#1 Delta Airlines Settles with Flight Attendants for $16MLos Angeles, CA - After almost a decade, Delta Airlines has reached an agreement with its flight attendants. The workers told a California federal judge that a nearly $16 million settlement, which will end their California Labor Code and Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims, should be approved because that amount will give California-based Delta flight attendants almost full reimbursement.
#2 Thousands More Suboxone LawsuitsSanta Clara, CA - Just days before the Suboxone deadline to file, thousands of new Suboxone dental injury plaintiffs--many of whom have likely suffered more than tooth loss--have filed complaints against the manufacturers. June 2024 marked the second-year anniversary of a label warning update and potentially marked the statute of limitations on some claims.
#4 Can a TPA’s Exploitation of a Plan Sponsor’s Breach of ERISA Duty Make the TPA a Fiduciary?New York, NY - On May 31, U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Polk Failla denied Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America’s (TIAA) motion for summary judgment in a lawsuit that accused the insurance giant of aggressive and misleading sales tactics. TIAA’s “fear selling” strategy was crafted to persuade pension plan participants to move their accounts out of ERISA-protected plans into more expensive proprietary investment products marketed by TIAA.
#5 Qualcomm 401k Plan Participants Sue over Use of ForfeituresSan Diego, CA – On May 24, the Southern District of California denied Qualcomm Inc.’s motion to dismiss a class action 401k lawsuit brought by participants in the Qualcomm Incorporated Employee Savings and Retirement Plan. Perez-Cruet v. Qualcomm, Inc. alleges that Qualcomm violated the fiduciary duty and anti-inurement provisions of ERISA by using the forfeited money to reduce future employer matching contributions instead of eliminating the expenses that were charged to participant accounts.
#6 Disabled Vet Challenges Medical Malpractice Ban in Supreme CourtWashington, DC - On June 5, Staff Sgt. Ryan Carter, filed a petition for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, challenging a 1950 judge-made rule that prevents “tortiously injured military service members” from filing veterans medical malpractice lawsuits against the federal government. The “Feres doctrine,” as this rule is known, has come under increasing criticism in recent years. Carter’s challenge stands out, however, because the facts giving rise to its application in his case are particularly troubling.
#7 TJ Maxx Violates California Labor Laws – AgainLos Angeles, CA - A T.J. Maxx employee claims that thousands of its California employees had to work through their rest breaks but were forced to mark otherwise on their time sheets. The retailer is facing other California labor violations stated in the proposed class action, which the retailer has a habit of repeating.
#8 J&J Offers $6.48 Billion to Settle Ovarian Cancer Talcum Powder LawsuitsTrenton, NJ - In May, Johnson & Johnson offered to pay roughly $6.48 billion over 25 years to settle all current and future talcum powder lawsuits. These lawsuits allege that baby powder containing asbestos-contaminated talc caused ovarian cancer. Erik Haas, J&J's worldwide vice president of litigation, insists that this offer is fundamentally different than the two that courts rejected before. If accepted, it would resolve 99.75 percent of J&J’s remaining talc lawsuits in the U.S.
#9 FDA Stalls Formaldehyde Hair Relaxer BanSanta Clara, CA - When it comes to regulating products, hair relaxers in the U.S. are like the wild west. Despite the FDA announcing a proposed ban for April 2024 on hair straighteners containing formaldehyde (it has missed that deadline), and despite the EPA announcing that exposure to formaldehyde is an “unreasonable risk to human health”, nothing has been done to remove this known human carcinogen from the market.
#10 VA Settles Veteran PTSD Suicide Lawsuit for $1.7 MillionSouth Bend, IN - In May, the Department of Veterans Affairs agreed to settle a medical malpractice lawsuit brought by the family of Jason Moon for $1.7 million. Moon had served two tours as a medical evacuation crew member during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He shot himself to death in 2022 while at home with his wife and children. The medical malpractice lawsuit filed by his widow alleges that Moon had never been properly diagnosed or treated for severe post-traumatic stress syndrome at the South Bend Vet Center.
