Boston Scientific faces 1,660 claims on recalled defibrillators.
Plaintiffs suing Boston Scientific over faulty defibrillators achieved a legal victory as a federal court in Minneapolis ruled against several of the company's attempts to throw out claims against it, "The Wall Street Journal" reported June 12. The company is defending itself in 1,660 product-liability lawsuits it...

Got a cease-and-desist letter? Call your patent attorney today.
Imagine this scenario: You run a medical supplies company. Business is good until one day, this letter comes in the mail: "We represent the Mammoth Medical Company in its intellectual property rights. It has come to our attention that your product infringes our client's Patent No. 7,654,321." The letter...

New land claims plan questioned.
Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Phil Fontaine's support for the Harper government's new plan to break the backlog in specific claims settlement has many people across the country scratching their heads. "This is an historic announcement, and a day to applaud the federal government on...

Vioxx plaintiff faces choice of slashed award or new trial.
In an effort to resolve a Vioxx case that resulted in an award of $51 million, a federal judge in New Orleans gave the plaintiff a choice of accepting a $1.6 million award or a new trial, "The Wall Street Journal" reported June 7. Judge Eldon Fallon's...

Nurse spills hot coffee on newborn infant: jury finds nurse, facility negligent.
A jury in the Superior Court, Maricopa County, Arizona awarded a verdict of $7,000 for a newborn infant scalded by hot coffee spilled on him by a nurse. The jury heard arguments the nurse was negligent for bringing an open hot-beverage container into the newborn nursery. ...

New land claims plan questioned.
Editor's note: This article originally ran in the August 2007 issue of Windspeaker, however, due to an oversight during the production process a portion of the text was omitted. In order to rectify the error, we are re-running the article in its entirety. Assembly of First Nations...

Workplace class actions cost more: report: workplace suits emerged in 2006 as top legal risk.
Sure, shareholder and securities class-action filings seem to be down, but another type of class action is registering on employers' radars. Workplace-related suits are becoming the No. 1 driver of corporate legal budgets, according to a report from Chicago-based law firm Seyfarth Shaw LLP. The fastest growing...

Accutane suits advancing ...
With the first verdict rendered in the approximately 400 suits pending against Accutane (isotretinoin), several more cases are headed for court this fall. In late May, a New Jersey Superior Court jury found Accutane manufacturer Roche guilty of failing to warn users of a risk of inflammatory bowel disorder....

Halt the misuse of punitive damages.
Bloated awards will continue to provide incentive to sue until the courts reassume their duty to make the punishment fit the offense. DESPITE several appeals to the Supreme Court, the law of punitive damages seems to be as confused as ever. While courts and commentators agree that punitive damages...

Company told to compensate CD buyer.
CHANDIGARH: Holding M/s Spectrum Business Support guilty of deficiency of service and unfair trade practice, the State Consumer Commission has directed the concern to pay Rs 20,000 as compensation, Rs 50,000 as punitive damages and Rs 5,000 as litigation costs to city-based lawyer Hardesh Goyal for selling him an...