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• TTLA Home • Search Litigation Bank • About	September 05, 2007
-  Settlement Reached in One BP Suit, Others Set for Trial -  Trial Seems Likely in 9/11 Suits Against Airline -  Judge Grants Class Action Status in Lawsuit Against Insurer -  Insurer's Sales Practices, Policies Under Scrutiny -  FEMA to Move Trailer Residents to Hotels -  As Court Moves Right, Ledbetter Becomes Rallying Point -  Mattel Announces New Recall of Lead-Tainted Toys -  Regulators May Investigate Mattel Recall -  Consumers at Risk from Popcorn Flavoring, Doctor Warns     This Service Sponsored Exclusively by The James Street Group A Member Service of Texas Trial Lawyers Association
Announcements     Laws/Cases   Settlement Reached in One BP Suit, Others Set for Trial The estate of a man who fatally shot himself in the weeks following a BP refinery explosion has agreed to settle a lawsuit against the company. News of the settlement came hours before the case was set to begin trial. Opening statements in three other lawsuits involving the explosion are scheduled to begin today. The 2005 explosion at the BP Texas City refinery has prompted several investigations into the company’s safety practices.  Kristen Hays,Houston Chronicle  09/05/2007 Read Article: Houston Chronicle       Trial Seems Likely in 9/11 Suits Against Airline American Airlines has said that it is prepared to go to trial in a number of lawsuits related to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In the meantime, the airline and families of those killed in the attacks will resume mediation talks today. A source close to the case has told reporters that many settlement proceedings have reached a stalemate over what pain and suffering is worth. Seven lawsuits against the airline and others are scheduled to begin trial on Sept. 24.  Joe Dwinell, Boston Herald  09/05/2007 Read Article: Boston Herald       Judge Grants Class Action Status in Lawsuit Against Insurer A lawsuit against Unum Group, the nation’s largest disability insurer, has been granted class action status by a federal judge. Plaintiffs in the case allege that Unum conspired to deny or terminate claims of thousands of disabled policyholders. In 2004, Unum settled an investigation with insurance regulators from 49 states involving the insurer’s handling of claims.  Bill Poovey, Yahoo News  09/04/2007 Read Article: Yahoo News       Insurer's Sales Practices, Policies Under Scrutiny A lawsuit filed by the Massachusetts Attorney General alleges that insurance subsidiaries of Health Markets schemed to deceive customers into buying substandard insurance policies. In the lawsuit, the attorney general claims that sales agents for the companies often deceptively sold coverage that did not cover standard medical care such as doctor visits or x-rays. The insurer is currently the focus of investigations by regulators in 36 states.  Julie Appleby,USA Today  09/05/2007 Read Article: USA Today       Issues   FEMA to Move Trailer Residents to Hotels Gulf Coast families currently living in Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers will be allowed to move into hotel rooms if they are concerned about formaldehyde gas in their trailers, FEMA announced Tuesday. Yesterday’s announcement follows House findings earlier this summer that agency officials had hidden concerns about the hazardous gas in order to avoid potential liability. The new policy is expected to affect approximately 60,000 families.  Spencer S. Hsu, The Washington Post  09/05/2007 Read Article: The Washington Post       As Court Moves Right, Ledbetter Becomes Rallying Point For many in the country, the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Lilly Ledbetter is ample proof that the nation’s highest court is moving too far to the right. Ledbetter has become a rallying point for groups who seek to highlight how the Court’s decision can affect the daily lives of Americans. Some of those efforts appear to have worked. Democratic presidential candidates have already signed Senate legislation that would overturn the Court’s decision and the House approved the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act earlier this summer.  Robert Barnes, The Washington Post  09/05/2007 Read Article: The Washington Post       Products   Mattel Announces New Recall of Lead-Tainted Toys For the third time this year, Mattel has announced the large-scale recall of children’s toys because of concerns over dangerous lead paint. The latest recall, totaling 848,000 toys, includes three toys sold by Fisher-Price and eight Barbie accessories. Lawmakers reacted to the recall by calling for increased funding and authority for the Consumer Product Safety Commission in safeguarding toys imported into the country.  Louis Story, The New York Times  09/05/2007 Read Article: The New York Times       Regulators May Investigate Mattel Recall The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that it may launch an investigation into whether Mattel acted in a timely manner in initiating a recall of toys last month. Agency officials refused to comment on the nature of an ongoing investigation into the recall. Federal law requires companies to notify the agency within 24 hours of discovering a potentially dangerous product defect.  AP, LA Times  09/04/2007 Read Article: LA Times       Consumers at Risk from Popcorn Flavoring, Doctor Warns A doctor at Denver's National Jewish Medical and Research Center has warned federal regulators that consumers may be at risk from inhaling fumes produced by butter flavoring in microwave popcorn. In a letter written to federal safety agencies, Dr. Cecil Rose claims that at least one patient developed lung disease after inhaling popcorn fumes several times a day over the course of a few years. The chemical used in the flavoring, diacetyl, has been at the heart of hundreds of lawsuits by popcorn factory workers who suffer from a potentially fatal lung disease commonly called popcorn lung.  Marcus Kabel, LA Times  09/04/2007 Read Article: LA Times
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