Sobol Shapiro

1. Latest Toyota Suits Demand Refund For Drivers

Monday, Mar 15, 2010

Plaintiffs in a pair of new putative class actions against Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. are demanding a full refund on cars the auto giant recalled over sticking accelerators.

2. Kaiser Asks To Admit 'Snake Oil' Barb In Neurontin Trial

Monday, Mar 15, 2010

Plaintiffs in a trial over off-label marketing of Neurontin are asking the court to let them admit evidence that a Pfizer Inc.-employed doctor called the drug “the 'snake oil' of the 20th century.”

3. Ex-Collegiate Stars Line Up To Fight NCAA Rules

Thursday, Mar 11, 2010

A new batch of former student-athletes has joined a putative class action that accuses The National Collegiate Athletic Association, The Collegiate Licensing Co. and Electronic Arts Inc. of antitrust and right of publicity violations.

4. GSK Tries To Axe Wellbutrin Consumer Antitrust Suit

Wednesday, Mar 10, 2010

GlaxoSmithKline PLC has asked a judge to dismiss claims brought by employee benefit plans over the alleged filing of baseless patent suits to delay generic competition with Wellbutrin SR, arguing that the plans cannot proceed under the laws of their home states.

5. OxyContin Buyers Resolve Purdue Antitrust Claims

Monday, Mar 08, 2010

Six plaintiffs seeking to certify indirect purchaser classes in multidistrict litigation accusing Purdue Pharma LP of excluding generic competition for the painkiller OxyContin by engaging in sham patent infringement litigation have resolved their claims with the drugmaker.

6. Title Insurers Allowed To Appeal Price-Fixing Ruling

Friday, Mar 05, 2010

In litigation alleging that a group of title insurers conspired to fix prices in California, a federal court has signed off on a request by the remaining defendants to pursue an interlocutory appeal in a bid to get the last claims remaining dismissed.

7. EBay Wins Dismissal Of Sellers' Antitrust Action

Thursday, Mar 04, 2010

Following nearly three years of litigation, a federal judge has dismissed a putative class action alleging that eBay Inc. monopolized the online auction market and charged sellers supracompetitive fees for its services.

8. E&Y, PwC To Pay $28M In Metropolitan Securities Suit

Wednesday, Feb 24, 2010

Accounting firms Ernst & Young LLP and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP have agreed to pay a total of about $28 million to settle a lawsuit over their role in an alleged securities fraud connected with stocks and debt issued by now-defunct Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities Co.

9. EA Appeals Nondismissal Of Athletes' Licensing Suit

Friday, Feb 19, 2010

Video game maker Electronic Arts Inc. has appealed a federal judge's refusal to dismiss a putative antitrust and right of publicity class action by former collegiate student-athletes who say they have not received their share of the money made from licensing their images.

10. Plaintiff Class Wants Bristol-Myers AWP Deal Enforced

Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010

A group of consumer class plaintiffs has urged a federal court overseeing average wholesale price litigation with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. to enforce a $13 million settlement the two parties struck in 2007, claiming the drugmaker and class counsel have negotiated a new deal that cuts into the group’s recovery amount.

11. Pfizer Experts Escape Judge's Boot In Neurontin Case

Tuesday, Feb 16, 2010

A judge has rejected Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc.’s attempt to strike the testimony of a group of experts for Pfizer Inc. ahead of a trial over the drugmaker’s alleged off-label promotion of Neurontin, contending that there is simply not enough time to address Kaiser’s concerns.

12. J&J Unit Escapes Artificial Disc Negligence Claims

Tuesday, Feb 16, 2010

A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld summary judgment for DePuy Spine Inc. on a customer's claims that the company negligently manufactured a spinal disc replacement product.

13. Pretrial Clashes Intensify In Neurontin Off-Label MDL

Thursday, Feb 11, 2010

With a trial in multidistrict litigation over Pfizer Inc.'s alleged off-label marketing of Neurontin barely more than a week away, the drugmaker is seeking depositions related to a Web site owned by plaintiff Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. that Pfizer argues actually touts the drug’s off-label uses.

14. Plaintiffs Ask Court To Revisit Neurontin Ruling

Tuesday, Feb 09, 2010

A group of plaintiffs has urged a federal court to reconsider a ruling that threw out Guardian Life Insurance Co. and Aetna Inc.’s claims in multidistrict litigation accusing Pfizer Inc. of improperly marketing anti-epilepsy drug Neurontin for off-label uses.

15. Athletes' Licensing Fight Survives NCAA's Bid To Toss

Monday, Feb 08, 2010

A federal judge has stymied a bid by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to dismiss a putative antitrust class action by former student-athletes who say they're being bilked out of money made from licensing their images.

16. Purchasers Seek Sanctions In Intel Antitrust MDL

Friday, Jan 29, 2010

Indirect purchaser plaintiffs in the multidistrict antitrust litigation against Intel Corp. are seeking sanctions against the technology giant for allegedly failing to preserve evidence, echoing claims levied by Advanced Micro Devices Inc. in the case prior to the rivals' settlement.

17. Roth Dodges Some Claims In Mortgage Stock Fraud MDL

Friday, Jan 29, 2010

A federal judge has let securities broker-dealer Roth Capital off the hook for some claims in multidistrict litigation over an alleged securities fraud connected with stocks and debt issued by now-defunct Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities Co. Inc. and its affiliate Summit Securities Inc.

18. Petland Still In Doghouse For Selling Sick Puppies

Thursday, Jan 28, 2010

While dismissing most claims, a federal judge has refused to completely unleash Petland Inc. from a class action alleging that the pet store habitually misled customers by selling them sick puppies from puppy mills.

19. As Trial Nears, Kaiser Flays Pfizer Neurontin Studies

Thursday, Jan 21, 2010

With a trial in the multidistrict litigation over Pfizer Inc.’s alleged off-label marketing of Neurontin just a month away, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. is attacking the credibility of Pfizer’s expert testimony, contending the doctors embraced sham clinical results when vouching for the drug’s effectiveness as a treatment for bipolar disorder and migraines.

20. KB Home Buyers Seek Class Status In Fraud Suit

Wednesday, Jan 20, 2010

A group of homeowners who purchased houses from KB Home is seeking class certification in a suit accusing the homebuilder and Countrywide Home Loans Inc. of conspiring to rig appraisals to inflate home prices by at least $280 million.