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| | US Regulators Investigating Reports of Failing Ford & Mercury Minivan Jacks | |
| | Federal regulators are investigating service jacks sold with Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans because of reports that they can fail and cause the vehicle to fall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says on its website that in one case, a person working under a van was killed when it fell off the jack. The problem involves jacks on about 205,661 minivans made during the 2004 and 2005 model years. NHTSA says it’s investigating the issue to determine if a safety defect exists. Associated Press, The Washington Post 09/20/2011 | | Read Article: The Washington Post | | Subaru Recalls 70,000 SUVs | |
| | Subaru has announced a recall of almost 70,000 2011 Outback and Legacy SUVs due to a defect in the moonroof. The company said that during production not enough adhesive was applied to the glass portion on the moonroof, allowing for the glass portion to fly off. Subaru has received one complaint of the moonroof glass flying off a vehicle. Christopher Jensen, The New York Times 09/16/2011 | | Read Article: The New York Times | | Laws/Cases | |
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| | Family and United Airlines Settle Last 9/11 Wrongful-Death Lawsuit | |
| | The last remaining wrongful-death lawsuit stemming from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks has been resolved, according to a lawyer for the victim’s family and court papers filed on Monday. The settlement brings to an end a wrenching legal battle in Federal District Court in Manhattan, where lawsuits had been filed on behalf of 85 people who were killed in the attacks and an additional 11 who were injured, court records show.All of those lawsuits had since been resolved, except one: a suit involving the death of Mark Bavis, a 31-year-old hockey scout who was aboard United Airlines Flight 175, the second plane to hit the World Trade Center. BENJAMIN WEISER, The New York Times 09/20/2011 | | Read Article: The New York Times | | Companies to Pay $44.4M for Cleanup of 2007 Oil Spill | |
| | Companies (Regal Stone Ltd., which owned the ship that hit the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge on Nov. 7, 2007, and Fleet Management Ltd., which operated it) responsible for a 2007 San Francisco Bay oil spill that occurred when a ship slammed into a bridge agreed Monday to pay $44.4 million toward the cleanup and damage to the environment, including the deaths of thousands of birds. Associated Press, The Washington Post 09/20/2011 | | Read Article: The Washington Post | | New York Fracking Lawsuit Could Set Drilling Precedent | |
| | A lawsuit challenging a small town's ban on natural-gas drilling could have implications throughout New York state, where officials are poised to approve a controversial drilling method known as fracking. Privately held Anschutz Exploration Corp filed suit on Friday against Dryden, a rural suburb of Ithaca with about 13,000 residents that last month amended its zoning laws to bar all gas drilling within its unincorporated borders. Dan Wiessner, Reuters 09/20/2011 | | Read Article: Reuters | | Family of Merlin Olsen Settle Asbestos Lawsuit | |
| | The family of Hall of Fame football player and actor Merlin Olsen has settled a lawsuit with several asbestos companies that they say caused the rare form of cancer he contracted late in life. Attorneys for Olsen’s wife and three children filed a notice of settlement on Wednesday in Los Angeles without providing further details. Olsen claimed the cancer of the lung lining was caused by exposure to asbestos products at construction sites he worked on as a youth. The settlement covers 10 companies that manufactured or used the products. Associated Press, The Washington Post 09/20/2011 | | Read Article: The Washington Post | | Donor's Kidneys Allegedly Diseased | |
| | Ellecia Small received a kidney transplant at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in November 2009. Less than three months later, Small, 31, of Canton was dead. Kinyata Johnson, of Alabama, who received the same donor's other kidney, is partially blind and needs constant care. Small's family and Johnson now have separate lawsuits seeking an unspecified amount of damages against Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency and UMC. The kidney transplanted into Small came from a donor who had been diagnosed with encephalitis, according to her lawsuit in Hinds County Circuit Court. Jimmie E. Gates , The Ledger 09/20/2011 | | Read Article: The Ledger | | Wrongful Death Suit Filed over Fatal Crash | |
| | A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against the city of Federal Way, Wash., over a fatal car accident that occurred in July 2010. The woman that caused the accident was driving under the influence and being chased by Federal Way police officers, the suit claims. The victim's family claims in the suit that officers should have called off their chase because the woman was a "reckless and dangerous driver who was likely to endanger the public." The suit also names the state department of corrections as a defendant, saying the woman should have been in custody the day of the accident for violating the terms of her mandated supervision. Greg Allmain, Seattle Post-Intelligencer 09/19/2011 | | Read Article: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | | $32 Million Wages Suit Settled by Tyson Foods | |
| | Tyson Foods has agreed to a $32 million settlement with more than 17,000 employees in a 12-year-old wages lawsuit. The lawsuit claimed the company violated fair wage lawsuits by refusing to pay workers for time putting on and taking off protective gear required by the company. The workers will receive an average of $1,000 in the settlement. Steven Greenhouse, The New York Times 09/19/2011 | | Read Article: The New York Times | |
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