August
28, 2008, Los Angeles, CA -- In a class action lawsuit against the nation's
top three credit reporting companies, U.S. District Court Judge David
O. Carter approved entry of an injunction requiring defendants to correct
and accurately record information concerning debts discharged in a Chapter
7 bankruptcy. Millions of Americans have been denied loans or paid higher
interest rates due to debt and negative credit reports that should been
removed from their files. "The credit bureaus cannot merely parrot
back information provided by creditors," stated Lieff Cabraser attorney Michael
W. Sobol, "they must now reconcile creditors' information against
available public records to assure maximum possible accuracy." Learn
more.
Court Certifies Class of Prescription Drug Direct Purchasers in Antitrust Lawsuit Against Abbott Laboratories
August 27, 2008, San Francisco, CA – U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken granted plaintiffs’ motion for certification of a class of direct purchasers of the prescription drug Norvir from defendant Abbott Laboratories. Norvir is used to combat the HIV virus. Plaintiffs charge that Abbott unlawfully maintained its monopoly power as the patent holder of Norvir by deliberately inducing potential competitors into relying on Norvir as an agent to boost the effectiveness of their drugs. As a result, the development of rival drugs for Norvir was impeded and the price of Norvir was artificially inflated. Lieff Cabraser serves as counsel for plaintiffs. Read a copy of the order.
August 25, 2008, San Francisco, CA -- In class action litigation against the world's leading manufacturers of LCD flat-panel TV screens, monitors, and other products incorporating liquid crystal displays (LCDs), U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston denied in large part defendants' motions to dismiss the action. Plaintiffs charge defendants fixed the prices of LCD panels and products containing the panels, inflating the prices. The Court found that the complaint met the pleading standard applicable under the U.S. Supreme Court's Twombly decision by alleging, among other allegations, "complex and unusual pricing practices by defendants which cannot be explained by the forces of supply and demand." The court also found the plaintiffs' allegations that the conspiracy raised the prices of products containing the LCD panels, not just the LCD panels themselves, were sufficient. Learn more.
August 13, 2008, San Francisco, CA -- On August 13, 2008, U.S. District Court Judge Phyllis Hamilton granted final approval to a settlement of the gender discrimination case against Smith Barney. Plaintiffs alleged that Smith Barney discriminated against female Financial Advisors in compensation and business opportunities. The Court approved a four-year settlement agreement that provides for comprehensive injunctive relief and significant monetary relief of $33 million for the Settlement Class. "This settlement not only provides serious monetary benefits for all class members, but also real, institutional improvements for female brokers at the company," said Kelly Dermody, a partner at Lieff Cabraser and Co-Lead Class Counsel. Learn more.
August, 7, 2008, Nashville, TN -- Louisiana-Pacific issued an advisory warning to consumers and homebuilders who have installed ABT Co, WeatherBest and Verdana composite board decking materials. The deck and railing products, produced by Louisiana Pacific within the past two years, are showing signs of rapid deterioration and product failure, posing a risk of injury to homeowners. Learn more.
July 24, 2008, Warsaw, IN -- Zimmer Holdings, the nation’s largest producer of orthopedic devices, announced the suspension of sales of an artificial hip implant component due to a high failure rate. The medical device, a hip socket known as the Durom cup, was first sold in the U.S. in 2006 and has been implanted in 12,000 patients. Physicians have complained that the device is faulty, with possibly hundreds of patients needing replacement surgery in the coming years. Lieff Cabraser has successfully represented hundreds of patients nationwide in individual personal injury lawsuits involving defective medical devices. Learn more about the Zimmer hip implant recall.
July 17, 2008, Fresno, CA -- The City of Fresno filed a class action lawsuit in federal court alleging that several of Wall Street's biggest firms engaged in bid-rigging and price-fixing. The defendants include AIG Financial Products, Bank of America, Bear Stearns, JPMorgan Chase, Lehman Brothers Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co., Morgan Stanley and Wachovia Bank. Representing an expansion of nationwide antitrust litigation against major investment banks, the complaint charges that the investment banks conspired to give cities artificially low bids for Guaranteed Investment Contracts, which public entities use to earn interest on bond funds. Learn more.
Centro Legal De La Raza Honors Lieff Cabraser Attorneys
June 26, 2008, Oakland, CA -- At its 39th Anniversary Dinner, Centro Legal De La Raza honored plaintiffs' counsel in the Gonzalez v. Abercrombie & Fitch class action lawsuit with the organization's Community Justice Award, including Lieff Cabraser partners Kelly M. Dermody and Jahan C. Sagafi. Under the settlement in the landmark case, Abercrombie paid $40 million to Latino, African-American, Asian and women applicants and employees who charged the company with discrimination. The settlement further required Abercrombie to undertake comprehensive reforms in its recruitment, hiring, assignment and promotion of employees. Learn more about the Abercrombie class action.
Punitive Damages Award In Exxon Valdez Disaster Reduced
June 25, 2008, Washington, D.C. -- With co-counsel, Lieff Cabraser represents 32,000 fishermen, Alaska natives, landowners and others whose livelihoods were gravely damaged by the 11 million gallons of oil that poured into Prince William Sound, Alaska, after the grounding of the Exxon Valdez in 1989. Five years later, an Alaska jury awarded $5 billion in punitive damages to the plaintiff class to punish Exxon for its reckless conduct and to deter such misconduct in the future. The U.S. Supreme Court permitted the assessment of punitive damages in a maritime spill under maritime law. However, the Court held that the punitive damages award against Exxon was excessive and should be limited to $507.5 million, an amount equal to the trial court’s calculation of appropriate compensatory damages. To read the Court’s opinion, click
here.
June 19, 2008, San Francisco, CA -- Earlier this year, California Lawyer magazine recognized Lieff Cabraser attorneys Robert J. Nelson and Scott P. Nealey as California Attorneys of the Year in the category of personal injury law for their work in a wrongful death case against DaimlerChrysler. As explained in this short video profile of the case, a defect in the transmission of a Dodge Dakota pickup led to the death of a 38-year-old father of three young children.
Steven E. Fineman One of Lawdragon's "100 Managing Partners You Need to Know"
June 2008, Los Angeles, CA -- Lawdragon magazine has published a list of the nation's top law firm managing partners which includes Lieff Cabraser's Steven E. Fineman. The magazine selected the firm leaders through a combination of submissions from firms and Lawdragon's editorial research, which included contacting more than 50,000 legal professionals for their input. Lawdragon noted that Mr. Fineman "brings the rare ability to herd cats to his role overseeing an exceptional organization of plaintiff class action lawyers." Read the full profile here.
June 6, 2008, Washington, DC -- The FDA has received reports of 11 deaths and more than 80 other nonfatal adverse events associated with medical devices containing the widely-used blood thinner heparin, a drug that has led to congressional inquiries about FDA oversight of drug manufacturing. The FDA also reported that potentially contaminated heparin products have been found in medical care facilities in at least one state since the heparin recall. Contaminated heparin from China has been linked to at least 81 deaths in the US and hundreds of allergic reactions. Learn more...
Joseph R. Saveri Speaks at Roundtable on Antitrust Law
May 29, 2008, San Francisco, CA -- In a panel discussion of antitrust
experts, Lieff Cabraser’s head of the firm’s Antitrust and Intellectual
Practice Group, Joseph
R. Saveri, observed that the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision
in Bell Atlantic v. Twombly has ushered in "a period of
attacks on more than adequate pleadings" accomplishing "very
little other than to delay the proceedings and run up the cost for all
parties." The panel of experts in antitrust law also discussed the
Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Credit Suisse v. Billing and Weyerhaeuser
Co. v. Ross-Simmons Hardware Lumber Co., the Ninth Circuit decision
in Cascade Health Solutions v. PeaceHealth and recent trends
in antitrust law outside of the U.S. Read the panel discussion here.
May
27, 2008, Newark, N.J. -- U.S. District Court Judge Stanley R. Chesler
granted final approval to the settlement of class action lawsuits against
the De Beers group of companies. The settlement provides $295 million
to purchasers of diamonds and diamond jewelry and prevents De Beers from
continuing its illegal business practices. Learn more at www.diamondsclassaction.com.
Elizabeth J. Cabraser Keynote Speaker at Lawyers' Club Luncheon
May 6, 2008, San Francisco, CA -- With all justices in attendance, Elizabeth
J. Cabraser delivered the keynote address at the annual California Supreme
Court luncheon hosted by the Lawyers' Club of San Francisco. In an address
entitled, "Loving the Law When the Law Won't Love You Back," Ms.
Cabraser observed that the law sometimes "moves too slowly to reflect
the wisdom of the age." It can appear that the law is "dragging
us forward against our preferences, against our wills and probably before
we're ready." Yet it is through the law that the most important
conflicts in our society are resolved civilly and, at its best, in the
pursuit of "evolving ideas of justice and equality."
Richard M. Heimann Speaks on Trends in Securities Law
April
24, 2008, Los Angeles, CA -- In a roundtable discussion sponsored by California
Lawyer magazine, Richard
Heimann argued that the class action "is the most effective
means of obtaining redress for individuals for full losses as a result
of [securities] fraud." The panel reviewed notable recent cases
in securities law by the U.S. Supreme Court as well as two closely watched
trials. Read the roundtable discussion here.
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