Friday, August 28, 2009

Enterprise Faces Class Action Over Rental Insurance

Law360, New York (August 27, 2009) is reporting as follows: A former Enterprise Rent-A-Car Co. customer has hit the rental car company with a class action alleging it fraudulently misrepresented the terms of its personal accident insurance benefit in its marketing and sale of the policy to potential renters over the past five years. Viktor Polyakov filed an amended class action Aug. 26 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho on behalf of all renters who have purchased personal accident insurance with Enterprise and its Idaho-based subsidiary Enterprise of Utah since March 2005. The complaint, which claims that the company funneled customers' insurance fees into a subsidiary instead of using them to pay for legitimate insurance policies for renters, seeks certification of the proposed class, injunctive relief, punitive damages under the Idaho Consumer Protection Act, restitution and attorneys' fees. The case is Polyakov v. Enterprise Rent-A-Car Co. et al., case number 09-cv-00408, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Philip Morris ordered to pay $13.8M to smoker's daughter.

The New York Times /AP (8/25, B2) reports, "A jury on Monday ruled that Philip Morris USA should pay $13.8 million in punitive damages to the daughter of a longtime smoker who died of lung cancer. The jury, in Los Angeles Superior Court, voted 9-3 in favor of Jodie Bullock. Her mother, Betty Bullock, died of lung cancer in February 2003."

Monday, August 17, 2009

Medical system improves after liver donor's death, malpractice suit.

The Albany Times Union (8/16, Odato) reported, "Seven years after the hospital death of liver transplant donor Michael Hurewitz, a lot has happened to remove the dangers of such surgeries. The Saratoga County [NY] man's tragic end prompted health professionals and regulators to adopt protections for living donors who sometimes make emotional decisions to help another human being." The new system "attempts to make sure both sides of the transplant surgery get equal attention." The state "fined the hospital that handled the procedure and Mount Sinai temporarily halted liver transplants. In 2003, it settled a wrongful death suit with the widow, Victoria 'Vickie' Hurewitz, for $2.5 million."

Friday, August 7, 2009

Sotomayor confirmed to be first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice.

USA Today (8/6, Kiely) reports, "Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who grew up speaking Spanish in a public housing project, is headed for a seat on the Supreme Court after an overwhelming Senate vote Thursday to make her the first Hispanic member of the court." Sotomayor's "elevation prompted jubilation among leaders of the nation's fast-growing Hispanic community." The tally "was 68-31, with only the ailing Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., missing the roll call. Nine Republicans joined 57 Democrats and two independents in confirming President Obama's first Supreme Court nominee." The Los Angeles Times (8/7, Oliphant, Savage) says Sotomayor "completed an unlikely and historic journey," while the AP (8/7, Davis) refers to "a history-making Senate vote," and notes that President Obama, "the nation's first black president, praised the Senate's vote as 'breaking another barrier and moving us yet another step closer to a more perfect union.' He planned to welcome Sotomayor at the White House next week."
ABC World News (8/6, story 3, 2:15, Crawford-Greenburg) said that after the vote "there was joy and pride, as Hispanics across the country and the President celebrated an historic first." Obama was shown saying, "This is a wonderful day for Judge Sotomayor and her family, but I also think it is a wonderful day for America." The CBS Evening News (8/6, lead story, 2:30, Couric) also reported that "Obama says it's a wonderful day for America," and went on to refer (Andrews) to the vote as "a history-making moment." A follow-up story on the CBS Evening News (8/6, story 2, 2:30, Couric) said that "all over the country today, Hispanics were celebrating this milestone." NBC Nightly News (8/6, lead story, 3:00, P. Williams) similarly reported that "around the country Hispanic groups were celebrating. ... Huge cheers in Los Angeles where Hispanic supporters joined to watch the historic Senate vote. Here and at similar gatherings around the country pride in having a Supreme Court justice from the nation's fastest growing minority, now 15% of the population."
Adam Liptak, in the New York Times (8/7, A12), writes that while "the new justice's presence will unsettle and reshuffle the court," Supreme Court "specialists said they do not expect her to take a fundamentally different approach from Justice Souter, whom she is succeeding, in most kinds of cases. They also cautioned that a justice's first few years are often a poor indicator of a long-term philosophy."

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Minnesota families to testify in favor of Medical Device Safety Act.

Minnesota's Pioneer Press (8/3, Snowbeck) reported, "Two Minnesota families are offering arguments in Washington, D.C., today" in favor of the proposed Medical Device Safety Act. "Mark and Janice Baird, of Oakdale, are scheduled to talk at a news conference about their 16-year-old son, Mark, a pacemaker-dependent patient who died in September 2006. Mark's heart device was made by Fridley-based Medtronic, and his parents believe his death was related to a problem with the device, according to a copy of their letter to the committee provided by the American Association for Justice, a trade group for trial lawyers. The trade group also announced Monday that Michele Meyer, of Cambridge, will submit a letter about her daughter Katie, who died at age 30 after her Medtronic implantable cardiac defibrillator experienced problems."