Litigation/Liability Trends
EEOC Charges Drop in 2013
For fiscal year 2013, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received less than 94,000 new private sector charges of employment discrimination, marking the lowest level since 2009. The ...
Proof of Economic Loss Not Needed for Biz Seeking BP Recovery, Barbier Rules
BP Plc has failed to persuade a U.S. federal judge to require businesses seeking to recover money over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill to provide proof that their economic losses were caused by the ...
Iowa Judge Dismisses ‘Popcorn Lung’ Lawsuit from Daily Snacker
A federal judge in Iowa has dismissed a Michigan couple's lawsuit that claimed butter flavorings in microwave popcorn left the husband with lung disease. U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett ruled ...
Isn’t It Ridiculous? Top 10 Abuses of the Legal System in 2013
Earlier this week, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform announced its list of the Top 10 Most Ridiculous Lawsuits of 2013: Inmates' suit blames a life of crime on beer companies ...
Target Breach Shows U.S. Lagging in Security; CEO Apologizes
The security breach of credit- and debit-card data at Target Corp. is evidence of the increasing threats retailers face and a reminder that the U.S. lags behind much of the world in securing personal ...
Ex-AIG Executives Greenberg, Smith Pursue New York Ethics Complaint
Former American International Group executives are pursuing an ethics complaint against the New York prosecutors still bringing the charges that cost them their jobs at the insurance giant in 2005. ...
Appeals Court Reinstates Alien Tort Lawsuit Against Multinational Firms
A lawsuit against a unit of Nestle SA and two other companies alleging children were forced to work as slave labor on cocoa plantations in Ivory Coast was reinstated by a federal appeals court. The ...
Lead Paint Verdict May Set Dangerous Precedent: McArdle Viewpoint
A California judge has just ruled that manufacturers of lead paints and pigments have to pay 10 cities in California $1.1 billion to remediate lead paint used in homes there. I wrote about this last ...