CA Supreme Court Expands Protections for Workers
In a pair of recent decisions, the California Supreme Court has significantly widened protections for workers claiming harassment and discrimination under the state's Fair Employment and Housing Act. Taken together, these decisions give California employees protections from job discrimination far beyond those in any other state.
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Recent Developments from Around the States
Recent rulngs of interest to you and your practice.
Circuit Split Develops on FMLA Waivers
Almost any employer providing exit pay beyond that to which an employee is otherwise entitled expects a release of rights in return. Most waiver agreements cover claims that could be raised under Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA, the FMLA, as well as state anti-discrimination laws. But it just got harder to get a valid release of FMLA claims in the Fourth Circuit.
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Case Notes
Highlights of the latest product liability cases from around the country.
Online: Explore the Depth of the CPSC on the Web
According to the overview on its Web site, <i>www.cpsc.gov</i>, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission ("CPSC") is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $700 billion annually. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard or can injure children.
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Looks Can Be Deceiving (and Costly): The Legal Implications of Counterfeit Products to a Pharmaceutical Manufacturer
The World Health Organization has estimated that drug counterfeiting affects 5-8% of all drugs, representing approximately $10-$15 billion to the U.S. pharmaceutical market alone. The Food and Drug Administration has estimated that approximately 10% of the drugs in worldwide distribution are counterfeit, with most being sold in developing countries. Not surprisingly, the most commonly counterfeited drugs are those with the largest sales, as well as drugs with high profit margins and drugs that are easier to counterfeit.
Respond to Recalls: Claims and Defenses
Consumers often ignore product manufacturers' recalls of defective products despite manufacturers' best efforts. The unfortunate but inevitable result is that some consumers are injured. A reasonable defense for manufacturers is that the consumer's fault in ignoring the recall negates their liability. The limited authority available, however, indicates that a manufacturer probably will not be completely exonerated from liability. A consumer's failure to respond to a recall, nevertheless, can be raised as a comparative fault defense. This article reviews existing authority and suggests strategies for manufacturers and consumers when this situation occurs.
Leading Questions and Child Witnesses
Lawyers involved in product liability cases are occasionally involved with child witnesses, either as plaintiffs or as percipient witnesses to the critical events in the lawsuit. As in other types of litigation, child witnesses present a number of difficult challenges in product liability cases.
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HelpKatrinaLawyers.org Formed to Assist Displaced Lawyers
www.HelpKatrinaLawyers.org has been launched to create a centralized, online resource for lawyers and law practices that have suffered as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
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MOST POPULAR STORIES
- Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar InvestigationsThis 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.Read More ›
- The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year LaterThe 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.Read More ›
- Surveys in Patent Infringement Litigation: The Next FrontierMost experienced intellectual property attorneys understand the significant role surveys play in trademark infringement and other Lanham Act cases, but relatively few are likely to have considered the use of such research in patent infringement matters. That could soon change in light of the recent admission of a survey into evidence in <i>Applera Corporation, et al. v. MJ Research, Inc., et al.</i>, No. 3:98cv1201 (D. Conn. Aug. 26, 2005). The survey evidence, which showed that 96% of the defendant's customers used its products to perform a patented process, was admitted as evidence in support of a claim of inducement to infringe. The court admitted the survey into evidence over various objections by the defendant, who had argued that the inducement claim could not be proven without the survey.Read More ›
- The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance ProgramsThe 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.Read More ›
- In the SpotlightOn May 9, 2003, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts announced that Bayer Corporation, the pharmaceutical manufacturer, had been sentenced and ordered to pay a criminal fine of $5,590,800 stemming from its earlier plea of guilty to violating the Federal Prescription Drug Marketing Act by failing to list with the FDA its drug product, Cipro, that was privately labeled for an HMO. Such listing is required under the federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act. The Federal Prescription Drug Marketing Act, Pub. L. 100-293, enacted on April 22, 1988, as modified on August 26, 1992 by the Prescription Drug Amendments (PDA) Pub. L. 102-353, 106 Stat. 941, amended sections 301, 303, 503, and 801 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, codified at 21 U.S.C. '' 331, 333, 353, 381, to establish requirements for distributing prescription drug samples.Read More ›
