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Tyson Fresh Meats Recalls 131,300 Pounds of Ground Beef |
| Tyson Fresh Meats Inc. is recalling about 131,300 pounds of ground beef because a family in Ohio fell ill after eating meat produced by the company that was contaminated with E. coli, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Wednesday. The recall involves beef sold as Kroger brands at Kroger Co. supermarkets; Butcher’s Beef at Food Lion supermarkets; and generic beef sold to SAV-A-LOT, Spectrum Foods, Supervalu and the Defense Commissary Agency, company spokesman Gary Mickelson told The Associated Press. Associated Press, The Washington Post 09/29/2011 | Read Article: The Washington Post |
Laws/Cases |
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Reebok to Pay Millions over False Shoe Claims |
| Reebok International Ltd. will pay $25 million to settle allegations that the company's toning shoes do not in fact strengthen muscles. The Federal Trade Commission investigated Reebok's claims about their toning shoes and found the company was not able to back up the claims with facts. Consumers who bought the shoes may apply for a refund through the FTC. Jim Puzzanghera, LA Times 09/29/2011 | Read Article: LA Times |
Wendy's Franchise Group Settles Lawsuit |
| Fast food restaurant chain Wendy's has settled a lawsuit it filed against one if the company's franchise groups. The suit was filed after the group refused to install toasters at 329 of its stores to accommodate a newly created cheeseburger. The suit claims the refusal would "undermine the success of the new cheeseburger." The group agreed to install the toasters in all 329 of its stores. Staff Report, United Press International 09/28/2011 | Read Article: United Press International |
Ill. Supreme Court Clears Way for $10B Judgment in Cigarette Suit to be Revisited |
| The Illinois Supreme Court on Wednesday cleared the way for plaintiffs’ attorneys to push that a $10.1 billion verdict against cigarette-maker Philip Morris be revived, sending the matter back to the trial court for more hearings. The court upheld a state appellate court’s February ruling that sends the case back to southwestern Illinois’ Madison County. A judge there had sided with plaintiffs after a two-month 2003 trial in a class-action lawsuit over Philip Morris’ marketing of “light” cigarettes. The state’s high court later threw out that verdict. With the latest ruling, the plaintiffs expect to argue that a favorable 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision may be applied to reinstate the Madison County case. Associated Press, The Washington Post 09/29/2011 | Read Article: The Washington Post |
Injured War Contractors Sue Over Health Care, Disability Payments |
| Private contractors injured while working for the U.S. government in Iraq and Afghanistan filed a class action lawsuit in federal court on Monday, claiming that corporations and insurance companies had unfairly denied them medical treatment and disability payments. The suit, filed in district court in Washington, D.C., claims that private contracting firms and their insurers routinely lied, cheated and threatened injured workers, while ignoring a federal law requiring compensation for such employees. Attorneys for the workers are seeking $2 billion in damages. T. Christian Miller, ProPublica 09/29/2011 | Read Article: ProPublica |
TEXAS LAWYER CASE SUMMARIES |
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El Paso Court of Appeals: Torts |
| Charley Willhelm's car failed to stop at a stop sign and crashed into James Pitts' car, according to the court's opinion. Pitts sued Winkler County under the Texas Tort Claims Act, alleging that Willhelm failed to stop because the county road had a large oil spill that the county covered with dirt, making the oil undetectable. Pitts asserts that the dirt and oil mixture constituted a premise defect for which the county has no governmental immunity. The county moved for summary judgment, arguing that its governmental immunity has not been waived. The trial court granted the motion. A fact issue exists as to all of the challenged elements of Pitts' premise defect claim. Even if the discretionary function exception could immunize the decision to cover oil spills with dirt, the evidence only establishes that the county had a blanket policy of covering oil spills with dirt. There is nothing to suggest that the county's policy specified how to apply the dirt or how much to use. The actual implementation of the policy in this case would not fall within the discretionary function exception. The trial court's judgment is reversed and remanded. Pitts v. Winkler County, El Paso Court of Appeals, No. 08-09-00297-CV, 09-21-2011. , Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) 09/29/2011 | Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) |
El Paso Court of Appeals: Torts |
| Laura Solorzano sued El Paso County alleging her son was injured while in custody at a juvenile detention facility. The court denied the county's plea to the jurisdiction. An employee of the El Paso Juvenile Probation Department is not an "employee" of El Paso County under the Texas Tort Claims Act because he is not subject to the county's control. The trial court erred in denying the county's plea to the jurisdiction with respect to Solorzano's claims under the TTCA, and El Paso County was not a proper party to Solorzano's 42 U.S.C. §1983 claim. The trial court's order is reversed and the suit dismissed for want of jurisdiction. El Paso County v. Solorzano, El Paso Court of Appeals, No. 08-10-00071-CV, 09-21-2011. , Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) 09/29/2011 | Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) |
Houston's 14th Court of Appeals: Torts |
| This is an appeal from a personal-injury case in which the jury found for appellant Phi Van Cao and awarded him $2,176 for past medical bills. Cao argues that the court below improperly designated a responsible third party -- the unknown owner of a disabled vehicle -- and that his award was improperly reduced as a result. Because the owner of the disabled vehicle is unknown, the pleading requirements of Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code §33.004(j), including the allegation that he has committed a crime, apply. Hardy failed to follow those requirements, and thus it was error to designate the owner of the disabled vehicle a responsible third party. The trial court's judgment is reversed and remanded. Cao v. Hardy, Houston's 14th Court of Appeals, No. 14-10-01113-CV, 09-22-2011. , Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) 09/29/2011 | Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) |
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