Category Archives: Important Cases

May 24, 2010 … Important case and legal decisions handed down by jury in pharmaceutical drug case and dangerous drugs.

Haliburton Sanctioned for Destroying Gulf Spill Evidence & PLC Found Grossly Negligent

 

As reported by 360, A Louisiana federal judge sanctioned Halliburton Co. for destroying evidence related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster amid a rash of decisions entered after the first phase of the trial on Thursday. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier ordered the sanctions without detailing what they would be, while allowing motions to supplement the record of the first phase of the trial with details of Halliburton’s guilty plea to the destruction of evidence made last year. “The court finds that the deletion of the [evidence] was done intentionally and in bad faith,” the judge wrote. “The court also finds that this sanction does not amount to a default judgment, the dismissal of any of Halliburton’s claims or the disposal of any claims against Halliburton.” This latest blow to Halliburton comes just two days after the company agreed to pay nearly $1.1 billion to settle most private plaintiffs’ claims against Halliburton for its role in the disaster that sent millions of barrels of oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico. That settlement didn’t address any claims brought by states or the federal government. It also comes as the judge ruled Halliburton to be 3 percent at fault for the incident and that BP PLC must indemnify and release Halliburton relating to compensatory damage claims.

As reported by the WSJ the Court also found “PLC was grossly negligent in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, …, handing down a decision that could cost the company as much as $18 billion in pollution fines for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.Thursday’s decision could leave BP on the hook for far more than the $3.5 billion it had set aside for civil penalties under the U.S. Clean Water Act and likely would easily exceed the biggest previous fine under the statute.The $3.5 billion was based in part on BP’s expectation that the court would rule the company liable for simple negligence. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier’s finding of gross negligence, or more reckless and extreme behavior, means BP faces a penalty of as much as $4,300 for each barrel of crude spilled in the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. That is nearly quadruple the maximum civil fine had the finding been simple negligence, which means the failure to take reasonable care.”

Johnson & Johnson Must Pay Out $1.2 Million Following Vaginal Mesh Jury Verdict

In the first ruling against Johnson & Johnson’s line of vaginal-mesh products, a Texas jury ruled that the TVT-O mesh sling was incorrectly designed. It awarded $1.2 million to Linda Batiste in compensatory damages. Batiste complained of pelvic pain while the device was inside of her. Johnson & Johnson is currently facing more than 12,000Continue Reading

KBR verdict: Judge affirms $81 million of damages awarded to 12 Oregon soldiers for toxic exposure in Iraq

   A federal judge in Portland Friday affirmed $75 million in punitive damages a jury awarded to 12 Oregon National Guard veterans last fall in a case against government contractor KBR, Inc. for its conduct in Iraq a decade ago. Magistrate Judge Paul Papak trimmed compensatory damages for each soldier from $850,000 to $500,000 because he determinedContinue Reading

This Week’s Mass Tort Update

The latest news affecting mass tort litigation click here http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=u2TtMy-7ti0&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Du2TtMy-7ti0%26feature%3Dyoutu.be

BP Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter

The CBS Evening News (1/29, story 4, 1:50, Pelley, 5.58M) reported, “British oil company BP is guilty of criminal charges of manslaughter in the deaths of 11 workers from the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. A Federal judge in New Orleans accepted BP's guilty plea today.” CBS (Strassmann) added, “BP's guilty plea concedes BP managers ignoredContinue Reading

Apple wins 1 billion dollar patent suit

  What does the willful finding mean to everyone else. It probably means that the case will settle while on appeal and that Samsung will either have to develop new technology or license the technology from apple which in the end will be more important that winning the 1 billion dollar judgment. For samsung itContinue Reading

New Jersey Superior Court Blocks Access to Face Book

Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Daniel Waldman denied the defendant's request to access the plaintiff's face book account in order to test the credibility of plaintiff's complaints. The plaintiff argued that her Facebook page was in essence her on line home and communications within that home should not be the subject of discovery. In theContinue Reading

Wells Fargo settles mortgage bias complaints with DOJ for $175 million.

  The Justice Department announced Thursday it had settled mortgage discrimination charges with Wells Fargo, the nation's largest home mortgage lender. Under the settlement, Wells Fargo will pay $175 million to 34,000 individuals who were discriminated against in the mortgage application process. The news garnered considerable print media coverage, but only a brief mention onContinue Reading

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