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Lawsuits
Legal affairs expert: California civil courts among the worst for allowing 'sham research'
When it comes to scrutinizing questionable scientific claims, California courts tend to be among the most permissive in the nation, providing fertile ground for aggressive trial attorneys, according to a legal affairs expert at the Center for Individual Freedom.
Lawsuits
California's civil justice system ranks fifth worst in latest list of Judicial Hellholes in U.S.
California’s reputation as a proving ground for new theories of liability, its massive jury verdicts exceeding $10 million and its pushing the envelope of environmental litigation have all helped to put the state in the No. 5 spot on the new Judicial Hellholes report released this week.
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Lawsuits
'De-transitioned' woman accuses doctors of 'medical abuse,' pushing her as child to become 'trans'
A young woman has sued prominent transgender youth doctor Johana Olson-Kennedy and others, accusing them of inflicting traumatic "medical abuse" in allegedly pushing a "scared, confused, and traumatized" girl into trans "affirming care," causing psychiatric problems and irreversible physical damage
Lawsuits
CA Supreme Court says used cars with unexpired warranties aren't "new" cars
'Huge win for all automakers,' attorneys for FCA US said, in praise of the decision declaring used car buyers must also purchase an original manufacturer's warranty to demand coverage under a California consumer protection law
Lawsuits
Judge grants final OK to $115M Oracle data privacy class action deal; Lawyers get $28.75M
About 3.2 million class members are set to receive $25 each from the deal. The judge overruled objectors who argued the plaintiffs settled too quickly for too little
Lawsuits
L.A. city officials say litigation costs put the city on path to fiscal peril
Los Angeles officials are warning that the city’s reserve fund has been drained well below its usual minimum level of 5% due to dramatically expanding liability expenditures driven by large settlements and outside counsel costs.
Lawsuits
Live Nation can't use 'mass arbitration' rules to beat class action over Ticketmaster fees, appeals court says
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said a provision in Ticketmaster's user agreement that would force customers with legal claims against the company into so-called 'mass arbitration,' in a bid to ward off trial lawyers' new costly litigation tactics, was 'unconscionable' under California law and could not be saved by federal law
Lawsuits
Meta, social media operators can't pull plug on states' suit over young people's 'addiction'
An Oakland federal judge said a bipartisan coalition of nearly three dozen state attorneys general had provided enough evidence to this point that Meta and other social media companies knew their products were addictive to young people and misled the public about the risks, leading to societal harms
Lawsuits
Stanford, Cal Tech, USC among top U.S. universities hit with class action over financial aid practices
A new class action lawsuit says some of America's top colleges and universities have for nearly two decades violated U.S. antitrust law by collectively making it harder for students to obtain need-based financial aid by forcing them to include non-custodial parent income on applications
Lawsuits
GSK, plaintiffs in 2 Zantac cases in California reach confidential settlements
The pharmaceutical company that manufactured the popular heartburn medication Zantac has settled with two California plaintiffs who brought lawsuits alleging the active ingredient in Zantac, ranitidine, caused their cancers.
Lawsuits
California, enviro activists hit ExxonMobil with lawsuits over plastics recycling
The state's new lawsuit accuses ExxonMobil of misleading Americans into believing recycling is a "cure-all" for plastic waste. ExxonMobil says the lawsuit is just an attempt by the state to absolve itself of blame for flooding landfills and the environment with plastic
Lawsuits
Judge: Lawsuits over supposedly toxic acne medicines blocked by federal drug safety, labeling law
A L.A. federal judge has tossed class action lawsuits against the makers of Proactiv and other acne medicines that contain benzoyl peroxide. The judge said the FDA has declared the medications safe, so plaintiffs can't cite a controversial private lab's findings that they are not
Lawsuits
Disputed science drives lawsuits over Abbott's specialized formula for preterm infants
Researchers and health care companies say plaintiffs’ attorneys are engaged in a feeding frenzy of litigation and scientific questioning about the safety of certain types of formula for infants and toddlers.
Lawsuits
23AndMe says $30M data breach settlement in jeopardy from 'mass arbitration' claims
23AndMe has agreed to pay $30 million to settle millions of claims over a 2023 data breach. Attorneys stand to make $7.5 million from the deal. However, the company said other lawyers are threatening the deal with parallel arbitration and state court claims
Lawsuits
U.S. Justice Department probes sex abuse allegations at California prisons in wake of lawsuits
The U.S. Justice Department has launched a probe into sexual abuse by prison guards at two California facilities, including the California Institution for Women in Chino, in the wake of hundreds of lawsuits by inmates being filed over the past decade.
Lawsuits
Mass-tort critics: Legal ads can mislead consumers about scientific claims
Mass-tort litigation in the U.S. fuels advertising spending of $7 billion or more every five years, promoting a host of often tenuous scientific causations between diseases and medical devices or products, critics say.
Lawsuits
Legal scholar: Cherry-picking evidence can lead to downfall of Zantac cases
The Wisner Baum law firm in Los Angeles is scheduled next month to bring the first state court lawsuit alleging that the heartburn drug Zantac can cause cancer – a contention that is at the heart of tens of thousands of similar lawsuits filed nationwide.
Lawsuits
'Lemon law' lawsuits soar in California amid proposals for reform
California tort reform supporters have been raising the alarm about a recent 52% spike in lawsuits involving the state’s “lemon law” – the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act – leading to the filing of 22,655 such auto-defect lawsuits in 2023.
Lawsuits
Google can't use 'browser agnosticism' to sidestep Chrome users' sync privacy class action
A federal appeals panel says an Oakland federal judge asked the wrong legal questions in deciding that Google could pull the plug on class action lawsuits accusing the tech giant of violating state and federal privacy laws by collecting browsing history and other info about Chrome users, allegedly without consent
Lawsuits
Huntington Beach restaurant can be sued under ADA in CA courts, even though federal courts say no: Appeals court
A state appeals panel says a man whose wife died from an infection after undergoing surgery for a broken hip she suffered when she tripped on stairs can sue the restaurant at which the injury occurred under the Americans with Disabilities Act, because his wife's claims passed to him at her death