Thousands of lawsuits have been filed by women across the country who underwent transvaginal mesh surgeries to repair pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence following serious injuries from the procedures.   The lawsuits allege that various manufacturers failed to safely design and test the vaginal mesh devices and did not adequately warn women about the risks of injury. The complainants have alleged serious injuries resulting from implantation including chronic pain, organ perforation, infection, and device erosion. The transvaginal mesh multi-district... Read More

A federal judge in Miami has approved settlement of a class-action lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase for its force-placed insurance practices. The settlement provides class members with a 12.5% refund of the forced-place insurance premiums charged by Chase and Assurant, Inc.. While the settlement originally received the court’s preliminary approval back in October 2013, some homeowners objected to its terms.  In particular, homeowners argued that the claim form requirement under the settlement agreement was unfair because Chase retained the unilateral power to... Read More

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to take up the “fraud-on-the-market” theory underpinning most securities fraud class actions, the Wall Street Journal has examined whether these class actions are likely to become.  The case could reshape the "balance of power” between companies and the lawyers who sue them based on alleged corporate wrongdoing or omissions that may have impacted stock prices. When investors sue a company under the “fraud on the market” theory, investors are allowed to join forces in a... Read More

A recent article in the Chicago Tribune has levied criticism against doctors for appearing in a national advertisement endorsing the da Vinci robotic surgical system. The full-page ad, which featured doctors from the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System, was developed and paid for by Intuitive Surgical, Inc., manufacturer of the da Vinci robotic system.  It pictures the entire department of doctors on the minimally invasive surgery team at the hospital, including some administrative staff who were dressed in... Read More

Following Federal Judge Anita Brody's decision to hold off on final approval of the $764M NFL concussion settlement, concerns from players and their lawyers continue to mount about the settlement. Will the $764M Settlement be Enough to Cover All Injured Players?  Judge Brody decided not to approve the settlement after expressing her concerns that the settlement amount may not be enough to adequately pay the thousands of retired NFL players who sued the league. Both sides have been requested to supply her... Read More

The debate over "reverse payment" patent litigation settlements continues following the Supreme Court's decision in FTC v. Actavis that such agreements should be individually evaluated to determine whether they violate the anti-trust laws. Reverse payment settlements (aptly referred to as pay-for-delay settlements) arise when a brand drug manufacturer sues a generic drug maker for patent infringement and settles the litigation by paying the generic drug manufacture not to bring the lower-cost generic drug to market for a specified period of time,... Read More

Attorney William Audet is now offering free case reviews to former NFL players with questions concerning pending multidistrict litigation against the National Football League for injuries related to concussions and/or head trauma. In August 2013, attorneys representing a class of approximately 4,500 former NFL players and their families negotiated a settlement with the NFL for a total amount of $765 million to be allocated as follows: • $657 million to players exhibiting specified cognitive injuries shown to have resulted from concussions and/or... Read More

Audet and Partners, LLP reports that a West Virginia magistrate overseeing multi district litigation in Ethicon v. Pelvic Repair Systems Product Liability Litigation, MDL Case No. 2:12-me-02327, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, will impose monetary sanctions against defendant Johnson & Johnson for its failure to preserve documents pertaining to the pending litigation. U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl Eifert ruled that the defendant's "negligent loss of relevant evidence has unduly complicated the plaintiff's discovery and case preparation, and... Read More

Several homeowners involved in the class-action lawsuit against JP Morgan Chase and Assurant Inc. over force-placed mortgage insurance policies have objected to the proposed $300M settlement on grounds that the settlement is unfair. JPMorgan Chase and Assurant Inc. previously agreed to a $300 million settlement to resolve the class-action lawsuit brought by millions of homeowners who claimed they were unfairly overcharged for “force-placed” mortgage insurance.  Chase apparently made nearly $600 million in additional profits by earning questionable “commissions” on the policies... Read More

A proposed class action lawsuit against J.C. Penny Co. Inc. over spam text messages will continue after a California federal judge rejected J.C. Penny’s attempt to use an offer of judgment to moot the lawsuit. Plaintiff Tracy Maier sued J.C. Penny Co. in January 2013 for violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).  Maier had received unsolicited text messages from the retailer after signing up for J.C. Penney’s online rewards program and providing her cellphone number in the process.  The... Read More

Underreporting of da Vinci robotic surgeries may be contributing to increased incidence of injury to patients who elect the robotic procedures lacking an accurate understanding of inherent risks. Bloomberg recently published an unsettling news story recently about a 45-year old woman, Sheena Wilson, who underwent da Vinci robotic surgery for a hysterectomy believing it to be safe only to awake from the surgery with serious injuries leaving her disabled. As reported by Bloomberg, Ms. Wilson said if she had known others had... Read More

A federal court in Pennsylvania has ruled that an Ohio-homeowner could not bring a national class action lawsuit over force-placed insurance in Pennsylvania. Plaintiff Xi Chen Lauren brought suit against an Assurant Inc. subsidiary for working with PNC Bank to force homeowners into unwanted and unnecessary homeowners insurance.  Lauren accused PNC Bank and the Assurance subsidiary of colluding to unjustly enrich themselves at the expense of borrowers by receiving “kickback”-style commissions on the insurance that was force-placed on borrowers as well... Read More

Target Knew of Data Breach Risks Since 2007 Alleges Class Action Lawsuit Following last month’s massive data breach, Target faces a new class action lawsuit alleging the retail giant has known since 2007 that its point-of-sale system was vulnerable to a cyber attack, but chose not to take proper steps to update its systems and protect its customers. Class Action Lawsuit  - Target Ignored Expert Security Warnings Back in 2007 The class action complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern... Read More

A ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit may precipitate a flood of new class action lawsuits under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). The appeals court ruled that the TCPA preempts New York state law banning class actions based on statutory damages. (See Bank v. Independence Energy Grp. LLC, (2d Cir. Dec. 3, 2013). Litigation under the TCPA has grown considerably in recent years in part due to rising consumer complaints about spam text messages and calls. ... Read More

According to recently filed court documents, Johnson & Johnson officials systematically destroyed or lost documents relating to its vaginal mesh implants despite having been ordered to preserve that evidence. Bloomberg.com reported* the alleged document destruction in early December 2013 after court documents were filed by the attorneys representing women who have sued Johnson & Johnson over injuries associated with the transvaginal mesh devices.  Destruction of critical evidence may potentially hinder the prosecution of valid transvaginal mesh claims by affected women.  The... Read More

An Oregon jury awarded $100,000 to a woman who suffered injuries allegedly tied to da Vinci robotic gynecological surgery.  Michelle Elsey was unaware of the seriousness of her injuries until a CT scan years later revealed that several foreign objects had been left in her pelvis after a malfunction of the da Vinci robotics during her prior surgery. Da Vinci Robotics and Medical Malpractice In 2007, Mrs. Elsey complained of pelvic pain and sought treatment from Dr. Daniel Laury, a prominent Oregon... Read More

In its continuing effort to safeguard expenditures of taxpayer dollars, the United States Justice Department has reported a 2013 recovery of $3.8 billion in settlements and judgments resolving a myriad of whistleblower lawsuits and False Claims Act cases.*  Cases involving health care fraud comprised more than one-half of the total reported recovery, or $2.6 million. The bulk of health care whistleblower and False Claims Act lawsuits involved Medicare and Medicaid fraud.  Especially evident within this group of cases were fraud and... Read More

On December 8, 2013 consumer advocate Ralph Nader sent a scathing letter to Dollar General CEO Richard Dreiling. In his letter, Nader compares the salary of sales associates and cashiers ($8/hour) in Goodlettsville Tennessee, to that of the estimated living wage in the area ($9.76/hour) and then to Mr. Dreiling’s salary ($1,690/hour). Nader concluded that such disparity “ensures that earn more in one ten-hour workday than many of ‘associates’ do in a year of work.” Nader points out... Read More

Effective January 10, 2014, mortgage servicers are required to provide substantial new notice to consumers before charging any fees for force-placed insurances.  The new notice requirements are designed to better inform consumers of their mortgage obligations and to help prevent unnecessary force-placed policies. Under the new rules, a mortgage servicer must provide consumers with at least two notices before force-placing an initial insurance policy and a subsequent renewal notice if applicable.  If the servicer fails to comply with the notice requirements,... Read More

New mortgage servicing rules enacted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau go into effect January 10, 2014 to protect consumers from widespread unfair practices related to force-placed mortgage hazard insurance.  Mortgage servicers will now be prohibited from charging excessive fees on force-placed policies. Here is an overview of two major substantive rules regarding force-placed insurance. Excessive Fees Limitations Since the financial crisis, the mortgage industry has reaped millions in profits from force-placing expensive insurance policies on unsuspecting borrowers when their own policies lapsed... Read More