A federal appeals court dealt a blow to credit card users Thursday in ruling that banks may charge retroactive penalties for customers who exceed their credit limit too often. In the decision, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found that Laura Swanson was not entitled to relief from Bank of America under Illinois law because the company is a national bank. The case is Swanson v. Bank of America.
A widely used prostate cancer test may expose many men to baseless and risky treatments with little life saving benefits, according to large studies on two continents. In the studies, conducted in Europe and United States, researchers found that the PSA blood test often produced results that lead men to undergo needless treatments for non-life-threatening cancerous growths. In cases where the cancer was life threatening the test rarely yielded life-saving treatments, researchers also found. The studies were published online by the New England Journal of Medicine.
The family of an 86-year-old Florida man killed earlier this year in a collision with a speeding police car filed notice Wednesday that they intend to pursue damages against the city of Jacksonville, Florida. The filing seeks to preserve evidence related to the January crash in which an officer traveling nearly 100 mph in a 40-mph zone slammed into a truck driven by Matthew Brice Ogden Jr. The state attorney general and Florida Highway Patrol are currently investigating the accident.
The family of a young woman who was crushed by a cement truck while riding her bike has filed a lawsuit against the company and its driver. In the lawsuit, the family of Tracey Sparling accuses Rinker Materials and Timothy Wiles of negligence in the 2007 incident. The lawsuit seeks $2 million in damages for wrongful death.
A jury has ordered a trucking company and its driver to pay $65 million to a woman left comatose and disabled from a 2007 crash. According to the lawsuit, a tractor-trailer truck owned by Bynum Transport ran a red light striking Kendra Lymonâ??s car. Attorneys said that despite regaining consciousness, Lymon still requires constant care.
A former software developer who was left paralyzed following a 2006 automobile crash should receive $45 million in damages, a California judge has ruled. In court filings, an attorney for Tricia Roth said the collision with the wrecking and demolition company truck caused neck and spinal injuries that will require a lifetime of continuous care. The driver, who was employed by Division 1 All Service, later admitted that he ran a red light and was at fault.
The family of a construction worker killed in a 2008 drunken driving crash has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the men convicted of causing the incident. According to the lawsuit, Tracie Dowell Nininger and Jeffrey Scott Dupree were solely negligent for crashing into the construction site where Richard Slone was working. The lawsuit seeks $8 million in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages on behalf of Sloneâ??s children.
A federal judge has denied class-action certification for a lawsuit accusing retail giant Wal-Mart and a group of pet food manufacturers of misleading consumers. In a pre-emptive move, attorneys for the defense moved to dismiss the class arguing that fraud laws in question would not support class treatment. Plaintiffs in the case argued that Wal-Mart and the manufacturers had deceived consumers by marketing pet food made with Chinese ingredients as â??Made in USA.â?
The worldâ??s largest gold producer has agreed to pay $24 million to settle claims that it misled investors about a program that ultimately hurt its stock price. In the suit, investors with Barrick Gold Corp. alleged that a hedging program to sell some gold at fixed prices was overly speculative and risky. The settlement is expected to be made final later this month. The case is Wagner v. Barrick Gold Corp.
A Florida jury awarded $38 million to a Miami Beach woman Monday who was left disabled following spinal surgery. Jurors found that neurosurgeon Mario Nanes bore 68 percent of the responsibility for the womanâ??s injuries, Mount Sinai Medical Center was 18 percent at fault and the hospitalâ??s pharmacy management company McKesson Medication Management was to blame for 14 percent. However, Mount Sinai reached an undisclosed settlement with the patient prior to trial.
