Complex Litigation Law Blog

History of Mesothelioma

Wednesday, June 22, 2011 by Michael A. Lesser

For four centuries the people of Boston have been in the process of building, structuring, and re-purposing their living and work environments. Many of these constructions, including factories, public facilities, and shipyards, were built using materials that contained asbestos. These materials saw a great increase in usage during World War II. Unfortunately, their effects and consequences on the human body, such as diagnoses of mesothelioma, were not known until much later.... Read More

Posted at 05:40 AM | PERMALINK

Topic: Complex Litigation

Big Win in Viceroy Litigation

Friday, March 18, 2011 by Matthew C. Ferguson

On March 1, 2011, Matt Ferguson, partner with the Aspen, Colorado based law firm of Garfield & Hecht, P.C. (“G&H, P.C.”) acting as lead counsel for numerous consolidated cases and representing approximately sixty-five (65) Plaintiffs-vendees obtained a state court judgment having implications for all attorneys prosecuting or defending claims under the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act (“ILSA”) (15 U.S.C. §§ 1701, et seq.).... Read More

Posted at 18:10 PM | PERMALINK

Topic: Complex Litigation

Punitive damages generally limited to four times compensatory damages

Monday, August 31, 2009 by John J. Tollefsen

Strawn v. Farmers Ins. Co. of Oregon, --- P.3d ----, 2009 WL 1409471 (Or.App. May 20, 2009) (NO. A131605, 009809080)

A class action was filed complaining of defendants' claims handling of personal injury protection (PIP) benefits payments to their insureds. They used cost-containment software to evaluate their insureds' medical expenses in relation to other bills for the same procedure in a given region. If the charge submitted by an... Read More

Posted at 14:39 PM | PERMALINK

Topic: Complex Litigation

Demand Not Required in Derivative Actions if Futile

Saturday, July 18, 2009 by John J. Tollefsen

In re F5 Networks, Inc., 207 P.3d 433 (Wash. May 21, 2009) (NO. 81817-7).

In a case of first impression, Washington’s Supreme Court decided that shareholders could sue on behalf of a Washington corporation without first making a demand on the board of directors if the demand would be futile.

Washington's corporate statute is based on the 1984 version of the Model Business Corporation Act, which did not contain... Read More

Posted at 19:40 PM | PERMALINK

Topic: Complex Litigation

Common Questions About Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis Syndrome (TENS)

Monday, June 29, 2009 by Douglas C. Monsour

Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS), and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis Syndrome (TENS) another form of SJS are severe adverse reactions to medication. Adverse drug reactions (ADR s) account for approximately 150,000 deaths per year in the U.S. alone, making drug reactions the fourth leading cause of death in the United States.... Read More

Posted at 16:29 PM | PERMALINK

Topic: Complex Litigation

Evidence - spoliation, business records, Daubert

Thursday, May 28, 2009 by John J. Tollefsen

Millenkamp v. Davisco Foods Intern., Inc., 562 F.3d 971, 2009 WL 982787 (9th Cir.(Idaho) Apr 14, 2009) (NO. 07-35299, 07-35318)

Although no new ground is broken, this case provides recent Ninth Circuit case law on spoliation of evidence, settlement letters as evidence, expert opinions and business letters as admissible business records. Generally settlement letters are not admissible because their... Read More

Posted at 11:43 AM | PERMALINK

Topic: Complex Litigation