#1 City National Bank Sued for Whistleblower Retaliation in California CourtLos Angeles, CA A former senior vice president for City National Bank, a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada, alleges he was fired because of whistleblower retaliation and in violation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which allows California employees to sue their employers in federal court if the employer wrongfully terminates or retaliates against them for reporting potential unlawful conduct
#2 Aftermath of a Horrific Amusement Park AccidentLouisville, KY It is not only a parent's worst nightmare but anyone's worst nightmare??"in this case an Amusement Park Accident at a popular theme park that resulted in a 13-year-old girl having both of her feet severed above the ankle. Kaitlyn Lasitter survived, and doctors were able to re-attach her right foot. But they could not save her left, and Kaitlyn now walks with a prosthesis.
#3 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.
#5 Jander ERISA Lawsuit Settles, but Leaves QuestionsNew York, NY Jander v. Retirement Plans Committee of IBM, a long-running employee stock ownership lawsuit, settled on April 2, 2021 for $4.75 million. The attorneys who represented the retirement plan participants have now requested $1.4 million in fees for the latest Supreme Court phase of the case. In deciding whether to approve the fee, the Southern District of New York will consider the time and effort the lawyers expended.
#6 Goodbye to Glyphosate?San Francisco, CA In the wake of the Northern District of California’s rejection of a proposed settlement that would have limited Monsanto’s future liability for glyphosate lawsuits, Monsanto has announced that it will reconsider reformulating Roundup products marketed for residential use. Bayer AG has looked to limit its potential financial exposure to Monsanto glyphosate lawsuits ever since it acquired the company in 2018.
#8 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.
#9 Pilgrim’s Pride Settles Out of “Wage-Fixing” LawsuitBaltimore, MD Pilgrim’s Pride Group, one of many poultry processors/defendants, has agreed to settle out of Jien v. Perdue Farms Inc. for $29 million and an agreement to cooperate against the remaining defendants. Rather than proceeding as an unpaid wages claim, Jien was brought as an antitrust case under the Sherman Act. The Sherman Act prohibits anticompetitive practices and has been used recently to protect wages. For workers, the effect of “wage-fixing” across an industry is very like the effect of failing to pay legally-required wages. Exploited workers, doing dangerous jobs, live at or near poverty.
#10 Entry-Level Manager Sues Amazon for MisclassificationOakland, CA Arguments in Michael Ortiz v. Amazon.com LLC opened in the Northern District of California on June 21, nearly five years after the California wage and hour lawsuit was initially filed. Much has already happened; the court has stripped out claims under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and denied the plaintiffs’ request to proceed as a class action lawsuit.
