The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed H.R. 985, the so-called “Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act.” This sweeping legislation would make it virtually impossible to bring a class action lawsuit, effectively locking the courthouse doors to millions of Americans. The final vote in the House represented a very narrow victory (220 – 201), setting the stage for a real battle in the United States Senate.
For the first time in its 35-year history, Public Justice has announced it will officially oppose a cabinet-level nomination. The organization has called on Senators to vote ‘no’ on the nomination of Scott Pruitt to lead the Envrionmental Protection Agency.
Public Justice client Kamaria Downs ensured pregnant students’ rights were respected at her college In an NBC News story today, former Claflin University student Kamaria Downs tells her story of being kicked off campus for being pregnant while attending Claflin University, a South Carolina college…
Public Justice’s new President, Anne Kearse, began her path to becoming one of the country’s leading plaintiffs’ attorneys on the front lines of the public interest movement researching and advocating for the New York Public Interest Research Group while working on her undergraduate degree in Consumer Studies.
Later, she worked as a litigation researcher and paralegal, first, for law firms representing school districts and building owners in litigation to remove deadly asbestos-containing products from their buildings. She then represented workers who developed deadly diseases as a result of working with these asbestos-containing products— a job that was both personally fulfilling and helped to build and hone her litigation skills.
In a case with important impacts for employees who are battling racial discrimination at their job site, the California Supreme Court has ruled that an employer’s arbitration clause does not prevent employees from seeking to arbitrate their case together as a class.
Public Justice’s 2016 Trial Lawyer of the Year award was awarded to two legal teams: one that won a historic settlement regarding financial institution funding of terrorism, and the other that ended the use of unconstitutional money bail systems in four cities. The award was…
Public Justice, on behalf of Hanford Challenge, UA Local 598 Plumbers and Steamfitters, and alongside WA Attorney General Bob Ferguson, has asked a federal court to compel the U.S. Department of Energy and its contractor, Washington River Protection Solutions, to provide vapor monitoring, supplied air, and other enhanced safety measures in order to protect the health of workers at the Hanford Nuclear Site in southern Washington State.
Paul Bland recently spoke to the Sinclair Broadcasting Group about the Takata airbag recall, which affects over 17 million cars. In some airbags, the device becomes defective and causes sharp shards to explode in the face of the passenger during a crash. These airbags have been linked to 13 deaths and more than 100 injuries.
The five finalist cases for Public Justice’s Trial Lawyer of the Year Award include landmark cases dealing with workers’ rights, the horrifying consequences of product defects, America’s money bail system, financial institution funding of terrorism, and civil rights.
Two weeks ago, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unveiled a new rule that would prohibit lenders from including forced arbitration clauses with class action bans in their lending contracts. Today, Public Justice’s Executive Director, Paul Bland, will testify in front of the House’s Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee in support of this rule.