#1 Firefighting Foam $17.5M Settlement a “Huge Milestone”Peshtigo, WI Peshtigo residents have reached a $17.5 M settlement in a firefighting foam lawsuit filed against Tyco Fire Products and two other companies over per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination. Plaintiffs claimed their drinking water from private wells was contaminated with “forever chemicals” from the use of firefighting foam at Tyco’s Fire Technology Center in Marinette and nearby sites.
#3 Bayer Essure Settlement a Victory for Thousands of Essure Victims and E-SistersSanta Clara, CA On the ”Essure Problems” Facebook Page, which was started in 2011, Angie Firmalino advises about 44,000 women, called E-sisters, not to discuss their settlement as it comes with a confidentiality agreement that includes “restrictions about discussing your settlement online… discussing your settlement will jeopardize it.” Ms. Firmalino, who started the group, is referring to the $1.6 billion Bayer is paying to thousands of women who said they have suffered severe, long-term health problems from Bayer’s Essure birth control implant.
#4 California “New” Hero Pay for Grocery Workers BackfiresLos Angeles, CA Another Hero Pay wage hike, this time local government-mandated pay, requires that grocery companies with over 300 employees increase California hourly wages an extra $4 per hour. The salary boost is meant to compensate grocery store workers for the dangers they face during the coronavirus pandemic. However, it seems to have backfired: Some grocery stores have closed, leaving hundreds of frontline grocery workers with zero wages.
#5 What to Expect in Zantac Cancer Lawsuits for 2021 and BeyondWest Palm Beach, FL As 2020 draws to a close, the toll of death and injury from Zantac-related cancers continues to rise, as do the number of Zantac cancer lawsuits. Meanwhile, In Re: Zantac (Ranitidine) Products Liability Litigation, the multidistrict litigation into which many of the individual lawsuits have been consolidated, grinds on without much apparent news.
#7 Northern District of Illinois Nixes Mandatory Arbitration in ERISA LawsuitChicago, IL On January 25, the Northern District of Illinois denied Triad Manufacturing’s attempt to force ESOP participants to individually arbitrate their claims of fiduciary self-dealing. The ERISA lawsuit, James Smith v. Board of Directors of Triad Manufacturing Inc., alleged that the Board of Directors caused the plan to buy Triad stock at an inflated price, harming retirement savers for the benefit of individual board members who were also, not coincidentally, the sellers of the stock. The Court held that plan participants may now continue to the merits of their fiduciary breach lawsuit on a class-wide basis.
#9 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.
#10 California Supreme Court Says Proposition 22 is a Done DealSan Francisco, CA A lawsuit filed by rideshare drivers and the Service Employees International Union seeking to overturn Prop 22, which exempts gig workers from key California labor law AB5, will not be heard by the Supreme Court. But it’s not over yet: the court suggested that plaintiffs could still file their case in a lower court.
