

The26publicentitiesrepresentedbytheAttorneyGeneralinthiscaseinclude,among others, several universities, anumberofretirementsystems,andtheCityofCincinnati.Additionalfundsfromthissettlementwillbedistributedtothestate’sAntitrustRevolvingFundforanti-

trust enforcement, the OhioAttorneyGeneralforlitigationcostsandtheOhioDepartmentof Insurance for investiga-tivecosts.


BaD Faith laWsuit in FloriDa against citizens Will go ForWarD

Alawsuitallegingbadfaithclaimshan-dlingbyFlorida’sstate-createdinsurer,Citi-zens, will proceed to trial over theobjectionoftheinsurerthatitisprotectedagainst suchsuitsby immunitygrantedgovernmententities.Athree-judgepanelin theFirstDistrictCourtofAppeals inFloridadeniedabidbyCitizensPropertyInsuranceCorp.lastmonthtohaveabadfaithclaimlawsuitagainstitdismissed.

TheoriginalsuitbySanPerdidoAssoci-ationagainsttheinsurerallegingbadfaithclaimshandlinghasnotyetgonetotrial,but the Lower Court also refused todismissthesuitonthebasisofsovereignimmunity.Citizensappealedthedenialofits immunityclaim.Nowthe two-judgemajorityontheAppealsCourthassaidthatthecasemustbetriedbeforetheirCourt can rule on whether Citizensenjoysimmunity.

This case involves a claim by SanPerdido under a windstorm insurancepolicywithCitizensafterHurricaneIvancaused substantial property damage in2004.Citizensrefusedtofullypayitsobli-gationunderthetermsoftheinsurancepolicy, requiring San Perdido to file acircuit court action to compel suchpayment, and then defend that awardwhen Citizens appealed it. The circuitcourt ruling was upheld in 2009. SanPerdidothenfileditsbadfaithaction.Citi-zensfiledamotiontodismiss,assertingthattheactionisbarredbytheimmunityconferredonCitizensbyFloridalaw.

IncreatingCitizens,theLegislaturegaveCitizensthestatusofagovernmententityandgaveitalimitedgrantofimmunityinconnectionwith itsperformanceof itsdutiesor responsibilities.But, state lawprovides that such immunity does notapplytoawillfultortorforabreachofcontractpertainingtoinsurancecoverage.San Perdido has alleged that Citizensengagedinaseriesofbadfaithpracticesinitshandlingofitsinsuranceclaim,andthatsuchconductwasbothabreachofcontractandawillfultort.

IndenyingCitizens’motiontodismiss,thetrialcourtreasonedthatSanPerdido’slawsuit iswithintheexceptionstoCiti-zens’immunity.AlthoughCitizenscouldchallengethatrulingifSanPerdidoshouldwin at trial, Citizens instead asked theAppealsCourttohaltanyfurtherproceed-ingsinthetrialcourt.ItwouldseemthatifCitizens enjoy immunity, theAppealsCourtwouldhavesaidsoratherthansendthecasebackfortrial.


XVII. EMPLOYMENT AND FLSA LITIGATION

metliFe unDerWriters File oVertime class action

TwoformerMetLifeHomeLoansunder-writershave filedaclassaction lawsuitseekingbackpayforunpaidovertime.Theunderwriters allege that MetLife HomeLoansmisclassifiedthemasbeingexemptfromovertimepayrequirements.MetLifepaid the underwriters a salary and noovertimeforhoursworkedinexcessof40hoursperweek.Recently,andpriortothelawsuit,MetLifeHomeLoansre-classifieditsunderwritersaseligibleforovertime,started paying them overtime, but thecompanyhasfailedtopaytheunderwrit-ers for their previous overtime hoursworkedpriortothereclassification.Theformeremployeeswhofiledthesuitareseekingclassactionstatus foranation-wideclassofcurrentandformerMetLifeHomeLoansunderwriters.

Thisisnotthefirstovertimeclassactionlawsuit brought by loan underwritersclaiming they were misclassified asexempt.InNovemberof2009,underwrit-ers for J.P. Morgan Chase won a classactionlawsuitagainstthecompany.TheU.S. Court ofAppeals for the SecondCircuitheldthatJ.P.Morganwasnotjusti-fiedinrefusingtopayovertime.TheCourtfoundthatJ.P.Morgan’sjustificationfornotpayingunderwritersovertimepay—the administrative exemption—did notapply tounderwritersbecause theyarenot administrative employees. Rather,according to the Court, underwritersengage in production work relating toloansales.


Currently,ourfirmrepresentsemploy-eesinsimilarFLSAlitigation.Also,inaneffort to help workers who have beenwronglydeniedtheirovertimecompensa-tion,our lawyersroutinelypursueclassactionlitigationundertheFairLaborStan-dardsAct to recover unpaid overtimewages. For more information, contactLarryGolstonat800-898-2034,[email protected],orvisitourwebsiteatwww.beasleyallen.com.

Source: www.LegalFi.com

$175 million settlement inVolVing aK steel in erisa case aPProVeD

AfederaljudgehasapprovedAKSteelCorp.’s$175millionsettlementwithtwoclassesofretireesinanEmployeeRetire-ment IncomeSecurityAct lawsuit. Thecompany was accused of unlawfullycuttingitshealthinsurancebenefitsinvio-lationof itscollectivebargainingagree-ments.Inhisruling,JudgeTimothyBlack,intheU.S.DistrictCourtfortheSouthernDistrictofOhio,gavethesettlementagree-menthispreliminaryapproval,andcerti-fiedaclassofhourlyemployers.

Source: Law360

north carolina Bottler to Pay $495,000 in hiring Bias claims

Thesecond-largestbottlerofCoca-ColaproductsintheU.S.willpay$495,000tosettleafederalcaseinvolvingchargesofracially discriminatory hiring prac-tices. TheCoca-ColaBottlingCompanyConsolidated,aCharlotte,N.C.-basedfirmthat is separate from theAtlanta-basedCoca-ColaCompany,willpaythemoneyinbackwagesplusinterestto95blackandHispanicjobseekerswhoappliedforsalespositions in2002,according to theU.S.Department of Labor. In addition, thebottlerhasagreedtoofferjobstothoseapplicantsuntilatleast23arehired.

Accordingto theLaborDepartment’sOffice of Federal Contract CompliancePrograms,aninvestigationdeterminedthatqualifiednonwhiteapplicantswerenotbeinghiredatthesamerateasqualifiedwhiteapplicants.Insomecases,theblackandLatinoapplicantshadmoreexperi-ence and education than some of thewhiteswhodidgetjobs,accordingtotheagency.TheOfficelaunchedtheinvestiga-tionbecausethebottlerisafederalcon-

tractor,supplyingCoke-brandproductstoa number of military and governmentagencies.


XVIII. PREDATORY LENDING

Wells Fargo Pays $24 million to enD DecePtiVe mortgage Practices ProBe

Wells Fargo has agreed to pay $24milliontoendan investigationbyeightstatesinvestigatingwhetherthecompanymade risky mortgages to consumerswithoutdisclosingtheirperils.Thestateschargedthatloansknownasoptionadjust-ablerateloans,referredtoas“pick-a-pay-ment” mortgages, were deceptive toborrowers.Thoseparticularlytoxicloansallowedborrowerstodefersomeoftheirinterestpayments andadd them to theprincipal balance. The settlement wasreachedwithAttorneysGeneralinArizona,Colorado,Florida, Illinois,Nevada,NewJersey,TexasandWashingtonState. TheloansweremadebyWachoviaandaCali-forniacompanyitacquired,WorldSavingsBank.SanFrancisco-basedWellsFargopur-chasedWachoviaduringthefinancialcrisistwoyearsago.

Source: USA Today

racial PreDatory loans sParKeD housing crisis

A new study reveals that the largenumber of foreclosures that led to thenation’shousingcrisiswastriggeredbypredatorylenderstargetingpoorminorityneighborhoods. The studypublished intheAmericanSociologicalReviewfoundthatracially-segregatedminorityneighbor-hoodswerebesetwithunreasonablefeesandinterestratesbylendersbeginninginthe1990s.

Becauselenderscouldpoolhigh-andlow-risk loans to sellon the secondarymarket,thestudy’sauthorssay,minorityareastendedtohavelendersthat“chargehighfeesandusuriousratesofinterest”-suchaspawnshopsandcheckcashingservices.Thestudy,whichanalyzeddatafrom the 100 biggest U.S. metro areas,

foundthatAfrican-Americansweremorelikely to receive subprime loans thanwhiteborrowerswithsimilarcredit.Thereport’sauthorsconcluded:

As a result, from 1993 to 2000, the share of subprime mortgages going to households in minority neighbor-hoods rose from 2% to 18%. In 2008, a federal lawsuit claimed that black neighborhoods in Baltimore were disproportionately affected by the subprime mortgage fallout. (Empha-sis Added.)

It’sbothlegallyandmorallywrongforthepredatorylenderstodowhattheydidinpoorminorityneighborhoods.It’sgoodtoseeboththefederalandstategovern-mentsfinallytakingaseriouslookattheoverallproblem.

Source: Reuters and CBS News

citi orDereD to Pay actor $11.5 million in Damages

LarryHagman,theactorwhoplayedtheroleofJ.R.Ewinginthe1980sTVshowDallas,haswonhiscaseagainstCitigroupInc.Thebankwasorderedtopayover$11million in damages. The total awardincludes$10millioninpunitivedamagesthatCitimustpaytocharitiesselectedbyHagman, $1.1 million in compensatorydamagesandnearly$440,000inlegalfees.

Hagman, who also played astronautAnthonyNelsoninIDreamofJeannieinthe1960sTVshow,accusedCiti inMay2009of abreachof fiduciaryduty andbreachofcontract,fraudbymisrepresenta-tionandomission,failuretosuperviseandviolation of federal and state law. Theruling was by an arbitration panel ofFINRA,aself-regulatorybodyoftheU.S.financial industry. The allegationsstemmedfromunspecifiedsecuritiesheldinCitiaccounts,aswellasthepurchaseofa life insurance policy. The arbitratorsfoundCitigroupGlobalMarkets“engagedinseriousmisconduct,’’meetingFINRA’sstandardsforpunitivedamages.

Hagman, who turned 79 last month,continuestoappearonTVandinmovies,includingthe1998politicalspoofPrimaryColors.MorerecentlyhehasplayedoffhisroleasaTexasoilmantobecomeaspokes-manforasolarenergycompany.Accord-ing toSolarWorld,Hagman’sCaliforniahomewasthelargestresidentialproducer



ofsolarpowerintheUnitedStates.Sinceindustry arbitration panels are notrequiredtoexplaintheirrulings,wehavetoassumethearbitratorsfoundCitigroupguiltyofsomeprettybadconductandthattheirawardwaslegallysound.


class-action status granteD to inVestors suing Washington mutual

InvestorssuingWashingtonMutualInc.,theformerownerofthebiggestU.S.banktofail,woncertificationasaclass-actioncaseoftheirsuitallegingshoddylendingpractices. U.S. District Judge MarshaPechmaninSeattleruledthatshareholderswholostmoneyonstockpurchasedfromOctober2005toJuly2008canproceedwithclaimsundera single lawsuit. ThejudgeappointedtheNewYork-basedlawfirmBernsteinLitowitzBerger&Gross-mann to lead the Plaintiffs’ case. Thelawsuitconsolidatesmorethan20casesfiledagainstWashingtonMutualthatclaimthebanksecretly lowered lendingstan-dards, artificially inf lated home-priceappraisalsandfailedtodiscloseitsdeterio-ratingfinancialconditionwhentheloansbegantofail.

The named Plaintiffs in the caseincludeOntarioTeachers’PensionPlanBoard, the largest single-professionpensionplaninCanada,andfourotherpensiongroups.Theyseektorepresenttensof thousandsofshareholderswholostmoneyonthreetypesofpreferredstockpurchasedbetweenOctober2005and July 2008 and certain securitiesof fered by the bank in 2006 and2007. Theshareholderscontendedthatthecaseshouldbegrantedclass-actionstatusbecausetheirclaimsaretypicalofwhatotherinvestorsexperiencedandarebasedoncommonlegalissues.

WaMufiledforbankruptcySeptember26,2008,thedayafteritsbankingunitwastakenoverbyregulatorsandsoldtoJPM-organ Chase for $1.9 billion. Before itfailed,WashingtonMutualBankhadmorethan2,200branchesand$188billionindeposits.JudgePechmanruledonSeptem-ber28ththataseparatefederalshareholderlawsuitinSeattleclaimingthebankmisledpurchasersof$10.8billioninmortgage-backedsecuritiescouldproceed.

Source: Seattle Times

XIX. PREMISES LIABILITY UPDATE

DoW settles hazarDous chemical exPosure claims With alaBama miners

DowChemicalCo.AndFlexibleProd-ucts Co. has settled with nearly 1,400Alabama miners over their claims theywereexposedtohazardouschemicals.Thesettlementinvolving1,394minerscameinaTuscaloosaCircuitCourtjustasopeningstatements were due to begin. It tookaboutamonthtoselectajuryandthetrialwas expected to last three to fourmonths.ThetermsofthesettlementandarelatedcaseinWestVirginiaareconfiden-tial.Thecaseshadbeenpendingforasig-nificantperiodoftime.Theminersallegedthattheywereexposedtoisocyanate,orrockglue,whichwasused to shoreupwallsandceilingsintheminesincentralAlabama. Thecase involvingactiveandformerminerswasfiledin2001.

Rockgluecancausesevere,sometimeslife-threatening,asthma.TheU.S.Centersfor Disease Control and Preventiondescribes itasa“powerful irritant’’ thatcanaffect theeyes,gastrointestinalandrespiratory tracts. Exposure sensitizesworkers,anddeathshavebeenreportedfromasthmaattacks.ThecasewasbeforeTuscaloosa County Circuit Judge JohnEngland.ThecasehadbeenmovedfromJefferson County,Ala. Dow’s specialtychemical,advancedmaterials,agrosciencesandplasticsbusinessesdelivertechnology-basedproductstocustomersinapproxi-mately160countries.For25years,FlexibleProductsCo.hasproducedlow-cost,high-qualityinjectionmoldedrubbercompo-nentsfortheautomotiveindustry.


caliFornia Woman sues Wal-mart For inJuries in store

ACaliforniawomanissuingWal-martfor injuries she sustained in one of itsstores. On September 20, 2008, EloiseHansonvisitedaWal-martstoreinMorgan-town,WestVirginia, and satdownonabenchtorestwhileherfriendscontinuedtoshop.Shortlyaftershesatdownonthebench,aWal-martemployeewaspullingacartnearherloadedwithastackofboxes.

Shesaysthestackofboxescollapsedandlandedonherhead,neck,shoulderandback.

It’s alleged that theemployeewasatfault incausingorallowingthestackofboxestolandonMs.Hanson.It’sfurtherallegedthatshehassufferedsignificantand permanent injuries and is seekingcompensatorydamages.UnderCalifornialawbothpre-andpost-judgmentinterestareallowed.ThePlaintiffisbeingrepre-sentedbyAndrewG.Meek,alawyerfromMorgantown.

Source: wvrecord.com

settlement reacheD in amusement ParK riDe case

Wehavewritteninpriorissuesabouthowdangeroussome“rides”areinamuse-mentparks. The familyof a13-year-oldFlorida girl who was seriously injuredwhenshefellabout100feettothegroundfromanamusementparkridehasreachedasettlementwiththepark.ThesettlementwasreachedwithExtremeWorldinWis-consinDellsanditstillmusthavecourtapproval.Theparkwassubjecttoafore-closuresalewhichwasheldonOctober19th.Thesalewastosatisfyamorethan$2.7millionjudgmentinfavorofthebankagainstAndersonAmusements LLCandExtremeWorld Inc. The bank filed theforeclosureactioninDecember.

Theteenager,whowasvisitingWiscon-sinfromParkland,Florida,onJuly30th,hitthegroundinthefree-fallrideafternetsandairbagsthatweresupposedtocatchriderswerenotraised.Shesufferedswell-inginherbrain,multipleseverefracturesofherspineandpelvisandlacerationstoherliver,spleenandintestines.Atpresstime she was still in the hospital inFlorida. The ride was calledTerminalVelocityanditwasmadebyGermanman-ufacturerMontic.

The 33-year old ride operator waschargedwithonecountof first-degree-recklessinjury,afelonypunishablebyup25 years in prison and $100,000 infines.Theoperatortoldinvestigatorshe“blankedout”andneversawthe“all-clear”signalbeforereleasingthegirl.ThestateDepartmentofCommercehas said theoperatordidnotfollowprotocol.Areportsaysthegirlwasdroppedbeforethecageinwhichshewasridingreachedthetopandbeforeanetwasinproperposition.


Stuart Grossman, a lawyer from CoralGables,Flordia,representedTeaganMartiandhedidaverygoodjob.


laWsuit FileD By Woman hurt in transFormers 3 stunt

AlawsuithasbeenfiledbythefamilyofaChicagowoman injured this summerduring filmingof a stunt for themovieTransformers 3.It’sallegedinthelawsuitsthatthevictimispermanentlybrain-dam-aged.Thesuit,filedinCookCountyCircuitCourt,saysthemakersofthemoviewereatfaultandcausedtheinjuriessufferedby24-yearoldGabrielaCedillo.Shehasbeenat Loyola Medical Center in Maywoodsince she was injured in Hammond,Indiana,onSeptember1st.Shesufferedasevereopenheadtrauma.Ms.Cedillowasamong80extrasandwasdrivingherowncarinthewestboundlanesofavacatedpartofClineAvenueforthestunt.Whileshe and the others were driving, stuntvehicles were being towed by f latbedtrucks in the opposite lanes at 50mph. The stunt called for two of thetowedvehiclestoriseintheairandthenflip“byuseofapullingcablewiththeideabeing tocauseviolent rollsof thecarsinvolved.”

Onthedayoftheaccident,acableandbracketattachedtothebottomofastuntcarclosest toMs.Cedillaand theotherextrassnapped.Thevehiclebecameair-borne intotheoncoming lanes,strikingthe hood of Ms. Cedillo’s vehicle. Thelawsuitallegesthatmovieofficialswerenegligentthroughfaultyweldingandthedesignofthebracketandallowedextrastobetooclosetothestunt.ToddA.Smith,a lawyer from Chicago, represents thefamilyinthislawsuit.

Source: Boston Herald

illinois Files suit against enBriDge oVer oil cleanuP

TheIllinoisAttorneyGeneralhasfiledalawsuitagainstEnbridgeInc.’sU.S.AffiliateEnbridgeEnergyPartners.Thestateseeksto have the company pay the costsincurredcleaningupanoilpipelinespillthat occurred in September. MichiganAttorneyGeneralLisaMadiganandJamesGlasgow, the State’sAttorney forWill

County, filed the lawsuit against thecompany.

TheComplaintallegesthatthespillofabout6,100barrelsofoilfromEnbridge’s670,000barrel-per-dayLine6AinRome-oville,Illinois,causeddangertothepublichealthandwelfare,violatedthewaterandairpollutionlawsandcreatedapublicnui-sance.ThecourtalsoagreedtoarequestforaninterimorderrequiringEnbridgetoinspectwatermains,sanitaryandstormsewers, private wells and groundwaterwithinahalfmileofthesitetoensurealloilfromthespillhasbeencleanedup.

AccordingtoEnbridge,ithasco-oper-atedwithallregulatoryauthoritiessincethespillandhasnearlycompletedalltherequirementsimposedbytheU.S.Environ-mentalAgencyaftertheincident.Thesuitseeksrepaymentforthecostsincurredbythe Illinois Environmental ProtectionAgency for its oversight of the spill’scleanupandremediation.


WrongFul Death suit FileD against Bayer

ThemotherofaWestVirginiaStateUni-versitystudentwhodiedlessthanthreeweeksafteranAugust2008explosionatBayerCropScience’sInstituteplantsayshediedasaresultofexposuretosubstancesreleasedduringtheincident.Ra’SeanGray,astudentattheUniversity,diedSeptember18,2008 in a localhospital afterbeingadmitted for respiratory distress. Anautopsyfoundthatthestudentdiedastheresultofapulmonaryembolism,whichisa blood clot in the main artery of thelungs.

Thevictim’smother,PortiaGray,filedawrongfuldeathsuitinastatecourt,alleg-ingthatthestudentdiedasaresultoftheexplosion.Thesuitsaystheteenobeyedashelter-in-place order that night andremainedindoorsatanunspecifiedloca-tion until an all-clear signal was given.Whenhereturnedtohisdormroomlaterthatnight,he foundhiswindow,whichfaced the direction of the Bayer plant,openanddustorsootcoveringtheroom.It’sallegedthathenoticedafoul-smellingodor.

TheUniversitywassaidtohavebeennotifiedseveraltimesoftheconditionofhis room and at least one request wasmadeforittobecleaned.OnSeptember

17th,thestudentwenttotheemergencydepartmentofalocalhospitalcomplain-ingofchestpainsandshortnessofbreath.Hewastreatedandreleased.Thefollow-ingday,hewasagainadmittedtothehos-pital and died following respiratorydistress.ThesuitallegesthatBayerfailedtomaintainitsInstituteplantinareason-ablysafeconditionandneglectedtowarnthepublicofthereleaseofchemicalshaz-ardoustohumanhealth.Bayerissaidtohavebeenat fault sinceairmonitors—designed to trigger alarms ifhazardouschemicals are released—were out ofserviceformaintenanceonthedayoftheexplosion.

ThesuitalsonamesWestVirginiaStateUniversityandtheStateBoardofEduca-tionasco-Defendants,sayingtheywerenegligent in responding to Gray’srequeststohavehisroomcleanedofthedustandsoothefoundonthenightoftheexplosion.

InApril,thecompanyagreedtopaya$143,000 fine to theU.S.OccupationalSafetyandHealthAdministrationtoresolve15 safety citations stemming from theexplosion.Bayeralsosaidin2009itwouldspend nearly $25 million on safetyupgradesattheInstituteplant.Aspartofthat,thecompanyagreedtocutstorageofthehazardouschemicalmethylisocyanateby80%andbuildanundergroundstoragetanktoholdthechemical.Thecompanyalsohasagreedtoeliminateuseofthepes-ticidealdicarb-amajorproductmadeattheInstitutesite.

BayerCorp.PresidentGregBabehasadmitted that the company“did nothandlethesituationwellduringandaftertheincident.”HesaysBayeris“workinghardtorestoretrust”andismakingsafetyimprovements.ThisisthefirstwrongfuldeathsuitarisingoutoftheAugust2008explosion at the plant. Two Bayeremployees died from injuries thatoccurredduring the incident. TheU.S.ChemicalSafetyBoardisstillconductinganinvestigationintotheexplosion.TheBoard’sreportshouldbereleasedsome-timethisfall.

Source: dailymail.com

Jury aWarDs Woman $843,567 in triP-anD-Fall case

A jury has awarded $843,567 indamagestoawomanforinjuriesshesuf-


feredfallingdownthestairsofanofficebuilding.Itwascontendedthatthestairswereunsafeandthattheownersofthebuilding that housed a medical clinicknewthatandfailedtofixthestairsorpostwarningsigns.Thetotaljuryverdictwas$1.05million,butjurorsdeterminedthePlaintiffwas20%responsibleforherfall.Shesufferedback, leg,hip,armandotherinjuriesandcontinuestoneedinjec-tionsandothertreatmentsforpermanentnervedamage.Shenowwalkswithalimp.

Source: santacruzsentinel.com

starBucKs settles PasaDena Woman’s laWsuit For $4.8 million

Starbucks has agreed to pay a $4.8milliondollarsettlementtoanelderlyPas-adena woman who sued the companyafter she tripped and fell at one of itscoffee shops. Mildred Rodgers, 78, fellafter entering the Starbucks store onNovember15,2005duetoabulgeontherearentrancestairway.Whenthewomanfelldownafewsteps,shefracturedherfemurandtwodayslaterhadsurgery.Asaresultofthesurgery,Ms.Rodgershadastroke and ultimately had three morestrokesthreeyearslater.

Today,Ms.Rodgersisunabletospeak,except forvery short sentences, and isprettymuchwheelchair-bound.Shecanwalkinherhousewithassistance.Acon-tractorwhowascalledintotemporarilyfixthefloorwroteanoteinApril,2005thattheflooringshouldbereplaced. Inaddition,acityhealthinspectortoldthestoreitneededtoreplacetheflooringanhourbeforethetripandfall.Thecasewassettledonthefirstdayoftrial.

Source: Pasadenastarnews.com

XX. WORKPLACE HAZARDS

alaBama Plants citeD For saFety Violations

Global manufacturing firmWhitesellCorp.hasbeencited foramultitudeofsafetyandhealthviolations.Federalinves-tigatorsdiscoveredtheproblems inthecompany’stwonorthwestAlabamafacili-

ties. According to U.S. Labor SecretaryHildaSolis,theviolationscreateddanger-ousconditionsforWhitesell’semployees.One of the employees had his handseveredbyahydraulicforgingpressearlierthisyear.

TheU.S.OccupationalSafetyandHealthAdministration announced fines of$3,071,500against thecompany for72violationsfoundthroughoutitsmanufac-turing plants inTuscumbia and MuscleShoals.Whitesell’sTuscumbia locationemploys 17 workers and manufacturespartsusedintheautomotive,lawncare,and home appliance industries. TheMuscleShoalsplantemploys103workersand manufactures fasteners and HVACcomponents.Whitesellemploysmorethan1,000workersin25locationsintheU.S.,Canada, and China. Secretary of LaborHildaL.Solisstated:

Whitesell willfully tampered with the safety mechanisms of its hydraulic forging presses at its Tuscumbia plant to speed up production, result-ing in the amputation of a worker’s hand. Companies like Whitesell that value short-term gain over their workers’ safety will be held responsi-ble for their reckless actions.

OSHAbegananinspectionoftheTus-cumbiaplant inMarchafterreceivingareport that a worker’s hand had beenamputated.Duetotheseriousnessofthehazards noted during that initial visit,OSHAexpandedthecomplaintinvestiga-tiontoacomprehensivesafetyandhealthinspectionofthefacility.TheinspectionwasagainexpandedthreeweekslatertoincludetheMuscleShoalsplantduetotheprobabilitythatsimilarhazardsexistedatthatlocation.AssistantSecretaryofLaborforOSHADr.DavidMichaelsstated:

This employer knowingly exposed these workers to serious injuries. The objective of OSHA’s actions today is to save the hands, and perhaps the lives, of other workers in the future.

OSHAproposed$986,500inpenaltiesfor safety violations found in theTus-cumbiafacility.Theviolationsincluded14willfulviolations, six seriousviolations,and two lesser health violations. Thewillful safety violations addressed theplantmanagement’sfailuretodevelopcrit-ical safety procedures for employeesworkingwithhydraulic forgingpresses

andforbypassingsafetyfeaturesintendedtoprotectworkers.Theserioussafetycita-tionsconcernedthelackofsafetyguardsonmachinesandelectricalhazards.

FortheMuscleShoalsplant,OSHApro-posed $2,085,000 in penalties for 29willfuland21seriousviolations.AswiththeTuscumbia facility, thewillful safetyviolationsaddressedthisplant’sfailuretodevelopandutilizelockout/tagoutproce-duresfortheplant’smechanicalforgingpressesandtolockoutmechanicalforgingpresseswhendiesarechangedormainte-nanceisperformed.

Seriouscitations involvedobstructedexit routes, various machine guardinghazards, and several electrical dangers.Othercitationsfornoisehazardsandthemanagement’slackofcontrolsandtrain-ingforemployeesaffectedbyloudnoisewereincluded.OSHAissuesawillfulcita-tionwhenitfindsaviolationcommittedwithplainindifferencetoorintentionaldisregard for legal requirements andemployeesafetyandhealth.Seriouscita-tions are given when death or seriousphysicalharm is likely to result fromahazardaboutwhichtheemployerkneworshouldhaveknown.


XXI. TRANSPORTATION

oKlahoma turnPiKe Deaths case settleD For $62.7 million

AlawsuitarisingoutofacollisiononOklahoma’sWill RogersTurnpike thatkilled ten people has been settled for$62.7million.Thesettlementcoverseightofthedeathsandoneinjuryclaim.Arela-tiveoftheothertwovictimswhowerekilledhadreachedanearliersettlement.Atractor-trailerdrivenby76-year-oldDonaldCreed slammed into vehicles that hadstoppedforapreviousaccidentonInter-state44nearMiamionJune26,2009.

TheOklahomaHighwayPatrolreleasedareportinAugust2009thatsaidtheacci-dentwascausedbytheinattentionofthedriverofthetractor-trailer.TheAssociatedPresspreviouslyreportedthattheinvesti-gationshowednoattemptbythetruckdrivertobrakeortakeevasiveaction.Noapparentproblemswiththetruck’sbrakesorsteeringwerefound.Therewas“strong


evidence” that cruise control was inuse.Thetruckwastraveling“consistentlyat69.5to71mph”forabout4.5minutesbeforethecollision

ThesuitwasfiledinClevelandCountyDistrictCourtbyfamilymembersofthosekilledintheaccident.Thesuitnamedthetruckdriver;KansasCity,Kan.-basedAsso-ciatedWholesaleGrocers;twoinsurancecompanies;aCaliforniacompany;andtwoindividualsasDefendants.ThetruckdriverwasdrivingthatdayforAssociatedWhole-saleGrocers.

Source: Associated Press and Insurance Journal

settlements reacheD in neW yorK Plane crash

Familiesofatleastfivepassengerskilledwhenaplanecrashed intoahome lastyearhavereachedsettlementswiththeair-lines involved. More agreements areexpected before a wrongful-death trialbegins,lawyerssaid.Thusfar,39lawsuitshavebeenfiledinU.S.DistrictCourtsincetheNewark,N.J.-to-BuffaloflightcrashedintoahouseinsuburbanClarenceonanicyFebruarynight.All49peopleaboardthe plane and the home’s owner werekilled.

During a conference on October 6thwiththelawyersinvolvedinthelawsuits,JudgeWilliamSkretnysaidhelikelywouldrule this month on the key issue ofwhetherjurorsinthetrial,scheduledforMarch2012,willbeallowedtohearthefullcockpitvoicerecording.Accordingtolawyersforthevictims’families,theuned-itedrecordingofContinentalConnectionFlight3407will gobeyond the alreadyreleasedwrittentranscriptinillustratingan overly-relaxed atmosphere in thecockpit,whichinvestigatorshavesaidcon-tributed to the February 12, 2009,crash.Theywanttheactualrecording,butlawyersfortheairlinescontendthatforthewrittentranscriptoftheconversationsbetweenCapt.MarvinRenslowandFirstOfficerRebeccaShawissufficient.

ThelawsuitsnameHouston-basedCon-tinentalAirlines;ColganAir,theManassas,Virginia,regionalcarrierthatoperatedtheflight,andColganparentPinnacleAirlines,of Memphis,Tennessee. Also named insomecasesareMontreal-basedBombar-dierAerospace, thecompanythatmadetheplane,andFlightSafetyInternational,whichhelpedtrainthepilots.

The NationalTransportation SafetyBoard in February said that the pilots’improper response to a low-speedwarningledtheplanetogodownjustfivemilesfromitsdestination.Amongcontrib-uting factors, the panel said, were thecrew’sinattentiontoairspeedsandviola-tionofregulationsprohibitingunneces-sary conversation during takeoffs andlandings.WhiletheNTSBfindingscannotbeusedincourt,theyparallelclaimsinthelawsuitsthatthepilotswereimproperlytrainedandmadeerrors.TheDefendantshavedeniedthattheyrecklesslyoperatedand monitored Flight 3407, that theyimproperlytraineditscrew,andthattheaircraftwasnotequippedtoflyinicycon-ditions.Theamountsofthesettlements,whilesubstantial,havenotbeendisclosed.


settlement aPProVeD in 2005 metra Derailment

Metrahasagreedtopay$1.45milliontoawomaninjuredwhenaspeedingtrainderailedin2005.Theplaintiffwasapas-sengeronaRockIslandlineMetratraintraveling fromJoliet towarddowntownChicagoonSeptember17,2005,whenitspedthrougha10-mphtrackcrossingat69 mph and derailed. Two passengerswerekilled,and117wereinjuredinthecrash.ThePlaintiffsufferedabrokenlegandwillrequirekneereplacementsurgeryasaresultofthecrash.

Thefamiliesoftwopersonswhowerekilledreachedan$11millionsettlementwithMetra inNovember2008. Anotherpassengerwhowasseverelyinjuredinthecrashreceiveda$29.5millionjuryverdictinFebruary2009tocompensateforherinjuriesandtopayforalifetimeoftherapyandround-the-clockcare.

The NationalTransportation SafetyBoardblamedtheengineerwhowassub-sequentlyfiredforfailingtoheedsignalsandslowthetrain.TheNTSBalsofaultedMetraforlackinganautomaticsystemtooverridehumanerror.DanKotin,alawyerwithChicago-basedCorboy&Demetrio,representedthePlaintiffintherecently-settledcaseandhedidaverygoodjob.

Source: Chicago Tribune

Jury aWarDs Bus Passenger $6.4 million

ACalifornia juryawarded38-year-oldThomasAvery$6.4millionlastmonthinhispendinglawsuit.ThePlaintiff,whohasbeenaquadriplegicsincea1989trafficaccident,usesamotorizedwheelchairtogetaround.In2008,thePlaintiffwastryingtoboardaRosevilleTransitbus.Hewasusingawheelchairliftatthetime,whichwasoperatedbythebusdriver.Andwhilehe was being loaded onto the lift, thePlaintiffwasdroppedfromaboutsix-to-sevenfeetofftheground.ThePlaintiff’shead struck the pavement with about1600poundsofforce.Hesufferedabraininjuryinthefall.

The juryfoundthe liftmalfunctionedbecauseitwasdefective.Itwassupposedtohaveaworkingbarriertopreventthewheelchairfromrollingbackward. Therollbarrierhadbeenpoorlymaintainedandwasmissingaboltononeside.Thejury’sawardrequiresthebuscompanytopaytheplaintiffabout$5.4million.TheCityofRoseville,whichisresponsiblefortheremainderofthemoney,hasreviewedallitspracticessincetheincidenttomakesurenothinglikethePlaintiff’saccidentwillhappenagain.ChristopherW.Woodand Roger Dreyer, lawyers from Sacra-mento,California,representedMr.Averyandtheydidaverygoodjob.


Faa issues Fire Warning For lithium Batteries

Federalaviationofficialshaveurgedaircarrierstovoluntarilytakestepstoreducethe risk of cargo fires caused by over-heatedlithiumbatteries.Thisisanindica-tionoftheFAA’sgrowingconcernaboutthethreatposedbyair transportof thebatteries.ThewarningfollowsthecrashinSeptember of a United Parcel ServiceplaneinDubaithatkilledbothpilots.TheFederalAviationAdministrationacknowl-edgedpublicly for the first time in thesafetydirectivethattheBoeing747-400wascarryinga largequantityof lithiumbatteries.Smokefromafireintheplane’smaincabin,whichwasusedforcargo,wassothickthatthepilotstoldairtrafficcon-trollerstheycouldn’tseetheirinstrumentsastheystruggledtolandtheplane.

ThePipelineandHazardousMaterialsSafetyAdministrationproposednewregu-


lations in January that would requirelithiumbatteriesbetreatedashazardouscargo. Battery shipments would needspecialpackagingandworkerswhoshipthemwouldhavetoreceivespecialtrain-ing.Therewouldalsohavetobespeciallabelingandpilotswouldhavetobetoldthattheircargocontainedlithiumbatter-ies. Theregulations,whichhavenotyetbeen made final, have been stronglyopposed by the electronics industry,batterymakersandsomecargocarriers,includingUPS.


arKansas Family to receiVe $10.3 million

A jury in Prairie County, Arkansas,awarded$10.3milliontothefamilyofanIraqwarveteranwhowasburnedwhilerescuinghiswifeandtwochildrenafteradevastating collision on an interstatehighwayinJuly2008.MarkRogersandhisfamilywere traveling throughArkansaswhileonvacationwhentheircarwascor-ralledbyseveraltractor-trailers.Oneoftherigs ignited,and the fire spread, settingRogers’caronfire.Hiswastheonlydoorthat would open, so the 34-year-oldescapedandkickedinthewindshieldtorescuehiswife, daughter and son. Theaccident left three of the four Rogersfamilymembersseverelyburned.

ThejuryfoundU.S.Express,Inc.47.5%atfaultintheaccidentandawardedthe$10.3millionverdict.Atthetimeoftheaccident,MarkRogerswasastaffsergeantintheU.S.ArmyReserves.Hehadrecentlyreturned from his second tour in Iraq,whereheservedasacombatengineer.Inanironictwistoffate,StaffSgt.RogerswasaK-9handlerwhosearchedforexplosivesinIraqwiththegoalofmaintainingsafehighways. The law firm of Wilkes &McHughhandledthiscaseandtheydidaverygoodjob.

alaBama’s guest statute must Be changeD

Mostfolksdon’tknowaboutAlabama’sgueststatutelawandthosewhodoreallydon’t see theneed for it. For theunin-formed,a“gueststatute”isalawpassedbymany states between 1927 to 1939 toprotectdriversfromhitchhikerssuingahospitabledriverandtopreventcollusion

betweenadriverandafamilymemberorfriendagainstaninsurancecompany.This,at that time,was thought tobeanobleundertaking.

Between 1927 and 1939, thirty-threestatelegislaturespassedaformofa“gueststatute.”In1935,theAlabamaLegislaturepasseda“gueststatute”andthereasoningforthepassageof theAct, likeallotherstates, was to encourage hospitality byhostdriverssinceitwouldbeunfairforahitchhikertosuehisbenefactor. Also itwastopreventanyopportunityforcollu-sionagainstaliabilityinsurancecompanyintheeventadriverandhisguestwererelatedorknewoneanother.

Beginninginthe1970’s,andcontinuingthroughthe1980’s,manystatelegislaturesstartedtorepealtheexisting“gueststat-utes.” State supremecourts and federalcourtsbegantofindthesestatutesuncon-stitutionalbecause the justificationandreasoningforenactingthesestatuteshadnorationalbasisfiftytosixtyyearsafterthestatuteswereinitiallyenacted.Manycourts and legislative bodies began torealizethat:

• Theprotectionofthehostdriverdoesnotjustifythedifferenttreatmentofanautomobileguestfromotherrecipientsof the host generosity. Further withcompulsory insurance lawsmade thehospitalityjustificationmeritless.

• Thecollusionpreventionargumentwasmeritless, too. Although the“gueststatute” may prevent a few collusivesuitsbetweendriversandpassenger,thestatuteoperatedtobaragreatmajorityofvalidclaims.

Today,Alabamaistheonlystatewithacomprehensivegueststatutewhichpre-cludes an action for simple negligenceunlessthepassengerconfersabenefittothedriversuchaspayingforgasorsharingtripexpenses,orthedriver’sconductiswantonorwillful.Threeotherstateshavea less comprehensive and less limitinggueststatute.

The Alabama Supreme Court hasreviewedthreecasesthathavechallengedtheconstitutionalityofthe“guest/passen-gerstatute.” Onall threeoccasions,theSupremeCourtfailedtodeclarethegueststatuteunconstitutional.Infact,inoneofthecases,oneofthejusticessuggesteditwasafunctionoftheLegislaturetorepealthegueststatuteandnotafunctionofthe

Courttodeclareitunconstitutional.Ithasbeen35yearssincethatcaseandneitherthe Alabama Supreme Court nor theAlabamaLegislaturehasdoneanythingtorepealthestatuteortodeclareitunconsti-tutional.ANevadaSupremeCourtJusticesummeditupbestwhenhewrote:

The friends of the driver, his family, those to whom he stands in the closest relationship of faith, and trust, in confidence, must suffer inju-ries at his hands without recom-pense, solaced only by the thought that, after all the skull was cracked by a friendly hand. His legal status; this invited guest; is no better than that of a trespasser. The hospital bill, the loss from a long illness, all arising from the wrong of another and without fault of the part of the victim, must be shouldered without the aid of him who did the wrong. Why? Because of the relationship between them was one of trust and friendship. No money had changed hands. If, however, not a neighbor himself is carried to town, but rather his livestock to the slaughter house, many modern courts would permit full recovery for the injury to the unfortunate animal through failure to use reasonable care for its safety. Is this one answer of an enlightened people to the hollowed question: How much then is a man better than a sheep?

Hopefully,somethingwillbedonenextyeartogetridofanantiquatedlawthatserves no useful purpose. Either theAlabama Legislature or the AlabamaSupremeCourtshouldrepealthelawordeclareitunconstitutional.Ifyouwouldlike to have more information on thissubject,contactMikeCrow,a lawyer inour firm who handles personal injurycases,[email protected].


XXII. NURSING HOME UPDATE

ciVil suits uncoVer nursing home aBuse

Civil suits help uncover abuses bynursinghomeandinsurancecompanies.Whereregulatoryand legislativebodieshavebeenunabletocopewiththisdis-tressingriseofneglectandabuseofourelderly,theciviljusticesystemhassteppedintothebreach.Areport,“StandingUpForSeniors:HowtheCivilJusticeSystemPro-tectsElderlyAmericans,”revealsthatlitiga-tion is critically important to protectnursinghomeresidents.

Accordingtothereport,thevastmajor-ity of the nursing facilities that housemorethan1.5millionelderlyAmericansareownedbyprivatecorporatechains,makingitdifficultforconsumerstoholdthemaccountableforabuse. Thereportalsoassertsthatinsurancecompaniesaremore likely to take advantage of olderpatientswithpracticeslikemiscalculatingmortalityrates,denyingclaimsandcuttingoffbenefitsforneededtreatments.

Thereportoutlineshow,throughlitiga-tion, trial attorneys across the countryhave uncovered evidence of corporateprogramsaimedat terminating seniors’benefits aswell asevidenceofnursinghomeabuseandneglect.Thereportwarnsthat efforts to combat nursing homeabusesthroughcivilsuitsarehamperedbytheuseofmandatoryarbitrationclausesinnursinghomeandinsurancecontracts.

Source: LawyersUSAOnline.com

XXIII. HEALTHCARE ISSUES

FDa to Push For more inVestment in science

Healthregulatorsplantospendmillionsof dollars to step up their scientificprowessinamovethatofficialssaywillhelp quickly get new treatments topatients andprotect thepublic againstpossiblehealththreats.TheU.S.Foodand

Drug Administration, in a proposalreleasedlastmonth,saiditaimstoinvestinawiderangeofefforts,fromdevelopingmethodstoassessnewproductstocreat-ingbetterteststoidentifyfoodcontami-nants.Allofthemareaimedatkeepingupwithrapidlychangingscienceandtech-nology.“Weneednewapproaches,newcollaborations and new ways to takeadvantageof21stcenturytechnologies,”theagencysaidinawhitepaperannounc-ingtheeffort.Ultimately,theplanshould“bolster”regulatoryscience“and—aboveall—creativeapproachestoproductdevel-opment and safety for both food andmedicalproducts.”

FDACommissionerMargaretHamburg,apublichealthexpertandformerhealthcommissionerforNewYork,haspromisedtoboosttheagency’sscientificfocussincetaking over the agency last year. Theagency has already launched a recenthandfulofinitiativesaimedatcollaborat-ingwithothergovernmentagencies,suchastheNationalInstitutesofHealthaswellasuniversitiesandmedicalindustries.Butits latest plan aims to formalize andbroadentheeffort.

The proposed budget for fiscal year2011includes$25millionforthisproject.ItisunclearwhethertheFDAwouldhavethemoneytoboostsciencetotheextentitwants.ThePresidentrequesteda23%fundingincreaseforatotalof$4billionforthe FDA, but most agencies are beingfundedat2010levelssinceCongressfailedtopassnextyear’sbudget.

Source: Reuters

FDa aDmits mistaKe in aPProVing Knee imPlant DeVice

The Food and DrugAdministrationmade a mistake in approving a kneeimplantagainsttheadviceofitsscientificreviewers. It has now admitted that itshouldn’thaveapprovedthedevice.Theannouncement comes a year after theagencyfirstacknowledgedthat itsdeci-sion to approve the Menaflex implant,madebyReGenBiologics,wasinfluencedbyoutsidepressure,includinglobbyingbyfourlawmakersfromthecompany’shomestateofNewJersey.The2008decisiontoapprove the implantwasmadedespiteprotestsbyFDAscientiststhatMenaflex—whichreinforcesdamagedkneetissue—provides l i t t le , i f any, benefi t to

patients.TheFDAsaysit’stakingstepstorevokeMenaflex’sapproval.

Source: MSNBC

XXIV. ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS

FeDeral court to hear West Virginia Families’ claims against DuPont

Thecomplaintsof14WestVirginiafami-lieswhoblame illnesses—ranging fromcancertorashes—onlong-termexposuretotoxicwastepiledupataformerDuPontzinc-smeltingplantwillbetriedtogetherinfederalcourt.LeadPlaintiffsRebeccaMorlock and Waunona Crouser havealreadywonaclass-actionlawsuitinvolv-ingtheplantlocatedinSpelter.Theyandothers are now seeking damages fordozens of maladies they attribute toarsenic,cadmium,leadandothertoxins.

ThelawsuitswerefiledinastatecourtinJuneandwereremovedbyDuPonttoU.S.DistrictCourtinClarksburg.ThePlain-tiffsareseekingunspecifieddamagesforpain and suffering,medical testing andtreatment,lostwagesandemotionaldis-tress.Thecomplaintsincludeovariananduterine cancer; bipolar disorder andmentaldistress;kidneyproblems;migraineheadaches; seizure-like activity; skinlesions;lowIQscores;numbnessandtin-glingofextremities;andthyroid,vascularandconnectivetissuediseases.

Thesmelter innorth-centralWestVir-ginia produced more than 4 billionpounds of slab zinc and 400 millionpoundsofzincdustforuseinrustproofingproducts, paint pigments and batteryanodes.By1971,atoxicwastepilestood100feettallandcoverednearlyhalfofthe112-acre site. Dust often blew intohomes. The plant closed in 2001, andDuPontworkedwithstateregulatorstodemolish factorybuildingsandcap thesite.

But in2007,a juryruledDuPontwasnegligentincreatingthewastepile,andthat ithaddeliberatelydownplayedandliedtoitsneighborsaboutpossiblehealththreats.Thejuryawarded$380millioninpunitive damages. The state SupremeCourtcuttheverdictto$196million.TheHighCourtaffirmedthatthousandsofresi-


dents were entitled to a $130 million,40-yearmedicalmonitoringprogramanda$55.5 million cleanup fund for privateproperties.Buta juryhasyet todecidewhethertheunderlyingclaimswerefiledin time to permit those remainingdamages


XXV. THE CONSUMER CORNER

mini cooPer steering ProBe may Be inDication oF an inDustry-WiDe issue

BMW’s iconic Mini brand is underfederalinvestigationbecausepowersteer-ingonasmanyas80,0002004and2005MiniCoopermodelscouldfail.Thisisthelatest inarising tideofsteering-relatedproblems.Wemayseemoresteeringcom-plaintsasautomakersoverhaulthemostbasiccontrolsystemonacar.Thisisbeingdoneinaquestforthelastone-tenthofamilepergalloninfueleconomy.

The probe by the National HighwayTrafficSafetyAdministrationcites54com-plaintsand“aconfidentialnumberoffieldreports” from Mini about sudden andunexpected loss of power-steeringassist.Thatmakesthecarhardtosteerandcould cause the driver to lose control.NHTSA lists no mishaps due to theproblem,andMinihas said itknowsofnone.

DavidChampion,headofautotestingforConsumer Reportsmagazine,says,“WehadthatonaMiniwithelectricsteering”afewyearsback,andit“scaredthehelloutofthedriver.”Automakersareswitchingtoelectric motors instead of hydraulicpumpstoprovidepower-steeringassist.Electricpower-steeringsystems(EPS)canadd0.1ofampg,ormore,byeliminatingdragontheenginecausedbyhydraulicpumps.

ButEPSishardtotunetomakeitfeelsimilartotheage-oldhydraulicsystems.Itcan seemnumbor too light todrivers.Mechanicalsystemsoftengiveanaudiblewarning—harsh sounds—of imminentfailure.EPSsystems,“whentheyfail,theyfailcompletely,”accordingtoJesseToprak,vicepresidentatautoresearcherTrueCar.com.NHTSAsaysstartingin2006,ithas

“seenanincreaseininvestigationsofvehi-clesequippedwithelectricpowersteer-ing.”Buttheagencysaysitisnotclearifthat’sbecauseEPSis inherentlytrouble-someorsimplyismorecommon.

AccordingtoMr.Champion,therewillbe“moreissueswherethesteeringsystemfeels vague” as carmakers eliminatenormal, slightlyoff-center, alignmentoftiresandsteering.Thatcustomary“toe-in”or“toe-out” of tires improves steeringresponse,butusesslightlymoreenergyt h a n w h e n t i r e s a r e a l i g n e dstraight. Truecar.comsaysithashad“anoverwhelmingnumberofsteeringcasesthisyear,”withmost“involvingEPS.”

Hyundairecentlyrecalled139,5002011Sonatamidsizesedansbecausethesteer-ingshaftcouldcomeapart,causingthedriver to lose control. Earlier this year,NHTSAopenedaninvestigationinto“unre-sponsiveorloose”steeringon2009and2010ToyotaCorollas,whichisbelievedtobearesultofhowToyotatunedthecars’newEPS.Aboutthatsametime,GeneralMotorsrecalledmorethan1million2005-2010ChevyCobaltsandsimilar2007-2010PontiacG5smallcarsbecausetheelectricpowersteeringcouldsuddenlyfail.

Source: USA Today

meriDia recall says lots aBout the FDa

TheFDAhas finally recalledMeridia,Abbott Laboratories’ obesity drug. Thefinalnail-in-the-coffinwasabignewstudyshowingthatthedrugcanincreaseheartattacksandstrokesinhigh-riskpatients.Butitmustbenotedthatthepotentialforharm had been obvious from day one.Fromtheverybeginning,itwasclearthedrugraisedbloodpressureandheartrate.Given thiseffect, itwasalwayshard toimaginehowthedrugwouldhaveanetbenefittopatients.Ithoughttherewasabalancingapproachtonewdrugapprov-als.Waybackin1996,anadvisorypanelagreedthatthebloodpressurerisepro-ducedbythedrugwasclinicallyimpor-tant.PublicCitizenhasbeenpetitioningtoget thedrugoff themarket since2002basedonthepotentialforheartharm.

Butbackinthegoodolddays(forthedrugindustry)ofthemid-1990s,theFDAwasfarlessstringentaboutthesafetyofobesitydrugsthatwouldbeusedbymil-lions. At that juncture,noneof thebad

drugshaddisastershappen. Thencamefen-phenandVioxx. TheFDAapprovedMeridiaandkept itonthemarket foralongtime,despiteaverymodestweightlossbenefitandobviousproblemswiththesafetyofthedrug.Onlynowthatcon-clusiveevidenceisin,doesthedruggetrecalled. Thequestionhas tobewhy ittooksolongtofigureoutthatthedrugwastoodangeroustobeonthemarket.

Therealstoryhereiswhatappearstobeachangingregulatoryenvironment.InthewakeofMerck’sVioxxscandalandthemess relating to GlaxoSmithKline’sAvandia, a drug like Meridia should nolonger be allowed to slip through thecracks.Hopefully,theFDAwillnolongerapproveadrugforthemassesbasedonasmall symptomatic benefit or mildimprovementinalabvalueifamedicineisn’t demonstrated to have tangibleimprovementsonpatienthealthdowntheroad.Approvingadrugonahopethatitwill help folks shouldn’t be enoughanymore. Hopefully, things are reallychangingattheFDAand,ifso,consumerswillbebetterprotected.

Source: Forbes

Johnson & Johnson let the PuBlic DoWn oVer recalls

Thecompany’schiefexecutivesaysthatJohnson&Johnsondisappointedconsum-erswhenitrecalledmillionsofbottlesofpopular children’s medicines.WilliamWeldonadmittedthatthecompanyhadletthepublicdown,saying:

We let the public down. We did not maintain our high quality stan-dards, and as a result, children do not have access to our important medicines. I accept full accountabil-ity for the problems at McNeil, and I will take full accountability for fixing them.

SincetheApril30threcallthatsaw40popular medicines such as Children’sTylenolpulledfromstoreshelves,J&Jhas“undertakensignificantimprovementsatMcNeil’s facilities,”Weldon said, addingthatthecompanyisspending$100milliontodoso.J&JhassaiditsFortWashington,Penn.plant,whichmadethe135millionbottlesrecalledinApril,wouldnotreopenuntilthesecondhalfofnextyear.


As far as the controversial so-called“phantom”recalllastyearofafaultyadultversion of Motrin, Weldon said thecompany“shouldhavehandledthingsdif-ferently.”RegardlessofhowbadlyJ&Jhasactedinthepast,thecompanymustdomorethantalk.Itmustrecognizeitssafetyresponsibilityandtakeallstepsnecessarytocorrectallproblemareas.

Source: Reuters

Farmers to Pay $455 million to settle oVercharging claims

FarmersGroupInc.AnditsSwisscorpo-rate parent have agreed to pay $455millionto13millioncurrentandformerpolicyholderstosettlea lawsuitfiledin2003thataccusedthemofchargingexces-sivefeestocustomers.Thesettlement,ifapprovedbyaLosAngelesCountySupe-riorCourtjudge,wouldresolveallclaimsdatingback to1999.Payments to folkswhopurchasedFarmershome,automo-bile, personal liability and commercialpropertycoverageareexpectedtoaverageonly$35,butindividualsettlementscouldvaryconsiderably,accordingtoFarmersGroup.BenjaminFogel,theleadPlaintiffinanationwideclassaction,purchasedpoli-cies from three exchanges that in turnpaidmanagementfeestoFarmersGroup.HeallegedthatFarmerschargeditspolicy-holderstoomuch.

Source: statesman.com

WeBster BanK Will Pay $2.8 million to settle oVerDraFt Fees laWsuit

For years, consumer advocates havefoughtthepracticebybanksofclearingthe largest check or debit first on anygivenday,arguingthatitsimplyraisesthechancesofcollectingmoreoverdraftfees.WebsterBank,oneofConnecticut’slargestbanks, will pay $2.8 million to settle aclass-actionlawsuitallegingtheWaterbury-basedbankusedthepracticeinhopesofcollectingmoreoverdraftfees.Penaltyfeeshavebecomeacrucialcomponentoffeeincomeformanybanks.

Thesettlement,disclosedinaregulatoryfiling,comesafter a landmark ruling inAugustinwhichafederalcourtrequiredWellsFargo&Co.Torepay$203millioninoverdraft feesreapedbecausethebank,whichownstheWachovianameinCon-necticut,clearedthelargestchecksfirston

agivendayinaconsumeraccount. TheWebstersettlementcomesafteralawsuitfiledinConnecticutinAprilandwillalsoresolveasimilarsuitagainstWebster inNewYork.RobertIzard,thelawyerwhofiled theConnecticut lawsuit, said thatWebsternowclearschecksintheordertheyarereceived.TheproceedsfromthesettlementwillbedistributedtoWebstercustomers.

Source: Courant.com

goVernment Warns Parents not to use BaBy sleeP Positioners

Baby sleep positioners, a popularproductforsafety-consciousparents,weresupposedtosavelivesbykeepinginfantsfromrollingontotheirstomachs.Instead,theseproductsarenowbeingaddedtothe growing list of dangerous nurseryproducts.Whiletheproductshaven’tbeenbanned, the government is warningparentsandcaregiverstostopusinginfantsleeppositioners.Thesearethesoftfabricproductsthatparentsputincribstokeepbabiessafelysleepingontheirbacks.

TheConsumerProductSafetyCommis-sionandtheFoodandDrugAdministra-tionsaytheyknowof12infantsinthelast13yearswhodiedwhentheysuffocatedinapositionerorbecametrappedandsuf-focatedbetweenthepositionerandthesideofacrib.Thisisasignificantsafetyproblemthatmustbeaddressed.Hope-fully it will soon be resolved. Parentsshouldbeabletorelyonthemanufactur-ersofproductusedforbabiestodesignandsellonlyproductsthataresafetouse.

Sources: USA Today and LA Times

FDa Warns oF Fractures With osteoPorosis Drugs

TheU.S.FoodandDrugAdministrationhaswarneddoctorsandpatientsaboutanincreased riskof thigh fractureswithawidely-usedgroupofbone-strengtheningdrugs. The agency said patients takingbisphosphonatedrugssuchasFosamaxandBonivaappearmorelikelytosufferararetypeoffractureofthefemur.Thefrac-turesoccurred justbelowthehip jointandmakeuplessthan1%ofallfemurfrac-tures.

Inmorethanhalfthecasesreportedtothe FDA, patients experienced pain oraching of the groin before the frac-

ture.TheFDAisupdatingthedrugs’labelsaboutthefracturerisk.Drugmakerswillalsoberequiredtodistributepamphletsabouttheriskstopatients.Bisphospho-natesworkbyslowingthe lossofbonecellsthatleadtoosteoporosis.PrescriptiondrugsinthatclassincludeMerck&Co.’sFosamaxandRoche’sBoniva,aswellasWarnerChilcott’sActonelandAtelviaandNovartis’Reclast.Morethan5millionpre-scriptionsforthedrugswerewrittenlastyear,accordingtotheFDA.Thedrugsaremainlyprescribedtowomenaftermeno-pause.TheFDAsayspatientsshouldcon-tinuetakingthetreatmentsunlessdirectedtostopbytheirdoctor.Theagencysaiditwillcontinuereviewingsafetyinformationonthedrugsandeventuallymakerecom-mendationsontheiruse.

Source: News4Jax.com

Drug Firms must sPeeD uP maJor trial risK rePorts

TheFDAisnowrequiringmorenotifica-tionofsafetyproblemsbydrugmanufac-turers.Thedrugmakerswillhave15daystoreportseriousadverseeventsaccordingtoanewrule.Drugmakersstudyingexper-imentaldrugs inanticipationofsales intheU.S.mustnowtell regulatorsaboutserioushealthproblemsthatariseduringclinicaltrialswithinabouttwoweeks.Thisisabadly-neededchangeanditwillhelpstreamlinesafetymonitoring.

TheFoodandDrugAdministration, inthe new rule, called on companies toreport problems such as serious sideeffectsthatoccurmoreoftenthanantici-patedtotheagencywithin15days.RachelBehrman,associatedirector formedicalpolicyattheFDA’sCenterforDrugEvalua-tion andResearch, said the rulewouldhelp“expedite FDA’s review of criticalsafety informationandhelp theagencymonitorthesafetyofinvestigationaldrugsand biologics and these changes willbetterprotectpeoplewhoareenrolledinclinicaltrials.”

The rule offers companies specificguidelines and examples of what toreportandwhen.Intheory,drugmakersmust present the FDA with data thatshowstheirmedicinesaresafeandeffec-tivetowinapproval.I’mnotsosurethatthishasalwaysbeenthecase.Hopefully,theFDAisdoingabetterjobinitsregula-tory capacity and we are making sure


nothingfallsthroughthecrackswhenitcomestosafety.

Source: Reuters

Button cell Batteries can Be lethal iF ingesteD

There is a hidden hazard that couldcause serious injury andevendeath toyoungchildrenandunfortunatelymostfolksdon’trealizeit.Smallbuttoncellbat-teriesfoundinbathroomscales,remotecontrols,iPodchargers,andevenmusicalgreetingcardsaredangerous.Ifingested,thetinylithiumbatteriescanboreholesthroughtheesophagusandsurroundingorganscausingseriousandoftenperma-nent problems. Currently, there are nowarningsontheproductscontainingthebatteries.CaraGeorgeofLittleton,Colo-rado,ispushingtoraiseawarenessaboutlithium batteries. Two years ago her18-month-olddaughterdiedafteringestingoneofthetinybatteries.

Thesebatteriescancauseseriousprob-lemsforyoungchildrenandtheelderly.It’sreportedthatchildrencanthinkthesmall,disc-shapedbatteriesarecandy.Theelderlyoftenmistakethemformedicine.Symptomssimilartothestomachfluoranupper respiratory infectionusually canoccurwithinhoursofingestion.Itcanbeparticularlydifficulttopinpointadiagno-sis,especiallywhenmanychildrenwhoeatthebatteriesaretooyoungtocommu-nicateittotheirparentsoradoctor.

Nearly3,500casesofbuttoncellbatteryingestionarereportedeachyeartopoisoncontrolcenters.But,thenewerlithiumcellbatteriesarestrongerandaremorelikelythantheirpredecessorstocauseseriousdamagetointernalorgans.Accordingtothe National Capital Poison Center inWashington,theincidenceofseverecom-plicationsfromingestionofbuttoncellshasincreasedsevenfoldoverthepastfewyears. Moderate to severe cases haveclimbedfromaboutadozencasesayeartonearly100peryear.Themostlethalbat-teriesthatcanbeingestedarethosethatbeginwiththenumber20,suchas2032,2025and2016.Thoseareresponsibleformorethan90%oftheseriousinjuriesfromcellbatteryingestion.

Source: Southerninjurylawyer.com

XXVI. RECALLS UPDATE

IhavebeenlookingforwardtoputtingoutanissueoftheReportandnothavingtoincludeproductrecalls.Butthatwon’tbethecasethismonth.Onceagain,wearelisting an extremely large number ofproductrecallsinthisissue.Unfortunately,aswehavepointedout, serious safety-relatedrecallshavebecomerathercom-monplace.Thefollowingaresomeofthemore significant recalls since thosereportedinourlastissue.Ourreadersareencouragedtocontactour firmifmoreinformationisneededonarecall.

toyota recalling 1.53 million Vehicles

Toyotaisrecalling1.53millionLexus,Avalonandothermodels,mostlyintheU.S. And Japan, forbrake f luidandfuelpumpproblems.Thisisthelatestinastringofqualitylapsesfortheworld’sNo.1automaker.ToyotaMotorwillcallbackforrepairsabout740,000carsintheU.S.And599,000in Japan. The remainder are inEurope and other markets aroundtheworld.Overthepastyear,Toyotahas recalled more than 10 millioncars and trucks worldwide for avarietyofsafetyproblems.InAugust,Toyota called back 1.33 millionCorolla sedans and Matrix hatch-backs in the U.S. And Canadabecausetheirenginesmaystall.

The majority of vehicles this timearoundneedtobefixedforaproblemwiththebrakemastercylinder,whichcouldleadtoweakerbrakingpower.Some models in Japan and else-where—butnotinNorthAmerica—haveanelectricalproblemwiththefuel pump, which could cause theenginetostall.

gm recalls cheVrolet Vehicles

GeneralMotorsisrecallingmorethan300,000 Chevrolet Impala sedansbecause the seat belts may fail torestrain people in the front seatsduring a crash. According toTheNational Highway Traffic Safety

Administration the front-seat beltwebbingmaynotbesecuredproperlytoalapbeltanchoronthesideoftheseat near the doors. The recallincludesImpalasfromthe2009and2010modelyears.GMsaid303,100vehiclesareintheUnitedStatesandmorethan19,000areinCanada.

GMsaiditdidnotknowofanyinju-ries or deaths connected to therecall. The automaker told NHTSAthat it had received 32 warrantyreportswiththeseatbeltconditionsthrough mid-August. Dealers willi n s p e c t h o w t h e b e l t s a r eanchored. The will reinstall theanchors ifneededatnocosttotheowners.OwnerswillbenotifiedlaterthismonthandcancontactChevroletat1-800-630-2438.

gm recalls 4,000 caDillac srxs oVer PoWer steering

General Motors is recalling nearly4,000CadillacSRXcrossoversfromthe 2010 model year to fix powersteeringproblemsthatcouldleadtoenginefires.GMsaysinastatementthatpowersteeringfluidcouldleakandleadtoafireintheenginecom-partment.GMsaysitisawareofonefireinanunattendedSRX,accordingtothecompany.Therehavebeennocrashes or injuries linked to theproblem.

ThevehiclesunderrecallwerebuiltinDecember2009.Mostofthevehi-clesareintheUnitedStatesandmorethan300wereexportedtoChina.GMsaysitbelievesonlyasmallnumberofthe recalled vehicles have theproblem. Owners will be notifiedabout the recall and their vehicleswillberepairedatnocharge.

BmW recalls Vehicles

BMWis recallingcertainBMWandRolls-Royce models. The recallincludes 198,000 cars in NorthAmerica and will soon includeanother150,000carsworldwide. Itwillbeaworldwiderecallbuteachregionwillbehandledseparately.TheaffectedcarshaveV-8orV-12enginesandcome fromtheMW5Series,6


Series,7Series,andRolls-RoyceMotorCarsmodelsproducedbetween2002and2010.Theymaydevelopaleakinthepowerbrakingsystem,causingariskofvacuumlossandconsequentreductionofpowerbraking.

Mechanicalbrakingwillstillbeavail-able to slow and stop the vehicle,whichmayexplainwhytherehavebeennoreportsofaccidentsorinju-ries. Owners of affected cars areencouragedtocontactanAuthorizedBMWCentertoscheduleinspectionandpossiblerepair.Driverswhohavealreadyexperiencedreducedpowerbraking assistance should go in totheirdealershipimmediately.Youcancontact Shanna Malone at [email protected] to get acopyofthelistofaffectedBMWandRolls-RoyceModels.

merceDes-Benz c-class, e-class recall For PoWer steering

Mercedes-Benzisrecalling85,078ofits2010and2011C-ClassandE-Classsedansand2010-11E-Classcoupeandcabriolet cars because the powersteering“mayfailduetothelossofpowersteeringfluid.”Mercedes-Benzsaysthatifthathappens,drivers“maynot have sufficient control of thevehicleinareas,suchasparkinglots,wheremaximumpowersteering isrequired, increasing the risk of avehiclecrash.”Dealerswillcheckthepowersteeringsystemandretorquetheproblemconnection.

hyunDai recalling 139,500 sonata seDans

Korean automaker Hyundai hasrecalled139,500SonatasedansintheUnitedStatesbecauseofadefectthatcould create a loss of steeringcontrol.TheSonata,whichwasrede-signed for the 2011 model year, isbuiltatHyundai’sMontgomeryplant.It is the automaker’s best-sellingvehicleintheUnitedStatesandhashelped set U.S. sales records andMontgomeryproductionrecordsforHyundai. The recall affects 2011modelsbuiltbetweenDecember11,

2009andSeptember10th,accordingtoNHTSA.

chrysler recalls thousanDs oF Vehicles

Chrysler is recalling about 26,000cars and pickup trucks becausepowersteeringfluidcanleakontoahotengineandcauseafire.AccordingtoNHTSA,therecall includessome2010modelsoftheChrysler300andSebring, the DodgeAvenger, Chal-lengerandJourney,andsome2011DodgeRampickups.Apowersteer-inghoseassemblycanseparateatthecrimpedendandleakfluidontotheengine,accordingtoNHTSA.Dealerswillinspectthevehiclesandreplacethehosesforfree.Ownerswithques-tionscancontactChryslerat1-800-853-1403.

honDa issues recall Because oF BraKe FluiD leaKs

HondaMotorCo.saysitplanstorecallanundeterminednumberofvehiclesbecause of brake f luid leaks thatcouldleadtoweakerbrakingpower,thesameissuethatledToyotaMotorCorp. Torecall1.5millionvehicles.Hondasaystherecallincludescertain2005-2007 model year Acura RLsedansandHondaOdysseyminivansfromthe2005toearly2007modelyear.Hondasaysitdoesnotknowatpresenthowmanyvehicleswillbecovered by the recall. There havebeennoinjuriesoraccidentstiedtotheproblem.TheJapaneseautomakersaysitplanstoofficiallynotifytheU.S.governmentoftherecallonThursday.

VolVo recalls s80, xc70, xc60, V70 to Fix air Bags

Volvo Cars ofAmerica is recalling9,746 vehicles to fix front air bagsystemsthatmaynotdeploycorrectlyoratallinacrash.Therecallincludescertain 2010-2011 S80 sedans andXC70crossovers,2011XC60cross-overs and2010V70wagons.Volvosaysapotentiallyfaultyclockspringwiring connector is to blame anddealerswill install ametal shim to

correcttheproblem.OwnerswillbenotifiedstartinglaterthismonthofrecallNo.R229andcancontactVolvoat(800)458-1552.

tesla motors recall

TeslaMotors(TSLA)hasrecalleditsRoadster2.0and2.5models,afteranincidentinwhichanauxiliarycablechafedagainstacarbonfiberpanel,causingashort,smokeandpossiblefirebehindthevehicle’s right-frontheadlamp.Therecallincludesaround36%ofallthecarsTeslahaseversold,basedondiscloseddatathroughJune30th.That36%onlyworksoutto439actualvehicles.Sothisisnotahugerecall.

aston martin recalling cars

AstonMartinLagondaLtd.isrecallingsome DB9, DBS and V8 Vantagemodelstofixasteeringflawthatcanleadtocrashes.Theautomaker,basedinGaydon,England,willreplacetheboltsholdingthelowercontrolarminthefrontsuspensiontopreventthepossibilityofcracking,accordingtoNHTSA.Therecallcovers1,090U.S.cars in the 2007 and 2008 modelyears,and4,110worldwide.InaletternotifyingNHTSAofthedefectinSep-tember,AstonMartin said theboltshadn’t beenmade to specification.Brokenboltsmayinfluencesteeringcontrol,thecompanysaid.

Aston Martin, whose models havebeen featured in JamesBond films,wasownedbyFordMotorCo.fortwodecades before being sold for 479millionpounds($760million)inMay2007. The luxurycarmaker isnowhalf-ownedbyInvestmentDarCo.,aKu w a i t i f i n a n c i a l s e r v i c e scompany. Themodel stickerpricesrange from $145,000 for the V8Vantage to $275,000 for the DBS,whichisconsideredthebrand’sflag-shipcar.

recreational trailers recalleD

NUWAhas recalledCertainModelYear2000-2010RecreationalTrailersequippedwithDimplexelectraflame,


symphony,oroptiflamebrandedelec-tric fireplaces, stoves,and fireplaceinserts. Theplug-in remotecontrolreceiverforthefireplacecanoverheatandcausea fire.NUWAisworkingwith Dimplex and will, as I under-stand it, provide owners a freereplacementplug-inremotecontrolkit. Owners may contact DimplexNorthAmericacustomer serviceat1-888-346-7539.

eVenFlo recalls 18,000 Booster seats

EvenfloCo. Inc. is recallingcertainMaestroCombinationBoosterSeats,thelatestinastringofrecallsinvolv-ing the company. No incidents orinjuries have been reported forboosterseatsalreadysold.Incertainlaboratory tests simulating a high-impact,frontalcollision,acrackhasoccurred. Evenf lo said it f ir stobservedtheissueatatestlaboratoryinlateSeptember.Therecallinvolves13,792 booster seats with modelnumbersthatbeginwith“310”builtbetween November 24, 2009, andApril9,2010.InCanada,4,479unitsmanufactured between December17th and April 26th are involved.Unsoldunitswillberemovedfromshelves,andEvenflosaiditissendinga consumer notice to registeredownersoftheaffectedseats.

The company said Maestro childrestraintsbuiltafterApril2010aren’taffected by the action. Childrenweighing under 40 pounds shouldnotbeplacedintheseatwithouttheuseofafreerepairbracket.Childrenwhoweighmorethan40poundsmaycontinuetousetheseatasabelt-posi-tioning booster until a remedy kitarrives,thecompanysaid.Consumer-Reports.org said the recall comesafteritstestsshowtheseatcancrackandfailinasimulated30-mphfrontalcollision.

A free reinforcement kit can beobtained in the United States bycalling1(800)233-5921between8a.m.And5p.m.EasternTime.Evenflourgedcustomersnottoreturnseatsto retail stores where purchased.Between December 2008 and Sep-

tember 2010, Evenf lo had eightrecalls through the U.S. ConsumerProduct Safety Commission, morethananyothermanufacturer.Butthecurrent booster seat recall isn’tthrough theCPSC,whichdoesnotregulatecarseats.

DroP-siDe criBs solD at JcPenney recalleD

Jardine Enterprises Ltd., ofTaipei,Taiwan has recalled about 11,400AlexanderDesignsLtd.branddrop-sidecribs.Thecribsweredistributedby J.C.PenneyofPlano,Texas. Thedrop-siderailhardwareonthecribscanbreakorfail,allowingthedropside todetach fromthecrib.Whenthedropsidedetaches,ahazardousgapiscreatedbetweenthedrop-siderail and thecribmattress inwhichinfants and toddlers can becomewedgedorentrapped,posingrisksofsuffocationandstrangulation.Inaddi-tion,childrencanfalloutofthecribwhen the drop-side rail falls unex-pectedlyordetachesfromthecrib.Drop-siderailfailuresalsocanoccurdue to incorrect assembly or withage-related wear and tear. Othermodels of Jardine drop-side cribswererecalledforrepaironJune24,2010.

TheCPSChasreceivedtworeportsofincidentsinvolvingdrop-sidemalfunc-tionsonAlexanderDesignsdrop-sidecribs.AccordingtotheCPSC,noinju-rieshavebeenreported. Thisrecallinvolvesfull-sizecribssoldundertheAlexanderDesignsbrandname.“Alex-anderDesignsLtd.”andtheJCPenneycatalog/itemnumberareprintedonalabelonthecrib’sheadboard.

Consumersshouldimmediatelystopusing the cribs and obtain a freerepair kit that will immobilize thedrop-side rail. In the meantime,parentsareurgedtofindanalternate,safesleepingenvironment for theirchild,suchasabassinet,playyardortoddlerbeddependingonthechild’sage. For additional information,contact Jardine at (800) 295-1980anytime or visit the company’swebsiteathttp://www.jdservice.biz/jcp-safety-notice.

siemens circuit BreaKers recalleD

SiemensandMurraycircuitbreakershave been recalled due to a firehazard. About 2.2 million circuitbreakers, load centers and metercomboswereimportedfromMexicobySiemensIndustryInc.ofAlpharetta,Georgia,andsoldnationwideathard-wareoutletsfromJune2010throughAugust2010forbetween$2.50and$235.

Thecircuitbreakersincludeaspringclipthatcanbreakduringnormaluse,whichcan result in an insufficientelectrical connection in the panelboard. Thiscancauseheat tobuildup,posinga firehazard. The recallincludesSiemensandMurraysingleanddoublepole15through50AMPcircuit breakers, load centers andmetercombos,whichcontainaloadcenterandametersocket.Thecircuitbreakers involved in the recall arelabeled with date codes 0610 or0710. The load centers and metercombounitsincludedatecodesJun23, 2010, throughAugust 25, 2020.ConsumerswereadvisedtocontactSiemens for a free inspection andreplacement,ifnecessary.Consumerscancall1-800-756-6996forinforma-tion.

rugs recalleD By BrumloW mills Due to Fire hazarD

BrumlowMills,ofCalhoun,Georgia,hasrecalledabout1,000ZenLargeandSmallRoomRugs.Thelargerugsfailtomeetfederalflammabilitystan-dardsandcouldignite,posingtheriskoffireandburnhazardstoconsum-ers.Thesmallrugsfailtomeetfederallabelingrequirements.Smallrugsarenotrequiredtomeetthefederalflam-mabilitystandard;however,theyarerequiredtobepermanently labeledwiththefollowingstatement:“FLAM-MABLE(FAILSU.S.DEPARTMENTOFCOMMERCE STANDARD FF 2-70):SHOULD NOT BE USED NEARSOURCESOFIGNITION.”

Thisrecallinvolves“Zendesign”poly-propylene rugs in rust and sagecolors.Zenrugsinothercolorsarenotinvolvedinthisrecall.OnlyrugspurchasedfromJanuary2010through


March 2010 are involved in thisrecall.Therugsweresoldexclusivelythrough J.C. Penney’s website andcatalog fromJanuary2010 throughMarch 2010 for between $40 and$400.Consumersshouldimmediatelystopusingtherecalledrugs.Consum-ers with large rugs should contactBrumlowMills toobtain a replace-ment or refund. Consumers withsmallrugsshouldcontactBrumlowMillstoobtainanewlabelincludingwarninginformation.Thefirmiscon-tactingallknownusers.Foradditionalinformation, call Brumlow Mills at(877)879-0176.

Promotional giFt night lights recalleD

The U.S. Consumer Product SafetyCommissionhasannouncedavolun-tary recall of Molenaar LLC nightlights due to a risk of electricshock.About315,000electrolumines-cent night lights were distributednationwide free of charge undervarious companynames aspromo-tional gifts from October 2001throughNovember2009.Theyweremanufactured by Molenaar LLC ofWillmar,Minnesota.

Noinjurieshavebeenreported,butMolenaarhasreceivedfourreportsofnight lights melting, which couldposeahazardofeitherashockoraburn. Consumers were advised tothrowthenightlightsaway.Thenightlights involvedintherecall includemodelNo.2019,whichisshapedlikeahouse,andmodelNo.2017,whichhasasquareshapewitha roundedtopedge.Thenightlights,whichglowgreenwhenpluggedin,have“71980U.S.A.”moldedinthebackpanelofthelight.Consumerscancall1-877-719-4442forinformation.

Briggs & stratton recalls riDing moWers

About500Craftsmanridingmowershavebeenrecalledbytheirmanufac-turerBriggs&StrattonPowerProd-ucts Group, LLC, of Milwaukee,Wis. These ridingmowerscame toconsumerswith the sidedischarge

chutenotfullysecuredtothemower.Bolts can be forcefully dischargedfrommowerifnotproperlytightened,posinganinjuryhazardtoconsum-ers.Thefirmreceivedonereportofaboltthatdischargedforcefully,break-ing a window. This recall involvesCraftmanridingmowerwithmodelnumber 107.28034 and ser ia lnumberslistedbelow.Therearenginemountedridingmowerisblack.Themodel and serial numbers can befoundonthedatatagonthebackoftheridingmower.

ThemowersweresoldatSearsstoresnationwidebetweenFebruary2010andMay2010forabout$1,400.Con-sumers should immediately stopusing theserecalledridingmowersandcontactSearsforafreeinspectionandrepair.Searsissendingconsumersletterswithinformationonschedul-inganinspectionandrepair.Foraddi-tional information,contactSearsat(800)859-7026orvisitthecompany’swebsiteatwww.sears.com.

60 million taBlets oF BlooD Pressure Drug recalleD

Bristol-MyersSquibbCo.isrecalling60milliontabletsofthebloodpres-suremedicationAvalideintheUnitedStatesandPuertoRico.ThecompanysaidittooktheactiononbehalfoftheBristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi-Synthe-labopartnershipbecauseofapoten-tial variability in levels of theless-solubleformoftheactiveingredi-entinAvalide,irbesartan,whichcouldresultinslowerdissolution.

Bristol-Myers said 62 lots, or 60milliontablets,manufacturedbeforeNovember2009atitsplantinPuertoRicoareincludedintherecall.Avalideiscomprisedofthedrugsirbesartanandhydrochlorothiazide.Therecalledtabletscontain300mgofirbesartanand25mgofhydrochlorothiazide.Inastatement,thecompanysaidwhile“athoroughreviewoftheglobalpost-marketing safety database has notrevealedevidenceofasignalsuggest-ingreducedefficacy,”it“cannotdefini-tively exclude this possibility.”Thecompanysaidthereisa“potentialfor

animpactontheanticipatedbloodpressureloweringefficacy.”

Other lotsofAvalide300/25mg,aswellasotherdosagestrengthsofbothAvalideandAvapro,orirbesartan,arenotaffected,andnointerruptioninsupplyisanticipated,accordingtothecompany.

PFizer recalls 191,000 liPitor Bottles aFter musty oDor rePorts

PfizerInc.,theworld’sbiggestdrug-maker, recalled 191,000 bottles ofLipitor after receiving three com-plaintsofamustyodorcomingfromthe containers of the cholesteroldrug.ThecomplaintswerereceivedinJulyandoriginatedfromthesamebatch of bottles from a third-partymanufacturer,accordingtoaspokes-manforPfizer.Thecompanysaysaninvestigationfoundthattheodor isunlikelytobeharmful.Thecostoftherecall won’t be material, and thecompany doesn’t plan to take acharge for it. Pfizer, based in NewYork, isworkingwith themaker todeterminetheodor’scause.

musty oDor sParKs another tylenol recall

A moldy odor has again strickenJohnson&Johnson’sTylenol,andthecompany is recallinganother lotoftheover-the-counterpainkiller. J&J,whichhasrecalledtensofmillionsofbottlesofTylenolandotherconsumermedicinesinthepastyearbecauseofcomplaintsofamustyormoldyodorin theproduct, is recallinganotherlot. Thecompany,whichis facingaU.S.Congressionalprobeofqualitycontrol lapses that have led to itsnumerous recent recallsofTylenol,painkiller Motrin and allergy treat-mentBenadryl,saidalmost128,000bottlesofTylenolhavebeenrecalledinthelatestaction.

TheproductinvolvedisadultTylenoleight-hourcaplets sold in50-countbottles in the United States andPuertoRico. Thecompanysaid therecalledlotwasmadeinMarchatafactoryinFortWashington,Pennsylva-


nia,operatedby J&J’sMcNeilCon-sumerHealthcareunit.J&JshutdowntheMcNeilplantthefollowingmonthandisupgradingthefacilitytocorrectqualitycontrollapsesdiscoveredbyU.S. Food and DrugAdministrationinspectors.TheFDAcitedthickdust,grimeandcontaminatedingredientsat the FortWashington plant. J&Jplanstoreopentheplantnextyear,andisusingotherMcNeilplantstohelp offset lost production of therecalledproducts.

“s t u F F” anD PaW Wall hooKs recalleD By miDWest-cBK

Midwest-CBK,Inc.,ofUnionCity,Ten-nessee,hasrecalledabout4,450“STUFF”andPawWallHooks.Paintonthemetal hooks and on the blue pawhookcontainsexcessivelevelsoflead,violatingthefederalleadpaintstan-dard.Thewallhooksetsweresoldinthreemodels:modelnumbers74641and74642,constructedoffivesepa-ratewoodenlettersspellingouttheword“STUFF”andmodelnumber65262consistingoffourseparate,dif-ferentcoloredwoodenpaws.Modelnumber74641hasaPurpleS,aRedT,anOrangeU,aGreenFandaPinkF.Modelnumber74642hasanOliveS,aBlueT,aYellowU,aWhite-stripedF,andaBlueF.Attachedtoeachletterisa painted metal coat hook with apaintedwoodenballattheend.Eachletterisapproximately4incheslong,3/4incheswideand9¾inchestall.Modelnumber65262hasfoursepa-ratepaw-shapedwoodenpiecesofdifferentcolors—red,blue,greenandpink.

Attached toeachpaw is awoodenpeg with a wooden ball at theend. The“STUFF”wallhooksetshavealabelonthebackoftheletter“S”thatincludesthemodels74641or74642.ThePawwallhooksetshavethe model number 65262 on theoutsideofthebox.Thehooksweresoldatgiftstores,drugstores,furni-turestores,décoroutletsandvarietystores nationwide from December2008 through August 2010 forbetween$10and$30.ThewallhooksetshouldbereturnedtoMidwest-CBKfora full refund.ContactMid-

west-CBK at the number providedbelowtoreceiveaprepaidshippinglabel and merchandise credit. Foradditionalinformation,contactMid-west-CBK toll-free at 1 (800) 422-5583.

ryoBi recalls corDless Drills Due to Fire hazarD

About 455,000 Ryobi Model HP1802M Cordless Power Drills havebeenrecalledbyRyobiTechnologiesInc.ofAnderson,S.C.Theswitchonthecordlessdrillcanoverheat,posingafireandburnhazardtoconsumers.Ryobihasreceived47reportsofthedrillsoverheating,smoking,meltingorcatchingfire,including12reportsofpropertydamagetohomesorvehi-cles. Twoof the incidents involvedminorburnsfromtouchinganover-heatedswitch.TheRyobiModelHP1802Mcordlessdrillispoweredbyan18voltrechargeableNiCadbattery.

Thedrillsareblueandblackincolorwith“Ryobi” appearing in red andwhite on the left side. The modelnumbercanbefoundonawhitelabelontherightsideofthedrill.Thedrillswere sold at Home Depot fromJanuary2001toJuly2003forabout$100.Consumersshouldimmediatelystopusingtherecalleddrill,removetherechargeablebatteryandcontactRyobitoreceiveafreereplacementdrill. For additional information,contactRyobiCustomerServiceat1(800)597-9624orvisitthecompany’swebsite at www.ryobitools.com.CPSC isstill interested inreceivingincident or injury reports that areeitherdirectlyrelatedtothisproductrecall or involve adifferenthazardwiththesameproduct.Youmaymakea report by visiting https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx.

BlacK & DecKer recalls corDless electric laWnmoWers

Black&Decker(U.S.)Inc.ofTowson,Maryland,hasrecalledBlack&DeckerandCraftsmanbrandcordlesselectriclawnmowers. The lawnmower’smotorandbladecanunexpectedlyturnonafterthemower’ssafetykeyisremoved,posingalacerationhazard

toconsumers.Removing the safetykey is designed to keep this fromoccurring. Black & Decker hasreceived 34 reports of the motoroperatingafterremovalofthesafetykey, including two incidents thatresulted in finger lacerations, onerequiringstitches.Therecalledcord-lesselectricmowersweresoldunderboththeBlack&DeckerandCrafts-manbrandnames.TherecalledBlack& Decker mowers have modelnumberCMM1000orCMM1000R.Alld a t e c o d e s a n d t y p e s a r eincluded. The date code and typeinformation are both located on asilverandblacklabelaffixedtothereardoorofthemower.

The Black & Decker mowers haveeitheranorangeorgreendeckwithablack motor cover. The Craftsman-brandmowershavemodelnumber900.370520 and include all datecodesandtypes.Themodelnumberislocatedonthesilverandblacklabelaffixed to the rear door of themower.TheCraftsman-brandmowershaveadarkgreendeckwithablackmotorcover.Thelawnmowersweresold athomecenter,hardware anddiscountstoresandauthorizedBlack&Deckerdealersnationwide fromSeptember1995throughDecember2006forabout$450.Craftsman-brandmowers were sold at Sears andOrchard Supply Hardware storesnationwide from January 1998through December 2000 for about$450.

Consumers should stop using therecalled lawnmowers immediatelyandcallBlack&DeckerorSearsforafreeinspectionandrepair,oracredittowardsanewcordlesslawnmower.Consumerswhohad theirmowersrepairedasaresultof thepreviousrecallsshouldalsohavetheirmowersinspectedandrepairedaspartofthisrecall.Foradditionalinformation,con-sumerswithBlack&DeckermowersshouldcontactBlack&Deckertoll-freeat1(866)229-5570orvisitthecompany’swebsiteatwww.blackand-decker.com.ConsumerswithCrafts-man-brandmowersshouldcallSearstoll-freeat1(888)281-5314orvisitthecompany’swebsiteatwww.sears.com.


Fire alarm control Panels recalleD

Fire-LiteAlarms,aNorthford,Conn.company,isrecallingabout530firealarmcontrolpanels foundincom-mercialfacilities,suchasofficebuild-ings,becauseonemodelseriesfailstosuccessfully sound an alarm in theeventofafire.“TherecalledfirealarmcontrolpanelsusedwithanSLC-2LSexpandermodulecanfailtosoundanalarmintheeventofafire,”accordingtotheCPSC.

TheCPSCandFire-LiteAlarmssaidbuilding managers should contactFire-Liteimmediatelyforafreesoft-wareupgradebycalling1-800-627-3473orvisitingitswebsiteatwww.firelite.com.Thecompanyisalsocon-tacting its customers directly. Therecalledproductsweresoldbyautho-rized wholesalers and distributorsnationwidebetweenOctober2008andMarch2010forbetweenabout$875 for theexpandermoduleand$2,285 for the control panel. Thecontrolpanelisthemainportionofthefirealarmsystem.Thesoftwareintheexpandermoduletellsthesystemtosoundanalarmandflashwarninglights.Thewords“Fire-LiteAlarmsbyHoneywell”and themodelnumberare locatedon the frontof the firealarmcontrolpanel.

oxmoor house BooKs on Wiring recalleD

TheConsumerProductSafetyCom-missionhasannouncedavoluntaryrecall of Oxmoor House HomeImprovement Books due to faultywiring instructions. Following thewiringinstructionsintechnicaldia-gramsandnarrative instructions inabout540,000books ina seriesofpublicationscouldresultinshockandfire hazards, the commission said.OxmoorHouseInc.,whichislocatedinBirmingham,Alabama,hasaddedthe books to a previous recall inwhich 951,000 titles were pulledback.

Thenewrecall involvesbookssoldnationwide from 1955 throughDecember2005forbetween$5and$20. Thetitles in therecall include

Fix-It Maps: Replacing Switches and Receptacles,Southern Living Basic Home Repairs, Southern Living Basic Wiring (2nd edition), Southern Living Basic Home Wiring Illustrated (1st edition), Southern Living Bath-rooms Planning & Remodeling, Southern Living Home Lighting, Southern Living Kitchens Planning & Remodeling, Sunset Basic Wiring (3rd edition), Sunset Basic Home Wiring Illustrated (1stand 2nd edi-tions), Southern Living Complete Patio, Sunset Bathrooms Planning & Remodeling, Sunset Home Lighting, Sunset Home Lighting Handbook, Sunset Home Remodeling Illus-trated, Sunset Kitchens Planning & Remodeling, and Sunset Kitchens Planning & Remodeling.Consumerswere advised by the CPSC to stopusingtherecalledbooksandcontactOxmoorHouseforafullrefund.Con-sumerscancall1-866-696-7602 forinformation.

trisonic comPact Fluorescent light BulBs recalleD

About124,000CompactFluorescentLight Bulbs have been recalled byEasternAmericaTrioProductsInc.ofFlushing, N.Y. The light bulbs mayoverheatandcatchfire.Thefirmhasreceived four reports of incidents,including two fires that resulted inminorpropertydamage. ThisrecallinvolvesTrisonic 15-, 20-, 22- and25-watt compact f luorescent lightbulbswiththemodelnumbersTS-EN15W/SP,TS-EN20W/SP,TS-CFL22WBorTS-EN25W/SPprintedonthebaseofthebulb. Thelightsweresoldatdiscount stores in NewYork, NewJersey,PennsylvaniaandConnecticutfromJanuary2008toDecember2008forbetween$1and$1.50.

Consumersshouldimmediatelystopusingthelightbulbsandcontactthecompanyforafullrefund.Foraddi-tional information, contact EasternAmericaTrioProductsInc.At1-800-661-7146 or visit the company’swebsiteathttp://www.trisonic.com.Photosareavailableathttp://www.c p s c . g o v / c p s c p u b / p r e r e l /prhtml10/11001.html CPSC is stillinterested in receiving incident or

injuryreportsthatareeitherdirectlyrelated to this product recall orinvolveadifferenthazardwith thesameproduct.Youmaymakeareportby visiting https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx.

tree stanD saFety harnesses recalleD

AreahunterswhohavepurchasedtheHSS300UltraLiteHarnessshouldbeawareofavoluntaryrecallassociatedwith the tree stand safetyproduct.HunterSafetySystem,manufactureroftheharness,announcedthatthecara-bineers included with the harnessaren’tuptocompanystandardsandstronglysuggeststheirreturn.

Accordingtothecompany,therehavebeennoreportedincidentsinvolvingthecarabineers.Butrecenttestsbythecompanyindicatedthat“thecara-bineergateretentionpinscaninad-vertently detach, permitting thecarabineergatetoopenandcreatingthepossibilityofthetreestraporline-man’sclimbingstraptoreleasefromthecarabineer,therebyallowingtheusertofall.”

HunterSafetySystemrepresentativeshave been contacting dealers andindividualswhohavepurchasedthesuspect harness regarding therecall.TheUPCCodefortheitemis8-59540-00083-0. All owners andusers of the HSS 300 Ultra LiteHarnessshouldimmediatelydiscon-tinueuseofthecarabineersandtheincludedLineman’sClimbingStrap,and should contact Hunter SafetySystemat1(877)-296-3528foracara-bineerexchange.

Valco BaBy recalls Jogging strollers

About12,000ValcoBabyTriModeSingleandTwinJoggingStrollershavebeenrecalledbyUniqueBabyProd-ucts USA LLC, of Brooklyn, NewYork.Theopeningbetweenthegrabbarandseatbottomofthestrollercanallowaninfant’sbodytopassthroughandbecomeentrappedattheneckbythegrabbar,posingastrangulationhazard to young children when a


childisnotharnessed.Whenusingastroller, parents and caregivers areencouragedalwaystosecurechildrenbyusingthesafetyharnessandnevertoleavethemunattended.

ThisrecallinvolvesthegrabbaronTriModeSingleandTwinstrollers.“ValcoBaby”isprintedontheheadrestandthepaddingon the footboard. Thegrab bar is optional and can beremovedfromthestroller.Thestroll-er’smodelnumbersarelocatedonawhitestickeronthelefthandsideofbrakebar.Therecalledstrollerswiththeaffectedgrabbarsarelistedinthechartbelow.Thestrollersweresoldatjuvenileproductstoresandwebsitesincludingwww.amazon.combetweenNovember2007andMarch2010forbetween$480 to$700.Consumersshouldimmediatelyremovethegrabbar from the stroller and contactValcoBabytoreceiveafreereplace-mentgrabbar.Foradditionalinforma-tion,contactValcoBabyat1 (800)610-7850,visitthecompany’swebsiteat www.valcobaby.com or send [email protected].

BraVo sPorts recalls tramPolines Due to Fall hazarD

BravoSports,ofSantaFeSprings,Cali-fornia has recalled about 160,000BravoSportsTrampolines.Incorrectlyassembledtrampolinescanallowthetoprailsand legs tobendorbreakduringnormaluse,resultinginpartialcollapseofthetrampoline.Thisposesafallhazardtoconsumers.Bravohasreceived 247 reports of top railsbendingorbreakingduringnormaluse.Fourinjurieshavebeenreportedduetothebendingandbreakingoftrampolines. This recall involvesAirZoneandVariflextrampolineswithmodel numbers 137083 (withwheels), 137536, 137683, 138088,138467, 138472, 138489, 139275,139283, 139284, 139300 and139706.Themodelnumberisfoundonthesafetylabelsewntothepadcover. Theunitsare12’,13’and14’andcomeinblue,yellowandred.

ThetrampolinesweresoldatsportinggoodsandmassmarketretailstoresnationwideandontheInternetfrom

January 2007 through September2010 for between $200 and $400.Consumersshouldimmediatelystopusingtherecalledtrampolines.Con-sumersshouldcontactBravoSportsforinstructionsonhowtoinspectthetrampolinefortopraildamageandtorequest revised assembly instruc-tions.ToprailsandlegsdamagedduetoassemblyerrorswillbereplacedatnochargebyBravoSports.Foraddi-tional information, contact BravoSportstoll-freeat1(877)-500-2459,orvisitthecompany’swebsiteatwww.airzonevariflex-recall.com.

green mountain Vista inc. recalls roman shaDes

GreenMountainVista,Inc.ofWillis-ton,Vermont has recalled 200,000roman shades. Strangulations canoccurwhen a childplaceshis/herneck between the exposed innercordandthefabriconthebacksideof theshadeorwhenachildpullsthecordoutandwrapsitaroundhis/her neck. This recall involves allGreen Mounta in Vis ta Romanshades. These shades have a smallsewn-onlabelonthebacksideoftheshadewithRN#107875.Theshadesweresoldbyspecialtyhometextileretail shopsandmailordercompa-nies nationwide from September2004 through August 2010 forbetween$40and$120.Consumersshould immediately stopusing theRoman shades and contact theWindow Covering Safety Council(WCSC)forafreerepairkitat1(800)506-4636 anytime or by visitingwww.windowcoverings.org.Foraddi-tional information, contact GreenMountainVistaat1(800)639-1728orvisitthecompany’swebsiteatwww.gmvista.com.

iron loVer’s Bench solD exclusiVely at ross stores recalleD

About185IronLover’sbencheshavebeenrecalledbytheimporter,RossStores Inc. Thebenchcan tipoverwhenonlyonepersonisseatedonit.Thiscouldposeafallhazardtocon-sumers.Rosshasreceivedtworeports

ofthebenchtippingoverbutitsaysnoinjurieshavebeenreported.Therecalledmetaltwo-seatbenchis51inches long with SKU number400051794482printedonthepricetag.Thebenchisabronzecolor.Thebenches were sold at Ross Storesnationwidebetween July2010andSeptember2010forabout$90.Con-sumers should immediately stopusingthesebenchesandreturnthemtoanyRossStoreforafullrefund.Foradditionalinformation,contactRossat1(877)455-7677anytime.Consum-ers also can visit the Ross Stores’websiteatwww.rossstores.com.

JaKKs PaciFic ® reannounces recall oF sPa Factory ™ aromatheraPy

JAKKSPacific®isreannouncingtherecallof516,000SpaFactory™Aro-matherapyFountain&BathBenefitsKits.Consumersshouldimmediatelytakethetoy’sjarsandcapsawayfromchildrenanddisposeofany jar lidswithoutventholes.Onlyusejarsthathavelidswithventholes.

Thischildren’sproductwasoriginallyrecalled inJanuary2009.Sincethattime,therehavebeenadditionalinju-riescausedbytheSpaFactory™SpaFantasyAromatherapy Fountain &BathBenefitsKits.PressurefromthebuildupofcarbondioxideinthejarsofBathBombs/BallsorBathFizziesthatcomewiththekitscancausetheunvented lids to blow off, posingexplosionandprojectilehazards.Theflyingpiecesalsocancausepropertydamage.Additionally,themixtureofwaterwiththeBathBombs/BallsorBathFizziescancreatecitricacid.Thisacid can get into consumers’ eyeswhenthejarsexplode,posingariskofeyeirritation.

As of January 2009, CPSC hadreceived88reportsofexplodingjars,including 13 injuries to children.Sincethattime,CPSChasreceived12additional reports of explodingunventedjarsofJAKKS’BathBombs/Balls or Bath Fizzies, including 13additionalreportedinjuries.Thenewinjuriesincludeirritatedeyes,irritatedskinandoneeyeinjuryfromprojec-tile jar lids. JAKKS Pacific® Spa


Factory™SpaFantasyAromatherapyFountain&BathBenefitsKitsweresoldatSam’sClub,Walmart,TargetandotherstoresnationwidefromAugust2008throughAugust2010.Theysoldforbetween$13and$50andcon-tinuetobeavailableinsomestores.

Consumersshouldimmediatelytakethetoy’sjarsandcapswithoutventholesawayfromchildren,disposeofany jar lidswithoutventholesandcontactJAKKSPacifictoreceivefreejar lids with vent holes. ContactJAKKStoll-freeat1(877)875-2557,visitthecompany’[email protected].

munchKin, inc. recalls BathtuB toys For laceration hazarD

Munchkin,Inc.ofNorthHills,Califor-nia,announcedavoluntaryrecallofapproximately 34,000 submarinebathtoysbecausetheintakevalveonthesubmarinecansuckupachild’sloose skin and pose a lacerationhazard. The CPSC and Munchkin,Inc.Areawareof19incidentsoflac-erationstoboys’genitalareas,oneofwhichrequiredmedicalattention.

Therecalledbathtoysweremanufac-turedinChinaandweresoldatmassmerchandise retail stores and chil-dren’s stores fromNovember2009throughSeptember2010 for about$7.Consumers should immediatelystopusingtherecalledbathtubtoysandcontactMunchkin,Inc.Tolearnhowtoreturnthetoyandobtainafree replacement.You can contactMuchkinbyphoneat1-877-242-3134or through its website at www.Munchkin.com.

graco recalls Quattro™ anD metrolite™ strollers

Graco Children’s Products Inc., ofAtlanta,Georgia,isrecallingabout2millionGracostrollersduetoriskofentrapment and strangulation. TheCPSCandGracohavereceivedfourreportsof infantstrangulationsthatoccurredinthesestrollersbetween2003and2005.Inaddition,theCPSCis aware of five reports of infants

becomingentrapped,resultingincutsand bruises, and one report of aninfanthavingdifficultybreathing.

Entrapment and strangulation canoccur, especially when infantsyounger than12monthsofagearenot harnessed. An infant can passthrough the opening between thestrollertrayandseatbottomandhis/her head and neck can becomeentrappedby the tray. Infantswhobecomeentrappedattheneckareatrisk of strangulation. The recallinvolvesolderversionsoftheGracoQuattroTour™andMetroLite™stroll-ersandtravelsystemsmanufacturedpriortotheexistenceoftheJanuary2008 voluntary industry standardwhich addresses the height of theopeningbetweenthestroller’s trayandtheseatbottom.Thisvoluntarystandardrequireslargerstrolleropen-ingsthatpreventinfantentrapmentandstrangulationhazards.

This recall involves Graco QuattroTour™strollers and travel systemsmanufactured prior to November2006andMetroLite™strollersandtravelsystemsmanufacturedpriortoJuly 2007. The strollers and travelsystems were distributed betweenNovember 2000 and December2007.Themodelnumbersareprintedonalabelatthelowerportionoftherearframe,justabovetherearwheelsorunderneaththestroller.Thename“Graco” appears on a label on thestrollertrayandtheheadrest.

Quattro and MetroLite strollersendingwiththenumber3areNOTaffectedbythisrecall. ThestrollersweresoldatAAFES,BabiesRUs,Burl-ington Coat Factory, Fred Meyer,Kmart,Meijers,NavyExchange,Sears,Target,Walmart and other storesnationwidebetweenNovember2000andDecember2007forbetween$90and $190 for the strollers, andbetween $190 and $250 for travelsystems.Thestrollersweremanufac-turedinChina.

Consumersshouldimmediatelystopusing the recalled strollers andcontactGracoforafreerepairkit.Toorderarepairkit,contactGracotoll-freeat1(877)828-4046anytime,orvisitthecompany’swebsiteatwww.

gracobaby.com.Consumerscancon-tinueuseof thestrollerasa“travelsystem.”When the stroller is usedwiththeinfantcarseat,theentrap-mentandstrangulationhazardsposedbythespacegaparenotpresent.

FrigiDaire anD electrolux cooKtoPs anD sliDe-in ranges recalleD

Electrolux Home Products Inc. ofCharlotte, N.C. has recalled about122,000 Frigidaire and ElectroluxICONSmoothtopElectricCooktopsandFrigidaire Slide-inRangeswithrotary knobs and digital displays.Liquidscanpoolunder thecontrolknobandcausethesurfaceheatingelementtoturnonunexpectedly,heattotemperaturesotherthanexpectedandthennotturnoff,posingariskoffireandburnhazardstoconsumers.Electroluxhasreceived70reportsofincidents,includingthreereportsoffires that resulted in propertydamage. Threeminorburn injurieswere reported. This recall involvesFrigidaire and Electrolux ICONsmoothtop electric cooktops andFrigidaireslide-inrangeswithrotaryknobsanddigitaldisplays.Modelandserialnumbersfortheslide-inrangescanbefoundinsidetheovendooronthe left side of the unit or on theundersidesurfaceoncooktopmodels.

Therangesorcooktopsweresoldatmassmerchandiseandindependentretail stores from January 2005throughAugust 2010 for between$500and$2,500.Consumersshouldimmediatelystopusingandunplugtherecalledrangesorpoweroffcook-topsat thecircuitbreaker.ContactElectroluxforinformationonhowtoobtainafreerepairkitcontactElec-troluxat(888)281-5310orvisitthecompany’swebsiteatwww.smooth-toprangerecall.com (Frigidaire) orwww.cooktoprecall.com(Electrolux).

claire-sPrayWay recalls FaBric Protector

Claire-SpraywayInc.ofAddison,Illi-nois has recalled fabric protector.Overexposure to fumes, vapor orspraymistfromtheproductcanpose


aseriousrespiratoryhazardtocon-sumers.Thecompanyhasreceived36incidentsofoverexposuretofumes,vapor or spray mist, 34 of whichinvolved coughing, wheezing orshortness of breath. One incidentresulted in a serious respiratoryinjury.Therecallinvolvesfabricpro-tector which is an aerosol coatingusedtoprotectfabric.Thefabricpro-tectorwassoldunderthefollowingbrand names: Sprayway® No. 980IndustrialFabricProtector;3DFabricProtector;AutoBriteFabricProtectorGuardatela;AutoMagic®FabricPro-tectorNo.91-S;CrystalAireProducts#680FabricProtector;FalconLabs®SpotlessFabricProtector;Quiltpro-tect™Spray;Robbie’s™FabricShield;Showcar Fabr ic Protector andSimoniz® System 5 Stain SentryFabricProtector.Thecansizeis13.5oz.,andtheproductcodeislocatedonthebottomofthecan.Theprotec-tor was sold at automotive supply,autodetailing,upholstery,textiles,fur-nitureandfabricstoresnationwidefrom January 2005 throughAugust2010 for about $10. Consumersshould immediately stop using therecalledproductandcontactClaire-Spraywaytoreceiveafullrefund.Foradditionalinformation,contactClaire-Spraywaytoll-freeat1(877)416-7324or visit the company’s websites atwww.cla i remfg.com or www.spraywayinc.com.

Blue BuFFalo recalls Dog FooD

BlueBuffalohasissuedarecallforitsWilderness Chicken-Dog, BasicsSalmon-Dog and Large BreedAdultDogfoods.TherecallwasissuedafterMichiganStateUniversityveterinari-anslinkedthefoodtodogillnessesacross the country. The food wascausingelevatedlevelsofvitaminDinthe dogs, with symptoms rangingfromincreasedthirstandurination,toweightloss,lossofappetiteandsignsof kidney damage. Sick dogs werefoundineightstates:Michigan,Texas,Colorado,Wisconsin,California, Illi-nois,NorthDakotaandUtah.YoumaycallBlueBuffaloat1-877-523-9114toarrangeforreturnoftheproductandreimbursement.

Again,ifyouneedmoreinformationonanyoftherecallslistedabove,orwouldlikeinformationonarecallnotlisted,youcangotoourfirm’swebsiteatwww.Beas-leyAllen.com/recalls.Wewouldalsoliketoknowifwehavemissedanysignificantrecall that involves a safety issue thismonth. If so let us know.Youmay alsocontact Shanna Malone at [email protected].

XXVII. FIRM ACTIVITIES

emPloyee sPotlights

AliDouillARDAliDouillardcametothefirmasaLaw

ClerkafterherfirstyearoflawschoolinMayof2008.ShecurrentlyworksontheMedicaidFraudAWPLitigationintheCon-sumerFraudSection.AlihasfinishedlawschoolandsatfortheGeorgiaBarExaminJulyofthisyear.Sheiscurrentlyawaitingherbar exam results. Afterpassing theGeorgiaBarExam,Aliwillworkasastaffattorney on theAWP Litigation that isongoinginseveralstates.

AliisoriginallyfromKennesaw,Georgia,whereherentirefamily—fromgrandpar-ents tocousins—werebornand raised.Mostofthemcontinuetoresidethere.Herparents,MarkandGailDouillard,areavidtennisplayersaswellasdedicatedAuburnandVanderbiltfans.WhiletheyshareAli’slove forAuburn football, theyhavealsospentalotoftheirtimeinNashvillesup-portingVanderbilt baseball sinceAli’sbrotherJonathanDouillardplayedthere.

Aliisa2007graduateofAuburnUniver-sitywithadegreeinBusinessAdministra-tion. After leavingAuburn,AlimovedtoMontgomeryandstartedherlawschoolcareer.Whileinlawschool,AliwasasenioreditorfortheLaw Review,amemberofthetrialteam,afinalistinanationalcham-pionshiptrialinSanAntonio,arecipientoftheBestOpeningStatementAward ina2009 national trial competition, and aKnabe Scholar for her entire threeyears.Aligraduatedin2010ontheDean’sList.ShewilltaketheAlabamaBarExaminFebruary.InadditiontoattendingAuburngames,Ali lovestospendherweekendsboatingonbeautifulLakeMartin.Alihas

beenaverygoodemployeeandwearefortunate tohaveherwithusasa staffattorney.

SAvAnnAhRichARDSonSavannahRichardsonhasbeenwiththe

firmsinceJuneof2009asaClericalAssis-tant inourMassTortsSection.Shecur-rently works on hormone therapylitigationandhelpsinthepreparationofmedicalbillingcharts,copying,scanningand reviewing documents as well ashelpingwithvariousotherprojects.Savan-nah,whoisthegranddaughterofGeniePruett,hasonedaughter,Madi,whoisfiveyearsoldandinkindergarten.PrettymucheverythingSavannahdoesiswithMadi,soit’snaturalthatshelikestodothingsMadienjoys. They both love being outsidetogether.Savannahalsoenjoysreadingandjusthangingaroundwiththefamilyontheweekends.Sheisaveryhardworkerandwearegladshe isapartof theBeasleyAllenfamily.

larry golston electeD PresiDent oF the alaBama laWyers association

LarryA.Golston,a lawyer inourfirm,has been elected to lead theAlabamaLawyersAssociationasPresident. Larry,who works in our Consumer Fraudsection,assumedtheleadershiproleattheorganization’sannualmeetingonSeptem-ber18th.TheAlabamaLawyersAssociationistheoldestandlargestbarassociationofpredominantlyAfrican-Americanlawyersinthestate.Establishedin1971,theAsso-ciationexiststoenhancetheintegrityofthelegalprofession,toimprovethequalityof legalservicesprovidedto thepublicandtoprotectthecivilrightsoftheciti-zens of the State ofAlabama. Larry, intakingoverasPresident,hadthistosay:

It is with honor and humility that I become President of the Alabama Lawyers Association. I am honored that such a great organization would choose me to lead it and I am humbled to follow in the footsteps of the many great leaders, such as the Hon. Oscar W. Adams, Jr., Attorney Fred Gray, the Hon. U.W. Clemon, and Senator Michael Figures, who have come before me and served as Presi-dent of this organization.

We are very proud of Larry and arehighlypleasedtoseehimintheimportant


roleasPresidentofthisgroup.It’salwaysgoodforourlawyerstobeactiveingroupssuchasthisone.Iamconfidentthathewilldoanoutstandingjob.

XXVIII. SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS

Jones school oF laW BuilDing to Be nameD For greg allen

GregAllen,whoisoneofourlawyers,hasbeenhonoredbyhisalmamater. AnewadditiontotheThomasGoodeJonesSchool of Law will be named in hishonor. AgroundbreakingceremonywasheldrecentlyfortheAllenLawCenteronthecampusofFaulknerUniversity. Thenewfacilitywilladdapproximately17,000square feet to the existing law schoolbuilding,andwillincludeadditionalstudyspace in the law library, a classroom,faculty office space, a courtroom, andspacefor theschool’s three lawclinics.DeanCharlesI.Nelsonhadthistosay:

The Allen Law Center will be a major addition to Jones School of Law. This is another major step forward for the law school in its effort to become an excellent regional law school in the South-east. The unfailing support of alumni like Greg Allen is an essen-tial part of that progress and we are very grateful for him.

Greg,whohasbeenaconsistentsup-porteroftheschool,servedaschairmanofthesteeringcommitteeinJonesSchoolofLaw’seffort toobtain full accreditationfromtheAmericanBarAssociation. Thiswas accomplished in December 2009.Gregisamemberoftheadvisoryboardfortheschoolandteachesproductsliabil-ityseminarsattheschool.

southern PoVerty laW center Fights For Justice

TheSouthernPovertyLawCenterandmygood friendMorrisDeeshavebeenfighting for justice andequality in thiscountryforyears.Morris,consideredtobealegendinhisowntime,isagreatlawyer

ineveryrespectandhasbeenarealinspi-rationtolawyerswhofightforjusticeonadailybasis.TheSPLCisanonprofitcivilrightsorganizationdedicatedtofightinghateandbigotry,andseekingjusticeforthe most vulnerable members in oursociety. FoundedbyMorris and JosephLevinJr.in1971,theSPLCisinternation-allyknownfortrackingandexposingtheactivitiesofhategroups.

TheSPLCwasfoundedtoensurethatthepromisesofthecivilrightsmovementbecamearealityforall.Sinceitsfoundingin1971,theSPLChaswonnumerousland-mark legal victories on behalf of“theexploited,thepowerlessandtheforgot-ten.”LawsuitsbytheSPLChavetoppledinstitutional racism in the South,bank-ruptedsomeofthenation’smostviolentwhitesupremacistgroups,andwonjusticefor exploited workers, abused prisoninmates, disabled children and othervictimsofdiscrimination.

Sinceitsfounding,theSPLChasbeenledbyastrongteamofboardmembers,civilrightslawyers,andprogramstafferswho are totally committed to ensuringjusticeandequalityforall.TheAmericanpeopleoweatremendousdebtofgrati-tudetoallwhohavebeenapartofSPLCovertheyears.

XXIX. FAVORITE BIBLE VERSES

Tom Methvin, our Managing Share-holder,furnishedaverseforthisissue.Tombelievesthisversespeakstoallofusatthefirm.

And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inas-much as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

Matthew25:40

ThefollowingversewasfurnishedbymybrotherBillyBeasley. AgraduateofAuburnUniversity,andapharmacistinourhometownofClayton,BillyistheDemo-cratic nominee for theAlabama StateSenateinDistrict28.It’saversethatallpublicservantsshouldtaketoheart.

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.

Phil2:3-5

Rev.WalterAllbritton, a pastor at St.JamesUnitedMethodistChurchinMont-gomery,sentinwhathesaysisoneofhisfavoriteverses:

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Romans8:28

LesSteckel,thenationaldirectorfortheFCA,sentinthisverse:

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.

1Corinthians9:24

Johnny Houston, who is a long timeemployeeatPickwickAntiquesinMont-gomery,sentaverseinthismonth.Johnny,whoisahardworker,isverypopularwithPickwickcustomers.Heisagoodmanandsayshereallylikesthefollowingverse:

Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—shout for joy before the LORD, the King. Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will


judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.

Psalm98

XXX. CLOSING OBSERVATIONS

Most folkswouldprobablyagreethatourcountryisbadlyinneedofawake-upcall.We could learn lots from how thepeopleofChile, includingthecountry’stoppoliticalleaders,handledtherescueofthe 33 miners who were trapped over2,000 feet underground for 69 days. Aspirit of unity and thankfulness waspresentthroughoutthelongordealandespeciallywhentherescueeffortswerecompleted. Theworldcould learnvalu-able lessons from these events. It wasevidentthattheminersweregivingGodcreditfortakingcareofthemthroughoutthe ordeal. It was very good to have aperiodoftime—astheminerswerebeing

broughttothesurface—duringwhichwecould feel good about something. Theminerswereheroes—victims—butmoreimportantly,theyweresurvivors.WecanthankGodforthat!

a monthly reminDer

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

2Chron7:14

XXXI. PARTING WORDS

Ipraydailyformyfamilyandforallofthosewhoworkwithme.ThatprayeristhatwewillalllearntoloveourLordmoreeachday—learnmoreofHisways—and

continuetoseekoutHiswillforourlives.Ifwewilldothis,Hisawesomepowerwillthenworkinusandthroughusinourrela-tionships with others.We must neverforgetthatGodisabletodosomuchmoreforus—inusandthroughus—thatwecaneverimagine.Thereisabsolutelynolimittowhathecanandwilldo.

IamthankfulforallthatGodhasdoneforusandthankfulthatHeisalwaysavail-ablebothinthegoodaswellasthebadtimes.OnceweacceptJesusasourLordandSavior,andtrulysurrendertoHim,ourliveswillneverbe the same. ThegreatnewsisthatJesuswillneverleaveusorletusdown.Hispromisesaretrueandever-lasting.Youwon’tgetthatguaranteeany-whereelse.MayGodblesseachofyouandyourfamiliesinaveryspecialway!

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No representation is made that the quality of legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.

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No representation is made that the quality of services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.

Jere Locke Beasley, founding shareholder of the law firm Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C., is one of the most successful l it igators of all t ime, with the best track record of verdicts of any lawyer in America. Beasley’s law firm, established in 1979 with the mission of “helping those who need it most,” now employs 44 lawyers and more than 200 support staff. Jere Beasley has always been an advocate for victims of wrongdoing and has been helping those who need it most for over 30 years.

No representation is made that the quality of services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.

Jere Locke Beasley, founding shareholder of the law firm Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C., is one of the most successful l it igators of all t ime, with the best track record of verdicts of any lawyer in America. Beasley’s law firm, established in 1979 with the mission of “helping those who need it most,” now employs 44 lawyers and more than 200 support staff. Jere Beasley has always been an advocate for victims of wrongdoing and has been helping those who need it most for over 30 years.

Jere Locke Beasley, founding shareholder of the law firm Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C. is one of the most successful litigators of all time, with the best track record of verdicts of any lawyer in America. Beasley’s law firm, established in 1979 with the mission of “helping those who need it most,” now employs 44 lawyers and more than 200 support staff. Jere Beasley has always been an advocate for victims of wrongdoing and has been helping those who need it most for over 30 years.

the jere beasley report, nov. 2010

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