Another Unpaid Intern Lawsuit Filed in New York | | Two interns have filed a lawsuit against publisher Conde Nast, claiming the New York company is in violation of labor laws for failing to pay interns. The interns say their positions were structured like jobs, not like learning opportunities, and therefore should have been properly compensated under state and federal labor laws. The lawsuit comes on the heels of a recent ruling against Fox Searchlight Pictures in a similar lawsuit. Alana Semuels, LA Times 06/14/2013 | Read Article: LA Times | Automakers Push Back Against Consumer Protections | | Some automakers have started to challenge class actions — and to a lesser extent, lemon laws — by trying to force consumers to agree instead to a binding arbitration process. F. Paul Bland Jr., a senior attorney at Public Justice, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group, sees this as a brazen effort to take away important consumer automotive rights. If the automakers behind this effort are successful, consumer watchdogs say, owners might be stuck with defective vehicles that cannot be repaired. CHRISTOPHER JENSEN, The New York Times 06/17/2013 | Read Article: The New York Times | For One Asbestos Victim, Justice Is a Moving Target | | When Bill McQueen sought medical treatment for a dull chest pain he couldn't seem to shake, he hoped it was just an old rib fracture flaring. The actual diagnosis was devastating: mesothelioma, an incurable and fatal cancer that was encasing his left lung. Dr. McQueen represents a new breed of plaintiff in the asbestos litigation. Unlike the steelworkers and shipbuilders who worked with vast quantities of asbestos decades ago—and could easily single out likely corporate culprits—the latest round of mesothelioma sufferers tend to be more idiosyncratic. A study by economic consultant Bates White of asbestos filings in a Philadelphia court found that 49% of mesothelioma claims between 2006 and 2010 were filed by plaintiffs citing exposures from do-it-yourself construction projects or shade-tree mechanic work in addition to industrial exposures. Those types of plaintiffs made up just 3% of mesothelioma claims between 1991 and 2000.A tinkerer who as a youth worked alongside his father, Dr. McQueen figured he likely inhaled deadly asbestos fibers decades ago while laboring in a greenhouse and during home-improvement projects. The disease can take many years to show up after exposure. DIONNE SEARCEY, Wall Street Journal - $$ Subscription Required 06/17/2013 | Read Article: Wall Street Journal - $$ Subscription Required($) | $200K Awarded in Misdiagnosis Lawsuit | | A jury in Maine has awarded a local man $200,000 in a lawsuit over a cancer misdiagnosis by a Central Maine Medical Center doctor. According to the lawsuit, in April 2009 a doctor diagnosed the plaintiff with aggressive, fatal pancreatic cancer, when he actually had treatable non-Hodgkins lymphoma. The suit accused the doctor of negligence in the diagnosis and for inflicting "tremendous emotional distress" on the plaintiff. Mark LaFlamme, Bangor Daily News 06/14/2013 | Read Article: Bangor Daily News | Accidental Death on TV Reality Show Prompts Lawsuit | | A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against the Discovery Channel after a woman was killed during the taping of a television show when pyrotechnics went awry. The woman was struck by a foot-long rocket used during a special effects stunt; the rockets detonated unexpectedly, killing the woman on the spot. The lawsuit accuses show producers and Discovery of negligence and is seeking unspecified damages. Margaret Eby, New York Daily News 06/14/2013 | Read Article: New York Daily News | | |