Lieff Cabraser Civil Justice Blog

IRS Unlawfully Withheld Stimulus Relief From Incarcerated People, Federal Court Confirms

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Justice

On October 14, 2020, Chief Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton of the Northern District of California granted in part the Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment against the Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury, Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin, and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig. In its order, the Court explained that “incarcerated individuals are not excludable as an ‘eligible individual’ under the Act,” and that the IRS therefore acted contrary to law by withholding stimulus relief from them. [Read more…]

Lieff Cabraser Files Lawsuit Against JUUL & Altria on Behalf of the Yurok Tribe for Deceptive Youth Targeting and Devastating Injuries from JUUL E-Cigarettes

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Health Officials Say Cases of Vaping-Related Lung Illness on the Rise

Lawsuit includes allegations that JUUL and Altria deliberately targeted vulnerable native populations

Lieff Cabraser and its co-counsel, Zwerling Schachter & Zwerling LLP, have filed a federal lawsuit in the Northern District of California on behalf of the California Yurok Tribe against JUUL and Altria for violations of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”) and California negligence and nuisance laws. The Complaint in the lawsuit alleges the companies’ efforts to maximize profits through the creation and native-youth-targeted marketing of its new electronic nicotine delivery product predictably led to an epidemic of teen addiction within the Yurok Tribe, the social and economic costs of which were shouldered by the Tribe as the government entity responsible for the public health and safety of the local population. [Read more…]

Lieff Cabraser Sponsors Tennessee Innocence Project “Envision Innocence 2020” Virtual Fundraiser

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Lieff Cabraser Sponsors Tennessee Innocence Project “Envision Innocence 2020” Virtual Fundraiser

On Thursday, October 22, 2020 at 12 pm CST, the Tennessee Innocence Project will host its Envision Innocence 2020 virtual fundraising event. Emceed by Emmy award winning Middle Tennessee news anchor Demetria Kalodimos, the event will feature a conversation between Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Jon Meacham and Dr. Yusef Salaam, a committed advocate and educator, focusing on the issues of false confessions, police brutality and misconduct, press ethics and bias, race and law, and the disparities in America’s criminal justice system. Yusef, a member of the Exonerated Five, received the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016 from President Barack Obama, was appointed to the board of the Innocence Project in 2018, and is a part of the Netflix Feature limited series, When They See Us, based on the true story of the “Central Park Five.” The two will discuss the importance of innocence work and the movement to litigate and prevent wrongful convictions for people in Tennessee and across the U.S. [Read more…]

Lieff Cabraser Files Amicus Brief Defending California’s Pro-Consumer Pay-for-Delay Law on Behalf of American Antitrust Institute and Other Organizations

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generic prescription drug

On October 15, 2020, Lieff Cabraser filed an amicus brief on behalf of the American Antitrust Institute (AAI), Consumer Reports, and Public Citizen in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California opposing a generic pharmaceutical association’s efforts to defeat pro-consumer anti-pay-for-delay legislation. A legal tactic used by branded drug manufacturers to stifle competition from lower-cost generic medicines, pay-for delay agreements are what emerge when companies band together and illegally agree not to compete over price. [Read more…]

Lawdragon Names Five Lieff Cabraser Attorneys to “500 Leading Plaintiff Employment Lawyers” 2020 Listing

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Lawdragon Names Five Lieff Cabraser Attorneys to “500 Leading Plaintiff Employment Lawyers” 2020 Listing

Lawdragon has published its third annual listing of the “500 Leading Plaintiff  Employment Lawyers” in America, a list that includes Lieff Cabraser partners Lin Y. Chan, Kelly M. Dermody, Rachel Geman, Daniel M. Hutchinson, and Anne B. Shaver. Introduced as one of the newest additions to Lawdragon’s acclaimed 500 series, the “500 Leading Plaintiff Employment Lawyers” guide includes distinguished attorneys selected over a two-year period from a combination of editorial research by Lawdragon staff, law firm submissions, and other online nominations. [Read more…]

Lin Chan to Discuss Trends in Antitrust Class Actions at AAI 14th Annual Private Antitrust Enforcement Conference

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Lin Chan to Discuss Trends in Antitrust Class Actions at AAI 14th Annual Private Antitrust Enforcement Conference

Lieff Cabraser partner Lin Y. Chan will speak at the American Antitrust Institute’s 14th Annual Private Antitrust Enforcement Conference on Tuesday, November 10th, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. Lin will be featured on the panel “The State of Private Enforcement: What 10-Year Trends Say About The Success of Antitrust Class Actions.” [Read more…]

Kelly Dermody Moderates Discussion at National Association of Women Judges 42nd Virtual Annual Conference

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Kelly Dermody Moderates Discussion at National Association of Women Judges 42nd Virtual Annual Conference

Lieff Cabraser partner Kelly M. Dermody will moderate a panel discussion today on “Challenges in the U.S. Court Systems and in the Practice of Law in the U.S.,” at the National Association of Women Judges 42nd Virtual Annual Conference. The panel takes place on the first day of the conference, where topics will focus on access to justice and gender equality. Speakers will discuss advancements made since allegations of misconduct were made against U.S. Federal Judge Alex Kozinski and other issues related to harassment in the practice of law. [Read more…]

Kelly Dermody, Dean Harvey, and Tiseme Zegeye to Speak at American Bar Association’s 14th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference

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Kelly Dermody, Dean Harvey, and Tiseme Zegeye to Speak at American Bar Association’s 14th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference  

Lieff Cabraser partners Kelly Dermody, Dean Harvey, and Tiseme Zegeye will be speaking at the American Bar Association’s 14th Annual Section of Labor and Employment Law Conference, which will be virtually broadcast from November 11-13, 2020. Kelly will participate in a discussion on “Effective EEO, Anti-Bias and Anti-Bullying Employee Training Programs,” where she will address innovative and effective strategies to combat discrimination, harassment and retaliation in the workplace. Dean will be answering questions on the panel, “How Does Labor Law Intersect with Antitrust Law?” and Tiseme will participate in a discussion on “Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in the Workplace,” where she will explore the many uses of these technologies, including their effectiveness in hiring, training and assessing performance. [Read more…]

Cal Fire Investigating PG&E Equipment as Possible Source of Zogg Fire

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wildfire aftermath

On October 12, 2020, PG&E Corp. was ordered by the judge overseeing its criminal probation to explain its “role in the ignition” of the Zogg Fire in northern California after the company said investigators are investigating its equipment as a possible cause of the the blaze that killed four people and burned more than 56,000 acres in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

[Read more…]

Ninth Circuit Court Reverses Dismissal of Bank of Internet (BofI) Securities Fraud Class Action

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generic securities image

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed the District Court’s dismissal of the securities fraud class action lawsuit against BofI Federal Bank after finding that a related whistleblower suit and accounts by numerous other former employees, adequately pleaded fraud and scienter on the part of the Bank and its CEO. [Read more…]

Katherine Benson to Discuss Ethical Issues in Settlement Negotiations at ABA Class Actions National (Virtual) Institute

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Katherine Benson to Discuss Ethical Issues in Settlement Negotiations at ABA Class Actions National (Virtual) Institute

Lieff Cabraser partner Katherine Lubin Benson will speak at the American Bar Association’s Class Actions National (Virtual) Institute on Wednesday, October 14th, 2020 at 12:00 pm ET. Katherine will be featured on the panel “Building the Best Firewall. Ethical Issues In Settlement Negotiations and Approval of Class Action Settlements.” [Read more…]

Lieff Cabraser Enoxaparin Case Team Recognized as Honorees for AAI 2020 Antitrust Enforcement Awards

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Lieff Cabraser Enoxaparin Case Team Recognized as Honorees for AAI 2020 Antitrust Enforcement Awards

Historic antitrust case against Momenta Pharmaceuticals over illegal drug price-fixing led to second largest indirect purchaser antitrust pharmaceutical settlement in history

The American Antitrust Institute has announced its selection of leading practitioners and economists to be recognized as honorees for the 2020 Antitrust Enforcement Awards. Lieff Cabraser’s team shared the AAI’s award for Outstanding Private Practice Antitrust Achievement, and attorneys Kathrine Benson and Adam Gitlin have been selected as joint honorees to receive the Institute’s prestigious award for Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement by a Young Lawyer. [Read more…]

Sarah London to Discuss Courtroom Fundamentals at Consumer Attorneys of California 59th Annual Convention

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Sarah London To Discuss Courtroom Fundamentals at Consumer Attorneys of California 59th Annual Convention

Lieff Cabraser partner Sarah R. London will be speaking at the 59th Annual Consumer Attorneys of California Virtual Convention on Friday November 20th, 2020. Sarah will be featured on the panel “Trial Lawyer Power Hour: Courtroom Fundamentals on How to Run, Block, Pass and Tackle.” [Read more…]

Dean Harvey and Sarah London Named 2020 “California Trailblazers” by The Recorder

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Dean Harvey and Sarah London Named 2020 “California Trailblazers” by The Recorder

The Recorder has named Lieff Cabraser partners Dean M. Harvey and Sarah R. London to its second annual list of “California Trailblazers.” The award recognizes 52 lawyers who “have made significant marks on the practice, policy and technological advancement of the practice, and who are truly agents of change.”

[Read more…]

Lieff Cabraser & Co-Counsel Appointed to Lead Telescope Antitrust Monopoly & Price-Fixing Class Action Lawsuit

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Lieff Cabraser & Co -Counsel Appointed to Lead Telescope Antirust Monopoly & Price-Fixing Class Action Lawsuit

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)– A federal judge has appointed Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP, and Susman Godfrey L.L.P. to lead a class action lawsuit on behalf of indirect purchasers of telescopes against global telescope suppliers for allegedly engaging in a conspiracy to fix prices and allocate the market for telescopes. These telescope suppliers manufacture, distribute, and/or sell telescopes branded Celestron, Meade, and Sky-Watcher, among others. Indirect purchasers are consumers and/or businesses that purchased telescopes from a retailer (e.g., Amazon, Costco, telescopes.com, bestbuy.com, and others) that had purchased telescopes from a Defendant.

[Read more…]

Jonathan D. Selbin: 2020 New York Law Journal Trailblazer

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Jonathan D. Selbin: 2020 New York Law Journal Trailblazer

The New York Law Journal has named Lieff Cabraser partner Jonathan D. Selbin to its second annual list of “New York Trailblazers.” The award recognizes lawyers “who have made significant marks on the practice, policy and technological advancement of the practice and who are truly agents of change.” [Read more…]

NIKOLA INVESTORS: November 16, 2020 Filing Deadline in Class Action – Contact Lieff Cabraser

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generic securities

Lieff Cabraser announces that class action litigation has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired the securities of Nikola Corporation (“Nikola” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: NKLA) between March 3, 2020 and September 20, 2020, inclusive (the “Class Period”). [Read more…]

Federal Judge Certifies Class, Orders Trump Administration to Stop Denying Pandemic Relief Funds to Incarcerated Persons

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Justice

On September 24, 2020, Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an Order certifying a nationwide class of people incarcerated in state and federal prisons, and granting the plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction requiring the U.S. Department of Treasury, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, and the United States of America (“Defendants”) to stop withholding CARES Act stimulus funds from plaintiffs or any class member on the sole basis of their incarcerated status.

[Read more…]

Katherine Benson Discusses Shareholder Derivative Actions at Institutional Investors 2020 Fall Conference

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Kathrine Benson Discusses Shareholder Derivative Actions at Institutional Investors 2020 Fall Conference

Lieff Cabraser partner Katherine Lubin Benson recently joined a virtual roundtable discussion on “Shareholder Derivative Actions as a Tool To Improve Corporate Governance” as a part of the Council of Institutional Investors 2020 Fall Conference: Corporate Governance in the Wake of Covid-19. [Read more…]

NCAA Continues to Claim it has No Legal Responsibility to Protect Student-Athletes from Sexual Abuse

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Track women athletes

NCAA court filing with State Supreme Court echoes earlier argument made in U.S. District Court that the organization does not ‘owe’ student-athletes protection from sexual abuse and harassment

As reported in The Orange County Register, the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) has filed a brief in support of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee in a potentially groundbreaking State Supreme Court case, asking the court to rule that the USOPC does not have a legal responsibility to protect student-athletes from sexual abuse, sexual harassment, or inappropriate sexual contact from coaches. [Read more…]