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Ohio judge says Ford must pay dealers $2B
Class Action |
2011/06/10 23:46
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Ford Motor Co. must pay nearly $2 billion in damages to thousands of dealerships in a 2002 class-action lawsuit that said the automaker violated dealer agreements, an Ohio judge ruled Friday.
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Peter Corrigan in Cleveland issued the ruling based on a Feb. 11 jury determination that the company overcharged dealers for commercial trucks over an 11-year period.
The $2 billion award covers more than 3,000 dealerships and about 474,000 trucks. It includes a judgment of about $781 million and about $1.2 billion in interest.
"In awarding the dealers the amount of money they overpaid for trucks, the jury verdict places ... the dealers in the financial position contemplated by the terms of the contract," said James Lowe, a Cleveland attorney for Westgate Ford Truck Sales Inc., a dealership in Youngstown that represents the class.
Ford's annual report, filed on Feb. 28, says the class action included all dealers who purchased a 600?series or higher truck from Ford from 1987 to 1997. It says the lawsuit accused the automaker of failing to reveal that price concessions were given to some dealers.
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Lawsuit claims abuse at Hinds Co. juvenile center
Class Action |
2011/06/02 09:02
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Children's advocacy groups filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday that accuses a Mississippi juvenile correction center of subjecting young people to abusive conditions with prolonged isolation, verbal abuse and physical threats. The Southern Poverty Law Center and Disability Rights Mississippi filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Jackson against the Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Detention Center in Hinds County, one of the biggest such facilities in the state. The suit seeks class-action status. The lawsuit claims, among other things, that people in the facility are denied mental health services and isolated in small cells for 20 to 23 hours a day, which the advocates said causes sensory deprivation. When told about the allegations in the lawsuit, detention director Dale Knight said: "That's not true." He referred other questions to Hinds County Administrator Carmen Davis, who didn't immediately return a call. The Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Detention Center is "based on semi-military style, which allows for constructive discipline of the incarcerated youth who have been accused of violating the law," according to a Hinds County website. It houses people aged 10-17. Corrie Cockrell, a Southern Poverty Law Center attorney in the case, said the advocacy groups filed the lawsuit reluctantly after negotiations with the county came to a standstill. The lawsuit seeks to ensure that youngsters in the facility are given the mental health treatment they need while being kept in humane conditions. Cockrell said she hopes the lawsuit will force Hinds County to send more youth to alternative community-based facilities that are not so restrictive. "We just want to ensure that the children who have to go to this facility are afforded all of their fundamental rights and are not being abused," Cockrell said. |
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Judge: Texas foster care lawsuit can proceed
Class Action |
2011/05/30 13:12
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A judge says she will allow a lawsuit challenging Texas' foster care system to proceed as a class action.
U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack said during a hearing Thursday that she will grant class certification for the suit initiated by the advocacy group Children's Rights.
The suit contends that the Texas system is unconstitutional and should be reformed. It was filed in March on behalf of nine children between the ages of nine and 16.
A spokesman for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott says the state will determine its next course of action when the judge issues a written order.
The suit is the 12th of its kind initiated by the New York-based advocacy group seeking to reform child welfare systems administered by state or municipal governments. |
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Court refuses to reconsider Spector's appeal
Class Action |
2011/05/30 13:06
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An appeals court on Friday refused to reconsider music producer Phil Spector's appeal of his murder conviction, saying there was overwhelming evidence of his guilt.
The California 2nd District Court of Appeal panel acknowledged it did not consider an issue that defense lawyers now say was critical to his conviction.
The panel blamed the lawyers for failing to sufficiently brief the point and said they had no obligation to consider it.
They quoted case law saying, "Issues do not have a life of their own: if they are not raised ... we consider the issues waived."
Spector, a legendary rock music producer, was convicted two years ago of fatally shooting actress Lana Clarkson at his Alhambra mansion in 2003. He is serving 19 years to life in prison on a second-degree murder conviction.
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RIM Says Investor Suit Is 'Without Merit'
Class Action |
2011/05/29 13:12
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Research In Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, said Friday that allegations that the company misled investors about its financial state are "without merit."
Lawyers for shareholders of the company filed a lawsuit this week in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeking class action status. The suit claims that between Dec. 16, 2010 and April 28 RIM executives made false and misleading statements about the company's financial condition and business prospects. The suit, which was filed by Mary T. Stabile on behalf of anyone who bought the stock during that time frame, names RIM itself, Chief Financial Officer Brian Bidulka, and co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Michael Lazaridis as defendants.
The suit is the latest in a string of negatives for RIM. The company's BlackBerry smartphones are known for their security and reliability as email devices, but haven't kept up with Apple Inc.'s iPhones or phones that use Google Inc.'s Android software when it comes to running third-party applications. In addition to its sales struggles, the company released its first tablet, the BlackBerry PlayBook, to mixed reviews in April and had to recall about 1,000 of the devices in May due to defective operating software that could have made it impossible for users to set up the device. Most of the gadgets were recalled before being purchased by consumers.
The suit alleges that RIM "failed to inform investors that its aging product line and inability to introduce new products to the market was negatively impacting the company's business and margins." It also argues that RIM knew that BlackBerry shipments would decline and inventory would rise because of problems such as product delays and "lackluster" launches.
RIM's stock dropped 11 percent on March 25 after the company issued a lower-than-expected forecast for its fiscal first quarter. And On April 28 the stock dropped 14 percent when RIM slashed that quarterly forecast, saying it had been selling fewer and cheaper smartphones than it anticipated. Between Dec. 16 and April 29, the stock fell 17.8 percent overall. |
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2nd class-action suit filed against Combs
Class Action |
2011/05/14 08:44
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A second class-action suit has been filed in federal court in Houston against Comptroller Susan Combs on behalf of 3.5 million Texans whose personal information was accidentally exposed online. Attorney Muhammad Aziz told the Houston Chronicle that the plaintiffs are seeking a $1,000 penalty "for each of these individuals whose privacy was violated by the comptroller." Combs' office said April 11 that it discovered it mistakenly posted the data, including names and Social Security numbers, on a publicly accessible server for months. Combs has publicly apologized, blaming human error for the data release, and has announced free credit monitoring for anyone who's been affected. She said she cannot comment on litigation. |
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TVA wins another round against coal ash lawsuits
Class Action |
2011/05/11 08:47
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The Tennessee Valley Authority has won another victory in its court fight against lawsuits seeking damages in the Kingston, Tenn., plant coal ash spill. U.S. District Judge Thomas Varlan in a ruling Tuesday said no to plaintiff attorneys seeking to join the suits in a class action. The judge in Knoxville agreed with a magistrate's January recommendation. A Dec. 22, 2008 dam breach spilled 5.4 million cubic yards of toxin-laden sludge in the Emory River and on land beside the plant west of Knoxville in Roane County. TVA spokeswoman Barbara Martocci said Wednesday that TVA was "pleased" with the ruling. Plaintiff attorneys did not return telephone messages seeking comment. |
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Class action or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued. This form of collective lawsuit originated in the United States and is still predominantly a U.S. phenomenon, at least the U.S. variant of it. In the United States federal courts, class actions are governed by Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule. Since 1938, many states have adopted rules similar to the FRCP. However, some states like California have civil procedure systems which deviate significantly from the federal rules; the California Codes provide for four separate types of class actions. As a result, there are two separate treatises devoted solely to the complex topic of California class actions. Some states, such as Virginia, do not provide for any class actions, while others, such as New York, limit the types of claims that may be brought as class actions. They can construct your law firm a brand new website, lawyer website templates and help you redesign your existing law firm site to secure your place in the internet. |
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