Federal Court Rules Consumers' Claims Against Nation’s Leading Banks for Excessive Overdraft Fees May Proceed
March 11, 2010, Miami, FL -- U.S District Court Judge James Lawrence King denied motions by a number of the nation’s leading banks to derail federal lawsuits seeking to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in wrongful overdraft fees charged to consumers on debit card purchases. "The collection of excessive overdraft fees, usually around $35 per transaction, impacts millions of Americans each year," explained plaintiffs' counsel Michael W. Sobol of Lieff Cabraser. "While all bank customers have been affected, these overdraft fee policies hurt the financially vulnerable the hardest, often creating a domino effect, resulting in even more fees." Learn more about the bank overdraft litigation.
California Lawyer Magazine Awards Robert J. Nelson 2010 CLAY Award
March 5, 2010, San Francisco, CA -- The California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year (CLAY) Awards recognize lawyers throughout the state whose legal work made a profound impact the preceding year. This year's recipients include Lieff Cabraser's Robert J. Nelson and his co-counsel for obtaining a $78.5 million whistleblower settlement, believed to be among the largest in the history of the federal False Claims Act in a case in which the U.S. Department of Justice did not intervene. The complaint alleged the nation's largest for-profit university had defrauded the Department by obtaining billions in federal student loans and Pell Grants while making improper incentive payments to admissions recruiters based on the number of students they signed. Mr. Nelson was Lead Trial Counsel for the plaintiff team.
FDA Issues Warnings for Health Claims Made by Food Manufacturers
March 4, 2010, Washington, DC -- In a nationwide crackdown on misleading and questionable claims on food packages and company websites, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued warning letters to seventeen food manufacturers across America. The agency accused the companies of pumping up the nutritional claims of their products without medical evidence or masking contents like unhealthy fats. Among the products cited by the FDA are walnuts from Diamond Foods, Pom Wonderful Juice, and Nestlé Juicy Juice products.
Direct Purchasers Seek Reversal of Dismissal of Claims that CITGO is Liable Under U.S. Antitrust Laws for Price Fixing in Connection with OPEC Cartel
March 1, 2010, New Orleans, LA -- Direct purchasers of gasoline and other petroleum-based products from CITGO Petroleum Corporation argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Fifth Circuit that CITGO is an American corporation and liable under federal antitrust laws for becoming a member and instrument of the OPEC, participating in the cartel's conspiracy to fix oil prices globally. Lieff Cabraser sought reversal of the district court's decision dismissing the case under the Act of State Doctrine. Lieff Cabraser serves as co-counsel for the plaintiffs and appellants. Learn more about the CITGO antitrust class action lawsuit.
Robert J. Nelson Speaks at Roundtable on Products Liability Law
March 1, 2010, San Francisco, CA -- In a roundtable discussion sponsored by California Lawyer magazine, Lieff Cabraser attorney Robert J. Nelson argued that the U.S. Supreme Court in Wyeth v. Levine, 129 S.Ct. 1187 (2009) "loudly and strongly affirmed the notion that preemption is a doctrine that should rarely be used, and in fact, courts should be counseled against its use." The panel reviewed other recent, notable federal and California cases in products liability law. Read the roundtable discussion here.
Court Rules Consumers' Fraud and Racketeering Claims May Go Forward Against National Arbitration Forum and Its Owners
February 22, 2010, Minneapolis, MN -- U.S. District Court Judge Paul A. Magnuson denied in large part motions to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed by consumers against the National Arbitration Forum, Inc. ("NAF"), and several entities that own NAF, alleging fraud and racketeering activity. The plaintiffs, consumers whose debt disputes were submitted to binding arbitration before the NAF, allege NAF conducted sham arbitrations that resulted in rulings in favor of creditors. Read the Court's order.
February 21, 2010, Washington, D.C. -- The Detroit News reports that a document turned over to congressional investigators shows Toyota officials bragged in July 2009 about avoiding a costly whole-scale recall in 2007 of its vehicles due to sudden acceleration complaints. Instead, a limited recall of floor mats of 55,000 Camry and Lexis vehicles occurred, which was estimated to have saved Toyota more than $100 million compared to a wider recall. Less than a month after the document was written, a California Highway Patrol officer and three others died in an accident attributed to unintended acceleration when the accelerator pedal got stuck in the floor mat. Learn more about Toyota sudden acceleration accidents.
February 20, 2010 -- The New York Times reported that hundreds of people taking Avandia, a prescription drug used to treat Type 2 diabetes, needlessly suffer heart attacks and heart failure each month, according to confidential government reports that recommend the drug be removed from the market. If every diabetic now taking Avandia were instead given a similar pill named Actos, the article states, about 500 heart attacks and 300 cases of heart failure per month would be averted because Avandia can hurt the heart. Learn more about Avandia side effects and legal resources for injured patients.
February 12, 2010, Los Angeles, CA -- Jacquelyn Donoghue filed a lawsuit in Federal court against Toyota Motor Corporation seeking compensation for injuries to herself and for the death of her husband in a sudden unintended acceleration accident. "Millions of Toyota vehicles were not equipped with a safety feature, known as 'brake-to-idle' override, that enables drivers to override the electronic throttle and control the vehicle in the event of a sudden unintended acceleration," stated attorney Robert J. Nelson. "This safety feature is used by other automotive manufacturers. Toyota’s failure to incorporate it, the complaint alleges, in the Prius driven by Jacquelyn Donoghue played a direct role in the death of her husband John Donoghue." Learn more about Toyota sudden acceleration accidents and lawsuits.
Feb. 10, 2010, Nashville, TN -- In a report by the CBS affiliate TV station in Nashville, Tennessee, Traci Mayfield spoke of her love for her 20-year old daughter Leah, "We were more than mother/daughter, we were best friends. She blossomed into a beautiful young lady [in college]." In January 2010, Leah was rushed to the hospital after passing out in the shower. Less than an hour later she was dead. The official cause of death was a pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lungs). At the emergency room, a doctor informed Traci Mayfield that Yaz, a prescription birth control pill Leah had been taking, could have caused the blood clot. Represented by Lieff Cabraser, Traci Mayfield has filed a lawsuit against Bayer, the manufacturer of Yaz, for death of her daughter and is warning others of the dangers of Yaz. Watch the news report.
February 5, 2010, San Francisco, CA -- The United States Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit reinstated a class action lawsuit filed by California consumers accusing Dell, Inc. of selling defective Inspiron notebook computers. The unanimous decision reversed an order of the federal district court dismissing the case. The appellate court found that the provision of Dell's sales contract compelling the individual arbitration of claims against Dell was unenforceable because the value of each defective notebook was insufficient for consumers to pursue their claims individually. Learn more about the Dell Inspiron class action lawsuit.
February 2, 2010, Seattle, WA -- A Seattle resident filed a nationwide class action lawsuit against Sallie Mae over alleged unauthorized autodialer calls to the cell phones of borrowers who took out student loans with the national lender. "Nobody should be subjected to repeated, intrusive autodialer calls at all hours from their lender, especially on their cell phones," commented Jonathan D. Selbin of Lieff Cabraser. "We hope today’s lawsuit brings some relief to borrowers who have enough to worry about these days without receiving harassing calls like these." Learn more about the Sallie Mae class action lawsuit.
February 2, 2010, San Francisco, CA -- A former AT&T technical support worker filed a class action lawsuit charging that AT&T Inc. has a common practice of misclassifying its technical support workers as exempt and failing to pay them for all overtime hours worked. AT&T's technical support workers, who work in titles such as Technician, Technical Architect, Technical Consultant, Network Engineer, IT Analyst, Maintenance Administrator, Project Manager, Program Manager, and Business Manager of IT, among others, are responsible for installing, maintaining, and/or supporting computer software and/or hardware. The lawsuit alleges that these workers were unlawfully denied overtime pay. Learn more about the AT&T overtime pay class action lawsuit.
Michael W. Sobol Speaks On Class Action Law
February 1, 2010, San Francisco, CA -- On January 28, 2010, the Consumer Attorneys of California College of Trial Arts San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association, hosted the Fourth Annual Class Action Seminar. The much-anticipated yearly seminar provides a forum for class action practitioners to catch up on recent developments in the law and learn about new ideas in the prosecution and trial of class actions. Speaking on the seminar's panel was Lieff Cabraser's Michael Sobol.
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