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The Terminix Case: Causation in Mass Tort Litigation
On Aug. 27, 2004, the Fifth Circuit Court of Davidson County in Nashville, TN entered final judgment for Terminix International in a nine-plaintiff toxic-tort personal injury lawsuit. Ballentine v. Terminix Int'l Co., No. 98C-836 (Aug. 27, 2004 Order). The case demonstrates the use of a challenge to the admissibility of plaintiffs' causation evidence to dismantle a multi-plaintiff or mini-mass tort claim from a single toxic exposure, and it illustrates the importance to both sides of getting the scientific evidence right from the outset. The approach to a mini-mass tort involving injuries from a single exposure need be no different from that used in a single plaintiff's claim.
The plaintiffs, workers in a US Air reservation center at the Nashville airport, claimed that they suffered pulmonary and/or vocal cord injuries from an application at the center of the insecticide Gold Crest Vectrin 0.5%. The basis for the judgment was the court's determination that plaintiffs had not presented reliable scientific testimony to support their allegations that Vectrin could cause such injuries or had done so in the plaintiffs. Entry of judgment came after a long and unsuccessful series of attempts by plaintiffs to rehabilitate their science case. The case presented complex medical causation issues, which were further complicated by the presence in the same case of multiple plaintiffs.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.