Consumer Law

J&J Paid $68M to Settle Lawsuits Over Birth-Control Patch, News Agency Says

It has cost the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical company an estimated $68.7 million to settle hundreds of lawsuits alleging that users were injured or, in 20 cases, even died as a result of using the company’s Ortho Evra birth-control patch. Complaints filed in state and federal court on behalf of…

Oct 10, 2008 5:59 PM CDT

Newly Unemployed: Thousands of Texas Fish Used in Banned Pedicure Practice

Worried about the potential risks of fish nibbling at customers’ tootsies, the state of Texas banned the pedicure practice yesterday. “Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation spokeswoman Susan Stanford said the agency was concerned about salons using the same fish to clean the skin of multiple customers, leaving them open…

Oct 9, 2008 7:09 PM CDT

Does Kentucky Have Power to Regulate Internet Gambling?

A court order that requires domain names for 141 websites that offer online gambling to be turned over to government officials should be reversed, counsel for the defendants and trade associations argued yesterday in an unusual Kentucky case. The domain names have been treated by the court as though they’re…

Oct 8, 2008 11:20 PM CDT

Despite S&L Debacle Decades Ago, Most Hard-Hit States Didn’t Amp Up Regulation

Despite the savings and loan meltdown that hit the country some 20 years ago, many states at the center of that maelstrom apparently didn’t learn the obvious lesson: Regulation is needed to keep dubious mortgage lending practices in check. Now, many of the same states that suffered the most from…

Oct 8, 2008 5:44 PM CDT

Teens’ Parents Claim 2006 VW Beetle Was ‘Unreasonably Dangerous’

After one Texas teen was killed and another paralyzed in a rollover accident, their parents are suing the manufacturer of their 2006 Volkswagen Beetle. The vehicle was “unreasonably dangerous,” contend Earl and Juanita McGilvra and Michael Kitchings and his daughter, Ashley, in the federal court product liability suit, which seeks…

Oct 7, 2008 6:38 PM CDT

New Legal Frontier: Defining the Rights of Frozen Human Embryos

Thanks to today’s reproductive technology, the interrelated questions of when life begins and who has the right to make decisions about someone else’s body and children are becoming increasingly complex. The latest wrinkle: Whether frozen embryos belong to the couple (usually married) who asked a medical clinic to fertilize their…

Oct 6, 2008 6:20 PM CDT

Bank of America to Modify Countrywide Mortgages in $8.6B Deal

Bank of America will agree to modify loan terms, where possible, for up to 390,000 borrowers who took out subprime loans serviced by Countrywide in a deal that could be worth more than $8.6 billion, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. The deal, expected to be announced today, would…

Oct 6, 2008 1:24 PM CDT

Companies Prefer Litigation in Business, but not Consumer, Contracts

Companies that tout the virtues of arbitration appear to prefer litigation for disputes involving contracts with other companies, according to a study by three law professors. More than three quarters of contracts by companies studied required mandatory arbitration of consumer disputes. But fewer than 10 percent of their contracts outside…

Oct 6, 2008 12:57 PM CDT

As Real Estate Market Sank, Legal Malpractice Claims Rose

Although the worst of the mortgage meltdown was then still in the future, a ABA study of legal malpractice claims from 2004 to 2007 showed that related legal malpractice claims rose as the real estate market fell. Such legal malpractice claims are up about four percentage points, according to the…

Sep 30, 2008 8:46 PM CDT

Florida Family Files Tort Claim Over Delayed Worker’s Comp Benefits

Blinded in a workplace shooting four years ago that killed several others, 34-year-old Jamie Dolan also reportedly suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and panic attacks. He has been awarded $1,300 a month in worker’s compensation benefits, plus medical expenses. But getting the latter has been a struggle, according to the…

Sep 30, 2008 6:35 PM CDT

Shareholder Suits in Uphill Battle Due to Current Financial Crisis

Despite predictions that the current U.S. economic crisis will bring more business to a number of lawyers, it is also likely to mean more work and less pay for others. Among those for whom the United States financial situation is creating an uphill battle is plaintiffs lawyers in shareholder suits,…

Sep 29, 2008 9:27 PM CDT

House Nixes $700B Bailout; What’s Next for Regulators?

Developing: In a U-turn from initial predictions last week that emergency financial bailout legislation proposed by Bush administration officials would soon be enacted, the House today defeated the package by a 228-205 vote, creating, at least for the moment, a brave new world for federal regulatory agencies. U.S. Treasury Secretary…

Sep 29, 2008 8:20 PM CDT

Judge Orders Feds to Make National Car Database Public

U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel of San Francisco ruled this week that the government has had enough time already to make public a database from insurance companies and junkyards that will allow consumers to track whether their vehicles had previously been stolen or salvaged from a wreck. The database,…

Sep 26, 2008 12:23 PM CDT

US Financial Crisis Sparks Harsh Criticism of Regulatory Efforts

As officials in the Bush administration put on a full-court press this week to persuade Congress to enact emergency financial rescue legislation at a price tag that reportedly exceeds the cost of the Iraq war, the situation has sparked a firestorm of criticism concerning regulatory efforts, past and present. A…

Sep 25, 2008 10:00 PM CDT

Near-Agreement on $700B Bailout is Stalled, According to Lawmakers

After several days of high-level lobbying for emergency legislation allowing the federal government to spend some $700 billion to shore up the nation’s struggling economy, an agreement reportedly was reached among key lawmakers about a proposed plan after a several-hour meeting at the Capitol this morning. However, it still may…

Sep 25, 2008 5:38 PM CDT