Corporate Law

Lawyer who billed corporate client for his sanctions is reprimanded

An Illinois lawyer has been reprimanded in Iowa as a result of a discovery dispute in which he billed his corporate client for sanctions stemming from his conduct. Cameron Davidson was reprimanded on Aug. 18 in connection with his representation of agricultural equipment maker Deere & Co., report the Quad…

Sep 2, 2014 8:41 AM CDT

California court decision lets retailers breathe easy

Cardiac arrest can happen anywhere, anytime. That’s why advocates for heart health want automated external defibrillators to be widely available in public places. If treated quickly, patients can avoid death or brain damage. But most states don’t require AEDs in stores. Though some states make them mandatory in schools and…

Sep 1, 2014 9:30 AM CDT

Do janitorial firms cash in by misclassifying workers as independent contractors?

When Pius Awuah, an immigrant from Ghana, agreed to purchase a cleaning franchise from the janitorial giant Coverall for more than $14,000, he believed the business would earn $3,000 per month. The Lowell, Massachusetts, resident used his savings and credit cards to put up more than $8,000, while Coverall arranged…

Sep 1, 2014 9:20 AM CDT

‘Seismic’ 9th Cir. rulings nix FedEx claim its drivers aren’t employees, could cost company millions

In a significant victory for FedEx drivers who contend they have been misclassified as independent contractors, a federal appeals court on Wednesday reversed a finding in multidistrict litigation in Indiana and held that nearly 2,700 plaintiffs in California and Oregon are in fact employees. In separate decisions concerning the California…

Aug 27, 2014 9:55 PM CDT

Over 100 died from GM ignition-switch issues, survivors claim

When General Motors announced a compensation plan for those injured and killed because of ignition-switch issues in vehicles manufactured by the automaker, the company confirmed 13 deaths. However, claims have now been made concerning more than 100 deaths in the first month of a compensation program administered by disaster master…

Aug 27, 2014 5:04 PM CDT

Is Delaware decision a sensible ‘chip in the attorney-client privilege’?

A former Wal-Mart lawyer who apparently sought an aggressive internal investigation into possible bribes at a corporate subsidiary in Mexico has said she can’t talk to investigators because of attorney-client privilege. In an interview with her alumni magazine at Arizona State University, Maritza Munich said she is available to speak…

Aug 27, 2014 3:47 PM CDT

GM legal department is reportedly under scrutiny by prosecutors

Employees in the legal department at General Motors are among GM workers reportedly being scrutinized by federal prosecutors who want to know whether evidence of a faulty ignition switch was concealed from regulators. The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reported the news, based on anonymous sources who are familiar with…

Aug 22, 2014 12:27 PM CDT

Solar power towers are igniting birds in midair; wildlife protection groups are concerned

In the quest for clean energy, some birds are feeling the heat. Because of the concentration of sunlight by garage-door-size mirrors that reflect solar rays onto boiler towers as high as 40 feet, birds are igniting in midair at a $2.2 billion plant on the California-Nevada border. Observations suggest birds…

Aug 18, 2014 10:20 PM CDT

In business for a decade, global Wi-Fi venture once valued at $2B got financing based on fake work

For nearly a decade, a Spanish company known as Let’s Gowex SA claimed to be making a profit by offering public wi-fi in cities throughout the world. But that wasn’t true, entrepreneur Jenaro Garcia Martin, who heads the company, told Spain’s High Court last month. He and others familiar with…

Aug 14, 2014 8:15 PM CDT

Home Depot sued over off-site slaying of pregnant woman by her supervisor

The mother of a pregnant young woman beaten and strangled to death by her work supervisor during an off-site trip to attend his sister’s wedding has filed a civil wrongful death complaint against two companies that allegedly had a role in supervising the now-convicted murderer, Brian M. Cooper, 37. Filed…

Aug 13, 2014 4:45 PM CDT

Lawyer, business owner and CEO are criminally charged with usury over payday lending operation

A Tennessee lawyer is facing a criminal usury case in New York, along with a client company owner and his chief executive officer, for allegedly circumventing state law prohibiting high high interest on loans through a complex corporate thicket of payday loan operations. Owner Carey Vaughn Brown, 55, who started…

Aug 12, 2014 4:10 PM CDT

Federal judge nixes $325M settlement by Apple, Google, others in claimed salary-cap conspiracy

A federal judge in San Jose, California, has nixed a proposed $325 million class action settlement over a claimed no-poaching agreement between major Silicon Valley companies that allegedly helped keep a lid on salaries for tech workers. Although U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh found “ample evidence” that Adobe, Apple, Google…

Aug 11, 2014 7:10 PM CDT

Woman sues after family dies at local Home Depot in Joplin tornado; retailer cites ‘act of God’

A Missouri woman whose husband and two young children died when they took shelter from a massive Joplin tornado at a local Home Depot in 2011 has filed a wrongful death suit against the store, the company that designed it and the property owner. Edie Howard Housel contends that the…

Aug 5, 2014 6:30 PM CDT

LinkedIn settles with feds, agrees to pay nearly $6M in FLSA ‘off the clock’ and overtime case

Notified by the feds that it had violated wage-and-hour laws, a well-known company opted to settle the case rather than fight allegations that nonexempt hourly employees in four states weren’t paid for all of their work. LinkedIn Corp. agreed to pay $3.3 million in overtime back wages and $2.5 million…

Aug 4, 2014 10:09 PM CDT

Ethics complaint accuses former GE lawyer of disclosing client secrets

An ethics complaint filed in Washington, D.C., accuses a former in-house lawyer for General Electric of disclosing confidential company information after she was fired. The complaint (PDF) against lawyer M. Adriana Koeck alleges she copied her computer hard drive and disclosed confidential information to the media and to federal agencies,…

Aug 4, 2014 3:51 PM CDT