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Civil Justice Law Blog

Morelli Ratner files Class Actions Against Spyware Maker Carrier IQ
12/08/2011 - 16:02

On Wednesday, December 7, Morelli Ratner PC filed federal class action lawsuits against spyware maker Carrier IQ in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Morelli Ratner filed the class action on behalf of individual plaintiffs and similarly situated others who own and have used the iPhone 4 on AT&T, the iPhone4S on AT&T, and the HTC/Android OS phone on T-Mobile.

Carrier IQ gained notoriety in the past few weeks after a systems administrator in Connecticut discovered the company’s software surreptitiously recording everything he was doing on his iPhone and transmitting this sensitive data off to parts unknown.

“At issue in this lawsuit is whether Carrier, IQ, Inc., violated certain laws...

An Online Background-Check Tool for Managers Accused of Sexual Harassment
12/02/2011 - 11:06

Managing Partner David S. Ratner was quoted yesterday in a Workforce.com article, Background-Check Tool Keeps Tabs on Sex Harassment Cases.

David Ratner, a lawyer who represents an Illinois woman who was awarded $39.8 million in her sexual harassment case, doesn't like the registry.

"I think harassers should lose their jobs and be punished," says Ratner, managing partner of Morelli Ratner of New York. "But there's a right way and a wrong way to go about it."

Adelman...

Suing Second Mile for Sandusky’s Sexual Assaults
11/30/2011 - 15:46

On Thanksgiving, the New York Times reported that at least one of Jerry Sandusky’s accusers plans to sue the former Penn State assistant football coach for his alleged acts of sexual abuse and assault.

This accuser filed for injunctive relief to get a court to prevent Mr. Sandusky’s charity organization, Second Mile, from attempting to shelter its assets from litigation. Second Mile held more than $9 million in assets last year.

The accuser’s attorneys argue that Second Mile played a major role in enabling Mr. Sandusky’s alleged crimes by failing to...

DSK sexual assault criminal prosecution and civil lawsuit: the alleged victim speaks
07/26/2011 - 14:20

 

How, in questioning the hotel maid’s credibility, DSK’s supporters have intentionally conflated the question of whether a rape occurredwith the question of whether it can be proven – in a criminal trial – that a rape occurred. And how the civil lawsuit could be different.

 

The accuser of Dominique Strauss-Kahn this weekend gave interviews to major media outlets, telling her story in a bid to refocus attention on her allegations and convince District Attorney Cyrus Vance to prosecute DSK for his alleged crime.

In the past weeks, the former IMF head’s defense attorneys have trumpeted questions about whether DSK’s accuser lied on her asylum...

Risks involved in suing big companies: criminal prosecution on trumped-up charges
07/22/2011 - 15:15

An employee leaves Cisco and launches an antitrust lawsuit against the company over its alleged anticompetitive and illegal tactics. Cisco responds by using its influence to get the whistleblower arrested in Canada and embroiled in unnecessary extradition proceedings for a year, all on trumped-up charges. You might call such behavior a mind-boggling abuse of corporate power. Cisco calls this a defense litigation strategy.

According to an article published yesterday on ArsTechnica, Cisco had antitrust plaintiff and former employee Peter Adekeye arrested in Canada and deemed a flight...

Video Interview: Plaintiff Betty Dukes of Dukes v. Wal-Mart
07/18/2011 - 14:34

From the American Constitution Society blog, a short video interview with Wal-Mart gender discrimination case lead plaintiff Betty Dukes.

In the interview, Dukes speaks to the day in court that she will not receive as part of the now-defunct class action, thanks to the Supreme Court decision decertifying the class.

“I feel that my rights have been violated and I want to address [that] openly and honestly in a court of law.”

Watch the interview here:

 

...

Chantix Smoking Cessation Drug and the Increased Risk of Heart Attack
07/18/2011 - 14:24

Earlier this month, a Canadian medical journal showed that the smoking cessation drug Chantix (varenicline) is associated with a greatly increased risk of heart attack, stroke, and congestive heart failure in a population of “smokers without a history of heart disease [as] compared with smokers who did not use the drug” (emphasis added).

Chantix has for several years now been associated with psychiatric problems and other health risks. (Morelli Ratner PC is currently litigating several hundred product liability claims for adverse events associated with the drug, including attempted and successful suicides).

The journal...

$95 Million Sexual Harassment Verdict Media Coverage – Alford v. Aaron Rents
07/15/2011 - 14:25

 

Last month, Morelli Ratner PC won what is believed to be the largest verdict ever for a victim of sexual harassment - $95 million. The verdict has resounded far and wide and sent an important message to employers that they have an affirmative duty to prevent the sexual harassment and assault of employees in the workplace. Here’s a roundup of some of the voluminous media coverage of the case, including national wire services, legal media, local and national newspapers, local TV, blogs, and international media:

 

Thomson Reuters...

Corporate liability at the Supreme Court: the Alien Tort Statute
07/13/2011 - 14:07

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that ExxonMobil can be held liable under the Alien Tort Statute for the murder and torture of Indonesian villagers.

The Blog of the Legal Timesquotes the majority opinion as stating that “The law of the United States has been uniform since its founding that corporations can be held liable for the torts committed by their agents.”

It now seems overwhelmingly likely that the U.S. Supreme Court will grant cert in an Alien Tort Statute case in the near future (which could mean as early as this fall): The D.C. Circuit’s A.T.S. ruling...

Tort reform and suing big companies for harmful acts
07/11/2011 - 15:40

Law360 reported at the end of last week that the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, controlled by the House’s Republican majority, has passed tort reform legislation that purports to fight frivolous lawsuits.

According to the newswire,

Committee chair and the legislation's author Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said the reforms outlined in the two-page bill would reduce hundreds of thousands of frivolous law suits that proliferated after the 1993 law relaxed federal rules around mandatory sanctions.

"Lawsuit abuse has become too common in American society partly...

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