|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Ford Explorer Cases - 06/04/07 Trial
|
| |
| Automotive product liability – alleged tendency of earlier Ford Explorer models to flip thereby causing injury to passengers as well as decreasing value of automobile. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Jose Adolfo Tellez et al v. Dole Food Company Inc et al - 07/19/07 Trial
|
| |
| 25 plaintiffs incurred personal injuries, including reproductive injuries. The plaintiffs claim exposure from working on banana plantations (in Nicaragua) from dermal contact with 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane ("DBCP"), inhalation of vapors, and from drinking water allegedly contaminated with DBCP. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Refik Kozic v. Merck - 09/19/07 Trial
|
| |
| Pharmaceutical product liability action where Mr. Kozic claims that he used VIOXX for approximately nine weeks before suffering his heart attack in April 2001 at age 50. |
|
| Carmack v. Baldwin - 08/06/07 Hearing
|
| |
| This litigation centers around real property in the Ocean View area; where structures were built, including six mobile homes, without proper permits. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Humeston v. Merck - 09/15/05 Trial
|
| |
| Pharmaceutical product liability trial against Merck for the painkiller drug Vioxx held in New Jersey September 2005. Plantiffs granted a retrial in 2006. |
|
| City of Milwaukee v. National Lead Industries & Mautz Paint - 01/19/07 Hearing
|
| |
The City of Milwaukee filed suit against National Lead Industries
and a local paint producer and seller in April 2001. The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, abatement of lead hazards in Milwaukee homes, and restitution for the city’s abatement-related expenditures. Additionally, Milwaukee requests relief on grounds of continuing public uisance and conspiracy. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| City of Milwaukee v. National Lead Industries and Mautz Paint - 05/23/07 Trial
|
| |
| The City of Milwaukee is suing the National Lead Industries and the Mautz Paint Co. to recover $53 million dollars for lead-based paint removal within the city. The City claims that the defendants created a public nuisance because they marketed and sold substantial quantities of lead pigments and/or lead-based paint. The City also alleged conspiracy and sought compensatory and punitive damages. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Oliver v. Boston University - 11/08/07 Hearing
|
| |
| A group of minority shareholders, led by Plaintiff Sergio M. Oliver (“Oliver”), brought to trial a series of claims challenging certain transactions before Seragen’s merger with Ligand in August 1998 and the process by which the merger proceeds were divvied up. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Arenazas v. BP - 12/03/07 Trial
|
| |
| Cases that were not part of the original settlement arising out of the BP refinery explosion in Galveston, TX that led to 15 deaths of Texas citizens in 2005. |
|
| Genesco v. Finish Line - 12/10/07 Trial
|
| |
| M&A Multi-billion dollar breach of contract suit invoking material adverse effect clause. Lawsuit is filed by Genesco Inc. against The Finish Line Inc. for failure to complete its $1.5 billion purchase of Genesco. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| United Rentals, Inc. v. RAM Holdings - 12/18/07 Trial
|
| |
| United Rentals, Inc. filed a lawsuit against RAM Holdings, Inc. and RAM Acquisition Corp., acquisition vehicles formed by Stephen A. Feinberg's Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. to acquire United Rentals. The lawsuit, filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery, seeks to compel the Cerberus acquisition vehicles to complete the agreed-upon transaction. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Bronwood, LLC v. Tahoe Reno Utility Services Co - 01/11/07 Trial
|
| |
| A private utility provider sued its joint venturer for breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract involving the provision of gas and electricity to the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center (TRI-Center) via a general improvement district (GID). The private utility alleged that its joint venturer secretly negotiated a more lucrative arrangement with a public utility (Sierra Pacific, now NV Energy) that resulted in $30M in wrongful gains to the joint venturer, and cost the private utility $10M in lost profits. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Liberty Media v. IAC/Interactive Corp - 02/01/08 Hearing
|
| |
| Malone's Liberty Media Corp., which holds a 30 percent of IAC's shares and 62 percent of its voting power, asked the court to let it oust Diller and six directors from IAC's board. Liberty, owner of the QVC and Starz channels, wants to name three directors to IAC's board to fill the vacancies. |
|
| United States Anti Doping Agency v. Floyd Landis - 05/14/07 Arbitration
|
| |
| Floyd Landis, an American cyclist, was accused of doping to win the 2006 Tour de France, after a positive test for synthetic testosterone. He requested an additional test on a backup sample of urine, which tested positive as well. He was suspended from professional cycling and dismissed from his Phonak Cycling Team. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Stewart Grossberg v. Merck & Co, Inc - 06/27/06 Trial
|
| |
This is the first Vioxx trial held in Los Angeles, CA. In this suit, plaintiff Grossberg, used Vioxx for several years until Merck pulled it from the shelves in 2004. Plaintiff suffered a heart-attack and claims it was Vioxx caused, and that it required doctors to implant a stent and proscribe regular cholesterol medication.
He seeks compensatory and punitive damages and $214,000 to cover medical care. He maintains causes of action for strict liability, negligence and negligence per se, breach of implied and express warranties, deceit, and negligent misrepresentation. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Kerman and Naomi Ladner v. DuPont Co. - 05/24/07 Trial
|
| |
Kerman and Naomi Ladner, individually and on behalf of the Estate of Haley Kerman sued DuPont Co. for the wrongful death of their daughter. Haley was exposed to dioxins released from DuPont's DeLise, Mississippi plant and subsequently developed liver cancer and died in July 2000.
DuPont denied that there was any casual relationship between the dioxin release and the cancer that caused the child's death. |
|
| William J. LaPoint, et al v. Amerisourcebergen Corportation - 05/07/07 Trial
|
| |
| AmerisourceBergen had agreed to acquire Bridge Medical Inc. for an initial payment of $27 million dollars, and further agreed to an "earn-out” to be paid to former Bridge shareholders contingent upon certain EBITA [earnings before interest, tax and amortization] targets being met over a two year period. Plaintiff insist that defendant provided lukewarm support for their operations and did everything possible to avoid having to pay merger consideration contingent on the success of plaintiffs’ former firm. Defendant blames plaintiffs’ woes upon plaintiffs’ lack of long-term planning, inconsistency between plaintiffs’ strategies and actions, and an inability to cope with market changes. Plaintiffs now seek damages in response to defendant’s alleged breaches of contract. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| In re: Loral Space & Comms, Inc. Consolidated Litigation - 03/03/08 Trial
|
| |
**ATTORNEY FEES HEARING**
The Shareholder Derivative Litigation arose out of the Company's sale of $300 million of preferred stock to funds affiliated with MHR Fund Management LLC ("MHR") pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreement dated October 17, 2006, as amended and restated on February 27, 2007 (the "Securities Purchase Agreement"). The plaintiffs, certain stockholders of Loral, alleged, among other things, that the sale was not fair to the Company and resulted from breach of fiduciary duties by Loral's directors. |
|
| State of Alaska v. Eli Lilly & Co - 03/05/08 Trial
|
| |
| The state of Alaska is bringing action against Eli Lilly on the claims of violation of Alaska’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act, failure to warn, design defect, negligence, and fraud and negligent misrepresentation. Alaska is seeking to recover the funds its Medicaid program spent treating the side effects of Eli Lilly’s drug Zyprexa, claiming that Eli Lilly failed to properly report the fact that use of the drug can lead to hyperglycemia and diabetes to the FDA, instead reporting that it can cause “weight gain.” The state asserts that Eli Lilly also failed to inform doctors of the risk of these side effects and instructed its representatives to deny the link between Zyprexa and diabetes. In 2003, the FDA mandated that Zyprexa includes warnings about hyperglycemia and diabetes. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Wilmington Trust Co et al v Tropicana Entertainment LLC et al - 02/26/08 Hearing
|
| |
| Tropicana Entertainment, LLC and Tropicana Finance Corp. acquired the Tropicana Atlantic City Casino by issuing $960 million in bonds. Wilmington Trust Co. is the indenture trustee and delivered a notice of default on behalf of the majority of holders after the Tropicana Atlantic City Casino lost its New Jersey gaming license, claiming that the transfer of power to Justice Stein (an agent of the state) was a prohibited transfer under the agreement. Tropicana claims that it was not a prohibited transfer, since there was nothing in the agreement stating that a loss of license was an event of default, and that such an occurrence is easily foreseeable as a risk of the business. Tropicana further claims that Justice Steins role is so limited that no considerable transfer has occurred due to the loss of the license. The court holds in summary judgment that though there was nothing in the contract stating that a loss of license would lead to default, that fact does not prevent a loss of license from triggering another part of the contract. Although Justice Stein held the assets prior to the loss of license and prior to the contract, the vesting of assets in Justice Stein constituted a breach of the agreement. |
|
| Liberty Media v. IAC/Interactive Corp - 03/10/08 Trial
|
| |
| IAC’s Barry Diller wants to spin off IAC into a five different parts, and switch to a single tier voting structure. This move would effectively halve Liberty Media’s voting power in IAC, which is currently 62%. As a result of previous dealings, Diller has proxy control of Liberty Media’s shares in IAC. Liberty’s John Malone is suing to stop the restructuring and oust Diller, claiming that he is breaching stewardship and his contract. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Gentile, et al v. Rosette, et al - 03/31/08 Trial
|
| |
| The Plaintiffs, former shareholders of SinglePoint, which merged into a subsidiary of Cofiniti, Inc. in 2000, bring this action for breach of fiduciary duty against its two directors. They challenge, as an unwarranted dilution of their equity interests and voting power in SinglePoint, the conversion of some of the debt held by Rossette into SinglePoint common stock at an unfairly and unreasonably low conversion rate. They also challenge special benefits that Rossette received as part of the merger—additional consideration upon which he conditioned his approval of the merger. Remanded from Delaware Supreme Court |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| In Re: Citrus Canker Litigation - 04/18/08 Trial
|
| |
| Plaintiffs allege that the Department's destruction of residential citrus trees under the CCEP which were not determined to be infected with citrus canker obligates the Department to pay full and just compensation to members of the classes. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Bondi v. Citigroup - 05/15/08 Trial
|
| |
Parmalat SpA, the Italian dairy company that collapsed in 2003, is seeking $2.2 billion in damages from Citigroup Inc. at a civil trial in New Jersey, a company lawyer told a judge today.
Parmalat Chief Executive Officer Enrico Bondi seeks to prove that Citigroup, the largest U.S. bank by assets, aided and abetted larceny by corrupt insiders at Parmalat. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| BAYPO v. Technology JV - 07/11/07 Hearing
|
| |
| The plaintiffs seek to reform the contract, arguing that their claim for reformation is not subject to the otherwise broad arbitration clause governing the parties' commercial relationship. |
|
| Miguel Arenazas, et al v. BP Amoco Chemical Company, et al - 05/27/08 Trial
|
| |
| The lawsuits alleged that on March 23, 2005, BP operated its Texas City, Texas refinery with gross negligence and violated federal, state, industry and even its own safety standards that led to the explosion. The tragedy resulted in extensive state and federal investigations and culminated in numerous criminal pleas with the U.S. Department of Justice. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Chicago Sun Times v. Conrad Black - 05/23/08 Hearing
|
| |
| Last month, Black struck a deal to sell his controlling stake in Hollinger International to the Barclays, billionaire Scottish twins who offered him $467 million. Hollinger International owns the London Daily Telegraph -- coveted by the Barclays -- plus the Jerusalem Post, the Sun-Times and other papers. |
|
| In re Loral Space & Comms, Inc. Consolidated Litigation - 06/20/08 Hearing
|
| |
**ATTORNEY FEES HEARING**
The Shareholder Derivative Litigation arose out of the Company's sale of $300 million of preferred stock to funds affiliated with MHR Fund Management LLC ("MHR") pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreement dated October 17, 2006, as amended and restated on February 27, 2007 (the "Securities Purchase Agreement"). The plaintiffs, certain stockholders of Loral, alleged, among other things, that the sale was not fair to the Company and resulted from breach of fiduciary duties by Loral's directors. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Ginsburg v. Philadelphia Stock Exchange - 07/02/08 Hearing
|
| |
| The Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX) announced today that the Supreme Court of the State of Delaware unanimously approved the settlement in the Ginsburg v. Phlx, et al litigation. This clears the way for the completion of the merger between PHLX and NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc., subject to SEC approval. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| CA, Inc v. AFSCME - 07/09/08 Hearing
|
| |
| The Delaware Supreme Court, acting at the behest of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, has agreed to review a shareholder proposal for CA Inc. to reimburse dissident investors for the cost of waging proxy fights. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Norman Braman vs. Miami Dade County - 07/14/08 Trial
|
| |
| A lawsuit filed by luxury auto dealer Norman Braman challenging a plan to finance a Florida Marlins ballpark will go forward after a judge chose Thursday not to dismiss complaints that the plan is unconstitutional and misappropriates voter-approved bond funding. |
|
| Clark v. Autonation - 07/14/08 Trial
|
| |
| Clark, an Alamo car rental marketing executive, requested enforcement against Autonation of his employment contract's salary continuation provision of $1 million dollars ($100K per year for ten years). Autonation purchased Alamo and allegedly accepted responsibility for making the continuation payments if Alamo did not. After Clark's employment ended, Autonation divested Alamo, and Alamo subsequently declared bankruptcy and stopped making payments to Clark. The jury was asked to determine whether Autonation or Alamo was obligated to make the payments. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Allied Capital v. GC Sun Holdings, et al - 08/25/08 Trial
|
| |
This matter stems from a $10 million promissory note Allied Capital Corp. held from GC-Sun Holdings LP. The note contained a restrictive convenant prohibiting GC-Sun from incurring any additional debt unless it was subordinated to the $10 million note.
However, there was a restructuring of GC-Sun Holdings in 2004 that resulted in the creation of two new entities, Brafasco Holdings II Inc. and GC-Sun Frontier Investors LLC. The defendants allegedly made an investment in Brafasco that was not subordinated to the $10 million note. As a result, GC-Sun Holdings had only "trivial" funds left to repay Allied Capital.
Allied Capital sued for breach of contract, breach of implied good faith, tortious interference with contract, breach of fiduciary duty, aiding and abetting breath of fiduciary duty, fraudulent conveyance, civil conspiracy and unjust enrichment. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Shawn Monroe v. Del Taco LLC, et al - 09/10/08 Trial
|
| |
| Disabled plaintiff claimed that Del Taco, El Pollo Loco, and Carl's Junior fast food restaurants around Los Angeles, California, violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by locating the toilet seat cover dispenser in a position inaccessible from a wheel chair, and thus that he was prevented from using the toilet in the restroom. Also, the plaintiff alleged that in some of the restaurants hand bars were not provided, the paper towel dispenser was inaccessible, and/or the soap dispenser was inaccessible. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| State of West Virginia v. Eli Lilly & Co. - 09/09/08 Hearing
|
| |
| This trial video concerns a motion to remand back to state court. The State of West Virginia is suing Eli Lilly claiming that Zyprexa harmed West Virginia citizens and that Zyprexa sales benefited Eli Lilly at the expense of West Virginia's Medicaid program. Finally, West Virgnia claimed that the sales would not have occurred if Eli Lilly had disclosed its risk to medical providers. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| In re: Ambac Financial Group - 09/24/08 Hearing
|
| |
| On February 13, 2008, Kohn, Swift, & Graf, P.C. filed a derivative action in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware on behalf of nominal defendant Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (“Ambac” or the “Company”) against certain of its directors and officers for breach of their fiduciary duties to the Company. The relevant time period for the derivative action is from October 19, 2005 through February 13, 2008. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| David McDavid et al v. Turner Broadcasting et al - 10/09/08 Trial
|
| |
A Dallas auto dealer who lost his bid to buy the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Thrashers sued the struggling franchises' former parent company, Time Warner Inc., and accused the media conglomerate of reneging on the deal.
David McDavid also alleges in the lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court that Time Warner and subsidiary Turner Broadcasting System Inc. revealed his confidential business plans to a competing group of investors who ultimately bought basketball's Hawks and hockey's Thrashers for $250 million. |
|
| Huntsman Corp. v. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC - 10/08/08 Hearing
|
| |
A Texas jury will hear a multibillion dollar claim by Huntsman Corp. that two of the world's largest banks, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, scuttled its proposed mergers with Hexion Chemical and Basell Holdings, NV. Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank were supposed to finance the deals, but backed away when the credit markets deteriorated last fall. Among the claims Huntsman is pursuing are tortuous interference and common law fraud.
Hexion Chemical is owned by Leon Black's Apollo Management. In one of the most noteworthy rulings last year, Delaware Chancery Court vice-chancellor Stephen Lamb found that Hexion breached its merger agreement with Huntsman. Hexion eventually settled that litigation for $1 billion, including a $425 million cash payment to Huntsman. Apollo and Hexion are cooperating with Huntsman in this litigation. (For video of the Delaware litigation, please click here.)
Presiding over the trial is Texas Ninth District state court Judge Fred Edwards, a Republican who has been on the bench since 1993. The trial will be held Conroe, Tex., which is about 14 miles from Huntsman's U.S. headquarters. Lead counsel for Huntsman is Jean Frizzell, Robin Gibbs and Kathy Patrick of Gibbs & Bruns. Lead counsel for the banks is Richard Clary of Cravath, Swaine & Moore and G. Irvin Terrell of Baker Botts. The trial is expected to last approximately four weeks.
View a clip from September's Hexion v. Huntsman Trial.
View a clip from October's Hexion v. Huntsman Hearing.
View a clip from November's Huntsman v. Credit Suisse Hearing.
View a clip from May's Huntsman v. Credit Suisse Hearing. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| In Re: Accutane - 10/20/08 Trial
|
| |
This is the October, 2008, Accutane trial.
Also available, the original trial McCarrell v. Hoffman LaRoche, and the July 2009 re-trial of McCarrell v. Hoffman LaRoche.
This class action against the acne drug Accutane, manufactured by Hoffman-La Roche, Inc., involves plaintiffs who have suffered severe inflammatory bowel disease after taking the drug.
Representative for the class, Andrew McCarrell, has undergone multiple surgeries after taking the drug in 1995, including having his colon removed.
At the trial level, in May 2007, a jury held that Accutane had caused McCarrell�s inflammatory bowl disease and the proceeding colon removal. Specifically, the jury found that Hoffman- La Roche failed to adequately warn a patient of the bowel disease risks associated with its potent acne medicine Accutane, and they awarded him $2.5 million in damages and an additional $119,000 to cover medical expenses.
On May 12, 2009 New Jersey's Court of Appeals vacated the trial court's verdict. The appellate court held harmful error occurred when the trial court did not allow La Roche to present evidence of how many people take Accutane. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| In Re: Affiliated Computer Services - 10/22/08 Hearing
|
| |
| Complaints were filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery seeking among other things that the ACS board of directors fulfill its fiduciary duties and obligations to the Company's public shareholders in the face of the "going-private" takeover proposal and participation of Plaintiffs and their counsel to assure a fair process and the best transaction. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| In Re: American International Group (AIG) Inc Derivative Lit - 11/07/08 Hearing
|
| |
This hearing concerns a motion by 3rd party defendants Gen Re Corporation seeking dismissal of underlying litigation.
In this suit, stockholder plaintiffs seek to recover funds to make American International Group, Inc. (AIG) whole for the harm it suffered when it was revealed that the corporation’s financial statements were materially misleading. Also, these statements overstated the value of the corporation by billions of dollars, and plaintiffs aver these discrepancies were the consequence of intentional misconduct by AIG’s top executives. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Huntsman Corp. v. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC - 11/24/08 Hearing
|
| |
A Texas jury will hear a multibillion dollar claim by Huntsman Corp. that two of the world's largest banks, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, scuttled its proposed mergers with Hexion Chemical and Basell Holdings, NV. Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank were supposed to finance the deals, but backed away when the credit markets deteriorated last fall. Among the claims Huntsman is pursuing are tortuous interference and common law fraud.
Hexion Chemical is owned by Leon Black's Apollo Management. In one of the most noteworthy rulings last year, Delaware Chancery Court vice-chancellor Stephen Lamb found that Hexion breached its merger agreement with Huntsman. Hexion eventually settled that litigation for $1 billion, including a $425 million cash payment to Huntsman. Apollo and Hexion are cooperating with Huntsman in this litigation. (For video of the Delaware litigation, please click here.)
Presiding over the trial is Texas Ninth District state court Judge Fred Edwards, a Republican who has been on the bench since 1993. The trial will be held Conroe, Tex., which is about 14 miles from Huntsman's U.S. headquarters. Lead counsel for Huntsman is Jean Frizzell, Robin Gibbs and Kathy Patrick of Gibbs & Bruns. Lead counsel for the banks is Richard Clary of Cravath, Swaine & Moore and G. Irvin Terrell of Baker Botts. The trial is expected to last approximately four weeks.
View a clip from September's Hexion v. Huntsman Trial.
View a clip from October's Hexion v. Huntsman Hearing.
View a clip from November's Huntsman v. Credit Suisse Hearing.
View a clip from May's Huntsman v. Credit Suisse Hearing. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Hess vs. RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co - 12/03/08 Trial
|
| |
The first of the "Engle progency" tobacco liability suits to go to trial before Hon. Jeffrey Streitfeld in Broward County, Florida.
A mistrial was declared in the case last year.
A jury ruled in the first phase of the new trial that Hess was addicted to nicotine at the time of his death. The second trial phase for damages is underway. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| In re Loral Space & Communications, Inc. Consolidated Lit - 12/22/08 Hearing
|
| |
**ATTORNEY FEES HEARING**
The Shareholder Derivative Litigation arose out of the Company's sale of $300 million of preferred stock to funds affiliated with MHR Fund Management LLC ("MHR") pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreement dated October 17, 2006, as amended and restated on February 27, 2007 (the "Securities Purchase Agreement"). The plaintiffs, certain stockholders of Loral, alleged, among other things, that the sale was not fair to the Company and resulted from breach of fiduciary duties by Loral's directors. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Cigna Worldwide Insurance Co v. Josie Senesie – 01/23/2009 Hearing
|
| |
| This case arises from an attempt to wrest control over the business and affairs of CIGNA Worldwide Insurance Company a solvent Delaware corporation, from its duly-elected Board of Directors by a Liberian receiver appointed by a Liberian court, with purported authority over the Liberian branch of the Company. |
|
| Hess vs. RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. - 02/03/09 Trial
|
| |
The first of the "Engle progency" tobacco liability suits to go to trial before Hon. Jeffrey Streitfeld in Broward County, Florida.
A mistrial was declared in the case last year.
A jury ruled in the first phase of the new trial that Hess was addicted to nicotine at the time of his death. The second trial phase for damages is underway. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Reed Gusciora, et al. v. James E. McGreevey, et al. - 01/27/09 Trial
|
| |
Suit brought by the Rutgers University Constitutional Litigation Clinic against the state of New Jersey alleging that electronic voting machines manufactured by Sequoia Voting Systems could potentially be hacked and should be banned from use in future New Jersey elections.
The New Jersey Attorney General's office is collaborating with Sequoia to defend the efficacy and security of the "Sequoia Advantage" electronic voting machine. |
|
| State of Wisconsin vs. Abbott Laboratories et al - 02/04/09 Trial
|
| |
Suit brought by the state's attorney general against Pfizer's Pharmacia unit and other pharmaceutical manufacturers alleging they overcharged the state's Medicaid system.
Litigation over "average wholesale prices" for medication charged to state Medicaid systems is increasing, and this is the first time Pfizer will face such accusations before a state jury. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| California Correctional Peace Officers v. Schwarzenegger - 02/05/09 Hearing
|
| |
California's governor was authorized to reduce the workweek through a furlough of represented state employees, and the reduction in pay corresponding to the hours not worked did not amount to a modification of established salary ranges in violation of California Government Code s. 19826(b), despite a contention that the furlough would not actually result in fewer hours worked.
In response to California's budget crisis, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued Executive Order S-16-08 implementing a 2-day-per-month involuntary furlough of represented state employees. The represented employees argued that because their offices would not in fact close, they would not in fact work fewer hours, and they would not be able to subsequently use their furlough days before the days expired, and thus the practical effect of the order was a salary reduction with no reduction in hours. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Kuhn Construction, Inc v. Diamond State Port Corp. - 02/09/09 Hearing
|
| |
| Plaintiff, Kuhn Construction, was awarded a $10 million+ contract for wharf construction from DSPC, a mixed private/gov't entity. Kuhn Construction claims that due to faulty architectural plan data they had to incur additional construction costs beyond the amount awarded in the original contracts. Defendants claim dispute must be resolved in arbitration rather than in the Chancery Court. |
|
| Shiflett v. Leesburg Town Council - 01/20/09 Trial
|
| |
| The Town Council decided in 2005 to impose a 100 percent surcharge on the water and sewer usage rates paid by out-of-town customers, saying the higher fees were justified because the users did not pay town taxes to help fund the utility system. A year later, a group of out-of-town customers sued Leesburg over the rate structure. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Diet Drug Cases - 02/23/09 Trial
|
| |
| Suit alleging that various pharmaceutical companies failed to disclose the potential side effects of Fen Phen, a popular diet drug medication, which included primary hypertension and valve disease. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Jose Adolfo Tellez et al v. Dole Food Company Inc et al - 01/21/09 Hearing
|
| |
| 25 plaintiffs incurred personal injuries, including reproductive injuries. The plaintiffs claim exposure from working on banana plantations (in Nicaragua) from dermal contact with 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane ("DBCP"), inhalation of vapors, and from drinking water allegedly contaminated with DBCP. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Ferlanti v. Liggett Group - 02/23/09 Trial
|
| |
This is the second "Engle" tobacco case to go to trial after a Broward County jury awarded nearly $8 million to the widow of a smoker who died from lung cancer.
After a Miami jury awarded the largest class action verdict in history to smokers who claim major tobacco companies withheld critical information about the dangers of smoking, the Florida Supreme Court determined that each case had to be tried individually.
By presiding over the first two of nearly 8000 of these individual suits, Judge Streitfeld could set an important standard for how future "Engle litigation" will play out across the state Florida. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Walker v. GEICO Insurance - 02/11/09 Oral Argument
|
| |
| Appeal of California district court's granting of defendant's motion to dismiss. Plaintiffs (body shop owners) dispute the methods used to determine the "prevailing auto body rate" - a metric required by the state legislature to give uniformity to auto repair billing practices. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| U-Haul Int'l. v. Lumbermens Mutual - 01/15/09 Oral Argument
|
| |
This oral argument concerns the dispute between Plaintiff, U-Haul and Defendant, Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company (LMC). U-Haul intended to be covered by a comprehensive insurance scheme that would involve four different insurance policies, one of which was with LMC.
The first three policies were with insurance company Western Republic. The policy with LMC would attached once a $7,000,000 limit was reached with Western Republic. The parties disagree about whether the payment of indemnity and loss adjustment expenses or the payment of indemnity alone (1) exhausts the $7,000,000 total limit of the Republic Western policies and (2) may trigger the coverage of the LMC policy. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Michael S. Polsky v. Daniel E. Virnich - 01/07/09 Oral Argument
|
| |
| The central dispute in this case raises the question whether officers or directors who are the sole owners of a corporation may manage that corporation for their own benefit at the expense of the corporation and its creditors. Existing case law suggests conflicting answers to this question, and its ultimate resolution presents a significant policy issue that is likely to have statewide impact on corporations, the banks who lend to them, and others who contract with them. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Herrick Foundation v. Tecumseh Products Company - 12/23/08 Hearing
|
| |
| Herrick Foundation filed a lawsuit in Lenawee County (Mich.) Court to seek injunctive relief from the decision by Tecumseh Products Company to declare a 3-for-1 stock split effective on December 31, 2008. The stock split, which two board members voted against, is the Board's third unlawful effort to interfere with voting rights, according to Herrick Foundation spokesman Jeff Caponigro. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Varnum v. Brien - 12/09/08 Oral Argument
|
| |
| Appeal from a trial court's ruling in a lawsuit on behalf of six same-sex couples who sought to marry in Iowa. The lawsuit argued that under the equal protection and due process guarantees of the Iowa Constitution it same-sex couples could not be precluded from marrying, and thus gay and lesbian couples in Iowa were entitled to the rights and benefits of marriage — including the word "marriage" itself. The trial court struck down the state's prohibition on the recognition of same-sex marriages on the ground that the right to marry was a "fundamental right." |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Kornak v. North Broward Hospital District - 11/05/08 Trial
|
| |
Plaintiff, Martha Kornak brings this action for damages resulting from the death of of her husband, James Kornak, after a surgery procedure. Plaintiff alleges that the hospital is liable for the failure of the doctors and nurses to apply the appropriate standard of care.
This medical malpractice trial was heard before a jury. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Mangano v. PeriCor Therapeutics - 11/03/08 Hearing
|
| |
Hearing on motion for partial summary judgment and partial judgment on the pleadings.
Mangano, plaintiff, co-founded PeriCor Therapeutics, defendant, in 2004 and owns 45% of the biotech company, alleging breach of a voting trust agreement.
PeriCor Therapeutics, Inc. is a private, clinical-stage specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapies to prevent the morbidity and mortality caused by myocardial injury |
|
| In re: Countrywide Shareholders Litigation - 10/28/08 Hearing
|
| |
| Shareholders accused Countrywide directors in February of breaching their fiduciary duty by approving the proposed sale on unfair and inadequate terms. As part of the settlement, Countrywide agreed to make additional disclosures on the background of the merger, according to court documents filed yesterday in Delaware Chancery Court in Wilmington. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Norman Braman v. Miami Dade County - 09/22/08 Hearing
|
| |
| A lawsuit filed by luxury auto dealer Norman Braman challenging a plan to finance a Florida Marlins ballpark will go forward after a judge chose Thursday not to dismiss complaints that the plan is unconstitutional and misappropriates voter-approved bond funding. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| CFTC Committee to Discuss Energy Markets - 06/10/08 Hearing
|
| |
| The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) will convene the first meeting of its Energy Markets Advisory Committee on Tuesday, June 10, 2008, to receive input from a variety of sources on key energy market issues. The Committee, which includes a wide-range of representatives of energy industry participants, will focus on the issue of transparency in the energy markets, and will include discussions on the role of index trading and energy trading on foreign boards of trade. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Osborne, et al. v. The City of Wilmington - 05/29/08 Hearing
|
| |
Senate Bill 194, sponsored by Laurel Democratic Sen. Robert L. Venables Sr., sailed through the Senate on a unanimous vote and moves to the House for consideration.
Venables' one-sentence bill states that government cannot use its power to condemn private property if its purpose is "to primarily generate public revenues through private land owners."
That wording renders the bill almost toothless, said Ed Osborne, who owns an auto repair shop in South Wilmington that is on the city's list for potential eminent-domain condemnation. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Torres v. Wal Mart - 03/02/09 Trial
|
| |
Plaintiff allegedly slipped on a wet floor in a Walmart store aisle and fell backwards, hitting his head on a pallet, resulting in herniated discs in his neck and back. The plaintiff alleged that there were no warning cones blocking his access to or otherwise adequately protecting him from the dangerous condition. The defendant claimed that it had been conscientious in keeping the floor clean, it provided adequate warning cones, and although the floor may have been shiny, it was not wet or slippery.
The jury found for the defendant. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Whiteway v. FedEx Kinko's - 03/11/09 Oral Argument
|
| |
| SF - Plaintiff's appeal of district court's granting defendant's motion for summary judgment and class decertification in class action suit brought by managers at Kinkos Copy Centers who claim they were improperly denied various employment benefits like overtime compensation. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Thelen Reid Brown v. Marland - 03/11/09 Oral Argument
|
| |
Defendant's appeal of district court granting plaintiff's motion for summary judgment in suit over the termination of an agreement between Thelen and Marland in 1999 to pursue a French-owned state bank for violations of US federal law.
BEING HEARD WITH: 08-15102 |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| In re: NYMEX Shareholder Litigation - 03/17/09 Hearing
|
| |
Hearing for plaintiff's motion on declaratory judgment and defendants' cross motion for summary judgment.
NOTE: BEING HEARD WITH CASE # 3835
The complaint alleges that the director-defendants, aided and abetted by NYMEX and CME, breached their fiduciary duties to Mr. Capozza and the other NYMEX shareholders by agreeing to sell NYMEX to CME for grossly inadequate consideration. The complaint also alleges that the proposed acquisition was negotiated through a process that was fundamentally flawed.
According to Mr. Capozza, “I have taken this action to protect all the NYMEX shareholders from the personal self-interest of management. If we sell our shares, we should get a fair and adequate price, not one that rewards Mr. Schaeffer and his cohorts at our expense.” Mr. Capozza added, “I have been a member and shareholder of the New York Mercantile Exchange for more than 25 years, and my concern has always been to see that the members are treated fairly. This proposed sale is the latest instance of management operating for their own interest rather than the best interest of all the shareholders. As a public company, it is more important than ever that management is accountable to all the shareholders.” |
|
| Bible v. Schriro - 03/26/09 Oral Argument
|
| |
NOTE: Each side being given full 30 minutes for OA's.
Appeal of district court ruling in habeus corpus petition denying re-trial due to new evidence in death penalty case. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Nemec v. Shrader - 03/30/09 Hearing
|
| |
(NOTE: being heard with # 3924)
Oral arguments on defendant's motion to dismiss in suit alleging executives of Booz Allen Hamilton (a corporate consulting firm) illegally inflated their stock prices through "self dealing" associated with a spin off. |
|
| Springbok v. Tunney - 03/19/09 Hearing
|
| |
| This is a hearing on defendant's motion to compel and plaintiff's motion for summary judgment. In this action Springbok is seeking judgment against Tunney and other directors of MCG Capital Corporation for breach of fiduciary duties in adopting certain bylaws, which they claim are invalid. Specifically, the plaintiffs take issue with the election proceedings that occurred at the Annual Meeting. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| FLI Deep Marine LLC v. McKim, et al - 03/24/09 Hearing
|
| |
| This is a second lawsuit was filed against Sen. Norm Coleman's supporter Nasser Kazeminy, accusing him of using a Texas company to funnel secret cash to the senator's wife Laurie. The primary action concerned plaintiffs, two of Deep Marine Holdings, Inc. minority shareholders, and their stockholder derivative suit against defendants for exploiting and looting the assets of the company for personal gain. They further allege that the defendants "ignored corporate formalities and reasonable business practices.” |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Smith v. Ace Insurance Co. - 03/25/09 Oral Argument
|
| |
| SF - Appeal of district court's decision to remand in complex bankruptcy case involving Ace Insurance Company, part of the Ace Group of Companies which is one of the world’s largest providers of commercial property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Catz v. Chalker - 04/15/09 Oral Argument
|
| |
Note: being heard with 08-16468
San Francisco - Appeal in decade old case that has been in multiple jurisdictions, both state and federal. Need to do more research, but only put on calendar because of proximity to Qwest OA. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Selectica v. Versata Enterprises - 04/27/09 Trial
|
| |
5-day trial challenging the validity of Selectica's "poison pill" that Versata intentionally triggered by acquiring additional shares in Selectica. This case represents the first time that a poison pill has been swallowed by a shareholder.
Selectica created the poison pill to protect its $150M Net Operating Loss tax asset, the value of which would have been impaired if any shareholder increased its stake to 10% or more. To prevent such an ownership change, Selectica created a stockholder rights plan that would dilute the holdings of shareholders who knowingly accumulated more than 5% of Selectica's shares.
Versata increased its holding to 6.7 percent. Selectica then used the poison pill to dilute Versata's ownership to 3.4%. Versata seeks a determination that Selectica's poison pill is invalid. Purchase Here
Sample video from 4/27/09 proceedings: View a Demo Clip |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Banco Intercontinental v. Var Holdings - 04/13/09 Trial
|
| |
| 5 day trial in Miami Business Litigation division. Banco Intercontinental (or BANINTER) was the second largest privately held commercial bank in the Dominican Republic, before collapsing in 2003 in a spectacular fraud tied to political corruption. |
|
| In Re: IH Riverdale & 4 Related Cases - 04/15/09 Hearing
|
| |
Background: Investor in apartment development sued prime developer and others, alleging breach of development agreement that gave investor right of first refusal to participate in “Phase II” of the development, and other claims.
The Superior Court, Fulton County, Johnson, J., entered summary judgment for prime developer on claim of breach of right of first refusal and denied investor's motion for summary judgment on certain profits distribution. Parties appealed. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| In Re: American International Group Inc Derivative Litigation - 04/20/09 Hearing
|
| |
This hearing concerns a motion by 3rd party defendants Gen Re Corporation seeking dismissal of underlying litigation.
In this suit, stockholder plaintiffs seek to recover funds to make American International Group, Inc. (AIG) whole for the harm it suffered when it was revealed that the corporation’s financial statements were materially misleading. Also, these statements overstated the value of the corporation by billions of dollars, and plaintiffs aver these discrepancies were the consequence of intentional misconduct by AIG’s top executives. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Starrh v. Aera - 04/28/09 Trial
|
| |
Bakersfield farmer Fred Starrh sued Aera Energy, a joint venture of Exxon Mobil and Shell, in 2001 for trespass, alleging the oil company knowingly contaminated his farm's groundwater supply by pouring billions of barrels of waste water extracted from the nearby Belridge Fields oil production site into unlined percolation pits. Starrh proposed a plan to restore the aquifer to its original condition, which would have cost over $2 billion, but a jury in Kern County Superior Court awarded only $7 million in damages.
On appeal, Starrh's lawyers argued that the damages should potentially include money saved by Aera by not properly disposing the waste water. The Fifth District Court of Appeal in Fresno ordered a new trial on damages, noting that even if Aera had been forced to pay $1 per barrel instead of 1.5 cents per barrel to dispose of the waste water, Aera would still have had over $1 billion in profits. Aera and several industry associations unsuccessfully petitioned the California Supreme Court to allow the original $7 million award to stand. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| ZRII LLC v. Wellness Acquisition Group et al - 04/22/09 Hearing
|
| |
| ZRII, LLC announced today that on February 16, 2009, ZRII, LLC filed lawsuits against its former executive management team, certain employees, and former Independent Executives. These legal actions contain complaints for allegedly plotting a scheme to take control of the company through illegal and deceptive means. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| San Antonio Fire & Police Pension Fund v. Daniel M. Bradbury - 05/04/09 Trial
|
| |
The Amylin case is a 2-day trial to determine the validity of a "poison put" takeover defense that would protect Amylin's board of directors from being replaced. Carl Icahn, who owns 9.4% of Amylin, and the hedge fund Eastbourne Capital, which owns 12% of Amylin, are attempting to gain control of Amylin. Each has nominated five directors.
The "poison put" provision adopted by Amylin's board allows bondholders to seek repayment of hundreds of millions of dollars if a majority of the board is replaced.
The named parties are a pension fund that owns stock in Amylin and Amylin CEO Daniel Bradbury. Carl Icahn has also requested to join the lawsuit as an individual plaintiff.
Further Info |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Huntsman Corp v. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC - 05/08/09 Hearing
|
| |
A Texas jury will hear a multibillion dollar claim by Huntsman Corp. that two of the world's largest banks, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, scuttled its proposed mergers with Hexion Chemical and Basell Holdings, NV. Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank were supposed to finance the deals, but backed away when the credit markets deteriorated last fall. Among the claims Huntsman is pursuing are tortuous interference and common law fraud.
Hexion Chemical is owned by Leon Black's Apollo Management. In one of the most noteworthy rulings last year, Delaware Chancery Court vice-chancellor Stephen Lamb found that Hexion breached its merger agreement with Huntsman. Hexion eventually settled that litigation for $1 billion, including a $425 million cash payment to Huntsman. Apollo and Hexion are cooperating with Huntsman in this litigation. (For video of the Delaware litigation, please click here.)
Presiding over the trial is Texas Ninth District state court Judge Fred Edwards, a Republican who has been on the bench since 1993. The trial will be held Conroe, Tex., which is about 14 miles from Huntsman's U.S. headquarters. Lead counsel for Huntsman is Jean Frizzell, Robin Gibbs and Kathy Patrick of Gibbs & Bruns. Lead counsel for the banks is Richard Clary of Cravath, Swaine & Moore and G. Irvin Terrell of Baker Botts. The trial is expected to last approximately four weeks.
View a clip from September's Hexion v. Huntsman Trial.
View a clip from October's Hexion v. Huntsman Hearing.
View a clip from November's Huntsman v. Credit Suisse Hearing.
View a clip from May's Huntsman v. Credit Suisse Hearing.
|
|
| Mejia, et al v. Dole Food, et al - 05/08/09 Hearing
|
| |
5-8 contempt hearing.
From "The American Lawyer" - "At the hearing Thursday, Chaney dismissed from the bench two tort cases against Dole and Dow Chemical, ruling that Los Angeles plaintiffs lawyer Juan Dominguez and co-counsel in Nicaragua committed a "fraud on the court" and a "blatant extortion" of the defendants. In the hottest water is Dominguez, counsel to thousands of Nicaraguan men who won judgments against Dole Foods in Nicaraguan courts after claiming they were made sterile by the chemical DBCP, which is used on banana plantations." |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Loral Space v. Highland Crusader - 05/05/09 Oral Argument
|
| |
| In a reply brief in support of its appeal, the satellite communications company said the Delaware Chancery Court erred by including Highland Crusader Offshore Partners' suit as part of a shareholder action challenging Loral's issuance of stock to its largest shareholder. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Greenwald v. Bursalyan, et al - 05/11/09 Trial
|
| |
While attempting to exit a parking lot, the defendant rear-ended a vehicle driven by the plaintiff, a certified nurse assistant. The collision occurred at a velocity of between six and 11 miles per hour. The plaintiff allegedly suffered a ruptured disc back injury, job loss, ongoing pain, and the need for medical treatment.
The defendant conceded negligence but asserted that the collision did not cause the injuries claimed by the plaintiff. The plaintiff's extended cab pick-up truck weighed approximately 1,500 pounds more than, and was higher than, the defendant's vehicle, and the plaintiff did not report injuries until the following day.
The jury determined that the plaintiff was entitled to recover $2,311.97. |
|
| Cuppy v. Surgical Professionals, et al - 05/11/09 Trial
|
| |
An appendectomy patient who had been taking the anti-coagulant Coumadin (due to a prior heart valve replacement) died after the attending surgeon allegedly overlooked internal bleeding before completing the operation.
The plaintiff also alleged that the physician failed to obtain informed consent for emergency surgery, and that the patient's acute symptoms had subsided at the time of the surgery decision because the patient did not in fact have appendicitis.
The plaintiff also alleged that the physician over-prescribed Lovenox (a form of Heparin, another anti-coagulant) for DVT prophylaxis, and that the physician did not appropriately respond to the patient's deteriorating condition.
The jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendants. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| NACCO v. Applica - 05/11/09 Hearing
|
| |
The household appliance company Applica put itself up for sale. Harbinger, a New York hedge fund, then acquired more than 30% of Applica.
The following month, Applica and NACCO Industries, which owned the Hamilton Beach appliance company, announced a merger agreement involving Applica and NACCO's Hamilton Beach unit. However, Harbinger subsequently submitted a competing offer, and bidding contest ensued. NACCO ended up as the losing bidder.
NACCO asserted common law fraud claims against Harbinger and Applica based on statements in SEC filings.
The hearing considered whether a state law fraud claim could be based on statements in a publicly available federal securities filing, and whether Harbinger's investment intentions were misrepresented.
The motions were argued by D. Mark Cave of Paul Weiss, for the defendant, and Philip Le B. Douglas of Jones Day, for the plaintiff. |
|
| Johnson v. AT&T - 05/11/09 Hearing
|
| |
Hearing on motion to dismiss.
From Findlaw.com: "Ex-employees of telecom MediaOne Group charge in a Delaware state court lawsuit against AT&T Corp. that they were cheated out of their stock options in a shell game during a series of mergers involving AT&T Wireless and Cingular.
In the complaint, filed in the Delaware Chancery Court on behalf of the MediaOne employees, Deborah Johnson and Jerry Rybin say the court's recent decision in a related case awarding $11.3 million to a group of ex-MediaOne executives establishes the right of the rank-and-file workers to the same relief. Lillis et al. v. AT&T Corp. et al., No. 717-VCL, 2007 WL 2110587 (Del. Ch. July 20, 2007)." |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Brown v. RJ Reynolds - 05/11/09 Trial
|
| |
This Engle-progeny tobacco case involves a life-long smoker who allegedly started smoking when he was 12 years old. He died of lung cancer and esophageal cancer.
The plaintiff claimed that the smoker was addicted to cigarettes that contained nicotine, and that the nicotine addiction caused his death. The defense claimed that the smoker chose to smoke and wanted to smoke, for most of his life.
The jury ruled in favor of the plaintiff and found damages of $1.2M. |
|
| Huntsman Corp. v. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC - 06/15/09 Trial
|
| |
A Texas jury will hear a multibillion dollar claim by Huntsman Corp. that two of the world’s largest banks, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, scuttled its proposed mergers with Hexion Chemical and Basell Holdings, NV. Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank were supposed to finance the deals, but backed away when the credit markets deteriorated last fall.
Among the claims Huntsman is pursuing are tortuous interference and common law fraud.
Hexion Chemical is owned by Leon Black’s Apollo Management. In one of the most noteworthy rulings last year, Delaware Chancery Court vice-chancellor Stephen Lamb found that Hexion breached its merger agreement with Huntsman. Hexion eventually settled that litigation for $1 billion, including a $425 million cash payment to Huntsman. Apollo and Hexion are cooperating with Huntsman in this litigation.
Presiding over the trial is Texas Ninth District state court Judge Fred Edwards, a Republican who has been on the bench since 1993. The trial will be held Conroe, Tex., which is about 14 miles from Huntsman’s U.S. headquarters. Lead counsel for Huntsman is Jean Frizzell, Robin Gibbs and Kathy Patrick of Gibbs & Bruns. Lead counsel for the banks is Richard Clary of Cravath, Swaine & Moore and G. Irvin Terrell of Baker Botts. The trial is expected to last approximately four weeks.
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| LAMPERS v. Steven Taub, et al - 05/19/09 Hearing
|
| |
This shareholder class action challenges the validity of Atmel's board of directors' extension of a poison pill that allegedly made the poison pill's triggers vague and unascertainable.
In October, 2008, ON Semiconductor Corp. (ONNN) and Microchip Technology Inc. offered to purchase Atmel (ATML) for $2.3 billion. Atmel rejected the offer and lowered the ownership percentage that would trigger its Poison Pill (shareholder rights agreement), and the takeover attempt was abandoned.
The shareholder class represented by the pension fund alleges that Amtel's board expanded the definition of "beneficial ownership" that might trigger the poison pill to include interests held pursuant to derivatives contracts, and defined "derivatives contracts" in a way that included so many potential arrangements that a potential acquirer would not be able to evaluate its own beneficial ownership and the board would not be able to determine when the poison pill had been triggered. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Berger v. Pubco Corp - 05/21/09 Oral Argument
|
| |
Appeal of the following judgment:
The Court of Chancery found that the failure to disclose the manner in which the consideration offered in a short-form merger was determined, as well as the failure to attach the current and correct version of Delaware's appraisal statute to the notice of merger, constituted a violation of the board's duty of disclosure. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| LAMPERS v. Ferttita - 06/09/09 Hearing
|
| |
| Class action shareholder suit seeking to prevent Landry's Restaurants from becoming an entirely private entity and terminating the stock options of public shareholders. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Smith v. Wellcare Health Plans - 06/22/09 Hearing
|
| |
A former officer of one of the nation's largest health care services providers has told a Delaware state court that WellCare Health Plans failed to take care of the legal bills he ran up in connection with a criminal investigation of the company.
In a complaint filed in the Chancery Court, David Smith says WellCare promised to pay his legal bills as they came in but reneged after he refused to sign away his rights to indemnification. |
|
| Sunset Cove v. Santiago & Tsokos - 06/15/09 Trial
|
| |
3-day bench trial in Tampa's business litigation division.
From the case complaint: "The action arises out of a real estate sales contract for the purchase of four parcels of property. When the sale did not close the seller sold to a third party. The purchaser sued the seller and obtained a judgment holding that the seller should have conveyed to the purchaser. All three parties are now engaged in the current action to determine title to the property and damages to which any party may be entitled." |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Doody v. Schriro - 06/23/09 Oral Argument
|
| |
SEATTLE: En banc hearing in appeal of conviction for murder of 6 Buddhist monks at a temple outside Phoenix in 1991.
Alan Dershowitz served as counsel for petitioner at earlier appeals hearings before the 9th circuit. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Rowland v. Home Depot Inc, et al - 06/22/09 Trial
|
| |
Stand 'N Seal Spray-On Grout Sealer, containing Flexipel, allegedly
caused permanent lung damage to customers who purchased the product
from Home Depot. A jury trial in Maricopa Superior Court's complex
litigation division will determine whether the private label
distributor, Roanoke Companies Group, which does business as "Tile
Perfect" is liable for any injuries. Home Depot was found by the court
not to be liable. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Whitson v. Marie Raymond Trust - 06/17/09 Oral Argument
|
| |
| In approving the proposed settlement, the Court of Chancery denied a motion to intervene, and overruled objections. The objectors challenged the breadth of the settlement's release, raised purported due process concerns in connection with the settlement's opt-out provision, and quarreled with representations and warranties in the release. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Jackson v. State - 06/17/09 Oral Argument
|
| |
| Argument as to whether Jackson's original defense counsel's comments to the trial judge in support of his motion to withdraw did impermissibly taint all subsequent events and decisions in the course of Jackson's case or cause Jackson actual prejudice to undermine confidence in the outcome of the proceeding. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Mejia et al v Dole Food et al - 06/17/09 Hearing
|
| |
6-17 contempt hearing.
From "The American Lawyer" - "At the hearing Thursday, Chaney dismissed from the bench two tort cases against Dole and Dow Chemical, ruling that Los Angeles plaintiffs lawyer Juan Dominguez and co-counsel in Nicaragua committed a "fraud on the court" and a "blatant extortion" of the defendants. In the hottest water is Dominguez, counsel to thousands of Nicaraguan men who won judgments against Dole Foods in Nicaraguan courts after claiming they were made sterile by the chemical DBCP, which is used on banana plantations." |
|
| In Re: TD Banknorth Inc. Shareholders Litigation - 06/25/09 Hearing
|
| |
Settlement hearing.
Via Bloomberg News: " April 21 (Bloomberg) -- TD Banknorth Inc. agreed to pay $50 million to settle for the second time a class-action lawsuit brought by former investors challenging the fairness of the company’s buyout by Toronto-Dominion Bank.
TD Banknorth shareholders sued in Delaware Chancery Court in Wilmington in 2006, contending the $3.2 billion offer for 41 percent of the stock that Toronto-Dominion didn’t already own was too low. Judge Stephen Lamb in 2007 rejected as insufficient a lawsuit settlement that gave stockholders about $3 million and lawyers more than $1 million in legal fees." |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Schein v. Ernst & Young - 06/25/09 Trial
|
| |
Plaintiffs Alan Schein and Result Technologies, Inc. brought the claim, alleging they were damaged by Ernst & Young's failure to conduct proper audits of Illinois-based Superior Bank F.S.B. The FDIC took control of Superior Bank in 2001 after declaring it insolvent.
The case calls into question consulting fees given by the banks to Ernst & Young. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Galil Medical Ltd. v. Endocare, Inc. - 07/09/09 Trial
|
| |
2-day trial seeking to enforce a merger agreement between Galil Medical and Endocare. Endocare sought to terminate the agreement due to the fact that an FTC investigation of the merger is currently underway.
Chancellor William Chandler recently granted a motion to expedite proceedings. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Milford School District v. Henlopen Athletic Conference - 07/02/09 Hearing
|
| |
Milford School District's lawsuit challenges the Henlopen Athletic Conference's moving Milford from the Southern Division, which includes the smaller schools, to the Northern Division, which includes the larger schools.
Whether Milford was appropriately moved to the Northern Division depends on the methodology used for counting Milford's students. Milford contends that the Conference should not have counted students enrolled in a separate school that rented space in the Milford facility, and who therefore attended classes at Milford, but who were not enrolled as Milford students. |
|
| University of Delaware v. AFSCME - 06/30/09 Hearing
|
| |
| Oral argument on appeal of decision by the Public Employment Relations Board re: part time classification of Aramark food service workers. Aramark is one of the largest contractors in the country for campus and sports complex dining services, in addition to being a major contractor for the U.S. military. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| State of Nevada v. Steven Francis Zegrean - 07/07/09 Trial
|
| |
1 week jury trial in Clark County Circuit court for a man accused of firing a machine gun into a Las Vegas casino in 2007. 4 people were injured in the shooting, and 53-year old veteran Francis Zegrean has pleaded not guilty to 52 felony charges.
http://www.lvrj.com/news/8369987.html |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| In Re: Bear Stearns Litigation - 07/14/09 Hearing
|
| |
| Hearing on plaintiff's motion seeking reimbursement of attorney's fees and expenses totaling roughly $10.5 million. Plaintiffs contend that the initiation of this litigation prompted a substantial increase in JP Morgan's share price, and that they're entitled to 1% of the overall gain. JP Morgan argues that since the underlying suit was dismissed the claim for attorney's fees is baseless. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Diagnostic Leasing v. Blocker Transfer - 07/27/09 Trial
|
| |
1-week breach of contract jury trial in Tampa's business litigation division originally filed in 1999.
Diagnostic Leasing is a CA-based private laboratory research company and Blocker transfer is a private FL-based shipping company. |
|
| Schuss v. Penfield Partners LP, et al - 07/28/09 Hearing
|
| |
Hearing on plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment.
Plaintiffs are limited partners in a hedge fund who withdrew from membership in the limited partnership and expected to receive a distribution equal to their liquidating share at the time they withdrew. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Kuhn Construction, Inc v. Diamond State Port Corp. - 07/29/09 Oral Argument
|
| |
| Plaintiff, Kuhn Construction, was awarded a $10 million+ contract for wharf construction from DSPC, a mixed private/gov't entity. Kuhn Construction claims that, due to faulty architectural plan data, they had to incur additional construction costs beyond the amount awarded in the original contracts. Defendants claim dispute must be resolved in arbitration rather than in the Chancery Court. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| AJW Partners LLC, et al v. Ingen Technologies, Inc. - 07/31/09 Hearing
|
| |
Hearing on a motion for an injunction to enforce a securities purchase agreement, brought by an assortment of Cayman Island and Delaware based firms. They allege Ingen cites cash flow problems as the reason for continued share sales that the funds say dilute the value of their initial investments.
NOTE: Realtime Transcript Streaming is available for this event.
|
|
|
|
| |
Bench trial in suit alleging UPS sought to illegally dismantle an existing owner-operated franchise structure after their takeover of Mail Boxes, Etc.
Courtroom View Network will provide daily blog coverage of the trial. Updates will be made twice daily, once during the lunch break and again at the end of afternoon proceedings. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Multimedia Holdings Corp, et al v. FSU Board of Trustees - 08/20/09 Trial
|
| |
"An open-government lawsuit to force release of documents in Florida State University's athletic-sanctions appeal will get a day-long hearing in August to settle what lawyers called a groundbreaking case.
The Tallahassee Democrat, Gannett Co. Inc's Florida newspapers and television stations and 17 other papers and stations filed suit against FSU, the National Collegiate Athletic Association and a law firm that hosted a confidential viewing of documents. Judge John Cooper set an Aug. 5 date for a final hearing to settle the public-records case.
After the lawsuit was filed, the NCAA allowed FSU to transcribe the appeal and provide a certified copy to reporters. Rachel Fugate, an attorney for the media outlets, said an amended lawsuit filed July 2 seeks further records as well as release of the original documents -- not transcriptions -- as well as recovery of attorney fees if the lawsuit succeeds.
Peter Antonacci, representing law firm GrayRobinson, said the issues involved in the case are unique and cover new ground for the state's Sunshine Laws, in part because of technology that presents "an electronic twist" to public records. Initially, the NCAA allowed FSU officials to view a response to the university's appeal of sanctions in an academic-cheating scandal only on a single computer that prevented printing or downloading."
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Cullen Sheehan and Norm Coleman v. Al Franken - 06/01/09 Oral Argument
|
| |
Oral arguments before the Minnesota Supreme Court contesting the
results of the 2008 United States Senate race between incumbent Norm
Coleman and comedian Al Franken.
A special 3-judge panel ruled in June that Franken won the election by
312 votes, a decision Coleman appealed. After the state's supreme court
ruled to affirm the trial court decision Norm Coleman conceded the
election. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Hilchey et al v. Ameriquest Mortgage Co Inc et al - 08/25/09 Trial
|
| |
Jury trial in Boston's Business Litigation Section accusing Ameriquest of fraudulent mortgage lending practices.
From the Boston Globe: "Hilchey and fiancee Robin Crevier, in the suit in Suffolk Superior Court, said Ameriquest's loan salesman did not provide the proper documents and disclosures about their loan, as required under state and federal laws. The payment increase "has this middle-class individual facing the specter of foreclosure," the suit said.
The couple's loan started with a "teaser rate," set for two years, of 5.75 percent, resulting in monthly payments of $1,692, the suit said; after a 2005 rate hike, to 7.75 percent, payments rose to $2,035. On March 1, the rate was scheduled to jump to 9.75 percent, boosting payments to about $2,750, documents said." |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Brecht v. Hague, et al - 08/17/09 Trial
|
| |
Libel and defamation trial in King County Superior Court.
From The Daily Weekly - "After two years, the other case against Miss Jane Springman - a.k.a. King County Council member Jane Hague, who sometimes goes by her husband's last name in court - and Brett Bader, her mysterious campaign consultant, may finally be nearing trial.
Hague and Bader are now seeking a conclusion to another campaign-related lawsuit, filed by Paul Brecht, a key backer of Hague's 2007 opponent, Richard Pope. Brecht says he was defamed and libeled by one of Hague's Bader-made campaign posters, which claimed Brecht was convicted of assault and that he 'tops law enforcement lists' as a wife-beater - both of which he denies."
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2009/07/hague_bader_defamation_trial_s.php |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Commonwealth of Kentucky v. Jason Stinson - 08/31/09 Trial
|
| |
Criminal trial in Jefferson County Circuit Court.
From the WSJ: "On a hot day last August, Max Gilpin, a high-school sophomore from Louisville, Ky., collapsed during a preseason football practice. Three days later, he died from complications of heatstroke. His coach, Jason Stinson, was later indicted for reckless homicide in the first known criminal case of its kind.
During the practice in which Max Gilpin collapsed last year, another team member also collapsed but survived and a third player decided to quit the team. Mr. Stinson has pleaded not guilty. A trial in Jefferson County Circuit Court is scheduled for the end of August."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204376604574280761954597096.html?mod=googlenews_wsj |
|
| Neil Meyers v. Celebrity Resorts International - 08/20/09 Trial
|
| |
2-day trial in Orlando's business litigation division.
Suit involves ownership/control dispute of Celebrity Resorts International, a private hotel chain. Plaintiff is defendant's father.
Form local media reports: "Privately-held Celebrity Resorts is an " all in the family" kind of company, with a long history. It is owned by CEO Jared Meyers' father, retired dentist Neil Meyers, and the general counsel is one of Jared's uncles. Another uncle is Hillie Meyers, who owns and operates Star Island Resort in Kissimmee, originally part of the Resort World group." |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Foundation for Seacoast Health v. Hospital Corp of America - 09/08/09 Trial
|
| |
Via SeaCoastOnline.com: "PORTSMOUTH — A battle over the ownership of Portsmouth Regional Hospital will head to trial in September at Rockingham County Superior Court.
Superior Court Judge Kenneth McHugh ruled Monday he would not dismiss the suit between the Foundation for Seacoast Health and the parent company of the hospital. The trial will determine whether a right of first refusal clause was ignored by Hospital Corporation of America in 1999.
The fight over the future has been ongoing since the 2006 leveraged buyout of HCA. In 2008, the state Supreme Court upheld McHugh's 2007 decision that the 2006 change in HCA's ownership did not require activation of a contract allowing the foundation the opportunity to buy back the hospital the community sold to HCA in 1983. But the Supreme Court decision did not rule on a 1999 transfer of corporate ownership that the foundation claims should have resulted in a right of first refusal offer and remanded that portion of the lawsuit back to McHugh.
"We're very pleased with the court's ruling and looking forward to trying the case in front of the judge," said Dan Hoefle, chairman of the board of the foundation. He said the foundation, which was created in the wake of 1983 sale of the old Portsmouth Hospital and has spent almost $2 million in the lawsuit, had always "been optimistic" that it would eventually prevail.
HCA acting Chief Executive Officer Stuart Hemming said, "While we're disappointed in the court's decision, we'll be fully prepared for our trial date in September."
Hoefle said the foundation's optimism was due in part to McHugh's ruling, which said the trial will use the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruling as precedence." |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| William Weygandt v. WECO Inc. - 08/24/09 Hearing
|
| |
Hearing on motion for a protective order.
Underlying suit involves Gulfstream's purchase of Weco, Inc in 2003. They allege that at the time, the company was engaging in multiple violations of FAA regulations. |
|
| Network For Excellence in WA Schools v. State of Washington - 08/31/09 Trial
|
| |
http://www.waschoolexcellence.org/whats_new/70
"The education funding lawsuit brought by the Network for Excellence in Washington Schools against the State is scheduled to go to trial on Monday, August 31, in King County Superior Court in Seattle. Judge John Erlick will preside over the trial, which is expected to last four to six weeks.
Attorneys for NEWS will argue at trial that the State is failing to live up to its constitutional mandate, which reads: “It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders...”
“The mandate is strong and it is clear. The State must put public education first, fund it amply and ensure that all students can succeed,” said NEWS President Mike Blair. “For decades, State lawmakers have danced around the problem of inadequate public school funding without solving it. The time for a stable funding system is now." |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Kroll v. Zolfaghari, et al - 08/31/09 Trial
|
| |
Medical malpractice jury trial in case originally filed in 1996 being heard in Broward County's complex litigation division.
The case has seen multiple appeals, including one to the Florida Supreme Court. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| TSMC North America v. Semiconductor Manufacturing International - 09/08/09 Trial
|
| |
Jury trial in Alameda Superior Court's complex litigation division.
Via SEC filings:
On August 25, 2006, TSMC filed a lawsuit against the Company and certain subsidiaries, namely SMIC (Shanghai), SMIC (Beijing) and SMIC (Americas) in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Alameda for alleged breach of a settlement agreement, alleged breach of promissory notes and alleged trade secret misappropriation by the Company. TSMC seeks, among other things, damages, injunctive relief, attorneys' fees, and the acceleration of the remaining payments outstanding under that settlement agreement.
In the present litigation, TSMC alleges that the Company has incorporated TSMC trade secrets in the manufacture of the Company's 0.13 micron or smaller process products. TSMC further alleges that as a result of this claimed breach, TSMC's patent license is terminated and the covenant not to sue is no longer in effect with respect to the Company's larger process products. The Company has vigorously denied all allegations of misappropriation. The Court has made no finding that TSMC's claims are valid. The Court has set a trial date of September 8, 2009. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Person v. Google, Inc. - 09/16/09 Oral Argument
|
| |
SAN FRANCISCO: Via http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2007/03/person_v_google_1.htm
"Carl Person is on a losing streak. First, he sought the Green Party nomination for New York Attorney General, but he lost that election in April 2006. Then, he sued Google for antitrust violations based on his frustrations trying to buy advertising. As I blogged about before, last October this lawsuit got soundly thumped for improper venue due to the mandatory venue clause in Google's AdWords contract. Finally, he sued New York for banning payment for petition signature collection and lost that lawsuit in October as well." |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Koninklijke Philips Electronics v. Liu - 09/16/09 Oral Argument
|
| |
SAN FRANCISCO: Appeal in trademark case re: DVD technology.
http://www.kmwlaw.com/litigation/philips-trademark-enforcement/property-asset-freeze.html
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V., or Royal Philips, successfully protected its intellectual property rights by filing a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada against the defendants Shenzhen Kaixinda Electronics Co. Ltd., KXD Technology, Inc., Shenzhen KXD Multimedia Co. Ltd., KXD Digital Entertainment Ltd., Astar Electronics, Inc., and Jingyi "James" Luo, based on their unauthorized sale and distribution of DVD players bearing Royal Philips' DVD+ReWritable & Design trademark. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Wiebe and Fouser v. Canyon County - 09/21/09 Trial
|
| |
According to the Olympian Newspaper, "On a broader basis, the lawsuit aims to determine whether the state spends enough money on public defenders so that indigent people accused of a crime can be fairly represented."
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/896323.html |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| State of South Carolina v. Eli Lilly & Company, Inc. - 09/14/09 Trial
|
| |
3-4 week Zyprexa liability jury trial in suit brought brought by the South Carolina attorney general in state court.
Via Bloomberg: "Lilly continues to face lawsuits by Connecticut, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and seven other states alleging that the company withheld information about the side effects of Zyprexa, such as diabetes, and encouraged sales of the drug for unapproved purposes, including dementia and depression.
Doctors can prescribe medicines for any use. Drugmakers can’t promote those medicines for any use not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The states are seeking damages and fines for violation of laws against deceptive practices and false claims.
Lilly is scheduled to begin trial Sept. 14 in South Carolina over that state’s Zyprexa lawsuit. The only trial of a state’s lawsuit ended in March 2008 with an out-of-court settlement in which Lilly agreed to pay Alaska $15 million."
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601202&sid=aNt8gRdnkNs8 |
|
| In Re: Hanover Direct, Inc. Shareholder Litigation - 09/14/09 Trial
|
| |
5 day bench trial.
Via AllBusiness.com: "Weehawken, N.J. � A pair of shareholders are battling in court over Hanover Direct's potential acquisition by its largest shareholder, hedge fund Chelsey Direct.
Private investor Glenn Freedman and L.I.S.T. Inc. have amended a prior complaint against the company in Delaware Chancery Court. They allege the 25 cents per share Chesley proposes to pay in the acquisition is inadequate. They further allege that the retailer's directors had conflicts of interest in approving the merger, and that Chelsey timed the proposed transaction opportunistically to disadvantage minority shareholders.
Hanover Direct's stock has been trading at around 30 cents."
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Godt v. Anthony's Pier 4, inc et al - 09/08/09 Trial
|
| |
Jury trial in Boston's business litigation division.
From the Boston Business Journal: "A former Anthony's Pier 4 server is suing the waterfront restaurant, claiming he was improperly forced to give a portion of his tips to management.
The suit is one of more than 30 such cases handled by Pyle, Rome, Lichten, Ehrenberg & Liss-Riordan PC, a Boston law firm that specializes in tips lawsuits against employers. The suits hinge on a Massachusetts law that states that all tips, gratuities and service charges go solely to service employees, waitstaff and bartenders. The
complaints, placed by servers who have work in restaurant and hotels, often revolve around private parties and banquets, where a common industry practice has been to levy a single service charge
that is ultimately split among servers and others, including managers,who helped either organize or run the party.
http://www.llrlaw.com/attorneys/shannon/Firm_seeks_class_action_tips_suit_against_Pier4%20-%20Boston%20Business%20Journal.pdf |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| In re: Zyprexa - 09/21/09 Hearing
|
| |
| Hearing on motion for summary judgment in suit brought by state of Louisiana as part of multi-district Zyprexa liability litigation. |
|
| eBay v. Craigslist - 12/07/09 Trial
|
| |
| eBay alleged that Craiglist directors unfairly diluted eBay's 28.4 percent minority shareholder stake in Craigslist and eliminated eBay's right to appoint a director. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| U.S. Global v. Progress Energy - 10/05/09 Trial
|
| |
US Global LLC is a South Florida investment and development firm that funds companies and develops projects, primarily in energy.
Progress Energy is North Carolina-based, publicly traded Fortune 250 energy company. |
|
| Ovalia Resorts Inc. v. HSBC Securities - 09/17/09 Hearing
|
| |
| Hearing on motion to dismiss in New York Supreme Court's commercial litigation division in suit seeking to enforce funding obligations for a large-scale redevelopment project in regions of the Gulf Coast impacted by Hurricane Katrina. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| In Re: Kitec Fitting Litigation - 09/28/09 Trial
|
| |
Jury trial for remaining defendants who have not settled in the ongoing Kitec plumbing defect litigation.
From the Las Vegas Sun: "According to court records, Kitec fixtures corrode from a process called dezincification in which water removes zinc from brass fittings and turns it into silt that collects in the pipes. Over time, the accumulated zinc causes blockages that can potentially rupture water lines.
Kitec-maker IPEX agreed to pay $90 million but that settlement has been appealed by Sharp Plumbing to the state Supreme Court."
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/sep/09/judge-oks-more-settlements-class-action-faulty-plu/
http://www.plumbingdefect.com/lawsuit.html |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| David Swindle Jr. v. IAP Worldwide Services, Inc. - 09/28/09 Hearing
|
| |
Hearing on motion or summary judgment.
Plaintiff, the former president of IAP Worldwide (a company that provides aviation services for the State Dept and other federal gov't agencies) seeks advancement of legal fees incurred as part of an anti-trust investigation by the Justice Department. |
|
| Terence Hopkins v. Michael Osman, et al - 09/28/09 Trial
|
| |
4-5 day jury trial in Wayne County Circuit Court (Detroit).
Via the Detroit Free Press: "A judge today said he was troubled by two secret payouts that totaled nearly $700,000 to two men who say they were victimized by two Detroit cops who face a slew of lawsuits over alleged illegal body cavity searches. However, Wayne County Circuit Judge Michael Sapala denied a bid to use the settlements as evidence by Attorney Marvin Barnett, whose client is headed to trial Sept. 28 in a lawsuit against the officers. Barnettï's client, Terence Hopkins, says the officers, Michael Osman and Michael Parish, conducted a body cavity search on him during a May 2006 traffic stop. The officers are the focus of eight lawsuits claiming such searches filed by 10 men in U.S. District and Wayne County Circuit courts in Detroit.
Additionally, two men, Byron Ogletree and Marjjo Clyburn, received payouts from the city of $349,000 each without ever filing a lawsuit.
Both of the $349,000 claim payments were authorized in March 2007 by former Deputy Corporation Counsel Brenda Braceful, whose law license since has been suspended on an unrelated matter. The men filed claims with the city, which don't have to be approved by City Council. City Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel has said the claims process is not supposed to be used for such large monetary settlements."
http://www.freep.com/article/20090911/NEWS01/90911016/1003/Cavity-search-payouts-inadmissible--judge-rules |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Commonwealth of KY, v. Watson Pharma, Inc, - 09/29/09 Trial
|
| |
Medicaid wholesale pricing fraud suit brought by Kentucky's attorney general.
The case is one of many average wholesale pricing" (AWP) suits brought by states attorneys general accusing major drug manufacturers of overcharging Medicaid for various prescription medications. |
|
| Stowers v. Ohio Department of Agriculture - 10/08/09 Trial
|
| |
Via Journal of Whole Food and Nutritional Health: "The long awaited trial on the lawsuit filed by Manna Storehouse, John and Jackie Stower against Lorain County and the Ohio Department of Agriculture will open October 8 and 9 at 8:30 am.
The Manna Storehouse (an organic food coop in LaGrange, Ohio) and their homeschool (with 10 children) were raided by a SWAT team in December and held in a room for six hours while the sheriff's team confiscated 60 boxes of food, computers, phones and business records. The raid was conducted with the Ohio Department of Agriculture and the Lorain Co. Department of Health.
The entire Manna Storehouse series can be accessed here, including stories, videos and interviews. This includes the expired search warrant, the sheriff's report and the formal complaint." |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| BAE Systems v. Lucent Technologies Inc et al - 10/13/09 Trial
|
| |
| Bench trial in Boston's business litigation division in suit originally filed in 2003 brought by the former lessee and sublessor of a large commercial property. Sublessors terminated their lease, and plaintiffs allege a multi-million dollar loss as a result. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Bank of America NA v. Deloitte & Touche LLP - 10/13/09 Hearing
|
| |
Hearing on a motion for summary judgment in Boston's business litigation division.
Bank of America is seeking to hold Deloitte accountable for advice in auditing opinion letters in this fraud/business tort action. Trial is scheduled for February, 2010. |
|
| Babyage.com, Inc. v. Jacob Weiss - 10/13/09 Trial
|
| |
| 2-day bench trial. Suit is brought against the chairman of Babyage.com's board by other members alleging he purposely sabotaged attempts to secure new funding for the company so he could sell it, thus enriching himself in the process. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Christian Chalita v. IMG Academies LLP, et al - 10/07/09 Trial
|
| |
15 day medmal/negligence jury trial in suit brought by the family of a deceased child who collapsed and died of cardiac arrest at the Bollitieri Tennis Academy, one of many hybrid private schools/tennis training programs across the state of Florida.
His parents are suing the school, talent management agent International Management Group and medical personnel, claiming they failed to adequately monitor and treat an existing heart condition.
For more:
http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/844 |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| King v. King- 10/12/09 Trial
|
| |
Via NBC11 in Atlanta: "Dexter King lost two battles Monday in his nearly year old legal dispute with his sister and brother over the estate of their late father. Bernice and Martin Luther King the Third sued Dexter last year, claiming he's abused and misused money from the estate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Bernice and Martin showed up in Fulton Superior Court for a day long hearing, but their brother, Dexter, was absent. His attorneys say he's still recuperating from a broken leg suffered in a California car accident two months ago.
Dexter's first defeat came when the lawyers for the estate which he manages tried to kick out the overflow crowd and news media. They wanted to close the hearing to keep many of the King family's financial records private.
But after an argument by a news media attorney, Judge Ural Glanville ruled that Georgia law required the hearing to be kept open."
http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=135152&catid=3 |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Baldonado, et al v. El Paso Natural Gas - 10/19/09 Trial
|
| |
| Via OverLawyered.com: "New Mexico: “A group of firefighters and rescue workers who responded to a pipeline explosion near Carlsbad that killed 12 people three years ago have filed a lawsuit against El Paso Natural Gas Company.” The lawsuit, filed on behalf of 24 firefighters and rescue workers, “says the plaintiffs suffered physical and emotional pain and were subjected to horrific traumatizing circumstances while fighting the fire and trying to help the victims.” |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Nouri v. Smart Online, Inc - 10/27/09 Hearing
|
| |
10/27 hearing on motion to appoint receiver.
The corporation's by-law stated unambiguously that the corporation shall pay expenses incurred by a director, officer, employee, or agent in defending a proceeding in advance of the final disposition, which was a non-discretionary commitment.
The court concluded that the by-laws' requirement of an undertaking was met precisely as required by the defendant company, and that there was a sufficient nexis between the plaintiff's positions and the charged conduct.
According to the court, the defendant could have and should have drafted a by-law that required a secured bond, a letter of credit, or other reasonable affirmation of the ability to repay in the event that it were ultimately determined that the employee, officer, or director was not entitled to indemnification. The court stated that it is not a defense to advancement that the defendant believes indemnification will not ultimately be warranted. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Barkman v. Adams - 10/26/09 Trial
|
| |
Negligence jury trial involving collision between motorcycle and SUV. Five-day trial anticipated on liability issues, with damage claims to follow.
The SUV allegedly made a safe lane change then slowed for traffic, and the motorcycle clipped the right rear corner of the SUV as the bike was going down.
Liability issues included the negligence of the vehicle operators, the failure of the motorcyclists to wear helmets, and the alleged response impairment of the motorcycle operators, who were coming from Dales Ales, a biker bar. |
|
| iBasis, Inc v. Koninklije KPN NV, et al - 10/28/09 Hearing
|
| |
Two-day expedited hearing on motion for preliminary injunction.
From an iBasis news release (Via PR Newswire): "iBasis, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBAS - News) today announced that on August 14, 2009 the Delaware Court of Chancery rejected Royal KPN N.V.'s (AMS: KPN and OTC: KKPNY.PK) (KPN) effort to stay iBasis' discovery in connection with the complaint filed by iBasis against KPN based on fraud and breach of KPN's fiduciary duties to iBasis and its minority stockholders. As previously announced, iBasis seeks in its complaint declaratory and injunctive relief to, among other things, stop KPN's grossly inadequate tender offer.
Delaware Court of Chancery Vice Chancellor Strine also rejected KPN's request that the Court hear on an expedited basis only KPN's legal arguments with respect to the stockholder rights plan implemented by the iBasis Board of Directors to protect the interests of iBasis' stockholders. Instead, the Vice Chancellor ruled that, after discovery for both sides, the Court will hold a hearing on October 8 and 9, 2009 on the issues both iBasis and KPN have before the Court, including iBasis' application to stop KPN's tender offer. This application arises from iBasis' claims of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty against KPN, other KPN entities and certain KPN-related individuals. The Court will also hear KPN's arguments regarding iBasis' stockholder rights plan."
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Delaware-Court-of-Chancery-bw-593013564.html?x=0&.v=1 |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Kuroda v. SPJS Holdings, et al - 10/29/09 Hearing
|
| |
Oral argument on 3rd party defendant's motion to dismiss.
Via our friends at the the Delaware Litigation Blog: "The factual background involves an intricate web of overlapping entities. The central fact that is key to this dispute is that a few investment management professionals formed several entities for the primary purpose of investing in Japanese companies. The plaintiff was the main "point man" in Japan. Eventually, the plaintiff and the other members of the LLC had disagreements that caused the plaintiff to want to leave. This litigation started when the negotiations for an amicable departure were unsuccessful. Among the problems that gave rise to the suit included the alleged failure of the defendants to provide full payment that the plaintiff thought he was owed, and the issuance to the plaintiff of a K-1 purporting to assign him $10 million in income that he apparently did not receive."
http://www.delawarelitigation.com/2009/04/articles/chancery-court-updates/chancery-court-dismisses-sundry-claims-against-llc-members/ |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Bryan Schmidt v. Cedar Fair, et al - 10/26/09 Trial
|
| |
3 day jury trial.
Plaintiff was one of 27 passengers on "The Beast" roller coaster at the Kings Island amusement park that derailed in 2006. The first of many lawsuits filed recently concluded, with the plaintiff being awarded $75k in damages.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/crime/kings-island-trial-begins-thursday-346078.html |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Charles Joyce, et al v. Pepsico Inc, et al - 11/06/09 Hearing
|
| |
Hearing on defendant's motion to vacate $1.26 billion default judgment entered on September 30, 2009.
Charles Joyce and James Voigt alleged that Pepsi stole their idea to sell bottled water.
Pepsico claimed that it was unaware of the lawsuit until after the judgment was entered, even though its distributors had made court appearances in previous months. The defendant also asserted that the statute of limitations had run on the lawsuit, because it was filed 15 years after Pepsi started selling Aquafina bottled water. |
|
| Mahyar Amirsaleh v. Board of Trade of the City of New York - 10/16/09 Trial
|
| |
Via DealLawyers.com: "In Amirsaleh v. Board of Trade of The City of New York, the Delaware Chancery Court addressed claims by a member of the target that the parties to a merger agreement did not act in good faith in implementing the provisions of the merger agreement permitting members of the target to elect the form of consideration to be received in a merger."
http://www.deallawyers.com/Blog/2009/04/hlsp-holdings-v-fortune-management-coned-issues-are-alive-and-well-in-delaware.html |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Vianix Delaware LLC v. Nuance Communications, Inc. - 10/12/09 Trial
|
| |
Via Speech Technology Magazine: "In court papers made public this week, Vianix, has filed suit against Nuance Communications, seeking up to $30 million in unpaid licensing fees related to the use of its Managed Audio Sound Compression (MASC) technology in Nuance’s Dictaphone product line.
According to court papers originally filed in Wilmington, Del., June 2, Virginia Beach, Va.-based Vianix began licensing the MASC audio compression software to Dictaphone in January 2003. Nuance acquired Dictaphone in March 2006 and continues its operations as the Dictaphone Healthcare Solutions division.
Vianix’s MASC technology is reportedly being used by Nuance's Dictaphone division in many of its dictation and transcription products, namely its Enterprise Express, Enterprise Workstation, EXSpeech, iChart, iChart Managed Services, Powerscribe, and Powerscribe Workstation SDK."
http://www.speechtechmag.com/Articles/News/News-Feature/Nuance-Sued-for-$30-Million-in-Fees-by-Vianix-49760.aspx |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| iBasis, Inc v. Koninklije KPN NV, et al - 11/13/09 Hearing
|
| |
From an iBasis news release (Via PR Newswire): "iBasis, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBAS - News) today announced that on August 14, 2009 the Delaware Court of Chancery rejected Royal KPN N.V.'s (AMS: KPN and OTC: KKPNY.PK) (KPN) effort to stay iBasis' discovery in connection with the complaint filed by iBasis against KPN based on fraud and breach of KPN's fiduciary duties to iBasis and its minority stockholders. As previously announced, iBasis seeks in its complaint declaratory and injunctive relief to, among other things, stop KPN's grossly inadequate tender offer.
Delaware Court of Chancery Vice Chancellor Strine also rejected KPN's request that the Court hear on an expedited basis only KPN's legal arguments with respect to the stockholder rights plan implemented by the iBasis Board of Directors to protect the interests of iBasis' stockholders. Instead, the Vice Chancellor ruled that, after discovery for both sides, the Court will hold a hearing on October 8 and 9, 2009 on the issues both iBasis and KPN have before the Court, including iBasis' application to stop KPN's tender offer. This application arises from iBasis' claims of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty against KPN, other KPN entities and certain KPN-related individuals. The Court will also hear KPN's arguments regarding iBasis' stockholder rights plan."
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Delaware-Court-of-Chancery-bw-593013564.html?x=0&.v=1 |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Netologic, Inc. v. The Goldman Sachs Group et al - 11/19/09 Hearing
|
| |
Netlogic has filed suit charging conspiracy, fraud, deceit, and corporate
espionage by Goldman Sachs for using a joint venture partnership to use
proprietary knowledge about Netlogic’s Investars analyst-ranking software and
business plans to develop its own wholely-owned and controlled software product.
The suit seeks injunctive relief and monetary damages, and was filed in the New
York State Supreme Court. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Leonard Brandt v. CNS Response, Inc, et al - 12/01/09 Trial
|
| |
Via Business Wire: "Len Brandt announced that the Delaware Court of Chancery today granted Mr. Brandt a status quo order, which will remain in effect pending the Court's ultimate decision on the validity of the Special Meeting of Stockholders of CNS Response, Inc. held on September 4, 2009.
The status quo order, which was requested by Mr. Brandt, restrains CNS Response, Inc. from, among other things, concluding any additional debt or equity financings or further altering company bylaws. It also requires the company to notice Mr. Brandt with adequate time to object on other actions of significance including entering into contracts, making expenditures, or altering employment or consulting agreements. Mr. Brandt stated, "I am very pleased that the Court granted this status quo order.”
Because under the terms of the status quo order, Mr. Brandt and incumbent Directors will continue as the Board until the trial’s conclusion, the Annual Meeting (expected to be held tomorrow) will be of no effect until the trial is completed and only if the Court rules against the validity of the Special Meeting.
The Court also scheduled a two-day trial to commence on Tuesday, December 1, 2009. Following trial, the Court will rule on whether the Special Meeting was validly held. If the Court affirms the validity of the Special Meeting, William E. Bunney, Jr., M.D., William Murray, Mordechay Yekutiel, Andy Goren, David W. Mazepink and Mr. Brandt shall be directors of CNS Response, Inc., replacing five out of six of seven of the CNS directors who were in office prior to the Special Meeting. Len Brandt filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery to enforce the results of the stockholder vote because incumbent management at the Company has not accepted the validity of the Special Meeting. A majority of the incumbents of CNS Response object to affirming the results of the Special Meeting. "
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090928006173&newsLang=en |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Gober v. Endo Pharmaceuticals, et al - 11/23/09 Hearing
|
| |
Settlement hearing in class action litigation.
"On January 9, 2009, a purported stockholder of Indevus filed a complaint seeking certification of a class action lawsuit in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, docketed as Gober v. Endo Pharmaceuticals, et al., C.A. No. 4276 (Del. Ch.) (the "Gober Action") against Endo, Merger Sub, Indevus and each of Indevus' directors. The Gober Action purports to be brought individually and on behalf of all public stockholders of Indevus. The Gober Action alleges that Indevus' director defendants breached their fiduciary duties to Indevus' stockholders in connection with the Offer and that each of the defendants aided and abetted such alleged breach of Indevus' director defendants' fiduciary duties. Based on these allegations, the Gober Action seeks, among other relief, declaring the action to be a class action, injunctive relief enjoining preliminarily and permanently the Offer, rescinding, to the extent already implemented, the Offer or any of the terms thereof or awarding rescissory damages, directing that the defendants account to plaintiff and other members of the purported class for all damages caused by them and account for all profits and any special benefits obtained as a result of breaches of their fiduciary duties to the purported stockholder and other members of the purported class, awarding plaintiff the costs of the Gober Action including a reasonable allowance for the expenses of plaintiffs' attorneys and experts and granting plaintiff and other members of the purported class such further relief as the court deems just and proper." |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| BB&T BOLI Plan Trust v. Massachusetts Mutual Life Ins. Co. - 11/20/09 Hearing
|
| |
Hearing on motion to dismiss.
Via the NC Litigation Blog: "...alleged mismanagement of $55 million securities investment by BB&T, which BB&T claims was to be reallocated into less risky investments if the value fell below a certain amount. BB&T claims "despite knowing of the meltdown in the mortgage-backed securities market and that [the fund] was heavily investment in [mortgage backed securities] investments, [Defendant] failed to take timely steps to protect BB&T's premiums."
http://www.ncbusinesslitigationreport.com/tags/new-business-court-cases/ |
|
| In Re: Direct TV, Inc. Shareholder Litigation - 11/25/09 Hearing
|
| |
Settlement hearing.
Via the Andrews Delaware Corporate Litigation Reporter: "The lead plaintiff, the Key West Police & Fire Pension Fund, says the deal will unfairly enrich Liberty Media Chairman John Malone, who also is a director at DirecTV.
Liberty Media announced May 3 that it plans to spin off subsidiary Liberty Entertainment Inc. and merge it with DirecTV in a stock transaction. Malone's company currently holds a 54 percent stake in DirecTV.
According to the terms of the deal, DirecTV stockholders will receive one share of single-vote DirecTV class A common stock for each of their shares. Malone and his associated trusts will receive class B common stock, which carries 15 votes each. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Louis Masucci v. Fibernet Telecom Group, Inc, - 11/25/09 Hearing
|
| |
Settlement hearing.
"iberNet Telecom Group Inc. agreed to settle a shareholder lawsuit challenging the company's buyout by Zayo Group LLC by providing more information about the deal. FiberNet shareholder Louis Masucci accused the company in a June 19 lawsuit in Delaware Chancery Court of unfairly favoring Zayo's $11.45 a share offer over an offer of $12.50 a share from RCN Corp. RCN withdrew its proposal on July 9. "The parties believe the settlement is in the best interest of the parties and FiberNet stockholders," attorneys for both sides said in court papers. The accord, which requires a judge's approval, calls for attorneys' fees of as much as $227,500. New York-based FiberNet, with $58.2 million in sales last year, services the Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and New York metropolitan areas. The company agreed to Zayo's cash offer on May 28. The agreement includes a breakup fees of as much as $3.72 million if the transaction fails, a provision that unfairly "locked-up" the deal, Masucci had said in his complaint. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter, FiberNet said." |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| In re: ACS Shareholder Litigation - 01/21/10 Hearing
|
| |
Shareholder class action to block merger between Xerox and Affiliated Computer Service (ACS).
The complaint alleges that the proposed merger allows ACS founder Darwin Deason, who is ACS's Chairman and largest (44%) stockholder, to retain hundreds of millions of dollars of value that rightfully belongs to ACS's public shareholders. The plaintiffs assert that Deason's consideration amounts to more than a 50% premium over what ACS's public stockholders would receive.
The ACS Board also allegedly breached its fiduciary duties by agreeing to a 3.5% termination fee and a no-solicitation provision, essentially blocking competing offers. |
|
| Wheeler v. Ford Motor Company - 11/30/09 Trial
|
| |
Product liability jury trial based on allegedly defective rear seat occupant protection system of the 2002 Ford Explorer that left plaintiff a permanent, complete quadriplegic.
According to the plaintiff, a frontal vehicle collision occurred when a vehicle crossed the center line and struck the Explorer. Upon impact, the Explorer's rear seat allegedly broke and moved down and forward, and the restraint system, including the seat, belt, and surrounding surfaces, failed to prevent the plaintiff's head and neck from being driven down and forward into the front seat and/or center console, catastrophically injuring the plaintiff's spinal cord. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| In Re: Noven Pharmaceuticals - 12/08/09 Hearing
|
| |
Settlement hearing.
Via Shareholdersfoundation.com: "An investor has filed a proposed securities class action lawsuit in the Delaware Chancery Court on behalf of current investors of Noven Pharmaceuticals, Inc (Public, NASDAQ:NOVN), who purchased the shares before July 14, 2009, over potential breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of state law in connection with an alleged unfair takeover price.
According to the complaint the plaintiff alleges that, "the proposed transaction reflects a clear effort by Hisamitsu to takeover Noven at an unfair price”. The complaint further alleges that “Hisamitsu's offer consideration is only a 22 percent premium over the $13.48 closing price of Noven on the last trading day before the announcement of the Proposed Transaction”. Noven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co., Inc. announced on Tuesday, July 14, 2009, that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical offered to acquire Noven Pharmaceutical for total cash consideration of approximately $428 million, or $16.50 per share, in an all-cash tender offer for 100% of the outstanding shares of Noven. The offer price represents a 22% premium to the closing price of Noven’s common stock (NASDAQ:NOVN) on July 13, 2009."
http://www.shareholdersfoundation.com/case/noven-pharmaceuticals-inc-investor-class-action-lawsuit-07202009 |
|
| Sems Diversified Value, LP v. Emak Worldwide - 12/04/09 Hearing
|
| |
Common shareholders attempt to redress an effort to thwart a consent solicitation by granting voting rights to preferred shareholders by marketing services provider EMAK Worldwide.
According to the complaint, EMAK's share price dropped from over $10 to less than $1 in less than four-and-a-half years, and its common stock was delisted and deregistered. Plaintiff Donald A. Kurz, a former Chief Executive Officer of EMAK, had led an effort to oust management. "Knowing that they could not hope to persuade outside common stockholders to support them," the complaint alleges, "EMAK’s board stuffed the ballot box."
The plaintiffs assert that the bulk of EMAK’s diminished enterprise value rested in its preferred stock, which carried a $25 million liquidation preference, but had no power to effect the election of a majority of the directors. However, one week after the initiation of the consent solicitation, EMAK’s Board granted the preferred stockholder new preferred stock that carried the new right to vote with the common stock, giving the preferred shareholder a 28% blocking position.
The plaintiffs assert that the board effected this transaction without proper analysis; that its purported justification for the exchange was a pretext; that the common shareholders received nothing in exchange for the dilution of their voting rights; and that the distributed materials failed to disclose a stealth poison pill. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| In Re: Cox Radio Shareholders Litigation - 12/09/09 Hearing
|
| |
Settlement hearing.
Via Bloomberg: "Cox Enterprises Inc., the communications and media company, agreed to settle an investor lawsuit filed six months ago challenging fairness of its offer to buy the outstanding shares of Cox Radio Inc.
Cox Radio stockholders sued in Delaware Chancery Court contending the proposed $3.80-a-share price was inadequate, and the 78 percent stakeholder ultimately agreed to raise the price to $4.80 a share. The buyout was completed in May.
“The efforts of plaintiffs’ counsel in the Delaware action were among the causal factors that led to the increased consideration,” Cox Enterprises lawyers said in settlement papers made public today in Wilmington."
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&tkr=CXR%3AUS&sid=aibOm22o7FTU |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| OneScreen, Inc v. Hudgens, et al - 12/09/09 Hearing
|
| |
Hearing on motion to dismiss.
"In this action, OneScreen seeks an Order of this Court (a) rescinding the transfer of 12.5 shares of Series A Preferred Stock of Vidshadow (the "Vidshadow Shares") by OneScreen's former CEO defendant Jordan D. Hudgens."
http://www.onescreen.com/investors |
|
| In re: Wind River Systems Inc. Shareholder Litigation - 12/08/09 Hearing
|
| |
Settlement hearing.
Via Bloomberg: " Intel Corp.’s Wind River Systems unit settled lawsuits filed by investors seeking more money in the $884 million combination of the companies.
Santa Clara, California-based Intel, the world’s largest chipmaker, said in June it would buy Wind River of Alameda, California, for $11.50 a share. The transaction was completed in July.
Some stockholders sued, and agreed to settle actions in Delaware Chancery Court and Superior Court of California in Alameda County after the companies provided additional data about the buyout process, according to court papers filed yesterday in Wilmington."
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&tkr=INTC%3AUS&sid=aUGUBUrhYOY0 |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Chemplex Industries, Inc v. Premier Lab Supply, Inc - 12/07/09 Trial
|
| |
| 5 day trade secrets jury trial. Via Law360.com: "A Florida appeals court has affirmed trade secret protections for Chemplex Industries Inc.'s one-of-a-kind spooling machine but reversed for the time being the permanent injunction the trial court imposed on Chemplex's competitor, Premier Lab Supply Inc. The appeals court backed the lower court, reasoning that the “very profitable” spooling machine, which is used to manufacture film for securing specimen sample cups, is a unique and specialized invention and therefore protected as a trade secret. A former employee of Chemplex allegedly stole the machine for several hours in order to copy the designs, which Premier eventually obtained." |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Schuss v. Penfield Partners LP, et al - 12/15/09 Trial
|
| |
4 day trial.
CVN previously recorded a hearing on plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment. The Court denied the summary judgment motion, and suggested that the parties proceed to trial, because fact issues around the parties' course of dealings -- especially how the segregated assets were handled prior to distribution -- would inform the interpretation of an ambiguous contract.
Plaintiffs were limited partners in a hedge fund who withdrew from membership in the limited partnership and expected to receive a distribution equal to their liquidating share at the time they withdrew. Upon withdrawal, Plaintiffs requested that their distributions be in kind and ratable. Defendants made distributions that were in kind but not ratable and, due to a decline in value of the designated securities by the time of distribution, had a value significantly below that of the limited partners' capital accounts.
In a prior proceeding, the Court concluded that the withdrawing limited partners conceivably could prove they were entitled to assets whose aggregated value equaled their share of the fund at the time of retirement, as opposed to merely segregating in-kind assets equal to the value of the liquidating share of the withdrawing partners, which would still subject the retiring partners to the risk of changes in value prior to distribution.
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| In Re: Ariad Pharmaceuticals - 02/22/10 Hearing
|
| |
Hearing on motion to dismiss.
"The Complaint principally asserts that (1) Director Defendants Dr. Berger and Mr. LaMarche violated their fiduciary duties by disagreeing with the majority of other directors (the “Resigning Directors” and Dr. Lavidas) over the appropriate course for the Company to take in regard to acquiring the minority interest in ARIAD Gene Therapeutics, Inc. (“AGTI”) that it did not already own, (2) all of the Director Defendants breached their fiduciary duties by voting in favor of an administrative change that resulted in one of the Resigning Directors no longer having the title of “vice chairman,” and (3) Dr. Berger violated his duties by allegedly terminating the former in-house general counsel" |
|
| State of Hawaii v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation - 01/19/10 Trial
|
| |
Medicaid Average Wholesale Pricing (AWP) Fraud case asserted by Hawaii against Novartis.
Hawaii's attorney general alleges that Novartis overcharged the state's Medicaid system for prescription drugs. The case is part of many "Average Wholesale Pricing" (AWP) suits brought by state Attorneys General across the country.
CVN has also webcast three prior Medicaid Average Whole Pricing Fraud cases:
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| LAMPERS v. Steven Taub, et al. - 01/07/10 Hearing
|
| |
This shareholder class action challenges the validity of Atmel's board of directors' extension of a poison pill that allegedly made the poison pill's triggers vague and unascertainable.
In October, 2008, ON Semiconductor Corp. (ONNN) and Microchip Technology Inc. offered to purchase Atmel (ATML) for $2.3 billion. Atmel rejected the offer and lowered the ownership percentage that would trigger its Poison Pill (shareholder rights agreement), and the takeover attempt was abandoned.
The shareholder class represented by the pension fund alleges that Amtel's board expanded the definition of "beneficial ownership" that might trigger the poison pill to include interests held pursuant to derivatives contracts, and defined "derivatives contracts" in a way that included so many potential arrangements that a potential acquirer would not be able to evaluate its own beneficial ownership and the board would not be able to determine when the poison pill had been triggered. |
|
| John McPadden v. i2 Technologies, et al - 01/04/10 Trial
|
| |
4 day bench trial in a post-merger challenge to i2's sale of its wholly owned subsidiary Trade Services Corporation.
Plaintiff brought this action against i2's board of directors for breach of fiduciary duty, in addition to alleging unjust enrichment by Anthony Dubreville, president of TSC at the time of the sale. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Brian Collicott, et al v. Whole Foods Market Group, et al - 01/15/10 Trial
|
| |
Five people were killed and dozens injured when a bus carrying band members and chaperones slammed into the underside of an overturned Whole Foods semi-truck in the middle of I-94 near Osseo. The truck driver, Michael Kozlowski, driving a truck for Whole Foods Market Group, had fallen asleep and lost control, the National Transportation Safety Board ruled.
Via Chippewa Valley Newspapers: "The defendants in a key lawsuit stemming from the Oct. 16, 2005 Chi-Hi band bus crash finally got their way. Judge Frederick Henderson has granted a change of venue motion, and the first civil trial in the case is set to open Jan. 15 in Polk County.
Much could happen, however, that could delay the start of the trial that could determine each party’s share of the substantial damages in the multiple lawsuits that have arisen. This particular case is mostly on damages claimed by severely injured band teacher Brian Collicott, but a verdict could have a major effect on other cases.
Kozlowski was acquitted of negligent homicide and other state criminal charges in a jury trial the following spring.
The lawsuit filed by the family of one of the people killed, student teacher Branden Atherton, took center stage among the civil cases. In that case, Henderson made two key rulings against the defense. He refused to move the trial out of Chippewa County, and he allowed the jury to consider punitive damages against Whole Foods."
http://www.chippewa.com/articles/2009/12/13/news/doc4b23185f8a067677389327.prt |
|
| Andrew McCarrell v. LaRoche et al-Students Only- 01/11/10 Trial
|
| |
Andrew McCarrell sued Hoffman-LaRoche and Roche Laboratories, which manufactured and distributed the prescription drug Accutane. McCarrell alleged that as a result of taking Accutane for an acne condition, he developed inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which led to the surgical removal of his colon. The jury returned a $2.6M verdict.
View the original trial McCarrell v. Hoffman LaRoche Also available: the October 2008 trial, In re: Accutane.
The Superior Court's appellate division ruled that the defendants in the McCarrell trial should have been allowed to present the background statistics showing that there were five million Accutane users.
"With all due deference to the trial judge, whose overall studious and even-handed management of this complex case was exemplary, she erred in forbidding Roche from placing into evidence statistics about Accutane usage that could have made Roche's conduct and labeling decisions appear far more reasonable to the jury. For instance, the "five million users" statistic proffered by Dr. Huber could have given the jurors very relevant contextual background, and possibly led the jury to be more indulgent of Roche's delay in upgrading the risk information on Accutane's label and package insert."
The retrial is calendared to begin January 11, 2010. Request FREE VIDEO CLIPS of Opening Argument.
Background Information from the Appellate Division's unpublished opinion:
Accutane is a prescription medication developed by Roche. It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1982 to treat recalcitrant nodular acne, a severe and disfiguring skin disease characterized by large, inflamed cystic lesions on the patient's face and back.
Although the exact mechanism of action for how Accutane works is unknown, Roche discovered that the drug was effective in suppressing the production of oil and waxy material produced in the sebaceous glands. Nodular acne is caused by the accumulation of sebum under the skin, which ultimately ruptures the follicle wall, forming an inflamed nodule. Accutane was found to be highly effective in treating nodular acne that has been recalcitrant to standard treatments.
Accutane is a teratogen, meaning that there is a high risk that if a woman takes the drug while pregnant, her child will be born with life-threatening birth defects. Additionally, common adverse effects from Accutane include dry skin, lips, and eyes, conjunctivitis, decreased night vision, muscle and joint aches, and elevated triglycerides.
Prior to receiving FDA approval for Accutane, Roche conducted several pre-clinical studies of the drug, using dogs. Those studies revealed instances of gastrointestinal bleeding in the treated dogs. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| In Re: Cox Radio Shareholders Litigation - 01/19/10 Hearing
|
| |
Settlement hearing.
Via Bloomberg: "Cox Enterprises Inc., the communications and media company, agreed to settle an investor lawsuit filed six months ago challenging fairness of its offer to buy the outstanding shares of Cox Radio Inc.
Cox Radio stockholders sued in Delaware Chancery Court contending the proposed $3.80-a-share price was inadequate, and the 78 percent stakeholder ultimately agreed to raise the price to $4.80 a share. The buyout was completed in May.
“The efforts of plaintiffs’ counsel in the Delaware action were among the causal factors that led to the increased consideration,” Cox Enterprises lawyers said in settlement papers made public today in Wilmington.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&tkr=CXR%3AUS&sid=aibOm22o7FTU |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc v. Darrell Long et al - 01/20/10 Hearing
|
| |
Via GE's opposition to motion to compel: "The pending action, filed on February 20, 2009, is centered around Plaintiff's allegation that its former employee, Darrell Long (“Mr. Long”), engaged in activities in competition with Plaintiff in violation of two restrictive covenants
that Mr. Long entered into while employed by Plaintiff.[FN1] Mr. Long, who began employment with GE on June 30, 2008, has been employed at all times outside of the area in where he previously worked at Gore, which was in the area of industrial dry filtration. Gore waited nearly eight months to file this action, and as of today, one of the restrictive covenants has expired (“one year restrictive covenant”)." |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Tessera, Inc. v. United Test and Assembly Center et al - 02/05/10 Trial
|
| |
Via a Tessera press release: "Tessera Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:TSRA), a provider of transformational technologies that enable innovation in next-generation electronics, today announced it has filed a suit in the Superior Court of the State of California (Alameda County) alleging breach of contract and other claims against United Test and Assembly Center Ltd (UTAC), an independent provider of test and assembly services for a wide range of semiconductor devices, and its subsidiary, UTAC America, Inc.
"While UTAC has paid royalties to Tessera on certain of its DRAM products, we discovered through one of our scheduled audits it has not paid royalties on all products that are covered under its license agreement," said Henry R. "Hank" Nothhaft, president and chief executive officer, Tessera. "Efforts to negotiate a resolution have been unproductive, and we are now taking steps to enforce our contractual rights. This is the first audit where we found a licensee had not been paying royalties on such a broad range of covered products, and we believe it is a unique case."
Tessera is asserting, among other things, that UTAC and its subsidiary have failed to pay Tessera the full royalty due under its license agreement and failed to allow Tessera access to the information necessary to determine the total royalties owed. Tessera is also claiming that UTAC and its subsidiary have violated Tessera's rights as well as California unfair competition laws by, among other things, concealing material information relating to sales of royalty-bearing products from Tessera. Tessera is seeking past due royalty payments and other compensatory and punitive damages." |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Firestone Tire Cases - 03/03/10 Trial
|
| |
| This consolidated product liability jury trial involves claims that defective Firestone tires, which experienced tread separation, caused already-unstable Ford Explorers to roll over. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Nahid Acs, et al v. Wellpoint Health Networks, et al - 03/23/10 Trial
|
| |
Jury trial in Los Angeles Superior Court's complex litigation division.
Plaintiffs allege Wellpoint Health Networks wrongfully terminated their healthcare policy, when they became ill by engaging in a practice known as "postclaims underwriting." This process involves terminating an existing policy based on information obtained after completing the application process. This can include what is referred to as a "pre-existing condition." |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| MPEG LA, LLC v. Alcatel LUCENT - 03/22/10 Trial
|
| |
5 day bench trial.
Via CDRInfo.com: "MPEG LA, LLC announced that it has commenced an action against Alcatel Lucent for breach of contractual obligations as a Licensor in MPEG LA's MPEG-2 patent pool licensing program.
The suit also names Lucent Technologies, Inc. and Multimedia Patent Trust.
According to the complaint filed in the Court of Chancery for the State of Delaware, Alcatel promised to make available to Licensees through MPEG LA's MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License all MPEG-2 essential patents which Alcatel can license or sublicense, and not take any action to subvert that commitment. But rather than abide by that promise, Alcatel and Lucent created the Trust to hold patents that Alcatel was and is required to place into the MPEG-2 License, and has taken the position that the essential MPEG-2 patents purportedly transferred to the Trust cannot be placed in the MPEG-2 License."
http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.aspx?NewsId=21774 |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc v. Darrell Long et al - 03/30/30 Hearing
|
| |
Hearing on motion to compel.
Via GE's opposition to motion to compel: "The pending action, filed on February 20, 2009, is centered around Plaintiff's allegation that its former employee, Darrell Long, engaged in activities in competition with Plaintiff in violation of two restrictive covenants that Mr. Long entered into while employed by Plaintiff. Mr. Long, who began employment with GE on June 30, 2008, has been employed at all times outside of the area in where he previously worked at Gore, which was in the area of industrial dry filtration. Gore waited nearly eight months to file this action, and as of today, one of the restrictive covenants has expired." |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Pope Investment LLC v. Benda Pharmaceutical, et al - 03/29/10 Hearing
|
| |
Hearing on motion for injunction.
Via SEC 8-K reports: "On December 30, 2009, we were served with a Summons and Complaint filed by Pope Investments, LLC (“Pope”) in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (the “Court”) against the Company and our officers and directors. Pope filed the Summons and Complaint as a judgment creditor and as a shareholder of the Company. Pope alleges that the assets and profits of our subsidiary company have been wrongfully diverted by our officers and directors and requests the appointment of a receiver to liquidate and wind down the business affairs of the Company. In connection with the filing of the Summons and Complaint, Pope has also filed a motion for a Preliminary Injunction Motion seeking to enjoin the Company and our officers and directors from taking any further actions to divert the corporate assets and profits of our subsidiary company and for expedited discovery proceedings. Pope further requests the imposition of a constructive trust, an accounting, damages for an alleged breach of fiduciary duty by the Company’s officers and directors, and attorney fees."
Read more: http://www.faqs.org/sec-filings/100112/Benda-Pharmaceutical-Inc_8-K/#ixzz0hhze9730 |
|
| Wayne County v. Corti - 03/31/10 Oral Argument
|
| |
| On July 24, 2009, the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed breach of fiduciary duty claims against former directors of Activision, Inc. (Activision) arising from the combination of Activision with Vivendi Games, Inc. (Games), a subsidiary of Vivendi, S.A. (Vivendi). |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| In re: ACS Shareholder Litigation - 04/05/10 Hearing
|
| |
Hearing on motion for summary judgment.
The complaint alleges that the proposed merger allows ACS founder Darwin Deason, who is ACS's Chairman and largest (44%) stockholder, to retain hundreds of millions of dollars of value that rightfully belongs to ACS's public shareholders. The plaintiffs assert that Deason's consideration amounts to more than a 50% premium over what ACS's public stockholders would receive.
The ACS Board also allegedly breached its fiduciary duties by agreeing to a 3.5% termination fee and a no-solicitation provision, essentially blocking competing offers. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| KFC National Council v. KFC Corporation - 04/05/10 Hearing
|
| |
Hearing on motion to compel.
Kentucky Friend Chicken, a Division of Yum! Brands, has been promoting its spicy grilled wings by supplying towns with new fire hydrants. The KFC National Council and Advertising Cooperative, Inc., which designs KFC's marketing programs, claims that KFC is promoting grilled chicken instead of fried chicken.
Store sales are down. The franchisees want more money spent on advertising the original recipe, and they seek a declaration that the National Council gets to decide.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=aSdmFt_zBMrE |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Chanin et al v. Desert Shadow Endoscopy Center LLC, et al - 04/12/10 Trial
|
| |
Unsafe injection practices may have caused hundreds of Hepatitis infections in Nevada.
The first lawsuit, Chanin v. Desert Shadow Endoscopy, goes to trial on April 12, 2010, and the plaintiff is blaming the pharmaceutical companies that manufactured (Teva) and supplied (Baxter) the anesthetic Propofol, the improper administration of which may have spread hepatitis C.
According to the plaintiff, the drug was provided in "jumbo-sized" vials that were defective because they encouraged multi-dosing, rather than using a single vial for each patient. According to Baxter, the drugs were clearly labeled for single-use. |
|
| Peter Knoch v. Safeway, Inc. - 04/27/10 Trial
|
| |
Class action jury trial in Los Angeles Superior Court's complex
litigation division for unpaid overtime wages for an Assistant Store
Manager who allegedly was misclassified as exempt. According to the
plaintiff tasks that Safeway characterized as managerial were
insufficient to establish exempt status under California law.
The defendant asserted that store managers and assistant managers were
responsible for all aspects of the store's operations and profitability,
and that the plaintiff was mostly managing. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Ad-Venture Capital Partners L.P., v. ISN Software Corporation - 04/27/10 Trial
|
| |
1 day trial.
Via PR Newswire: "PRNewswire/ -- Ad-Venture Capital Management, LLC announced today that Ad-Venture Capital Partners, LP has filed an action in Delaware Chancery Court to compel Dallas, Texas based ISN Software Corporation, to hold a stockholders meeting.
"On July 24, 2008 Ad-Venture Capital Partners, LP formally requested that ISN convene a stockholders meeting," said Brian F. Addy, President of Ad-Venture Capital Management, LLC. "ISN has not responded to that request. Stockholders have a right to call for a stockholders meeting under the By-Laws of the Company, as well asDelaware law, and we have proposed an agenda. We encourage all stockholders to attend, and hope that all option holders will exercise their right to acquire at least one share, which would enable them to participate as well."
http://newsblaze.com/story/2008091014330300003.pnw/topstory.html |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Paul Ansfield v. Zenith National Insurance Company, et al - 04/22/10 Hearing
|
| |
Expedited hearing on motion for injunction.
Via Law360.com: "Shareholders of Zenith National Insurance Corp. have lodged a putative class action against the company and its directors, saying a proposed $1.4 billion acquisition by Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. would shortchange them."
http://insurance.law360.com/registrations/user_registration?article_id=154119&concurrency_check=false |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Barkman v. Adams - 04/10/10 Trial
|
| |
Negligence jury trial involving collision between motorcycle and SUV. Five-day trial anticipated on liability issues, with damage claims to follow.
The plaintiff alleged that the SUV made a sudden, unsafe lane change without signaling, and then abruptly applied the brakes in anticipation of a right turn, and that the SUV driver never saw the motorcycle. According to the plaintiff, the motorcycle immediately braked, and skidded 57 feet then clipped the right-rear corner of the SUV, ejecting the motorcycle passengers into the street.
The defendant claimed that the SUV was properly in her lane, slowed for traffic, was not attempting a right turn, and did not cause or contribute to the accident. Instead, according to the defendant, the motorcycle failed to brake in time because the motorcyclist had a perception reaction time delayed by 85% compared to typical drivers. |
|
| KFC National Council v. KFC Corporation - 05/11/10 Hearing
|
| |
5/11/10 motion hearing on discovery issues. CVN covered a previous motion hearing in this case.
Kentucky Friend Chicken, a Division of Yum! Brands, has been promoting its spicy grilled wings by supplying towns with new fire hydrants. The KFC National Council and Advertising Cooperative, Inc., which designs KFC's marketing programs, claims that KFC is promoting grilled chicken instead of fried chicken.
Store sales are down. The franchisees want more money spent on advertising the original recipe, and they seek a declaration that the National Council gets to decide.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=aSdmFt_zBMrE |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Margaret Showalter v. Special Olympics Florida, Inc, et al - 05/17/10 Trial
|
| |
3 week jury trial.
This is a re-trial on negligence claims after a jury previously awarded plaintiffs, two developmentally disabled adults, approximately $1 million in damages after being allegedly molested by a Special Olympics employee at a bowling competition.
A Florida appeals court ordered a new trial due to failure to instruct the jury regarding the nature and scope of the event organizer's purported duty to protect athletes. |
|
| Jose Adolfo Tellez et al v. Dole Food Company Inc et al - 05/10/10 Hearing
|
| |
The plaintiffs were Nicaraguan banana plantation workers who allegedly were exposed to dangerous levels of the pesticide 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane ("DBCP") by dermal contact, inhalation, and by drinking water contaminated with DBCP. As a result , the plaintiffs allegedly suffered testicular damage and sterility.
According to the plaintiff, Dow Chemical warned Dole, more than a decade before the plaintiffs were exposed, that DBCP caused reproductive harm at five parts per million, and Dole knew that Dow had called for exposure levels below 1 ppm (although Dow allegedly had not in fact tested to a nil effect level).
Nonetheless, the plaintiffs said, the workers were exposed to levels that Dow had indicated were dangerous, and that Dole knew would cause harm. The banana plantation workers allegedly walked into sprayed areas and and became wet with DBCP spray. The workers also attempted to work in, and they breathed DBCP vapors from, sprayed areas. Finally, night time breezes allegedly blew DBCP spray vapor to where the workers were sleeping, and they would inhale these vapors. Dole allegedly failed to test their workers for DBCP exposure or sterility, and continued to use DBCP from 1973-1980.
The defense argued that Dole believed that DBCP could be safely used, and that DBCP was in fact safely used (plaintiffs were not exposed to harmful levels of BCP), that DBCP use was warranted to combat nematodes, and that DBCP exposure did not cause the plaintiffs' sterility or low sperm count. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| City of Santee v. City of San Diego - 05/25/10 Trial
|
| |
3 day trial.
"As attorneys from the cities of San Diego and Santee prepare to go to trial next month over the expansion of the Sycamore Landfill, the dumps operator is moving ahead to get permits needed for the work....
"A lawsuit Santee filed against San Diego in 2008 challenging the expansion is set to go to trial May 25. Santee contends that San Diego officials should have analyzed the project's environmental effects more thoroughly and that they approved a height limit that had not been properly reviewed."
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/apr/26/landfill-owner-taking-steps-to-secure-expansion/ |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| NACCO Industries Inc, et al v. Applica Inc, et al - 06/04/10 Hearing
|
| |
Hearing on motion to dismiss. CVN recorded an earlier motion hearing in this matter.
The household appliance company Applica put itself up for sale. Harbinger, a New York hedge fund, then acquired more than 30% of Applica.
The following month, Applica and NACCO Industries, which owned the Hamilton Beach appliance company, announced a merger agreement involving Applica and NACCO's Hamilton Beach unit. However, Harbinger subsequently submitted a competing offer, and bidding contest ensued. NACCO ended up as the losing bidder.
NACCO asserted common law fraud claims against Harbinger and Applica based on statements in SEC filings.
The hearing considered whether a state law fraud claim could be based on statements in a publicly available federal securities filing, and whether Harbinger's investment intentions were misrepresented.
The motions were argued by D. Mark Cave of Paul Weiss, for the defendant, and Philip Le B. Douglas of Jones Day, for the plaintiff. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Mass. Mutual Life, et al v. Lloyd's of London, et al - 06/22/10 Hearing
|
| |
Hearing on motion to dismiss.
Via Bloomberg: " Aug. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Tremont Group Holdings Inc. and other feeder funds to Bernard Madoff’s defunct investment advisory business sued insurers including a CNA Financial Corp. unit for failing to cover Madoff-related litigation.
Tremont, a fund of funds based in Rye, New York, that had about $3.3 billion invested with Madoff, an affiliate of OppenheimerFunds Inc., is a unit of MassMutual Financial Group. Investors have filed more than 18 lawsuits against MassMutual seeking to recoup Madoff-related losses.
Liability insurers for MassMutual’s directors and officers, and its primary fidelity bond insurers, have ignored repeated requests to pay defense costs, lawyers for MassMutual and the funds said in a complaint filed today in Delaware Chancery Court. MassMutual seeks a court order declaring that Madoff’s theft, the biggest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history, resulted in multiple losses that are covered under its insurance policies."
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601203&sid=aOVC9pavdB28 |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Amy Pierre, et al v. Dennis Cox - 06/21/10 Trial
|
| |
Jury trial in Alameda Superior Court's complex litigation division.
The plaintiffs are multiple long-time tenants in an apartment complex, where they pay rent substantially below market value. They allege that after taking over management responsibilities for the building in 2007, Dennis Cox engaged in an intimidation campaign to effectively evict them from the building in favor of wealthier tenants.
The plaintiffs allege this included termination of heat and hot water service without notice, failure to perform regular maintenance and verbal harassment, which some tenants claim exacerbated various health conditions. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Clay M. Greene, et al v. County of Sonoma, et al - 07/27/10 Trial
|
| |
The plaintiffs in Greene v. Sonoma County allege that a California county violated the civil rights of two elderly gay partners, Clay Greene and Harold Scull, when it placed Greene in a nursing home, Scull in a hospital, prevented Greene from seeing Scull, and auctioned almost $500K worth of personal property from the home that the two men had shared. Scull died in the hospital a few months later.
According to Sonoma County, however, hospital employees saw bruises on Scull's arms and face, and suspected elder abuse. The County claims that it was protecting Scull from Greene's physical abuse, and that Scull did not wish to return to the two men's shared home. |
|
| The Gillette Company v. OneBeacon Insurance Company et al - 07/19/10 Trial
|
| |
Gillette v. OneBeacon is an insurance liability case involving environmental remediation costs and defense costs associated with groundwater contamination resulting from the release of solvents at a former Gillette manufacturing facility in Santa Monica, California.
Gillette claims that defendant insurers OneBeacon Insurance, SPARTA Insurance, and Northern Assurance, must defend and pay environmental claims pursuant to primary comprehensive general liability, umbrella, and excess liability policies.
In the underlying claim, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board (CRWQCB) and the City of Santa Monica alleged that a Paper Mate ball point pen factory located at 1681 26th St., in Santa Monica, released solvents during cleansing and degreasing operations that contaminated the Olympic Well Field, which is used as a source of drinking water by the City of Santa Monica.
In its complaint, Gillette claims to have submitted more than $14.5M in covered but unpaid defense, investigation, and indemnification costs, with additional costs anticipated. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Stewart Cullom v. Knife River Corporation, Concrete Inc., 07/19/10 Trial
|
| |
| Wrongful termination jury trial in Sacramento Superior Court's complex litigation division. Plaintiff alleges he was terminated from his concrete pouring position after undergoing rotator cuff surgery. He claims the company could have accommodated him by providing lighter work, but that they failed to do so. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Dianne Kelley, et al v. Microsoft Corporation - 08/03/10 Oral Argument
|
| |
"Oral arguments on plaintiff's appeal of district court's denial of motion for class certification.
"A lawsuit alleges that Microsoft Corp. engaged in deceptive practices by letting PC makers promote computers as "Windows Vista Capable" even if they couldn't run the new operating system's "signature" features.
The proposed class action, which Microsoft disputes, was filed on behalf of personal-computer buyer Dianne Kelley of Camano Island. It focuses on efforts by Microsoft and computer makers to avoid a lull in PC sales by assuring consumers that the machines they were buying last year could run the delayed operating system upon its January release."
http://www.seattlepi.com/business/310004_msftsued03.html |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Naughty Monkey LLC, v. Marinemax Northeast LLC - 08/03/10 Trial
|
| |
Two day bench trial.
Naughty Monkey LLC was formed by Michael Stock in 2008 to purchase a multi-million dollar recreational boat. His arrangement with boat manufacturer Marinemax allowed him to trade his boat for any other boat built by Marinemax within 18 months with a trade in value of 85%.
Stock alleges that Marinemax only provided trade in options that were significantly more expensive than the appraised value of his original boat. He alleges more suitable vessels exist, and that the purchase agreement does not restrict him in choosing a replacement boat. |
|
| Emmanuel Rozakis dba Rozakis Restoration v. City of Sacramento - 08/02/10 Trial
|
| |
| Breach of contract jury trial in Sacramento Superior Court's complex litigation division. Plaintiff was contracted by the City of Sacramento to paint a parking garage. The plaintiff submitted a bid with cost estimates for a water based process, which the city later said would be insufficient and cited it as grounds for terminating the contract. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| Bosetti v. The US Life Insurance Company - 08/03/10 Trial
|
| |
Plaintiff Linda Bosetti was an employee of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District until 2003, when she activated her disability policy citing that fibromyalgia, lower back pain, depression and fatigue made her unable to work.
Her insurer terminated her payments after two years citing a limit on coverage for mental and nervous conditions and anticipating her ability to return to work.
Bosetti alleges her insurer failed to take adequate steps to determine if she could in fact return to work, and that she remained completely disabled when her policy was terminated.
Her insurer alleges Bosetti's claims of continued disability involve "subjective" symptoms that couldn't be verified by objective medical evidence. |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Jimmie Willis v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, et al - 09/13/10 Trial
|
| |
Willis v. Reynolds is an Engle-progeny tobacco trial against R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris. The case was originally tried in April and May of 2010, but ended in a mistrial after the jury had deliberated for several days. The retrial is scheduled for September, 2010.
In the original trial, plaintiff attorney Hendrik Uiterwyk told the jury that Jimmy Willis was "enticed by the ads of the defendants and got caught up in the addiction process because of the manipulation of the product and the manipulation of the minds by these defendants." According to Mr. Uiterwyk, Mr. Willis smoked one, then two, then three packs per day, and repeatedly tried to quit, without success.
After Mr. Willis was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer, his larynx was removed, and he was able to breathe and speak only through a hole in his throat. Mr. Willis was subsequently diagnosed with bladder cancer and small cell lung cancer.
For the defense, Shook Hardy Bacon's Walter Cofer told the jury that although getting cancer gave Mr. Willis the will to quit, Mr. Willis knew smoking was dangerous in the 1960s, and was not truly motivated to quit until it was too late. Mr. Willis' prior quit attempts, Mr. Cofer suggested, were not serious.
Moreover, said Mr. Cofer, Mr. Willis did not remember ever trying a cigarette because of any advertisement or promotion that he saw, and could not recall any statement by a tobacco company that caused him to start or continue smoking.
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| Kevin Klaas, et al. v. Vestin Mortgage, Inc. et al. - 09/07/10 Trial
|
| |
Three week jury trial in Clark County Circuit Court's complex litigation division.
VRM II (NASDAQ: VRTA) is a defendant in an action filed in 2006 by 88 separate plaintiffs in the District Court for Clark County, Nevada. (Klaas et al. v. Vestin Mortgage, Inc. et al.) The plaintiffs allege, among other things, that the defendants breached contractual obligations and fiduciary duties and made false and misleading statements in connection with the merger of Vestin Fund II into VRM II. The plaintiffs allege that they should have been provided appraisal rights in connection with such merger.
Vestin recently sued Klaas in federal court alleging the litigation in Las Vegas is costing the company millions in legal expenses.
http://asternglance.com/2008/11/14/vestin-sues-ken-klaas/ |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
| In re: ACS Shareholder Litigation - 08/24/10 Hearing
|
| |
Settlement hearing in ACS Shareholder Litigation.
CVN covered a prior hearing on motion for summary judgment.
The complaint alleges that the proposed merger allows ACS founder Darwin Deason, who is ACS's Chairman and largest (44%) stockholder, to retain hundreds of millions of dollars of value that rightfully belongs to ACS's public shareholders. The plaintiffs assert that Deason's consideration amounts to more than a 50% premium over what ACS's public stockholders would receive.
The ACS Board also allegedly breached its fiduciary duties by agreeing to a 3.5% termination fee and a no-solicitation provision, essentially blocking competing offers. |
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
| KFC National Council v. KFC Corporation - 09/02/10 Hearing
|
| |
Hearing on pre-trial motions. A bench trial is set for 9/20/10 - 9/24/10.
CVN covered previous motion hearings in this case.
Kentucky Friend Chicken, a Division of Yum! Brands, has been promoting its spicy grilled wings by supplying towns with new fire hydrants. The KFC National Council and Advertising Cooperative, Inc., which designs KFC's marketing programs, claims that KFC is promoting grilled chicken instead of fried chicken.
Store sales are down. The franchisees want more money spent on advertising the original recipe, and they seek a declaration that the National Council gets to decide.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=aSdmFt_zBMrE |
|
| .......................... |
.......................... |
|
|
|
| .......................... |
|
| Narrowstep, Inc. v. Onstream Media Corporation - 09/07/10 Hearing
|
| |
Hearing on defendant's motion to dismiss.
Via PRLog.com: "Narrowstep Inc. today announced that it has demanded $14 million and other damages from Onstream Media Corporation (NASDAQ: ONSM) as a result of Onstream's actions in connection with the Merger Agreement executed with Narrowstep on May 29, 2008, and subsequently amended on August 14, 2008 and September 15, 2008.
Narrowstep's demand letter to Onstream Media Corporation, delivered through Boston counsel, Ron Dunbar of Dunbar Law PC, outlines conduct that gives rise to fraud, breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and specific performance claims. The Narrowstep demand letter asserts damages in excess of $14 million dollars."
http://www.prlog.org/10218884-narrowstep-inc-demands-14-million-and-other-damages-from-onstream-media-for-failed-merger.html |
|
|
