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Articles by Jonathan Stempel

Judge Blocks Punitive Damages in Fossamax Claim Against Merck

A federal judge on Tuesday threw out part of a bellwether lawsuit against Merck & Co. over claims that its osteoporosis drug Fosamax causes jaw damage. The plaintiff, Linda Secrest, may pursue her claim that Fosamax suffered from a design …

Unhappy Investors Want Bank of America Mortgage Case Moved to Federal Court

Investors objecting to Bank of America Corp.’s $8.5 billion settlement of claims over losses on mortgage-backed securities are seeking to send their dispute to federal court, potentially delaying a resolution of one of the beleaguered bank’s largest legal liabilities. According …

Costco ‘Slurpee Slip and Fall’ Suit Stays in New York

A 74-year-old woman who said she was injured after falling in a Costco store in Florida beat back the retailer’s effort to move the case to that state because it was too much trouble to defend itself in New York. …

Marsh Executive Sues Spitzer for $60 Million Over Slate Column

Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer has been hit with a $60 million libel lawsuit by a former Marsh & McLennan Cos. executive over a column posted on Slate.com concerning an insurance bid-rigging scandal. William Gilman, a former Marsh executive …

California Targets Law Firms It Says Preyed On Struggling Homeowners

California has broken up what it called a ring of law firms that fraudulently induced struggling homeowners nationwide to pay thousands of dollars each to file mass lawsuits against their mortgage lenders. Kamala Harris, the state’s attorney general, said Thursday …

Judge Rejects JPMorgan’s Bid to Dismiss Whistleblower’s Retaliation Claim

A Manhattan federal judge rejected JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s bid to dismiss a whistleblower lawsuit by a former private banker who said she was fired in retaliation for warning about a suspicious Israeli client. Jennifer Sharkey said the August 2009 …

GM Says Bankruptcy Shields It Against Impala Lawsuits

General Motors Co. is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit over a suspension problem on more than 400,000 Chevrolet Impalas from the 2007 and 2008 model years, saying it should not be responsible for repairs because the flaw predated its bankruptcy. …

Court Throws Out Writers’ Copyright Settlement with Publishers

A federal appeals court voided a class-action settlement in a case brought by freelance writers who accused publishers of reprinting their works in online databases without permission. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said the settlement, …

Oregon Family Sues Cargill Over Contaminated Turkey

A Cargill Inc. unit is being sued by an Oregon family who said their young daughter was hospitalized after eating Salmonella-contaminated turkey, the subject of one of the largest U.S. meat recalls ever. The lawsuit is one of the first …

EPA Halts Sale of DuPont’s Imprelis Herbicide

DuPont Co. was ordered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Thursday to stop selling and recall its Imprelis herbicide, following thousands of complaints that the treatment kills trees. The order came after the EPA in June began getting reports from …