Legal News Article Excerpts
Winter 2010
March 11, 2010
National Law Journal, "Plaintiffs Lawyers Jockey for Venue in Massive Toyota Litigation"
Plaintiffs lawyers have been positioning themselves for a front seat in the mounting litigation arising from the sudden unintended acceleration problems in vehicles manufactured by Toyota. Approximately 150 lawyers assembled on Friday at the InterContinental Chicago hotel to discuss sharing experts and legal strategies in the Toyota litigation, which now exceeds 80 lawsuits. More...
February 24, 2010
Newsday, "Automaker sued over fatal crash"
The family of a Long Island woman who died in a 2007 crash has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit contending that the problem of unexpected acceleration could affect all Toyotas built since 2002. Tyrene Livingston, 21, of Roosevelt, was killed in October 2007 when her Toyota Yaris - a model not affected by recall notices - went out of control across four lanes of U.S. Route 30 in East Pittsburgh, Pa., and into some woods. More...
February 22, 2010
National Public Radio, "Toyota Seen Facing Multiple Lawsuits"
It's not just Congress, regulators or consumers who are taking aim at Toyota these days. Lawyers are joining the fray, with the number of lawsuits filed against the world's largest automaker climbing daily. Toyota has already recalled more than 8.5 million vehicles because of unintended acceleration and braking problems. Now, the company and the U.S. government are looking into steering complaints involving its popular Corolla compact. More...
February 12, 2010
Widow Files Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Toyota
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.
February 5, 2010
Appellate Court Rules Dell Must Defend Suit Alleging Defective Notebooks
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 5, 2010
Reuters, "Dell Must Defend Suit Alleging Defective Notebooks"
A federal appeals court reinstated on Friday a proposed class-action lawsuit accusing Dell Inc of selling defective notebook computers. A panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco reversed a federal district court's 2008 dismissal of the case against the third-largest personal computer maker. More...
February 2, 2010
Class Action Lawsuit Seeks Overtime Pay for AT&T Technical Support Workers
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.
February 2, 2010
Consumer Files Class Action Lawsuit Against Sallie Mae for Intrusive Autodialer Calls to Borrowers' Cell Phones
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 1, 2010
Michael W. Sobol Speaks On Class Action Law
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.
January 22, 2010
Elizabeth J. Cabraser and Steven E. Fineman Speak at ACS Symposium
On Jan. 21, 2010, the American Constitution Society (ACS) hosted a symposium on Access to Justice in Federal Courts at New York University School of Law. The symposium focused on recent U.S Supreme Court decisions that have curtailed access to federal courts and limited the types of claims and relief that plaintiffs can pursue. Participating in the panel discussions were Lieff Cabraser's Elizabeth J. Cabraser and Steven E. Fineman. Click here to watch a recording of the symposium.
January 4, 2010
Lieff Cabraser Named One of the Top Employment Plaintiffs Firms of the Year
The legal publication Law360 selected eight law firms in the U.S. as its top employment plaintiffs firms of 2009, including Lieff Cabraser. Law360 highlighted the firm's work on behalf of employees at Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s Washington state stores, settling a suit claiming the retailer forced its workers to skip meal breaks and work overtime without pay. The settlement covers as many as 88,000 employees at 50 Washington Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores and requires Wal-Mart to implement new technologies to ensure compliance with wage-and-hour laws. "We're really pleased with the year we've had and the diversity of types of employees we've been able to help," stated Lieff Cabraser partner Rachel Geman.
About Lieff Cabraser
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP is a sixty-plus attorney law firm that has represented plaintiffs nationwide since 1972. We have offices in San Francisco, New York and Nashville. We represent plaintiffs in class and group actions and in individual lawsuits in cases involving substantial losses. For the last seven years, the National Law Journal has selected Lieff Cabraser as one of the top plaintiffs' law firms in the nation.
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