#1 Bayer’s Bumps over Mosanto’s Roundup LitigationSanta Clara, CA Bayer stated on its website in June 2020 that it will make a total payment of $10.1 billion to $10.9 billion to resolve current and address potential future Roundup Litigation. The $10.1 billion figure will settle about 75 percent of Monsanto’s Roundup lawsuits by an estimated 125,000 people who claim exposure to its weed killer and other glyphosate herbicides caused them to develop the form of cancer called non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
#2 Court Greenlights Class Action Status for Home Depot 401k ERISA LawsuitAtlanta, GA On September 21, the District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ruled that an ERISA lawsuit brought by participants in the Home Depot FutureBuilder 401(k) Plan against plan fiduciaries could proceed as a class action lawsuit. Pizarro v. The Home Depot is particularly notable for the number of participant who may be affected – now estimated to top 300,000.
#3 Lead Attorney for 3M Earplug Plaintiffs is Proceeding to TrialPensacola, FL Attorney Bryan Aylstock and his law firm is representing over 10,000 current and former U.S. military service members who have suffered hearing loss and tinnitus allegedly caused by 3M defective military earplugs. “We hold 3M accountable for what they did to our military brothers and sisters and what they did not tell them,” says Aylstock.
#4 C.R. Bard Hernia Mesh Trial Gets the Green LightSanta Clara, CA Federal hernia mesh lawsuits filed against C.R. Bard are proceeding with the first bellwhether trial scheduled for January 2021 (it was postponed due to COVID), despite numerous efforts by the medical device maker to have the case dismissed. This trial may well indicate the future of hernia mesh litigation and significantly impact up to 10,000 pending hernia mesh cases.
#5 Google Worker Secrecy Agreements to face California Labor LawsuitSan Francisco, CA On September 21 the California Court of Appeals ruled that Google and Adecco USA, Inc., a staffing company, must face allegations that the confidentiality agreements required of all Google employees violate the California Labor Code. Among other remedies, Doe v. Google seeks penalties under the California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), in which as many as 65,000 Google employees might share. The sum of money could be massive, even for the tech giant.
#7 Lisinopril—Hidden DangersLas Vegas, NV Many prescription drugs are as common as aspirin; it's no wonder that many consumers don't read warning labels or consider that a medication could be associated with side effects. Take Lisinopril, for instance. It is one of the most widely prescribed drugs in the US, and it also has the potential to harm a lot of people.
#9 IUD Breakage an Increasing ParaGard ProblemNew Jersey When NJ gynecologist Carolyn Delucia, MD suggests to NewBeauty readers that “you can go back to your gynecologist any time to get [Paragard IUD] removed,” it makes you wonder what bubble she is living in. Since 2010, the FDA has received more than 1,600 reports of ParaGard breakage, with more than 700 classified as serious.
#10 California Court Saves Class Action Wage Claims from Forced ArbitrationSan Francisco, CA On August 14, 2018, the California Court of Appeals preserved a worker’s right to bring a class action wage lawsuit against Robert Half International (RHI). RHI tried to force Jessica Gentry to arbitrate, alone, her claim that she was cheated out of pay for the time she spent prepping for assignments. The California Labor Code requires that workers be paid for paid for time worked, regardless of how brief. Few, however, can afford the cost of arbitration when the personal financial stake is small. Had RHI been successful, the legal maneuver that would have ended her California labor lawsuit and deprived others of their only effective legal remedy. What happened was very different.
