Lieff Cabraser Civil Justice Newsletter
Issue #17, June 2005

Top News

1. Ford Vehicle Owners File Suits For Damages Suffered From Cruise Control Switch Fires

2. Guidant Heart Devices Recalled

3. Information Technology Employees Assert Their Right To Overtime Pay

4. Women in the Financial Services Industry Bring Claims of Discrimination

5. Suit Challenges Adecco's Vacation Policy

6. San Francisco Bay Area Bus Riders File Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit

7. Complaints Against Litton Loan Servicing, LP Under Investigation

8. Update on Nextel Cell Phone Consumer Protection Class Action

9. Lieff Cabraser Holds Global Justice Forum in London

10. Lieff Cabraser Attorneys Named As Top California Securities Litigators

Introduction

The Lieff Cabraser Newsletter is published quarterly by the national law firm of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP. With over 60 lawyers in five offices, Lieff Cabraser has a comprehensive, diversified, nationwide civil litigation practice that is unique among law firms in the United States that represent only plaintiffs.

We hope you find the newsletter of interest. A copy of the newsletter is available online at www.lieffcabraser.com/newsletter_cover.htm.

The newsletter is sent to all persons who have contacted our law firm via the internet and agreed to receive the newsletter. We do not sell to third parties or transfer in any way your personal information, including email addresses. If you do not wish to receive future editions of this newsletter, there are instructions at the bottom on how to remove yourself from our recipient list.

Top News

Ford Vehicle Owners File Suits For Damages Suffered From Cruise Control Switch Fires

In lawsuits against Ford, Lieff Cabraser, with co-counsel, is representing persons who suffered damages in fires allegedly caused by a defect in the cruise-control switch of Ford trucks and other vehicles.

As set forth in complaints, the Ford Speed Control Deactivation Switch, also known as a "brake pressure switch," is always powered by current from the battery and is mounted above flammable reservoirs of brake fluid. Under certain conditions, a fire can break out, even when the engine has been turned off and, in some cases, idle for days.

The following signs could indicate that you have a problem with your cruise-control switch: cruise control is not working properly; brake fluid is leaking around the switch; fuses are blown near the switch; or the fuse for the speed control cannot be opened.

To read more about this fire danger, including a list of Ford vehicles that have been recalled, are under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or that have the same or similar cruise control switches, please visit www.vehicle-injuries.com/ford-fire.htm.

Guidant Heart Devices Recalled

On June 1, 2005, patient John Brennan filed a lawsuit against Guidant Corporation and Guidant Sales Corporation in federal court in Indianapolis, Indiana. The complaint charges that Guidant misrepresented the safety of the Guidant Ventak Prizm automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator, failing to reveal that the device contains a flaw that has caused some defibrillators to short-circuit and stop working.

The suit was filed as a proposed nationwide class action for patients implanted with the Guidant medical device. Lieff Cabraser is serving as co-counsel for Mr. Brennan. Three weeks later, Guidant recalled over 38,000 defibrillators.

Guidant patients who wish to learn more about this lawsuit should visit www.personalinjurylawyeramerica.com/medical/guidant.htm.

Information Technology Employees Assert Their Right To Overtime Pay

Under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, workers are entitled to overtime pay unless they fall under one of the specified legal exemptions to paying overtime, such as being an executive, administrator, or learned professional.

In a ground-breaking lawsuit, Lieff Cabraser, with co-counsel, announced a $24 million settlement of an overtime pay class action lawsuit against Computer Sciences Corporation in April 2005. Plaintiffs charged that the Fortune 500 company had a common practice of refusing to pay overtime wages to its computer maintenance and support workers. The suit constitutes one of the first and largest successful actions by employees in the IT industry seeking overtime pay. Information can be found at www.cscovertime.com.

Regardless of how your employer classifies or pays you (e.g., by salary or hourly wage), you may be entitled to overtime pay if you:

• install, maintain, or support computer hardware or software (but are not primarily engaged in software development or other independent, creative work, coding or architecture design);
• earn less than $100,000 per year; and
• work significant overtime hours (such as 45 hours/week regularly, or periods of 50+ hours/week).
  

We have numerous lawsuits and investigations on behalf of computer maintenance workers, technical and help desk staff, systems and network administrators, systems analysts and other IT and computer support professionals deprived of overtime pay.

Currently, we are representing Wells Fargo employees with the titles of Business Systems Consultant and Business Systems Analyst. The suit alleges that Wells Fargo unlawfully misclassifies its employees who automate business processes and provide production support as exempt, improperly refusing to pay them for overtime hours worked. Information can be found at: www.wfovertimelawsuit.com.

If you are working for a high tech company, you may be entitled to overtime regardless of whether you are a salaried or hourly pay employee. Contact a Lieff Cabraser attorney at www.lieffcabraser.com/contact/contact-itovertime.htm to submit your information, and we will respond. Please note that there is no charge for this, and you incur no obligation whatsoever. Your submission will be held in strict confidence.

Women in the Financial Services Industry Bring Claims of Discrimination

In March 2005, four female financial consultants filed a national class action lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco charging sex discrimination at Smith Barney, the retail brokerage arm of Citigroup. The lawsuit charges that Smith Barney discriminates against its female financial consultants in compensation, account distribution, sales support, and other terms and conditions of employment throughout the company. "This action has been brought to remedy a culture of hostility toward equal opportunity at Smith Barney," stated Lieff Cabraser partner Kelly M. Dermody.

To learn more about the Smith Barney suit, please visit www.genderlawsuitagainstsmithbarney.com.

Current or former workers in the financial services industry at other firms who have complaints about gender or race discrimination are also welcome to contact Lieff Cabraser for a review of their claim without any charge or obligation. Please visit:
www.lieffcabraser.com/contact/contact-employment.htm.

Suit Challenges Adecco's Vacation Policy

      Lieff Cabraser has filed two suits against Adecco USA, Inc. ("Adecco"), the nation's largest staffing agency, for maintaining vacation policies in violation of California law. Under California law, earned vacation time is considered wages, and vacation time is earned, or vests, as an employee's labor is performed. Vacation pay accrues (adds up) as it is earned, and cannot be forfeited, even upon termination of employment, regardless of the reason for the termination.

Adecco's vacation policies allegedly violate California law by (1) requiring full-time employees to use their accrued vacation time or personal time off ("PTO") by the end of each calendar year or else forfeit their accrued PTO, and (2) requiring temporary employees to meet certain hourly work requirements before accruing any "vacation bonus pay benefit", i.e., vacation pay.

Current and former Adecco employees who worked for Adecco in California, as full-time or temporary employees, on or after April 30, 2000, are welcome to submit their complaints concerning Adecco's vacation policies by visiting www.lieffcabraser.com/contact/contact-pto.htm.

San Francisco Bay Area Bus Riders File Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit

Charging that the Bay Area's Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) discriminates against poor transit riders of color who use or depend on AC Transit bus service, a coalition of organizations and individuals filed a federal civil rights lawsuit asking the U.S. District Court to order MTC to halt its discriminatory funding practices.

According to Lieff Cabraser partner Bill Lann Lee, "The Bay Area has two 'separate and unequal' transit systems: an expanding state-of-the-art rail system, Caltrain and BART, for predominantly white, relatively affluent communities, and a shrinking bus system, AC Transit, for low-income people of color."

Learn more at www.lieffcabraser.com/press_releases/mtc-press-01.htm.

Complaints Against Litton Loan Servicing, LP Under Investigation

Lieff Cabraser is investigating complaints by California customers
of Litton Loan Servicing, LP. The investigation concerns allegations that
Litton engages in, among other things, the following improper conduct:


1. Forcing mortgage loan customers to purchase insurance on their homes when, in fact, the customers already have such insurance;
2. Imposing late fees when loan payments have actually been made in a timely manner;
3. Imposing escrow fees that are improper and have not been authorized;
4. Imposing fees for "non-sufficient funds" when customers had sufficient funds available; and
5. Initiating improper foreclosure proceedings and imposing related unnecessary foreclosure fees.

California customers of Litton who would like to report their experiences with Litton may contact an attorney at Lieff Cabraser by visiting:
www.lieffcabraser.com/loan-servicing.htm.

Update on Nextel Cell Phone Consumer Protection Class Action

Lieff Cabraser is representing California consumers in a class action lawsuit against Nextel communications, Inc. ("Nextel") alleging that Nextel has engaged in unfair, unlawful and deceptive business practices by unilaterally imposing a new monthly $1.15 service fee, and by unilaterally changing its billing practices from per-second call rounding to per-minute call rounding.

On April 23, 2004, the Court ordered that the case may proceed as a class action and certified the following class:

All persons in California who, during the time period from January 1, 1999, through December 31, 2002, had an agreement with Nextel for cellular communication services and whose terms and conditions of their agreement were unilaterally changed by Nextel by: (1) the addition of a $1.15 monthly service fee and/or (2) the change in rounding up of all cellular calls - from rounding up to the next second after the first full minute, to rounding up to the next minute, and who incurred "overage" charges (i.e., for exceeding their allotted cellular plan minutes.)

The case is set for trial to commence in Los Angeles Superior Court, before the Honorable Rolf Treu, on January 23, 2006.

Nextel wireless customers in California who have similar complaints are welcome to contact a Lieff Cabraser attorney at www.lieffcabraser.com/contact/contact-nextelsuit.htm.

Lieff Cabraser Holds Global Justice Forum in London

In May 2005, Lieff Cabraser held its first Global Justice Forum in London, U.K. The program featured presentations by leading American academics, mediators and practitioners, and was designed to provide attendees with practical information about the prosecution and resolution of non-U.S. nationals' claims in United States courts.

The conference was a great success, with attendees from 17 countries on 6 continents. Speakers included Kenneth Feinberg, Professor Samuel Issacharoff, Professor Burt Neuborne, Professor Catherine M. Sharkey, Howard Varinsky and Judge Daniel Weinstein (ret.).

Lieff Cabraser Attorneys Named As Top California Securities Litigators

In May 2005, the legal newspaper The Daily Journal recognized Elizabeth J. Cabraser and James M. Finberg as two of California's Top 30 Securities Litigators.

Commenting on securities fraud lawsuits, Ms. Cabraser observed, "These cases are more necessary than ever to restore confidence in the integrity of our capital markets."

To learn more about Lieff Cabraser's work in advancing the rights of investors, please visit www.lieffcabrasersecurities.com.

About Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP

Founded in 1972, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, is a national plaintiffs' law firm with offices in San Francisco, New York and Nashville.

We represent consumers in consumer protection cases; patients in cases involving dangerous or defective products; employees subjected to discrimination and unlawful labor practices; shareholders, institutional investors and public entities in securities and financial fraud litigation; homeowners and others exposed to environmental contamination and toxic substances; and consumers, businesses and public entities alleging antitrust violations by large corporations.

We can be reached on the internet at www.lieffcabraser.com or by mail to Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, 275 Battery Street, 30th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94111-3339.

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