CaliforniaRSS

  • December 29, 2008

    Jury Backs Seagate, Snuffs Siemens' Sensor Patent

    A California jury has dealt Siemens AG a reeling blow, invalidating a patent the electronics powerhouse asserted against disc drive manufacturer Seagate Technology, concluding an infringement action that once sought nearly $400 million in damages.

  • December 29, 2008

    MySpace's Conduct Not Anti-Competitive: 9th Circ.

    A federal appeals court has affirmed a trial judge's decision to throw out an antitrust suit that online entertainment company LiveUniverse Inc. brought against MySpace Inc., holding that LiveUniverse hadn't adequately alleged exclusionary conduct or causal antitrust injury.

  • December 29, 2008

    Fry’s Electronics Exec Hit With $65M Fraud Charge

    Federal officials have accused a Fry’s Electronics Inc. merchandising executive of defrauding the electronics superstore chain out of at least $65 million in kickbacks from vendors that he used to pad his personal checking account and pay gambling debts.

  • December 29, 2008

    Starbucks Mistreated Pro-Union Workers: NLRB Judge

    An administrative law judge has ruled that Starbucks Corp. engaged in unfair labor practices in a lawsuit brought by union organizers alleging the coffee chain retaliated against workers at four Manhattan stores who wanted to unionize.

  • December 29, 2008

    Pfizer Ordered To Pay $39M In Trade Secrets Dispute

    A California jury has issued a verdict against Pfizer Inc., ordering the drug company to pay $38.7 million for allegedly stealing trade secrets from a California-based research group.

  • December 30, 2008

    Victims, Others File Suits Over Calif. Train Crash

    More than three months after a deadly commuter train crash in Southern California, the lawsuits over the passenger rail disaster that left 25 people dead and dozens injured have started to trickle into the courts.

  • December 30, 2008

    9th Circ. Won't Reconsider Revival Of Gerber Case

    An appeals court has refused to reconsider a decision that revived a proposed class action alleging baby-food giant Gerber Products Co. misleadingly labeled its fruit juice snacks as healthy products.

  • December 29, 2008

    Injunction In Fairchild Suit Stayed Over USPTO Ruling

    A federal judge has temporarily stayed an injunction against Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc. in a patent case with rival Power Integrations Inc. in light of conflicting positions between the court and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

  • December 29, 2008

    Oil Giant Flying J Lands In Ch. 11

    Flying J Inc., a privately held oil refining and distribution company, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in order to reorganize its balance sheet as it reels from a liquidity crunch prompted by plummeting oil prices and frozen credit markets.

  • December 30, 2008

    Rambus Loses Round In DRAM Patent Suit

    Rambus Inc. will not be allowed to use the doctrine of equivalents to prove infringement in its heated patent dispute against rival manufacturers of dynamic random access memory, a federal judge has ruled.

  • December 18, 2008

    Firm Fights Ex-Chair For Lead Role In Antitrust MDL

    A judge overseeing antitrust litigation against a group of airlines has approved a request by law firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC to challenge an order dumping it as co-lead counsel in favor of ousted chairman Michael Hausfeld's new firm.

  • December 18, 2008

    Siemens Asks For $160M In Sensor Patent Case

    Siemens AG is seeking $160 million in damages months after a federal judge found that Seagate Technology’s disk drives using sensor technology infringed its patent.

  • December 18, 2008

    Mentor Prevails In 1st ObTape Product Liability Trial

    As product liability suits accumulate against Mentor Corp., the maker of ObTape got an encouraging verdict from a California jury this week, as jurors roundly rejected all of the plaintiff’s claims in the first trial over the controversial vaginal implant.

  • December 18, 2008

    Judge Certifies Class In Honda Braking System Suit

    A federal judge has certified a nationwide class of plaintiffs in a lawsuit against American Honda Motor Co. that claims the company misled consumers about a braking system touted as helping prevent or mitigate collisions.

  • December 18, 2008

    11th Circ. Upholds Dismissal Of Taser Fracture Case

    Siding with a lower court’s contention that testimony from the plaintiff’s doctor was unreliable, an appeals court has affirmed a ruling for Taser International Inc. in a suit filed by a Georgia state trooper who alleged the company’s stun gun caused him to suffer debilitating spinal fractures.

  • December 18, 2008

    Japan Fines Sharp $3M In LCD Price-Fixing Scheme

    Japan's Federal Trade Commission has fined Sharp Corp. 251 million yen ($2.9 million) for an alleged price-fixing scheme related to the sale of liquid crystal display modules used in Nintendo Co. video game consoles.

  • December 18, 2008

    DOI Hit With 2nd Suit Over Late ESA Rule Change

    An eleventh-hour rule change by the U.S. Department of the Interior that environmental groups say neuters the Endangered Species Act has sparked a lawsuit from the Natural Resources Defense Council, at least the second such suit in the past week.

  • December 18, 2008

    Obama Taps Labor Advocate To Lead DOL

    President-elect Barack Obama's reported pick for secretary of labor is a California congresswoman and daughter of a union shop steward.

  • December 19, 2008

    Environmental Legislation To Watch In 2009

    Despite a dreary financial forecast for 2009, the economic crisis will help propel environmental legislation in the year ahead as President-elect Barack Obama and Democratic lawmakers seek to tie the revitalization of the U.S. economy to a comprehensive plan to combat climate change, experts say.

  • December 17, 2008

    Damages Reduced In Cardinal's $12.2M Suit V. Tyco

    A California appeals court has affirmed a jury verdict holding Tyco Electronics Corp. liable for defective electrical components it supplied Cardinal Health 301 Inc., but struck about $5.5 million in damages from the $12.2 million verdict.