| | | | | Laws/Cases | | | Italian Suit Against Carnival Tossed from US Court | | A Florida judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Carnival Corp. over a capsized cruise ship off the coast of Italy. The suit was filed by a group of Italian businesses, which claimed the Miami-based company is responsible for the loss of business caused by the marooned ship. The judge, however, concluded that the suit should be filed in Italy, not the U.S. Wire Report, USA Today 10/01/2012 | Read Article: USA Today | Suit Filed over Sexual Abuse in the Military | | A group of current and former U.S. soldiers and airmen have filed a lawsuit against top military officials over sexual abuse within the military. Many of the plaintiffs were raped and abused by superior officers or fellow soldiers, the suit says; when the incidents were reported, little was done to prosecute the predators by top military officials. The lack of response and action, advocates for the suit say, has created an atmosphere where military personnel are afraid to report incidents. Kristen Moulton and Gary Peterson , Boston Globe 09/28/2012 | Read Article: Boston Globe | Products | | | GM Recalling 40,859 Cars for Potential Fuel Leak | | General Motors Co. is recalling more than 40,000 cars sold in warm-weather states because a plastic part might crack and cause a fuel leak. The company is recalling Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 sedans from the 2007 through 2009 model years and Chevrolet Equinox and Pontiac Torrent SUVs and Saturn Ion sedans from the 2007 model year. The recall affects vehicles sold or currently registered in Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada or Texas. Owners in Arkansas and Oklahoma also are included in the recall of the 2009 Cobalt and G5. Associated Press, Houston Chronicle 10/01/2012 | Read Article: Houston Chronicle | Issues | | | New Tracking Frontier: Your License Plates | | The rise of license-plate tracking is a case study in how storing and studying people's everyday activities, even the seemingly mundane, has become the default rather than the exception. Cellphone-location data, online searches, credit-card purchases, social-network comments and more are gathered, mixed-and-matched, and stored in vast databases.Data about a typical American is collected in more than 20 different ways during everyday activities, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. Fifteen years ago, more than half of these types of surveillance tools were unavailable or not in widespread use, says Col. Lisa Shay, a professor of electrical engineering at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point who studies tracking. JULIA ANGWIN and JENNIFER VALENTINO-DEVRIES, Wall Street Journal - $$ Subscription Required 10/01/2012 | Read Article: Wall Street Journal - $$ Subscription Required($) | How Power Outages Increase Pollution from Gulf Coast Refineries | | Power outages are a significant threat to petrochemical plants and refineries in Texas and have proven vexing for some facilities to reduce. The outages can wreak havoc, posing a health and safety risk to workers and to people who live near the plants. “The sound of a (petrochemical plant) losing electrical power produces a sinking feeling in your stomach. It is a loss of resonance and vibration that is odd and unmistakable,” wrote Donald Schneider, a chemical engineer in League City, Texas. In 1998, Schneider, a consultant, published a case study of an unnamed petrochemical plant. Despite having a backup power generating facility, the plant suffered a total power failure. Dave Fehling, StateImpact Texas, Texas Tribune 10/01/2012 | Read Article: Texas Tribune | Class Action | | | Class-Action Suit Against Costco Approved | | A district judge has certified a class-action lawsuit against Costco Wholesale Corp. accusing the company of gender bias. The suit claims the company limits the opportunities for female employees to be promoted to managerial positions. The judge said in his ruling that the subjective selection process seems to be derived from "top management's own instruction." Karen Gullo, Bloomberg 09/25/2012 | Read Article: Bloomberg | | | | | | Published by TRIALSMITH, Litigation Tools for Trial Lawyers 5113 Southwest Parkway, Suite 285, Austin, TX 78735 You received this email because you are subscribed to this service from your trial lawyers association. • Unsubscribe • Search National Litigation Bank • 800-443-1757 | |