ClassActionsNews

Class Action Lawsuit in aviation lawsuit

2006-05-09T18:18:00.000-07:00

A Class Action Lawsuit has been filed by Motley Rice one of the largest aviation litigation firms in the U.S. The lawsuit has been filed against several defendants on behalf of Gary Cancelliere, the guardian of 15 year-old Justin Cancelliere, son of Robin Kraut and brother to Avery (8), Jessica (6) and April Kraut (2) - victims in the fatal February 2006 crash of a Beech King Air 200, which took place in North Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Newly filed class action lawsuits

2006-05-03T20:36:00.000-07:00

Among the newly filed class actions:

Sony BMG - A class action lawsuit claims that Sony Music underpaid its artists for digital music transactions. The lawsuit also claims Sony is violating contractual obligations to share 50% of the net licensing revenue from digital music transactions with artists. Sony is allegedly paying artists 4.5 cents for every song but should be paying approximately 30 cents for every 70 cents the company receives.

Payday - The Florida Supreme Court reinstated a consumer lawsuit claiming that Payday advances made by check cashing companies were illegal loans. The suit is seeking class action status on behalf of customers who obtained cash advances before the payday loan law went into affect on Oct 1, 2001. For a fee in excess of the 18 percent legal limit, businesses practiced deferred presentment transaction where cash was advanced in exchange for checks that were not deposited to the bank until a later date.

Modine Manufacturing Co., Rohm and Haas Co., and Huntsman - Two lawsuits filed in state and federal court claim that three chemical companies, Modine, Rohm and Hass, and Huntsman, spilled enormous quantities of highly toxic chemicals that contaminated the air, soil and groundwater. The chemical plants, based in Philadelphia, manufacture plastics, adhesives and sealants.

United States Government - A class action lawsuit claims the Army Corps of Engineers is to blame for flooding that destroyed homes after Hurricane Katrina. The lawsuit alleges the government and several companies affected the flooding by many years of dredging the waterway thereby damaging man-made and natural flood protection systems around Orleans and St. Bernard parishes.

BBB Group - A class action lawsuit filed against developer Kenneth Baboun and his company BBB Group claims fraud and breach of contract. Dozens of buyers were returned deposits on a condo development which totaled 20 percent of their purchase price. They seek interest from 2003 on their condos and the value of the condo if it had been built. As well, the lawsuit claims the purchasers were fraudulently persuaded to remain as purchasers.

General Motors Canada Ltd. A class action lawsuit filed in the Ontario Superior Court against General Motors Canada Limited alleges the manufacturer sold vehicles between 1995 and 2003 with faulty intake manifold gaskets. The suit further alleges that GM knew the engines were defective and over one million vehicles with the faulty part should have been recalled.

Class action lawsuit taken against Lipman Electronic Engineering

2006-05-01T15:21:00.000-07:00

A class action lawsuit against Lipman Electronic Engineering ltd alleges breaches of securities laws by making materially false or misleading public statements concerning its acquisition of Dione, Plc. On September 28, 2005, Lipman admitted that the "weaker than expected performance of Dione" caused Lipman to lower its 2005 earnings guidance from $1.39 - $1.42 per share, to $0.88 - $0.98 per share.

The class action lawsuit has been taken by Stull Stull & Brady.

Class action lawsuit taken over Russian telco deal

2006-04-29T14:11:00.000-07:00

A class action lawsuit has been commenced by Sarraf Gentile LLP on behalf of those investors who acquired the securities of GlobeTel Communications Corp. (AMEX: GTE) during the period December 30, 2005 to April 11, 2006.

According to the complaint, the Defendants issued several statements during the Class Period which touted the consummation of a $600 million deal with a Moscow-based company named LLC Internafta to install wireless networks in Russia's 30 largest cities. The complaint alleges, however, that the Russian deal, like so many of GTE's other business ventures, was in reality a sham.

Class action lawsuit against Nature's Sunshine Products

2006-04-27T19:23:00.000-07:00

A class action lawsuit has been taken by
Cohen Milstein against Nature's Sunshine Products Inc alleging that the defendants issued materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business and financial results.

The lawsuit claims that as a result of defendants' false statements, NSPI stock traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period, reaching a high of $23.34 per share on September 30, 2005.

Class action lawsuit filed against Merge Technologies

2006-04-26T20:50:00.000-07:00

A class action lawsuit has been taken by Milberg Weiss against Merge Technologies complaining of misleading statements and press releases because the defendants overstated Merge's reported revenues and understated its tax liabilities, thereby deceiving investors regarding the Company's true results of operations and financial condition.

Latest Class Action Lawsuit News - Where the class actions are

2006-04-26T14:30:00.000-07:00

* A class action lawsuit has been filed against Bausch & Lomb Inc for potential violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. The investigation focuses on investments in BOL stock by the Bausch & Lomb 401k Account Plan.
State of Indiana (alleging inequality by failing to provide enough funding to public schools)

* A class action has been commenced against the state of Indiana is not adequately funding public schools and is not meeting its academic standards and performance mandates.

* A law suit asking for class action status claims the Fort Wayne Neighborhood Housing Partnership sold their clients homes at inflated prices and the non-profit agency set them up for failure.

* A class action lawsuit against Lear Corp for potential violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. The investigation focuses on investments in Lear stock by the Lear Corp. Salaried Retirement Savings Plan, the Lear Corp. Hourly Retirement Savings Plan, and the Lear Corp. Hourly 401k Savings Plan.

* A class lawsuit filed with the Department of Justice's Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices in Washington D.C. over the Sentosa Care Group for breach of contract to a group of Filipino nurses employed by the company.

* A lawsuit against the State of Arizona claims the state of Arizona denies some high school students graduation diplomas due to its inadequate and arbitrary educational funding system.

* A class action lawsuit Toshiba of Canada Limited which allegedly sold defective Satellite Pro 6100 computers

Class Action Lawsuit's end run :

2006-04-25T22:04:00.000-07:00

"Washington Post"s Carolyn Mayer wrote the other day about consumer actions gainst financial institutions, and the attempts to prevent them.

Alan Kaplinsky is one proud man. For years, the Philadelphia lawyer has been advising financial institutions, leading their defense in class-action lawsuits brought by consumers -- and, more importantly, designing ways to limit such suits by writing arbitration clauses into many credit-card agreements and banking contracts.

These clauses, often found in the fine print, have met with mixed results in court, with some judges upholding them, some not. Now, Kaplinsky has found a way to one-up the courts, at least in Utah, where a new law specifically allows these clauses in all consumer loan contracts, including credit-card agreements.

Over the past decade, the arbitration clause has become increasingly common in almost every consumer contract, whether it's for a credit card, telephone service, pesticide treatment or home construction. The clause is also in many employee contracts. The clause says all disputes must be automatically resolved through binding arbitration, in which a designated third-party (often selected by the company) will review the dispute and resolve it. There will be no judge, no jury, no mediation for a compromise, no right of appeal and usually no public record. These clauses also say the consumer agrees to not be part of any class-action lawsuit.

Businesses say arbitration is a faster and far more efficient way to resolve disputes than court suits. But consumer advocates say arbitration is often stacked against the individual, in favor of the large firm that is automatically protected from large jury verdicts by the ban on class-action lawsuits.

Class action lawsuit filed by over alleged securities fraud from Comverse Technology Inc

2006-04-25T20:20:00.000-07:00

The class action lawsuit from Wolf Popper alleges securities fraud that during the Class Period, the defendants recklessly or intentionally, instituted deficient internal controls surrounding the administration of the Company's stock-based compensation plan. The lawsuit alleges that the deficiences let the Company employees enrich themselves by knowingly and fraudulently changing the stock option grant dates to dates on which the Company's stock price was lower than the actual grant date (and thus lower than fair market value on the actual grant date).

As a result of these manipulations, the Company was caused to under report the corresponding compensation expense and over report net income and retained earnings on its financial statements.

Class action lawsuit taken against Fairfax Financial Holdings

2006-04-24T21:13:00.000-07:00

Milberg Weiss have taken a class action lawsuitagainst Fairfax Financial Holdings Inc and officers relating to - among other things - allegedly bogus reinsurance contracts with 'captive' subsidiaries and which the lawsuit alleges were bogus, financial transactions.

Class action lawsuit against Fairfax Financial Holdings filed

2006-04-23T19:33:00.000-07:00

A class action lawsuit has been filed against FairFax Financial Holdings alleging (1) that the Company's current reserve
accounts were understated; (2) that the Company over-utilized aggressive
off-balance sheet funding mechanisms; (3) that the Company improperly
accounted finite reinsurance contracts; (4) as a consequence of the
foregoing, the Company's reported earnings were materially inflated
throughout the Class Period; and (5) that defendants consistently
downplayed the seriousness of regulatory inquiries and subpoenas issued
against the Company.

Plaintiffs lawyers are Schiffren & Barroway.

Class action lawsuit against Fairfax Financial filed

2006-04-23T19:32:00.000-07:00

A class action lawsuit against Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd and others
has been filed by Schiffren & Barroway, alleging violations of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Securities Act of 1933.

Fairfax, is involved in property and casualty
insurance and reinsurance conducted on a direct basis principally in
Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It also provides claims
adjusting, appraisal, and loss management services.

The Complaint alleges that the Company failed to disclose and misrepresented
the following material adverse facts which were known to defendants or
recklessly disregarded by them: (1) that the Company's current reserve
accounts were understated; (2) that the Company over-utilized aggressive
off-balance sheet funding mechanisms; (3) that the Company improperly
accounted finite reinsurance contracts; (4) as a consequence of the
foregoing, the Company's reported earnings were materially inflated
throughout the Class Period; and (5) that defendants consistently
downplayed the seriousness of regulatory inquiries and subpoenas issued
against the Company.

Insurance class action lawsuit in the spotlight in Drinker Biddle Alert

2006-04-22T13:46:00.000-07:00

Law firm Drinker Biddle's Class action insurance alertlooked at the claims against CIGNA and the Insurance Company of North America, alleging they wrongfully raised, and will continue to wrongfully raise, premium payments due on certain guaranteed renewable long-term care and/or nursing care insurance policies.

The claims allege that at no time prior to the initial sale or the annual renewals of the subject policies did the defendants notify that premium rates would increase. The Plaintiffs allege that the premium rate increases arise from the "underpricing" of the subject policies such that the original premiums did not allow for the maintenance of sufficient reserves to support future claims on those policies.

Want a class action lawyer?

2006-04-20T17:58:00.000-07:00

Searching for lawyers to help fight any action can be a time consuming process. The ClassActionLitigation website provides a useful list of technical and other non-legal organizations that can help in the process, particularly where issues like medical, toxicology, automobile and other, specialist areas are required. Check out the list.

Congress has failed to reduce securities class actions

2006-04-19T21:01:00.001-07:00

How much gets paid out in securities class action lawsuits? And how come there are more than ever, notwithstanding Congress's attempts to rein them in with the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995?

These and other vexed issues came before a symposium of class actions in Kansas City.

Securities class actions are at least as plentiful as before and, generally, generating much bigger payouts.

John C. Coffee, who teaches securities law at Columbia University Law School, noted that verdicts and settlements over the past few years have paid out no more than 3 cents for every dollar of lost market capitalization resulting from a defendant’s alleged fraud. He said the most culpable parties — the corporate insiders responsible for the allegedly fraudulent conduct — typically don’t pay out a dime because they were either covered by directors and officers insurance or else reimbursed by their employers.

Coffee suggested realigning financial incentives — such as allowing plaintiffs’ attorneys to get a greater percentage of any recovery against insiders than against the corporation itself — to better target the real malefactors and thus provide a real deterrent to corporate misconduct. He also noted that many securities class actions merely succeed in transferring money from the left pocket to the right pocket, given that the suing shareholders often overlap with those who own the company when it’s sued.

Class action lawsuit settlement will give greater protection to law enforcement

2006-04-18T22:19:00.000-07:00

Lawyers Pitts Carr have announced a settlement of a class action lawsuit, which provides a $45 million product recall and that all purchasers and owners of Point Blank, PACA and Galls brand vests containing Zylon® are entitled to receive new non-Zylon® replacement vests and other benefits, at no cost. In addition, the defendants must conduct substantial testing of their used body armor and make their testing data, protocols and other information available to consumers.

The named plaintiffs for the class included the Southern States Police Benevolent Association and members of the Ohio Troopers Coalition.

Class action lawsuit over ink cartridges settled

2006-04-17T13:24:00.000-07:00

Debate and argument over supposedly "empty" ink cartridges lead to this class action lawsuit which has been been settled in an announcement from the law firms and Epson America Inc

Lead counsel for the class are Kabateck Brown Kellner LLP. The class is also represented by the San Francisco office of Duane Morris LLP, Los Angeles-based McNicholas & McNicholas LLP, The Ball Law Firm, LLP, and Jacobson, Russell, Saltz & Fingerman, LLP, and Dobrowski L.L.P of Houston, Texas.

The settlement resolves lawsuits filed in California, New York and Texas based on various legal theories relating to the performance and other characteristics of Epson inkjet printer cartridges. Among other things, plaintiffs alleged that a substantial amount of ink remains in Epson inkjet cartridges when the Epson printers for which they are designed indicate that the cartridges are "empty," and suspend printer operation. Epson America denies these allegations and maintains that an ink safety reserve ensures print quality and reliability. The Court has not ruled on these allegations but Epson America has agreed to settle the action.

Tobacco lawsuits and class actions

2006-04-14T13:58:00.000-07:00

Tobacco company payments to states may drop as smoker choices change the market, but fees for trial lawyers who negotiated the payments will never drop, reports the href=West Virginia Reporter

Trial lawyers collect half a billion dollars a year under the agreement, no matter how much states receive.

The 1998 agreement committed companies to pay states more than $200 billion over 25 years, but it allowed downward adjustments in case the market changed.

In March a consultant for the companies and the states found that in 2003, the biggest tobacco companies lost market share because of the agreement.

The finding would allow companies to reduce payments for 2005 from $6.5 billion to $5.3 billion, unless states prove they diligently suppressed competition.

Class Actions: The next big Wall Street class action

2006-04-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

The next class action lawsuit action on Wall Street could have the backing of the hedge funds, Forbes Magazine reports.Milberg, Weiss, Bershad & Schulman is looking into abusive practices on the part of banks' prime brokerage businesses

In particular, securities lending – which earns the Street's banks $10 billion a year – has come under scrutiny, with hedge funds privately grousing that they are paying for services they don't receive; in the case of securities lending, that means that the securities HFs are shorting are never delivered, making them naked shorts, the enemy of regulators across the land. Milberg wouldn't comment beyond partner Steve Schulman's saying, "We're thinking about what we need to do," but other lawyers, according to Forbes, say a class-action could attract the attention of a state attorney general, possibly New York's crusading Eliot Spitzer, in part because pensions and endowments are becoming an increasingly important contributor to HF assets.

Find a Lawyer - Class action lawsuits

2006-04-12T21:20:00.000-07:00

Finding a class action lawyer is not necessarily the hardest job in the world, but one of the features of the FreeAdvice website is their find-a-lawyer service. Take a look here.

Class action lawsuits: So who's the biggest?

2006-04-11T22:26:00.000-07:00

Stanford University's class action website outlines the top 10 "mega" class action settlements of post Reform Act Securities lawsuits over $100 million as at 13 February 2006. Number one on the Stanford list? Enron at $7.1 billion

Class Action Litigation Information

2006-04-10T17:53:00.000-07:00

For attorneys and members of the public seeking information on class action lawsuits, the website of attorney Timothy Eble is a very comprehensive resource.
The site provides links to numerous sources of information related to many questions that arise with class actions or "representative" litigation.

Keep in mind the pro-class action slant taken by its owner.

Class action lawsuit started against GMH Communities Trust

2006-04-10T13:44:00.000-07:00

Finklestein Thompson have started a class action lawsuit against GMH Communities Trust alleging that GMH violated federal securities laws by
issuing false or misleading public statements. Specifically, the lawsuit
alleges that Defendants (1) disseminated false and misleading financial
statements in a scheme to inflate the earnings of the Company and (2)
issued dividends in violation of loan covenants.

Class action lawsuits commenced over SAT mistakes

2006-04-09T16:00:00.000-07:00

It's class action lawsuits all round over SAT errors, with the Houston Chronicle reporting on three Minnesota law firms have begun a class-action lawsuit against the College Board and one of its contractors about scoring errors for thousands of students who took the SAT last October.

Preliminary papers in the suit were served Friday in a state court in Hennepin County, Minn. Officials say it is the first legal action in the matter.

Class action settlement of $2.65 billion approved

2006-04-07T16:16:00.000-07:00

A judge has approved a $2.65 billion class-action settlement of claims that advertising revenue was counted in a fraudulent manner prior to the merger of America Online Inc. and Time Warner Inc.

U.S. District Judge Shirley Wohl Kram signed a ruling approving the deal Thursday. She had given the settlement tentative approval in September 2005.

MSN reports that the settlement resulted from lawsuits brought by shareholders who complained that AOL improperly accounted for dozens of advertising transactions, inflating revenue for 15 quarters between 1998 and 2002.

AOL and Time Warner announced they were merging in early 2000. AOL's steadily declining dial-up subscriber base became a drain on Time Warner, though the Internet provider has risen in stature with the recent boom in online advertising.