$14 Million Awarded Over Officer's Death in Louisiana | | A Terrebonne, La., Parish jury awarded $14 million to the family of a local motorcycle deputy who was killed two years ago while escorting a Mardi Gras float. The driver of the truck pulling the float signaled for another car to turn in front of him at a four-way stop; the car drove around the float and ran head-on into the victim, causing his fatal injuries. The jury found the float truck driver 95 percent responsible in the lawsuit. Dee Dee Thurston, Houma Today 01/30/2013 | Read Article: Houma Today |
Suit: Officers Accused of Planting Drugs |
| Three Pennsylvania residents have filed a lawsuit against several officers of the Philadelphia Police Department, claiming they planted drugs during an illegal search to arrest the plaintiffs. The charges were dropped shortly after the arrests, and six officers were removed from the narcotics unit. Since December, prosecutors have been forced to dismiss more than 260 criminal cases involving these same officers, all of whom have since been transferred to other units. Mark Fazlollah, Philadelphia Inquirer 01/31/2013 | Read Article: Philadelphia Inquirer |
Clovis, Calif., Settles Suit with Police Officer |
| The city of Clovis, Calif., has settled a lawsuit with a local police officer over a 16-month suspension handed down allegedly over a single isolated incident. In the suit, the former sergeant claimed he was suspended as part of retaliatory efforts by the department after he helped a female co-worker file a complaint against the department. As part of the settlement, the plaintiff will not return to his old position but will be allowed to seek work with another law enforcement agency. Pablo Lopez , The Fresno Bee 01/30/2013 | Read Article: The Fresno Bee |
Families Suing Over 2011 Pittsburgh Flash Floods |
| Surviving relatives of four people killed in flash flooding in Pittsburgh in August 2011 are suing several government and private entities claiming the deaths could have been prevented, attorneys for the two affected families announced Friday. Mary Saflin, 72, of Oakmont, was swept away from her vehicle and down into a sewer conduit where she drowned, and Kimberly Griffith, 45, and her daughters, Brenna, 12, and Mikaela, 8, became trapped in their minivan and also drowned when heavy rains caused a nine-foot wall of water to sweep down a low-lying section of road during afternoon rush hour traffic on Aug. 19, 2011. Associated Press, The Washington Post 02/01/2013 | Read Article: The Washington Post |
Toyota Loses Again in bid to Force Arbitration of Prius Claims |
| A federal appeals court has struck down Toyota Motor Corp.'s attempt to arbitrate claims that it failed to inform consumers about defects in the anti-lock braking systems of certain Prius and Lexus vehicles. About a dozen cases against Toyota have been coordinated as multidistrict litigation in Santa Ana, Calif., before U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney. The cases followed Toyota's recall of 150,000 2010 Prius and 2010 Lexus HS 250h models due to the defect, which prevented the anti-lock braking systems from engaging properly, sometimes resulting in accidents. Amanda Bronstad , The National Law Journal - $$ Subscription Required 02/01/2013 | Read Article: The National Law Journal - $$ Subscription Required($) |
Ark Judge Orders J&J to Pay $181M in Legal Fees |
| An Arkansas judge says Johnson & Johnson must pay $181 million in fees to attorneys who successfully argued that the pharmaceutical company committed Medicaid fraud in the marketing of its antipsychotic drug Risperdal. Pulaski County Judge Tim Fox ruled Thursday that Arkansas taxpayers should not foot the bill in the lawsuit filed by the state’s attorney general. Last year, a jury found that Johnson & Johnson, through its Janssen Pharmaceuticals subsidiary, had committed Medicaid fraud and violated the state’s deceptive trade practices act. Associated Press, The Washington Post 02/01/2013 | Read Article: The Washington Post |
Implant Risk Was Assessed Inadequately, Court Is Told |
| A review conducted internally by Johnson & Johnson soon after it recalled a troubled hip implant found that the company had not adequately assessed the device’s potential risks before it was used in more than 90,000 patients, court testimony on Thursday showed. The engineering report, which was done in 2010, also found that Johnson & Johnson’s orthopedic unit had used inadequate or incorrect standards in trying to assess some of those risks before first selling the implant in 2003. The device at issue — the Articular Surface Replacement, or A.S.R. — proved to be among the most flawed orthopedic devices sold in recent decades. BARRY MEIER, The New York Times 02/01/2013 | Read Article: The New York Times |
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