Public Justice

May 1, 2012 In Updates

NC Superior Court Sides with Consumers

Three rulings could pave the way for North Carolinians to recoup the illegally high fees paid to payday lendersA North Carolina Superior Court judge has ruled that the mandatory arbitration agreements in three payday lenders’ consumer contracts are unenforceable, effectively giving the go-ahead to class…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

HONORS FOR PUBLIC JUSTICE

Sierra Club to Honor Public Justice Attorney and Co-Counsel for Years of Outstanding Environmental Litigation in AppalachiaJim Hecker, Public Justice’s Environmental Enforcement Project Director, has been named a recipient of the Sierra Club’s 2009 William O. Douglas Award, which recognizes those who have made outstanding…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

Federal Court Grants Public Access to Evidence that Drug Company ‘Ghostwrote’ Medical Articles About Deadly Hormone Therapy Drug

Evidence of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals’ Ghostwriting Campaign for Prempro UnsealedA federal judge in Arkansas granted public access today to evidence that Wyeth Pharmaceuticals “ghostwrote” medical articles regarding its hormone therapy drug Prempro, which a national study has shown increase a woman’s risk of stroke, heart attack,…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

Legal Teams Win 2009 Trial Lawyer of the Year Awards

Attorneys in Rocky Flats, Pan Am 103 Litigation Take Public Justice Foundation Honors Two legal teams that each prevailed in long and hard-fought cases against formidable corporate and government defendants were named co-winners of the Public Justice Foundation’s 2009 Trial Lawyer of the Year…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

Another Federal Court Orders West Virginia to Clean Up Toxic Drainage from Abandoned Coal Mines

For the second time this year, Public Justice has won major decision, requiring West Virginia to clean up toxic acid mine drainage from abandoned coal mines so that discharges comply with water pollution limits. The Aug. 24, ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Southern…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

Public Justice Joins Lawsuit Over Airline Crew Member’s Exposure to Toxic ‘Bleed Air’

Public Justice has joined a lawsuit in Washington state on behalf of a flight attendant who suffered serious permanent injuries from breathing toxic “bleed air” – engine oil fumes emitted from a defectively designed aircraft. The lawsuit was filed in April on behalf of former flight…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

Public Justice Launches Iqbal Project to Help Preserve Access to the Courts

Public Justice has launched a new initiative — the Iqbal Project — to prevent the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Ashcroft v. Iqbal from being misused to preclude access to justice in cases throughout the country. In Iqbal, the U.S. Supreme Court held in…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

Federal Appeals Court Clears Way for Nationwide Class Action Lawsuit against DirecTV for Alleged ‘Bait-and-Switch’ Scheme

In a major victory for consumers throughout the nation, the Ninth Circuit U.S Court of Appeals held today that DirecTV’s contractual ban on customers bringing class actions against it violates a “fundamental policy” of California. The Court also ruled that, because DirecTV is headquartered in California…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

Public Justice Sues Company for Religious Discrimination

An Indianapolis man who practices the Sikh faith was denied a job because of his religious practices — a violation of federal civil rights laws — according to a federal lawsuit filed today by Public Justice and its co-counsel Kim Jeselskis. The complaint alleges that Air…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

Federal Appeals Court Reinstates Prisoner’s Lawsuit Against Guards for Beating at Infamous Jena Prison

A federal district court was wrong to throw out a lawsuit by a Louisiana man who was severely beaten by guards at the notorious, now-defunct Jena Correctional Facility and the victim is entitled to his day in court, a federal appeals court ruled.The suit, Dillon…