| | The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit Thursday against ConocoPhillips alleging the company refused to allow a worker time off to attend Sunday church services. According to the lawsuit, ConocoPhillips told Clarence Taylor that he would have to use vacation time in order to attend services during a 12-week shift assignment and then denied his vacation requests. AP, Newsday 12/20/2007 | |
| | The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled against the reasoning of a lower court in deciding whether arbitration agreements deprive consumers of the right to pursue damages in court. The three judge panel found that arbitration agreements cannot be deemed unreasonable solely because they deprive consumers access to relief through class action claims. However, the court found that the arbitration provision may be considered unconscionable under alternate reasoning. Shannon P. Duffy, Law.com 12/21/2007 | |
| | A federal judge has awarded a former drug sales representative $1.6 million for blowing the whistle on a drug marketing scheme. The ruling comes after the Justice Department moved to block the award to James Marchese, arguing that he was the initiator of the fraud. In the ruling, Judge Marsha J. Pechman criticized Marchese for failing to bring the scheme to the attention of prosecutors sooner. Barry Meier, The New York Times 12/21/2007 | |
| | An agreement between Allstate and New York insurance regulators could force 55,000 consumers whose coverage was dropped to abandon their legal claims against the insurer. The agreement, announced earlier this week, will allow consumers whose coverage was rescinded because they did not have other lines of insurance with carrier to renew their policies. Earlier this year, regulators ordered Allstate and other insurers to cease the practice, finding it was illegal. Keith Herbert, Newsday 12/20/2007 | |
| | Ophthalmologists have reached an agreement with the maker of a widely used drug for eye disease to continue using a lower cost version of the treatment. Genentech announced earlier this year that it would restrict use of Avastin to treat macular degeneration in favor of the more expensive drug Lucentis. Most doctors preferred using Avastin because it cost between $20 and $100 per injection versus about $2,000 for Lucentis. Andrew Pollack, TheNew York Times 12/21/2007 | |
| | A grieving mother is blaming her insurance company for the death of her daughter who was struggling with leukemia. CIGNA Healthcare refused to pay for a liver transplant for the 17-year old despite urging by the girl’s doctors that the transplant was necessary to save her life. Amid protests, CIGNA reversed its decision hours before the girl’s death. AP, Boston Globe 12/21/2007 | |
TEXAS LAWYER CASE SUMMARIES | | |
| | The trial court abused its discretion by ordering Russell Craig Collins to cease prosecuting his daughter's wrongful death claims as her next friend and by ordering the amicus attorney to act as S.E.E.'s next friend. In Re: Collins,Houston's 14th Court of Appeals, No. 14-07-00624-CV, 12-17-2007. , TexasLawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) 12/21/2007 | |
| | The blockbuster cholesterol drug Zetia may pose a risk of liver damage, portions of several unreleased studies suggest. The Food and Drug Administration alluded to the results of the unpublished studies, conducted by drug makers Merck and Schering-Plough, in documents on its Web site. Merck and Schering-Plough have already received criticism from the medical community for delaying the release of data dealing with Zetia’s safety and benefits. Alex Berenson, The New York Times 12/21/2007 | |
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