NYC settles jail strip-search suit for $33 million

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:54:04 GMT

NEW YORK – (AP) Two women who claimed they were forced to undergo gynecological exams and thousands of other people who said they were strip-searched in New York City jails have settled a class-action lawsuit with the city for $33 million.

The suit was filed on behalf of people arrested on misdemeanor drug and …

Toyota will replace pedals for unhappy owners

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:51:48 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) Toyota has told dealers it will provide replacement accelerator pedals to owners who are unsatisfied with their repairs under the massive recall following dozens of complaints about the fix.

The Japanese automaker said in a memo obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press that if a customer is unhappy with the …

Boy Scouts sex abuse files now evidence in lawsuit

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:25:17 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. – (AP) The Boy Scouts of America call them "perversion files," internal documents used to track Scout leaders suspected of sexually abusing young boys.

A judge who had ordered the Scouts to release them received 1,247 files into evidence near the end of the day Friday the third day of trial that ...

GM's SKorean unit recalling nearly 60,000 vehicles

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:23:34 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea – (AP) General Motors is recalling nearly 60,000 automobiles in South Korea due to potential problems with steering wheels, fuel hoses and seats, the company's local unit and the government said Sunday.

The recall of 58,696 vehicles will begin Monday and cover four models manufactured in South Korea, said Kim Byeon

Toyota shareholders sue over fallen stock price

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:21:43 GMT

MIAMI – (AP) Toyota shareholders incensed over a sudden drop in the Japanese automaker's stock price are heading to court with lawsuits claiming company executives deliberately misled investors and the public about the depth of accelerator problems in millions of its vehicles.

At least three proposed class-action lawsuits filed by To

Former AFL player files lawsuit

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:58:32 GMT

NEW YORK – (AP) A former Arena Football League player filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging that a Colorado Crush team doctor mistreated his concussions two years ago, resulting in permanent injury, The New York Times reported on its Web site Thursday night.

Clay Rush was a kicker for the Crush in 2008 when he ...

Feds: brakes weren't applied on crashed NY Prius

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:45:11 GMT

HARRISON, N.Y. – (AP) Computer data from a Toyota Prius that crashed in suburban New York City show that at the time of the accident the throttle was open and the driver was not applying the brakes, U.S. safety officials said Thursday.

The disclosure prompted an angry response from the police captain investigating the ...

Parents oppose Philly school webcam spying lawsuit

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:43:21 GMT

PHILADELPHIA – (AP) Some suburban Philadelphia parents are seeking to halt a potential class-action lawsuit accusing their school district of using cameras in school-issued laptops to spy on students at home.

Three sets of parents of students at Lower Merion and Harriton high schools filed documents in federal court Thursday asking f

Gov't orders recall of 1.2 million high chairs

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:50:45 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) The government is announcing a recall of some 1.2 million high chairs, saying they pose a fall hazard to children.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the voluntary recall Thursday involving the product made by Graco Children's Products, Inc., of Atlanta.

Judge OKs settlement in deadly Lear jet crash

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:49:01 GMT

LOS ANGELES – (AP) A judge approved a multimillion-dollar legal settlement Tuesday involving the wife and young son of former Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker's assistant, who was killed in a 2008 plane crash in South Carolina.

The settlement with Learjet Inc., Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and other companies involved in the ownersh

EPA: More pets injured by flea and tick products

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:47:37 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) Products intended to treat cats and dogs for fleas and ticks kill hundreds of pets each year and injure tens of thousands, the Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday as it outlined plans to make the products safer.

The EPA said it will develop stricter testing and evaluation requirements for flea ...

China investigating child lead poisoning cases

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:46:08 GMT

BEIJING – (AP) Chinese officials said Wednesday they are investigating heightened lead levels among hundreds of children in Hunan province thought to be linked to local smelters one of many cases underscoring the toll pollution is taking on the health of rural Chinese.

Health checks last month showed excessive levels of lead in ... <

Activist's family sues over Mass. wheelchair death

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:08:23 GMT

BOSTON – (AP) A wheelchair company and its technicians are to blame for the death of a disability advocate who died after his wheelchair malfunctioned during routine repairs, pinning his legs under a tabletop and causing him to suffer seizures, according to a lawsuit brought by the man's family.

The suit, filed in ...

Lawsuit prompts prison warden switch

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:06:21 GMT

BOISE, Idaho – (AP) The Corrections Corporation of America is replacing the top two officials at Idaho's only private prison after the American Civil Liberties Union sued over claims of brutal inmate-on-inmate violence, state corrections officials said Wednesday.

Idaho Department of Correction Director Brent Reinke said in a memo to

Toyota counts rising cost of recall woes

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:04:58 GMT

TOKYO – (AP) A massive global recall, mounting legal bills and a battered reputation add up to a very expensive problem for Toyota.

How expensive? Depends who you ask.

With new developments emerging almost daily

Orange County prosecutor sues Toyota over defects

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:42:02 GMT

SANTA ANA, Calif. – (AP) The Orange County district attorney has filed a lawsuit against Toyota Motor Corp., accusing the automaker of knowingly selling hundreds of thousands of vehicles with acceleration defects.

District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said at a news conference Friday that his office has the right to bring consumer protec

Court says thimerosal did not cause autism

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:40:12 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) The vaccine additive thimerosal is not to blame for autism, a special federal court ruled Friday in a long-running battle by parents convinced there is a connection.

While expressing sympathy for the parents involved in the emotionally charged cases, the court concluded they had failed to show a connection between t

US says it cannot explain runaway Prius

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:38:03 GMT

WASHINGTON – (APINTL) The U.S. government said Monday it cannot explain a reported incident of sudden, high-speed acceleration in a Toyota Prius on a San Diego, California, freeway last week.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement that it continues to investigate but "we may never know exactly wha

Feds recall more children jewelry in cadmium probe

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 07:28:35 GMT

LOS ANGELES – (AP) Federal safety regulators recalled a line of Christmas-themed bracelets Thursday, expanding their effort to purge children's jewelry boxes and store shelves of items containing high levels of the toxic metal cadmium.

The latest action by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission targeted "Rudolph the Red-Nos

Lesbian teen sues over prom flap; back at school

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 07:26:51 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. – (AP) Constance McMillen didn't believe her Mississippi school district would really call off her senior prom rather than allow her to show up with her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo.

On Thursday, a day after the Itawamba County school board did just that, the 18-year-old lesbian high school senior reluctantly returned

ACLU sues private prison company

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:33:14 GMT

BOISE, Idaho – (AP) The American Civil Liberties Union is suing state prison officials and a private company, claiming violence is so rampant at the Idaho Correctional Center that it's known as "gladiator school" among inmates.

The ACLU said it would file the lawsuit Thursday against Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corp.

CDC uses shopper-card data to trace salmonella

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:31:18 GMT

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – (AP) As they scrambled recently to trace the source of a salmonella outbreak that has sickened hundreds around the country, investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention successfully used a new tool for the first time the shopper cards that millions of Americans swipe every time they buy groceries.

WASHINGTON – (AP) The company responsible for a ballooning recall of processed foods continued to manufacture and distribute a flavor-enhancing ingredient for a month after tests confirmed it was made with contaminated equipment, according to a Food and Drug Administration report.

FDA inspectors said the company, Las Vegas-based Basi

Feds probe Toyota Prius crash in NYC suburb

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:09:44 GMT

HARRISON, N.Y. – (AP) The crash of a Toyota Prius in New York caught the attention of federal regulators Wednesday after the driver said it accelerated on its own, then lurched down a driveway, across a road and into a stone wall.

The crash heightens the attention surrounding unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles and ...

Fiat Brazil fined for failing to recall vehicles

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:08:05 GMT

SAO PAULO – (AP) Brazil's Justice Ministry said Wednesday it has fined the local Fiat subsidiary for failing to recall Stilo models to fix a wheel problem that may have caused eight deaths since 2004.

The ministry said in a statement posted on its Web site that the Brazilian subsidiary of Fiat SpA was ...

Class-action lawsuits could cost Toyota $3B-plus

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:52:12 GMT

MIAMI – (AP) Toyota owners claiming that massive safety recalls are causing the value of their vehicles to plummet have filed at least 89 class-action lawsuits that could cost the Japanese auto giant $3 billion or more, according to an Associated Press review of cases, legal precedent and interviews with experts.

Those estimates &hel

Govt to warn on baby slings because of deaths

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:49:52 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) The U.S. government is preparing a safety warning about baby slings those popular and fashionable infant carriers that parents can sling around their chests to carry their baby.

The concern: Infants can suffocate, and at least a few have.

&nb

Pa. coal town above mine fire claims massive fraud

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:47:38 GMT

ALLENTOWN, Pa. – (AP) The few remaining residents of a Pennsylvania coal town decimated by a 48-year-old underground mine fire claim in court papers that a "massive fraud" is being perpetrated by parties seeking to grab the mineral rights to hundreds of millions of dollars worth of anthracite coal.

In a filing late Monday &

Court will hear case about vaccine side effects

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:11:49 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) The Supreme Court will decide whether drug makers can be sued by parents who claim their children suffered serious health problems from vaccines.

The justices on Monday agreed to hear an appeal from parents in Pittsburgh who want to sue Wyeth over the serious side effects their daughter, six months old …

Puff, puff, puff, nicotine rises gradually

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:09:26 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) Nicotine builds up gradually in smokers' brains rather than spiking after each puff, according to a study that might help point to new ways to help people quit smoking.

Dr. Jed E. Rose of Duke University reports in Monday's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that …

Toyota disputes critic who blames electronics

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:07:08 GMT

WASHINGTON – (AP) Toyota gave detailed evidence Monday that it says disproves claims that electronics may cause the unwanted acceleration that led to the recall of more than 8 million cars and trucks.

Toyota was attempting to counter tests by an Illinois engineering professor who said Toyota engines could rev without a driver &hellip

Australian court: Vioxx doubled heart attack risk

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:41:19 GMT

SYDNEY – (AP) The once-popular painkiller Vioxx doubled the risk of heart attack and was unfit for consumption, an Australian court ruled Friday, awarding a man leading a class action suit against the drug's maker 287,000 Australian dollars ($259,000) in compensation.

Melbourne Federal Court Judge Christopher Jessup's decision opens

Ask AP: Tax credits, disposing of recalled goods

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:39:43 GMT

(AP) Toxic pet food. Lead-painted toys. Hazardous baby cribs. The sheer volume of recalled products makes you wonder: What happens to all that stuff after it's ordered off the shelves?

Curiosity about disposing of recalled goods inspired one of the questions in this edition of "Ask AP," a weekly Q&A column ...

Claim: San Francisco giving gardeners toxic sludge

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:38:08 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO – (AP) San Francisco wears its environmental consciousness like a green badge of honor. Residents separate and recycle their food scraps. Streets close to cars so people can walk and bike them. A city department even gives away "high-quality, nutrient-rich, organic bio-solids compost" to any and all takers.

Another worker injured in Conn. explosion sues

LexisNexis Tort Center Staff — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:27:29 GMT

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – (AP) Another worker injured in a Connecticut power plant explosion last month that killed six workers has filed a lawsuit accusing the companies handling the project of negligence.

Authorities say the Feb. 7 explosion at the Kleen Energy Systems plant in Middletown happened as workers were using natural gas to clea

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