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On April 1, 2013, at least 27 lawsuits pending against Johnson & Johnson concerning the over-the-counter medication Tylenol were consolidated into a federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania before Judge Lawrence F. Stengel. Plaintiffs’ claims against Johnson & Johnson include the manufacturer’s failure to adequately warn consumers about the side effects of acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, specifically live

Plaintiffs, current and former KFC employees, allege that since October 2, 2005, KFC failed to adequately compensate them for missed meal and rest periods, as well as off-the-clock work. As a result, Plaintiffs contend they were not paid appropriate overtime and minimum wages. KFC has a uniform corporate policy that provides no employee may take a break without permission from their manager. However, Plaintiffs allege the managers often deny break periods because KFC puts pressure on the manag

On January 7, 2013, Philadelphia Judge Nitza I. Quinones affirmed a $10 million jury verdict in favor of Plaintiff Brianna Maya for injuries she sustained after taking over-the-counter Children’s Motrin. At the age of three, Plaintiff took Children’s Motrin to treat a two-and-a-half day fever. By day three, a rash formed over Plaintiff’s entire body, including her mouth, chest and vaginal area, resulting in Plaintiff’s hospitalization. In an attempt to treat the rash and accompanying blisters,

Brandi Cochran, a model for “The Price is Right,” attempted to return to the show after her pregnancy leave, but instead, learned she had been terminated. In response, Cochran sued CBS Corp., CBS Television Network, RTL Group, FremantleMedia Ltd., FremantleMedia North America and The Price is Right Productions Inc. for pregnancy and disability discrimination. Her case proceeded to trial against FremantleMedia North America and The Price is Right Productions Inc., after the court dismissed her ac

On June 12, 2009, Ulvaldo Soto Martinez, a 33-year-old rod buster, was working on a construction project to widen the Huey P. Long Bridge in Bridge City, Louisiana. He and two co-workers, Sammy Vasquez and Martin Reyes, were working on top of a 50-foot concrete column to secure a rebar cage to the column. After a crane lowered the cage into position, the three workers tied the rebar of the cage to the rebar of the column, while workers on the ground secured guy wires to concrete blocks to preven

On July 15, 2006, 12-year-old little league pitcher Steven Domalewski was struck in the chest by a line drive from a Louisville Slugger TPX Platinum aluminum bat. Domalewski then went into cardiac arrest and was deprived of oxygen for 15 minutes. Although was resuscitated, Domalewski suffered permanent cognitive impairment and became confined to a wheelchair. Now, at age 19, he has impaired speech and is almost completely blind. The boy’s parents filed suit against Defendants Hillerich & B

Between 1999 and 2005, 62-year-old Adriann Georges took Aredia and Zometa, bisphosphonate drugs used to prevent the loss of bone mass in cancer patients. Georges subsequently developed bisphosphonate-associated osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ), a severe bone disease that occurs when the jawbone is exposed for eight weeks or more, causing the jawbone to weaken and die. ONJ can be permanently disfiguring, extremely painful and result in the complete loss of an individual’s jawbone. Despite ONJ being

In April 2002, the New York attorney general’s office commenced a Medicaid fraud investigation into Leonard Morse, a 55-year-old dentist. Morse’s dental practice had over 30,000 patients, of which 95% were Medicaid eligible. In 2006, Morse was publicly indicted by a grand jury for Grand Larceny in the First Degree and Offering a False Instrument in the First Degree. Investigators claimed they found evidence that Morse had falsified bills to be submitted to Medicare. Although Morse was acquitted

On March 9, 2007, 39-year-old George Clay Chandler underwent laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery at Memorial Hospital Jacksonville. Dr. John DePeri performed the surgery. Chandler elected to undergo the surgery that was recommended to him after he failed a physical for his employment with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. Following surgery, Chandler suffered severe complications, including cardiac arrest, septic shock and respiratory failure. He suffered a low-flow stroke, where his blood pres

On March 6, 2009, Decedent Robert Myers, age 50, passed away while scuba diving off Casino Point in Catalina with his sister. For the dive, Myers wore a dry-suit hose manufactured by Defendant Förvaltningsobolaget Insulan AB, doing business as Si Tech, which contained a small plastic insert called a “flow restriction device.” During his dive, an orifice became dislodged from the air hose, causing a blockage in Myers’ breathing apparatus. As a result, Myers suffered sudden cardiac arrest and died

A Polk County jury deliberated just three hours before handing down a $45 million verdict in a wrongful death and survivorship case stemming from a road rage fueled collision in May 2010. On May 11, 2010, 30-year-old Amy Suzanne Krupp and her son, 10-year-old Aaron Orr, were driving south on U.S. Route 98 in Lakeland, Florida, when they were struck head-on by a pickup-truck that crossed the median from the oncoming lane. Krupp sustained fatal injuries and died ten days later. Orr sustained a tr

School administrators at the The Calhoun School on Manhattan’s Upper West Side fired Daniele Benatouil, a 12-year veteran French teacher, for allowing six 18-year-old seniors to drink a glass of wine during their school-sponsored trip to France. Although Benatouil received written permission from the students’ parents allowing the students to have alcohol while in France, she did not obtain authorization from school supervisors. Both the parents and students had previously completed a form req

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit has upheld an award of $1 million to Anthony Zeno, a high school student who suffered shocking racial harassment over the course of several years at Stissing Mountain High School in Dutchess County. The appellate panel concluded that the jury’s award, one of the largest ever rendered for racial harassment, was fair and reasonable given the nature and duration of the egregious conduct involved. Zeno brought suit against the Pine Plains Central School

The night of December 16, 2010 took a tragic turn for 13-year-old Rohayent Gomez Eriza when Police Officer Victor Abarca and his partner came across Eriza and his friends playing a game of cops and robbers with toy guns. Abarca was on routine patrol when he saw Eriza standing behind a parked van holding a toy gun, which he assumed to be real. Eriza claimed that Abarca approached the van and ordered him not to move. When a frightened Eriza took a step away from the van, Abarca shot him. That si

Lies, scandal, greed, and conspiracy – all elements of a box office hit. Add gold, oil, African warlords, government corruption and throw in a U.S. basketball star, and you have the stranger than fiction civil tale which recently riveted a Dallas County jury. The jury awarded Southlake Aviation and its owner, David Disiere, $32.4 in damages against Houston based oil company, CAMAC International, subsidiary CAMAC Aviation and Mukaila Aderemi “Mickey” Lawal, Vice President of African Operations fo

Former Miss Pennsylvania, Sheena Monnin, is paying a high price for going public with gossip she heard backstage at the 2012 Miss USA pageant. Following her quick departure from the preliminary round of the contest, Monnin claimed that she learned from fellow contestant, Miss Florida, Karina Brez, that the contest was scripted. Brez allegedly told Monnin that she had seen a notebook listing of the top five contestants before the preliminary round was conducted. Monnin resigned her position as M

On April 1, 2013, a jury in the Middle District of Florida held tobacco companies R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Philip Morris USA accountable for the wrongful death of Carol LaSard. LaSard, who began smoking cigarettes as a young teenager in the late 1940s, died of lung cancer in 1996. LaSard’s daughter, Cheryl Searcy, filed an action on behalf of the estate against R.J Reynolds and Phillip Morris. Searcy also sought to recover for the loss of parental companionship, instruction and guidance,

Four Plaintiffs, Rebecca Reynolds, Riley Wilkinson, Jason Young and Kathleen Rossitto, brought separate suits against Hoffman La-Roche and Roche Laboratories, claiming that the manufacturer failed to adequately warn of the elevated risk that taking Accutane would lead to the development of permanent inflammatory bowel disease. All four plaintiffs ultimately developed ulcerative colitis after taking Accutane to treat their acne. Two of the four subsequently had to have their colons removed. An At

On January 26, 2009, Plaintiff Deborah Sohl, 47, presented to the emergency room of A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital in Oneonta, NY, complaining of severe chest pain which radiated to her left side, including her left arm, neck and jaw. She also reported feeling nauseous. An EKG was performed and the results were abnormal. Despite traditional indications of a heart attack or other serious problem with her heart, the hospital held Plaintiff for 24 hours for observation without ordering a cardiologist

In December 2009, contractor Ruick Rolland was severely injured during construction of a replica of the Augusta National Golf Course “Hogan Bridge” at the estate of Bruce Irrgang. Rolland suffered a devastating crush injury to his lower leg, which required amputation above the knee. The injury occurred while a 10-year-old boy was at the controls of the five-ton track loader in use on the job site. Rolland and his wife filed suit in Philadelphia County against Irrgang and his company, United Co

State of Wisconsin E-92-3 A contingent fee contract as collateralfor a personal loan to a lawyerFactsAssume Attorney A, a sole practitioner, and an individual, Client B, execute a valid personal injury written contingency agreement under SCR 20:1.5(c).Assume further that the written agreement provides for an attorney’s lien consistent with SCR 20:1.8(j)(1) and (2). Disregarding the value of the contingency case or the contingent fee, may Attorney A ethically offer, tender or negotiate the attor

District of Columbia Ethics Opinion RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT, RULE 1.8(A), (D) AND COMMENTS 1, 3, AND 5 1. A lawyer may obtain a loan from a lending company to fund litigation expenses, provided that the terms of the loan are fair, the client has an opportunity to consult with another attorney on the issue, and that the client consents in writing to the loan. 2. Whether or not the interest on the loan may ethically be passed on to the client was not addressed in these Rules. To date we hav

State of Washington The inquirer asks if it is ethical for a lawyer, in a contingency fee case, to charge interest on costs and expenses of litigation advanced on behalf of the client. The committee opined that a lawyer may, in representing a client on a contingency fee matter, provide in the written fee agreement at the commencement of the representation that costs advanced by the lawyer will accrue interest after a stated period from the date of advancement. The interest rate charged must be

State of Utah Utah Ethics Advisory Opinion CommitteeOpinion No. 02-01Issued February 11, 2002 Issue: Do the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct preclude a Utah lawyer from financing litigation costs through a loan from a third-party lending institution, if (a) the lawyer is obligated to repay the loan and (b) the client, by separate agreement with the lawyer, is obligated to reimburse the lawyer for such costs? Conclusion: The Utah Rules of Professional Conduct do not preclude such litigation-fi

State of Texas THE TEXAS CENTER FOR LEGAL ETHICS AND PROFESSIONALISM, OPINION 465 1. It is ethical for an attorney to take a loan from a third party funding company cover litigation expenses, or to fund his law practice. 2. It is ethical for that attorney, if successful in the litigation, to pass on any interest and charges on any such loan to the client as an appropriate litigation expense, as to the portion of the loan which funded that client’s case. Special State of Texas Caveats: In coming

State of Tennessee Advisory Ethics Opinion 98-A-659Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee (July 9, 1989), draws a similar conclusion from similar facts described in the Utah inquiry. The Board concludes “a lawyer may advance or guarantee certain expenses” by means of “a lending company or recommending such services to clients.” Link to full opinion not available online

State of South Dakota Ethics Opinion 2003-6Rules: 1.2, 1.16, 8.4Subject: Champerty and MaintenanceSummary: Law Firm is prohibited from entering into contractual relationship with client and third party for cash advance by third party prior to conclusion of dispute. FACTSLaw Firm represents client in a dispute concerning injuries sustained from an unknown event. Brand X is an out of state company that provides cash advances on pending personal injury claims. Before such advances are made, Brand

State of South Carolina Ethics Advisory Opinion 94-04Upon the request of a member of the South Carolina Bar, the Ethics Advisory Committee has rendered this opinion on the ethical propriety of the inquirer’s contemplated conduct. This Committee has no disciplinary authority. Lawyer discipline is administered solely by the South Carolina Supreme Court through its Commission on Lawyer Conduct. A number of attorneys in South Carolina have received communications from a company that is engaged in t

State of Rhode Island OPINION 94-42June 22, 1994The inquiring attorney states that the law firm at which he/she is employed has obtained a line of credit from a bank. The bank has requested that the law firm grant a security interest in the firm’s accounts receivable and that the firm provide the bank with a list of the accounts receivable including the names of clients, addresses and amounts owed by them. The attorney seeks Panel advice under these circumstances in light of Rule 1.6 “confident

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Ethics Opinions ETHICS OPINION 2003-15 1. It is ethical for an attorney to borrow funds from a third party funding company to cover litigation expenses, or to fund his law practice. However, in this case the Ethics Opinion requires that ” ..the costs [be] repaid, plus additional fees, only if the case were successfully concluded and funds were derived by the attorney.” Moreover, “[i]f there is a recovery, the only claim by the Funding Company is against the attorney