Critical Mass by Law.com's Amanda Bronstad: Congress Debates Bankruptcy Law As Talc Hearing Looms. Lawyers in Flint Water Settlement Get Nearly $200M in Fees.
February 09, 2022 at 11:51 AM
6 minute read
Critical Mass
Welcome to Law.com Class Actions: Critical Mass, a weekly briefing for class action and mass tort attorneys. A Congressional hearing focuses on the potential abuses of Chapter 11 as arguments begin over whether to dismiss the Johnson & Johnson talc case. A federal judge in the water contamination settlement in Flint, Michigan, awarded less than the initial $202 million attorney fee request. Find out who is suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over alleged pollutants in the Columbia River.
I'm Amanda Bronstad. Feel free to reach out to me with your input. My email is [email protected], or follow me on Twitter: @abronstadlaw.
Johnson & Johnson's baby powder. Photo: Austin Kirk via Wikimedia Commons Save the Date: Talc Bankruptcy Hearing Valentine's Day
As Congress debates alleged abuses of the Chapter 11 system, lawyers are gearing up for a lengthy hearing on whether to dismiss the bankruptcy of a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary facing thousands of talcum powder lawsuits.
On Capitol Hill: Tuesday's hearing, before the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights, is the second Congressional response to the bankruptcy of LTL Management, the Johnson & Johnson subsidiary created to absorb massive liabilities tied to 38,000 lawsuits that allege its baby powder caused ovarian cancer and mesothelioma. Witnesses included former U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Judith Fitzgerald (Tucker Arensberg), David Skeel (Penn Law), Paul Zumbro (Cravath) and Kevin Maclay (Caplin & Drysdale).
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Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
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