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US Supreme Court imposes limits on class actions
Headline Legal News |
2011/04/28 09:32
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The Supreme Court on Wednesday limited the ability of people to combine forces and fight corporations together when they want to dispute contracts for cell phones, cable television and other services, a move consumer advocates called a crushing blow.
In a 5-4 ideological split, the high court's conservatives said businesses can block their customers from using class actions. The court said the federal arbitration law trumps state laws that invalidate contracts banning class actions.
The decision came in a dispute between AT&T Mobility and a California couple who objected to being charged around $30 in sales tax for what they were told was a free cell phone.
Businesses commonly require arbitration clauses in consumer contracts to protect them from facing their customers in court. The Supreme Court's decision means that corporations now won't need to worry about consumers, shareholders or even employees banding together and fighting them using lawsuits or arbitration, consumer groups said.
"Now, whenever you sign a contract to get a cell phone, open a bank account or take a job, you may be giving up your right to hold companies accountable for fraud, discrimination or other illegal practices," said Deepak Gupta, a Public Citizen lawyer who argued the case.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the decision would hamper the rights of consumers to be protected by state laws.
"Class actions are an effective way to ensure consumer protection, but today's opinion by the Roberts court continued to move in a direction that undermines this access to justice for hard-working Americans," Leahy said.
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Court hears arguments in Microsoft patent case
Headline Legal News |
2011/04/19 08:38
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The Supreme Court on Monday heard arguments from Microsoft Corp. asking it to overturn a $290 million patent infringement judgment against the world's largest software maker, a ruling that could have a profound effect on how corporations protect and profit from their future inventions. An eight-justice court on Monday heard arguments from the Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, which wants the multimillion dollar judgment against it erased because it claims a judge used the wrong standard. Business groups are closely watching this case. The U.S. government made more than $64 billion off of international licensing and royalties from patents in 2009, with an expected growth rate of 15 percent a year. A ruling for Microsoft could make companies less likely to invest in new inventions, but a ruling for i4i, the company which brought the lawsuit against Microsoft, could make it harder for large corporations to fight off such challenges. |
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Mich. Supreme Court to hear septic case from Thumb
Headline Legal News |
2011/03/24 02:48
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The Michigan Supreme Court says it will decide if judges can order a sewer system when septic tanks fail and spoil a lake. The court says Thursday it will take an appeal in a case involving Worth Township along Lake Huron in Michigan's Thumb region. State regulators want the township to install a sewer system, but an appeals court said local government isn't responsible for the problems of private property owners. Some septic systems are failing on a five-mile stretch between M-25 and Lake Huron in Sanilac County. Waste is being discharged into Lake Huron and its tributaries. Worth Township says it can't build a sewer system without financial help from the state.
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N.O. casino owner sued over secondhand smoke
Headline Legal News |
2011/03/11 12:50
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A lawsuit seeking class-action status accuses Harrah's New Orleans Casino of failing to protect its employees from dangerous levels of secondhand smoke. The mother of a former Harrah's dealer who died of cancer last year filed the federal suit Wednesday against the casino's owner, Nevada-based Caesars Entertainment Corp. The suit claims Maceo Bevrotte Jr.'s cancer was "directly linked" to his prolonged exposure to secondhand smoke at the casino. The suit says Bevrotte worked at Harrah's for about 15 years. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and asks a judge to certify the case as a class action for at least 1,000 current, former or future nonsmoking casino employees. Caesar's spokesman Gary Thompson said the company doesn't comment on pending litigation. |
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Fixodent The Subject Of Class Action Lawsuit
Headline Legal News |
2011/02/14 08:13
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A class action lawsuit is alleging that Fixodent denture cream may have caused serious problems. ABC News reported that lawyers for two former denture cream users are accusing Proctor & Gamble of manufacturing a product that made their clients extremely ill. Mark Jacoby, a 41-year-old construction worker who wore dentures for 20 years, told ABC News that he believes his debilitating neurological illness is due to the high zinc content in his Fixodent. "I started getting tingling in my fingertips. And then it started happening in my toes," he told ABC News' 20/20 anchor Chris Cuomo, who is the Chief of the Law & Justice Unit. "I started getting weaker and, you know, I couldn't walk right, off balance and I'm at this point now." He said his doctors searched for years for the cause of his debilitating neurological illness that robbed him of his independence.
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Investment Fraud Litigation |
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Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a practice that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information, frequently resulting in losses, in violation of the securities laws. Securities Arbitration. Generally speaking, securities fraud consists of deceptive practices in the stock and commodity markets, and occurs when investors are enticed to part with their money based on untrue statements.
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The content contained on the web site has been prepared by Securities Law News as a service to the internet community and is not intended to constitute legal advice or a substitute for consultation with a licensed legal professional in a particular case. | Affordable Law Firm Website Design by Law Promo |
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