WEN Class-Action Suit Receives Preliminary Settlement Approval
Continuing the saga I recently addressed about Chaz Dean's WEN Hair Care Products lawsuit, it looks like there has been some traction for the thousands of women who experienced adverse side effects from loyal use of the line of five-in-one shampoos. A federal judge in Los Angeles, where the consolidated class-action suit has been heard,...
Eckert v City of Deming et al: A Study in the Violation of Civil Liberties
It's sometimes easy to take for granted the freedoms we have as American citizens. I'm not necessarily talking fireworks-and-bald-eagles-grade freedoms, but the more subtle permissions and entitlements we enjoy. Our right to speak our minds is federally protected, as is our right to arm ourselves. Thanks to the Bill of Rights' guarantees of certain civil...
Johnson & Johnson Loses Third Talcum-Powder Cancer Trial, Pays Out $70 Million
Last week on Thursday, October 27, multinational conglomerate Johnson & Johnson lost its third consecutive trial with respect to its allegedly-carcinogenic talcum powder products. After three long hours of deliberations, a jury awarded the plaintiff the sizable sum of $70 million, the third such award granted to a plaintiff in these proceedings. Specifics of the...
McDonald’s Recalls Step-It Fitness Wristbands after Reports of Wrist Irritation
In mid-August, McDonald's Inc. announced a recall of its Step-It Fitness Tracker Happy Meal toys. Encouraged by the burgeoning market of fitness wearables like the FitBit health tracker, as well as "smart" wearables like the Apple Watch, the wristband-like wearable device functioned as a pedometer, ostensibly to encourage physical activity among its young wearers. No...
What are the Limits of a Court’s Power? Musnuff v. Haeger
In that article, I mentioned larger issues and more technical legal matters that dealt with the powers of the court. Rather than muddying up the waters and trying to take on both subjects at the same time, it seemed prudent to re-visit these issues in their own article. Musnuff v. Haeger, which will be heard...
Jurisdiction Measuring: Denton City Council Will Vote on Banning Handheld Device Use in Vehicles
Thanks in large part to increased safety measures in modern vehicles, crash fatalities saw a gradual decline for most of the 2000's. Unfortunately, that positive streak was broken by the increased prevalence and functionality of smartphones, which have become harder and harder to resist for the majority of the populace. We fiddle with them in...
Hyundai Genesis Coupes Recalled for Airbag System Error
Hyundai Motors has announced a recall of over 84,000 Genesis Coupe vehicles, effective December 2. It appears that once again, airbags are the central issue of an automotive recall. According to Hyundai, Genesis Coupes sold from 2010 through 2016 may suffer from electrical problems that affect airbag deployment. Given that the 2010 model was the...
How Many People Could Be Hurt By Jeep Wrangler Airbags?
News broke today that Fiat-Chrysler is recalling 220,000 2016 and 2017 Jeep Wranglers due to a wiring issue, which could cause airbags not to inflate and seat pretensioners not to engage during an accident. At this time there have been no reported injuries or fatalities due to this product defect, but that may simply be...
Viral Social Media Post Falsifies Crash Details, Blames Victims
You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who believes auto accidents are simply an acceptable hazard of driving to and fro. It may be a necessary evil to spend time behind the wheel, but the road holds many dangers. Some of them are environmental, certainly--weather conditions, road quality, loose debris--but drivers themselves are responsible for many...
Homeopathic Teething Tablets Analyzed Due to Allegedly Dangerous Ingredients
At some point or another in the past, you may have invested in a homeopathic remedy for what ails you or a loved one. I get it; it's not uncommon to dislike pharmaceutical companies when they charge you an arm and a leg for synthetic prescription drugs, each of which carries a long list of...
Musnuff v. Haeger: Large Companies Hiding Evidence
One of the less discussed cases on the 2016 Supreme Court docket is Musnuff v. Haeger. The case is fascinating on a couple of levels. First, it is more confirmation that in civil litigation, large defendants and their attorneys will often go to great lengths to hide and obscure vital, potentially damaging evidence. Secondly, the...
Irving Police Break Up Scam Drug Rehab Facility
I know "shocking" gets tossed around with too much frequency these days. It's an internet staple and an invitation to click-bait. However, it's difficult to find a better word to describe the story that 10 people were arrested yesterday in connection with running sham drug rehabilitation houses in Irving and Fort Worth, Texas. Initial charges...
Dallas County Bus Driver Scandal and Bus Accident Law
NBC 5, in some great reporting, recently broke a story about Dallas County school bus drivers and the ridiculous number of traffic citations they've received since the beginning of 2014. As a result, Dallas County Schools terminated 13 drivers and suspended an additional 229 drivers who cumulatively received 480 traffic tickets since January 1, 2014....
NHTSA Launches Investigation of 2012 Nissan Versa Airbag Sensors
The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (or NHTSA, for brevity fans) has released information about a new investigation into approximately 155,000 Nissan Versa vehicles from the 2012 line. According to the report, three complaints have thus far been filed by motorists who have experienced allegedly-spontaneous side airbag deployment from forcefully closing their car doors....
Despite Court Case: Electronic Truck Logs Very Likely
Earlier this week we chronicled the potential Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) electronically-enforced national truck speed limit, which pitted the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and the FMCSA against the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA). That doesn't appear to be the only controversy where the ATA and OOIDA find each other on opposite sides of...
Bayer Plans to Buy Monsanto, Anti-GMO and Anti-Vax Go Crazy(er)
The pharmaceutical giant Bayer, Inc. has announced a $66 billion dollar buyout of Monsanto. While this buyout no doubt represents a significant and lucrative investment for the German corporation, it has raised a large battery of objections from concerned "citizen advocacy" groups who have long protested Monsanto. One such entity, the international protest group March...
Bug in the Bag: GM Recalls Vehicles for Software Defect
General Motors is in trouble again. I'd tell you to buckle up, but because of poorly written computer code, even that might not be enough. GM issued a recall of approximately 4.3 million cars, trucks, and vans worldwide after chasing down a bug in their software that can prevent the vehicles' airbags from deploying during...
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 and Products Liability Law
It was a recall that sort of flew under the radar, until the Federal Aviation Administration issued a statement urging Samsung Galaxy Note 7 devices not to power up the devices in-flight, due to concerns about the batteries catching fire without warning. Since that time, the government issued a formal recall and existing rules prohibit...
Insurance Fraudster Jeffrey Cohen Gets 37 Years in Prison
We pulled this one from the "stranger than fiction bin." Last December, 40-year-old Jeffrey Brian Cohen was sentenced to a 37-year federal prison sentence for several charges, including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and making false statements to an insurance regulator. Essentially, Mr. Cohen ran a scam insurance company that collected over $100 million in...
Exposed Bridge Supports Are Killing Texas Motorists
The next time you are driving along in your car, try to take a moment and glance at the support pillars of bridges and overpasses. If you are driving on a safely-built road, there should be a guardrail or concrete barrier between the roadway and the pillars. This certainly isn't the type of scenery that...
