http://www.law360.com/ Latest articles for organization: Barroway Topaz Copyright 2009 Portfolio Media, Inc. en-US http://www.law360.com/images/headings/logo.gif http://www.law360.com/ http://www.law360.com/articles/134839 A federal judge has partially lifted a discovery stay in a securities suit against Bank of America Corp. over its merger with Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., providing the plaintiffs with access to the same documents the bank has already shown to several government agencies. http://www.law360.com/articles/134839 http://www.law360.com/articles/134235 A federal judge denied bids from a Sprint Nextel Corp. employee for conditional collective and class certification Friday in a suit that claimed the wireless phone retailer encouraged its sales force to work overtime without paying them for their extra hours. http://www.law360.com/articles/134235 http://www.law360.com/articles/131940 In response to calls for reform, legislators and federal regulators have been stepping up efforts to demand that shareholders have a stronger voice in the corporate governance of U.S. public companies. A recent example is the Shareholder Bill of Rights Act of 2009, say Nichole Browning and Darren J. Check of Barroway Topaz Kessler Meltzer & Check LLP. http://www.law360.com/articles/131940 http://www.law360.com/articles/132739 A judge has certified a securities class action accusing circuit board maker Merix Inc. and its officers of misleading investors in connection with a 2004 stock offering, though he has approved a more limited class than the plaintiffs wanted. http://www.law360.com/articles/132739 http://www.law360.com/articles/132326 Wachovia Corp. and the underwriters and auditor of 30 of the company's public offerings have denounced a consolidated class action alleging they downplayed Wachovia’s parlous subprime exposure when selling some $35 billion bond class securities. http://www.law360.com/articles/132326 http://www.law360.com/articles/132183 A federal judge has purged state antitrust and consumer protection claims from a putative class action brought by employee benefit plans accusing GlaxoSmithKline PLC of filing baseless patent suits to delay generic versions of antidepressant Wellbutrin SR. http://www.law360.com/articles/132183 http://www.law360.com/articles/131769 A pension fund for New York state plumbers is seeking lead plaintiff status in a group of suits claiming J.P. Jeanneret Associates Inc., Bank of New York Mellon Corp. and others shirked their duties as financial advisers by investing in Bernard L. Madoff's sham investment firm. http://www.law360.com/articles/131769 http://www.law360.com/articles/131722 Investors accusing oil and gas firm Stone Energy Corp. of overstating its oil reserves and falsifying its financial reports have made a move for class certification. http://www.law360.com/articles/131722 http://www.law360.com/articles/131088 A federal appeals court has revived a dismissed proposed class action brought by homebuyers accusing Countrywide Home Loans Inc. and its reinsurer unit, Balboa Reinsurance Co., of engaging in a kickback scheme that could reduce competition among private mortgage insurance providers. http://www.law360.com/articles/131088 http://www.law360.com/articles/130453 Southwest Airlines Co. has agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle a shareholder derivative lawsuit alleging the company breached its fiduciary duty by allowing its planes to fly without performing mandatory inspections for fuselage fatigue cracking. http://www.law360.com/articles/130453 http://www.law360.com/articles/130013 A group of current and former assistant branch rental managers for Enterprise Rent-A-Car Co. Inc. are seeking conditional certification for a proposed collective action accusing the company of failing to pay them overtime. http://www.law360.com/articles/130013 http://www.law360.com/articles/129594 A federal judge has tossed the remaining class-certified claims at the named plaintiffs' own request in a suit accusing JPMorgan Chase Bank NA of numerous Employee Retirement Income Security Act violations, including its implementation of a cash balance formula in its retirement plan that allegedly constituted age discrimination. http://www.law360.com/articles/129594 http://www.law360.com/articles/129327 A federal judge has effectively tossed a proposed class action that took issue with allegedly misleading statements surrounding an initial public offering of common stock in dry bulk shipping company Britannia Bulk Holdings Inc. http://www.law360.com/articles/129327 http://www.law360.com/articles/128298 Ditech Networks Inc. has agreed to pay $1.05 million to the plaintiffs’ attorneys as part of the settlement of a shareholder derivative suit over stock options backdating, as well as to change the way its options are granted and reform other aspects of its corporate governance. http://www.law360.com/articles/128298 http://www.law360.com/articles/127781 A federal judge has declined to weigh in on whether a state-law class action linked to the collapse of mortgage-backed securities issued by a Countrywide Financial Corp. subsidiary was preempted by the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act, saying the state court was capable of rendering judgment. http://www.law360.com/articles/127781 http://www.law360.com/articles/127186 A CitiFinancial Inc. loan officer has urged a federal judge to certify a class of several hundred co-workers in a suit accusing the mortgage lender of breaching labor laws by failing to pay overtime wages. http://www.law360.com/articles/127186 http://www.law360.com/articles/127259 The lead plaintiffs in a putative securities class action brought against bankrupt chemical company Chemtura Corp. in the wake of antitrust allegations have agreed to return the $9.3 million that Chemtura paid to settle the dispute. http://www.law360.com/articles/127259 http://www.law360.com/articles/126686 Medtronic Inc. has asked a judge to dismiss a putative securities class action related to the off-label use of its InFuse spinal graft product, arguing that the mere disclosure that the medical device maker received a subpoena regarding its practices is not enough to show that fraud caused a drop in stock prices. http://www.law360.com/articles/126686 http://www.law360.com/articles/126059 A judge has dismissed a shareholder derivative action against Massey Energy Co. that alleged the coal producer's directors breached their fiduciary duties by failing to ensure compliance with environmental and worker-safety laws. http://www.law360.com/articles/126059 http://www.law360.com/articles/124908 A group of pension funds appointed as lead plaintiff in multidistrict securities litigation against Bank of America Corp. has filed an amended complaint accusing the bank of suppressing billions of dollars in losses that Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. suffered before the financial giants finalized their $50 billion union. http://www.law360.com/articles/124908