Warranted to Heal (But May Cause Cancer)

Medicinal mishap

Following the announcement of the verdict in the ongoing Johnson & Johnson baby powder case, the company’s stock shares fell 1.4%. In the Missouri joint lawsuit, 22 women claimed a direct correlation between their long-term use of Johnson & Johnson baby powder and their ovarian cancer diagnoses. A jury agreed with the evidence and testimony presented in the lawsuit and awarded $4.69 billion to the women. This compensation amount placed this lawsuit as the 6th largest product-defect verdict in the history of the US.  Johnson & Johnson is fighting back and is confident that the verdict will reverse in an appeal.  Continue reading →

Delicious Dough Turns into a Burning Disaster

Too hot to handle

While a patron may expect and hope for a hot meal when dining out at a restaurant, there is a degree to which food may be considered too hot.  In the case of Nathanael Smith, he was served a dinner roll that physically burned his hand. Last year, Nathanael was in Ozark, Missouri with his family, on vacation.  They had decided to eat dinner at Lambert’s Café, which is famous for tossing hot rolls at the customers.  According to the lawsuit recently filed against the Café, a waiter had placed the hot roll in front of Nathanael.  The waiter had tossed a roll to Nathanael’s father and handed a roll to his mother, but physically placed Nathanael’s roll down in front of him to pick up.  When Nathanael reached for the piping hot roll, he reacted in a way that is directly linked to his brain injury.  He clenched his fist around the roll, unable to let go. Continue reading →

Consumers Wave Good Bai to All-Natural

Basic might actually be better

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle often forces us to pay attention to the ingredients that are pumped into our bodies.  Because the body uses water to facilitate organ function, regulate temperature, and aid in digestion, water is an important aspect of our diets.  Hydration is necessary, but water is not exciting.  Many people do not appreciate the taste of water, or lack there of, and thrive for something more.  Vitamin water is a healthy alternative to tap or spring water, and there are a variety of options available to consumers.  In particular, Bai advertises its water as a beverage infused with only natural ingredients. For those who pay attention to the list of ingredients on the packaging, a specific item mentioned is arguably synthetic.  Continue reading →

Elvis’ Money Has Left the Building

All shook up

If Lisa Marie Presley gets what she wants, her former business manager will be dancing to the jailhouse rock. The daughter of music & American icon Elvis Presley is suing Barry Siegel for allegedly squandering away the Presley family’s hundred million dollar fortune. The lawsuit, filed in California, states that the Provident Financial Management and specifically Siegel “enriched himself with exorbitant fees”. The business manager then turned around and counter-sued for $800,000 and claims that Lisa Marie has extravagant taste and poor spending habits. Reports claim that the Presley fortune, once worth over $100m USD, is now down to around $15,000. A main recommendation from Siegel to Lisa Marie was an investment in the financial firm behind American Idol, an investment that eventually went bankrupt and turned about $25m in stock to about $500k almost overnight. Read More

Class Action: Square Comes Full Circle

A special delivery

A financial services & mobile payments company is now opening their own pockets after losing a class action lawsuit. Square, founded by Twitter CEO & Chairman Jack Dorsey, has agreed to pay $2.2m related to their food-delivery service. The class action lawsuit alleges that Square collected a small percentage of gratuity from online food orders, but withheld this money from the drivers & delivery services. Plaintiff Spencer Janssen is set to receive $10,000, while the firm who represents him is seeking $755,000 in fees. The rest of the money will be divided among the other class-action members, averaging about $15 per person. Caviar, the name of Square’s food delivery service, has been set to pay out any users between January 2012 and August 2015. Read More