Archive for the ‘Legal News’ Category
Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Investigation is Ongoing
HOUSTON, TX – Offshore injury lawyers, Gordon, Elias and Seely, LLP, have filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family of Karl Kleppinger, Jr, one of the missing 11 men, who to this date has not been found.
Initially, the law firm contemplated filing a possible Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) in the Transocean Deepwater Horizon explosion that took place on April 20, 2010. A TRO is filed for many reasons – one of which would be to preserve evidence or not to cause spoliation of evidence… ... Read Full Story
Transocean Oil Rig Explosion Lawyer Todd Elias is Helping Family of Missing Worker
HOUSTON, TX – Eleven people are still missing after an oil rig explosion on April 20th in The Gulf of Mexico 41 miles off the coast of Louisiana. The families said that they were told by representatives early Friday morning that their loved ones are considered dead.
Todd Elias, a Houston maritime lawyer, who is representing Tracy Kleppinger, the wife of worker Karl Kleppinger Jr. of Natchez, Miss., said his client was told by rig owner Transocean Ltd. that her husband Karl Kleppinger, Jr is considered deceased. Attorney, Steve Gordon, said the company has sent grievers to be with Tracy Kleppinger. ... Read Full Story
Arizona Passes Controversial Illegal Immigration Law
PHOENIX, AZ – On Monday, April 19, 2010, lawmakers in Arizona passed a controversial immigration bill, a measure which critics say is open to racial profiling. The law requires that the police in the state that borders Mexico determine if people are in the United States illegally. Lawmakers in the AZ Senate voted 17 to 11 to approve the bill, widely regarded as the toughest measure yet taken by any U.S. state to curb illegal immigration. Read Full Story
Virginia Law Allows Opt Out For Individual Health Insurance Mandate
RICHMOND, VA – Virginia state law makers passed laws earlier this month that are intended to nullify proposed health-care legislation that carries with it mandates for individuals to purchase health insurance.
Virginia is the first state to pass a law that would allow its residents to opt out of the proposed federal requirement for individuals to purchase health insurance, which is one of the elements of the proposed health care bill currently pending in Congress. State legislatures in Idaho and Utah also approved similar measures this month that would limit the scope of the proposed legislation. Several other state legislatures also are considering similar laws and are promoting constitutional amendments that would limit federal requirements. Most are following Virginia’s lead in nullifying the mandate on health insurance… ... Read Full Story
Truck Accident Study Conducted by FMCSA and NHTSA
WASHINGTON, DC – The Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS) is is the first-ever national study to attempt to determine the critical events and associated factors that contribute to serious large truck crashes. It has been conducted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) which are agencies under the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
Blue Nile Loses $60.1 Million Lawsuit Against Yehuda Diamond
SEATTLE, Nov. 2 – After a six-day trial, a federal jury dismissed Blue Niles $60.1 million claim against Yehuda Diamond Company. The Jury ruled against Blue Nile, acknowledging Yehuda Diamond’s right to compare the prices of its clarity enhanced diamonds to the untreated diamonds sold by online retailer Blue Nile.

Blue Nile loses 60.1 Million Claim against Yehuda Diamond Company
Yehuda Diamond, based in New York, has earned widespread industry and consumer loyalty for its successful competition with Blue Nile and other online jewelers, favoring consumers not only with lower prices but also with unsurpassed expert face-to-face service and full Federal Trade Commission-compliant disclosure… ... Read Full Story
Court No Show Costs PepsiCo $1.26 Billion
A default judgment award of 1.26 Billion was handed down on Sept. 30 by a Wisconsin state court in a case alleging that PepsiCo stole the idea to bottle and sell purified water from two Wisconsin men. PepsiCo filed motions to vacate the order and dismiss the claims on Oct. 13, saying it wasn’t even aware of the lawsuit until Oct. 6.

Administrator mistake costs PepsiCo $1.26 Billion in default judgment
Charles Joyce and James Voigt sued PepsiCo in April plus two of its distributors, alleging they had misappropriated trade secrets from confidential discussions the plaintiffs had with the distributors in 1981 about selling purified water. The information was illicitly passed to PepsiCo, which used it to develop and sell Aquafina bottled water, the plaintiffs allege in the case filed in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County before Judge Jacqueline Erwin.
… ... Read Full Story
Complaint Filed in NY Against Bernie Madoff by California Law Firm
According to a legal action filed yesterday in New York, Bernie Madoff’s prison associates are quite cast of characters. Right now Madoff shares a jail cell with a 21-year-old drug dealer and hangs out with a former crime boss and an Israeli spy.

Complaint lodged against Bernie Madoff in New York Supreme Court by California Law Firm
Attorneys who interviewed Madoff in jail in July used information obtained from him to file a series of claims against major banks and accountancy firms, in an action that also throws light on Madoff’s life behind bars… ... Read Full Story
Pfizer Guilty of Fraud Pays Largest US Health Fraud Settlement

Pfizer found guity of criminal fraud
Pfizer pleaded guilty to a felony crime for “…for misbranding Bextra with the intent to defraud or mislead.” Read more from the actual DOJ documents.
The feds relied heavily on evidence from a half-dozen whistleblowers who give testimony that eventually proved Pfizer fraudulently marketed Bextra. This settlement is the largest health fraud settlement in U.S. history.
What Pfizer did was ask the FDA for the approval of Bextra to be used for several diseases and conditions, but the FDA refused those approvals. Pfizer then went ahead anyway and off-label marketed the drugs for those diseases and conditions.
The key whistleblower was West Point grad John Kopchinski, who was hired by Pfizer as a sales rep when he left the Army in 1992. Kopchinski, 45, was fired by the company in 2003.
Kopchinsk was talking with lawyers by then about evidence he had accumulated on how Pfizer was marketing Bextra, a painkiller withdrawn from the market in 2005 amid safety concerns… ... Read Full Story
President Could Have Emergency Power Over Internet

White House May Obtain Power Over Internet
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, along with his aides, have spent months behind closed doors drafting a revised U.S. Senate bill that proposes giving the White House the power to disconnect private-sector computers from the Internet.
CNET News has obtained a copy of the 55-page draft of S.773 (excerpt), which still appears to permit the president to seize temporary control of private-sector networks during a so-called cybersecurity emergency.
The new version would allow the president to “declare a cybersecurity emergency” relating to “non-governmental” computer networks and do what’s necessary to respond to the threat. Other sections of the proposal include a federal certification program for “cybersecurity professionals,” and a requirement that certain computer systems and networks in the private sector be managed by people who have been awarded that license.
“I think the redraft, while improved, remains troubling due to its vagueness,” said Larry Clinton, president of the Internet Security Alliance, which counts representatives of Verizon, Verisign, Nortel, and Carnegie Mellon University on its board. “It is unclear what authority Sen. Rockefeller thinks is necessary over the private sector. Unless this is clarified, we cannot properly analyze, let alone support the bill.” Read full story here



