Public Justice is co-counsel in BookHolders v. DeHority, BookHolders v. Pletch, and BookHolders v. Steincamp, cases presenting issues of wage theft and illegal retaliation where we and our co-counsel are defending three Virginia Tech students who were sued by their former employer, a chain of college bookstores called BookHolders, after they reported to the Virginia Department…
Public Justice is co-counsel in this case in U.S. District Court in Florida on behalf of three former Scientology members. These former members brought claims for human trafficking and forced labor against the Church of Scientology, various other Scientology entities, and David Miscavige, the head of Scientology. Background The Plaintiffs claim that, as young children,…
Public Justice recently filed an amicus brief in General Motors LLC v. Buchanan before the Georgia Supreme Court on the question of whether the court should adopt an “apex doctrine,” which places a heightened burden on a party who seeks to depose any high-ranking corporate officer to show that the testimony sought will be “unique”…
Public Justice is pleased to report an amicus victory in Thompson v. Polaris Inc., a Minnesota Supreme Court case decided in December 2021. Polaris, a leading manufacturer of outdoor powersports vehicles, attempted to conceal a safety audit report—relevant evidence in the case—by claiming attorney-client privilege. Polaris is facing product liability litigation across the country involving…
Public Justice is co-counsel in Morgan v. Sundance, Inc., an overtime and wage theft case on behalf of former Taco Bell employee Robyn Morgan against Sundance Inc., a company that owns more than 150 Taco Bell franchises throughout the country. Co-Director of the Access to Justice Project Karla Gilbride will argue for the plaintiff before…
This appeal raises questions regarding the scope of federal preemption of state tort law claims based on injuries caused by a medical device—an issue at the core of our Access to Justice work. The question is whether the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act expressly or impliedly preempts state tort claims predicated on a medical device…
Public Justice is co-counsel in this California Supreme Court appeal involving the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, popularly known as the “Lemon Law,” which provides remedies for consumers who purchase cars so defective that they cannot be repaired. The Lemon Law requires manufacturers to promptly repurchase these defective vehicles, or “lemons,” from consumers. Manufactures cannot re-sell…
Public Justice is co-counsel in this 11th Circuit appeal of a decision in a federal MDL dismissing nationwide failure-to-warn and design defect claims against the manufacturers and sellers of the pharmaceutical product Zantac and its generic forms. The appeal raises an important issue of first impression in the 11th Circuit relating to the duty of…
This is a case against Amazon on behalf of workers and their families at JFK8, the company’s Staten Island fulfillment center, who have been subjected to working conditions that have failed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at the facility and in the workers’ communities. On June 3, 2020, Public Justice joined Make the Road…