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October 3, 2014 In Blog

Federal Judge Dismisses Challenge to California Egg Law, Says Big Ag’s Interests Do Not Represent the Public

photo credit: sk8geek via photopin cc By Jessica CulpepperFood Safety & Health Attorney Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller dismissed a lawsuit brought against a California law prohibiting the sale of eggs from hens kept in battery cages where they can’t move around or spread…

September 24, 2014 In Blog

Issue Resolved: Cy Pres Awards Are Not Unclaimed Property

photo credit: rcbodden via photopin cc By Arthur BryantChairman The Supreme Court of Texas recently issued an important decision properly viewing – and preserving – a valuable tool for doing justice: cy pres awards in class actions. The Court got it right. In many class…

September 23, 2014 In Blog

Saving Craft’s Run for a Cleaner Future

By Richard Webster Staff Attorney When I first visited the Coresco Coal Ash Dump near Morgantown, W.Va., I was shocked to find that Craft’s Run, the stream that drains the dump, ran orange in its lower reaches. It turned out this was due to a…

September 15, 2014 In Blog

It Takes a Lawsuit: Regulators Aren’t Doing Enough to Ensure Our Vehicles Are Safe

A video on Bookout v. Toyota, one of the finalists for the 2014 Public Justice Trial Lawyer of the Year Award. By Leah M. NichollsStaff Attorney Today, The New York Times ran a front page article concluding that the National Highway Traffic Safety Association—the federal agency…

September 10, 2014 In Blog

CFPB Forced Arbitration Study to Go Forward as Consumer Survey Approved

photo credit: _setev via photopin cc By

September 9, 2014 In Blog

“An Abundance of Caution” Doesn’t Trump the Public’s Right to Know

Image courtesy Jason Comely on Flickr. Main page image E. 38th St and Mass Ave. by stallio, CC by 2.0 By Sarah Belton Cartwright-Baron Attorney We’re emerging from a summer where payday lending was the topic of a terrific rant by John Oliver and a Shark…

September 4, 2014 In Blog

Court Records in Trinity Guardrail Whistleblower Case May Be Unsealed

By Leah Nicholls, Staff Attorney Leslie Brueckner, Senior Attorney Today we have both good news and bad news about our motion to unseal the court records in Harman v. Trinity, a federal whistleblower case involving defective highway guardrails. First, the good news: In response to our…

September 4, 2014 In Blog

Green Light to Constitutional Challenge to Idaho Ag-Gag Law

photo credit: Farm Sanctuary via photopin cc Federal Court Denies Idaho’s Effort to Dismiss Challenge By Leslie Brueckner Senior Attorney Huge breaking news: We just received word that a federal district court in Idaho has denied the state’s motion to dismiss our constitutional challenge to…

September 2, 2014 In Blog

Ag Gag On Steroids – Idaho Dairies Urged to Block Media Access To Factory Farms

photo credit: Socially Responsible Agricultural Project via photopin cc By Leslie Brueckner Senior Attorney As if Ag-Gag laws weren’t bad enough, Idaho’s dairy industry just tried to make their practices even more secret by blocking media access to factory farms. If you’ve been reading my…

August 29, 2014 In Blog

Contaminated Community Will Get its Day in Court

By Jessica Culpepper, Food Safety and Health Attorney Corral on west end of facility, with close up of manure. Photo obtained through a records request from the CA water board. Residents in a Helendale, Calif., community finally had their voices heard when district court Judge Jesus…