| | | | | Announcements | | | Now Available: Detailed info about every Medicare and Medicaid-certified nursing home | | Nursing Home Compare has detailed information about every Medicare and Medicaid-certified nursing home in the country and includes the following: Updated quality measures based on a new resident assessment called MDS 3.0.; Ownership information including the names of individuals and organizations with ownership or managerial control of nursing homes; and Full text of survey findings (Statements of Deficiency) from each nursing home’s most recent health inspections. Click on the headline to learn more. | Products | | | Report: J&J Will Pay $2.2B in Risperdal Settlement | | Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay as much as $2.2 billion to resolve an investigation into its marketing of the anti-psychotic drug Risperdal, according to a published report. The Wall Street Journal, which reported the settlement Thursday, said the settlement will include a $400 million criminal fine and that the final amount will depend on how many states accept the settlement. Associated Press, Boston Globe 07/20/2012 | Read Article: Boston Globe | Honda Recalls 321K CRV, Acura ILX Vehicles in US | | Honda recalling more than 321,000 small SUVs and cars across the globe Thursday because the doors may not close. The recall affects 314,000 CR-V small SUVs from the 2012 model year and about 7,300 Acura ILX small luxury cars from the 2013 model year. Associated Press, The Washington Post 07/20/2012 | Read Article: The Washington Post | Laws/Cases | | | Tour Bus Company Settles Disabilities Act Lawsuit | | Starline Tours, the oldest Hollywood tour bus company, has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed against them over the lack of working wheelchair-accessible buses. The plaintiff in the suit claimed she and her party were forced to wait six hours for the tour while the company scrambled to find a proper bus and in the end never actually went on their scheduled tour. As part of the settlement, the company will pay $5,000 in fines and $15,000 in damages to the plaintiffs. Victoria Kim, LA Times 07/17/2012 | Read Article: LA Times | Judge Excludes Expert Testimony on Patent Royalties | | A Texas federal judge has excluded the royalty testimony of a patent plaintiff's damages expert, finding that the expert's analysis assumed that two defendants would have agreed to unreasonable royalties. On July 16, in WesternGeco v. ION Geophysical Corp., Judge Keith Ellison of the Southern District of Texas partially granted a motion by ION and a co-defendant to exclude the testimony of a damages expert for the plaintiff. Ellison granted the motion to exclude the expert's testimony on the so-called reasonable royalty that ION should pay if WesternGeco's patents are found to be valid and infringed. But Ellison denied the motion to exclude the expert's testimony on WesternGeco's lost profits from the defendants' alleged infringement. Sheri Qualters, The National Law Journal - $$ Subscription Required 07/20/2012 | Read Article: The National Law Journal - $$ Subscription Required($) | Star of ‘Flip This House' Sues Brother | | The San Antonio-based businessman, who gained fame in 2006 as a star of the A&E show “Flip This House,” is suing brother and former co-star David Montelongo and his wife, Melina Montelongo, for having a business model that he says looks too much like his own and is likely to be confused with it. A federal lawsuit filed in San Antonio by one of Armando Montelongo's companies accuses his brother and sister-in-law of trademark infringement, damage to business reputation, unfair competition and unjust enrichment. Jennifer Hiller, San Antonio Express News 07/20/2012 | Read Article: San Antonio Express News | Suit: Abbey Aware of Alleged Past Sexual Abuse | | A former student has filed a lawsuit against St. John's Abbey in St. Cloud, Minn., claiming the religious order was aware one of its members had been accused of sexual abuse in the 1950s but allowed him to keep teaching. The plaintiff says he was abused by the same priest when he was a student in the 1980s. Three abbots were aware of the allegations, the lawsuit claimed, but nothing was done to protect students at the school going forward. Wire Report, San Francisco Chronicle 07/19/2012 | Read Article: San Francisco Chronicle | Issues | | | Hundreds of Accidents Blamed on Houston Road Rage | | From fender benders to fatalities, from fists flying to guns blazing, enraged drivers in the greater Houston area have caused more than 900 motor vehicle accidents that injured hundreds and killed five over the last five years, according to crash data from the TXDOT Road-rage crashes across Texas peak during evening rush hour, with nearly one out of four occurring between 4 and 7 p.m. Most of the time, angry men are involved, and the most commonly used vehicle is a truck. Yang Wang & John Tedesco, Houston Chronicle 07/20/2012 | Read Article: Houston Chronicle | Healthcare | | | Feds: Hospitals’ Readmission Rates Still Too High | | Hospitals are making little headway in reducing the frequency at which patients are readmitted despite a government campaign and the threat of financial penalties, according to Medicare data released Thursday. The federal government and health policy experts consider frequent readmissions a sign of the shortcomings of the nation’s health-care system, with more than one in five Medicare patients returning to the hospital within a month of discharge. Jordan Rau, The Washington Post 07/20/2012 | Read Article: The Washington Post | Labor/Employment | | | Tomato Grower Pays $150K in Harassment Suit | | A major tomato grower in Florida has agreed to pay two women $150,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit. The plaintiffs claimed in their suit that over a three-month period when they worked for DiMare Ruskin, they were sexually harassed by supervisors and then terminated when they filed complaints. Wire Report, The Sacramento Bee 07/19/2012 | Read Article: The Sacramento Bee | | | | | | 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 | |