2008 News: March - May
- US Legal Giant Offers to Act for Bid-Rigging Victims
Building.co.uk - May 1, 2008
Scott Campbell, said, “We’re analysing public procurement documents at the moment to help us identify the big building projects the public sector was involved in and who won the tenders.”
- Feds Probe Whether Bank Collusion Hurt Atlanta
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - April 24, 2008
"It's not the investment that failed here," said Michael Hausfeld, a Washington lawyer who represents the plaintiffs. "It was the broker deal that was fixed."
- Common Attacks on on Common Enemies
European Voice - April 17, 2008
Michael Hausfeld said, “One of the core arguments of EU business and legal society is that Europe... prefers to negotiate. But, in the multiple dozens of infringements found by the European Commission in the last five years, how many infringers have voluntarily offered to restitute victims of misconduct?”
- Third Suit Names Wachovia
The Bond Buyer - April 15, 2008
Attorneys at Cohen Milstein, one of the lead law firms in the Fairfax County-led issuer suits, had filed a motion with the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation last month, urging it to both transfer and consolidate all of the cases with the federal court here. Though the firm asked the panel to allow it to make oral arguments on its motion, a hearing has yet to be scheduled.
- Fat Fees for Diet Drug Disaster
Conde Nast Portfolio - April 11, 2008
The Plaintiffs Management Committee included a pride of class action heavyweights, including Michael Hausfeld of Cohen Milstein. "To say that this case is complex is to seriously understate the fact," Judge Bartle wrote. "It was nothing short of a Herculean effort spanning almost a decade."
- Meeting Videos First Offered to Wal-Mart
Arkansas Democrat Gazette - April 11, 2008
Joseph Sellers, co-lead counsel for plaintiffs, said that one of his partners has reviewed several of the videos. Sellers said he and his law firm have not yet decided whether to buy copies of some of the videos.
- Cy Pres Settlements
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research - April 10, 2008
Ted Franks's Class Action Watch article notes that in 2007, a motion was granted to award $5.1 million of unclaimed antitrust settlement funds to George Washington University to create a "Center for Competition Law" on the grounds that it would "benefit the plaintiff class and similarly situated parties by creating a Center that will help protect them from future antitrust violations and violations of other competition laws." The lead plaintiffs' attorney, Michael Hausfeld, is a GWU Law alumnus.
- Candid Camera: Trove of Videos Vexes Wal-Mart
The Wall Street Journal - April 9, 2008
Video clips have surfaced of Mr. Walton, Wal-Mart's founder, lamenting the lack of women executives, and of Wal-Mart Chief Executive Officer H. Lee Scott Jr. at a 1999 meeting discussing cases of sexual harassment. Joseph Sellers contends the videos bolster his argument that senior Wal-Mart executives knew about the lack of women managers and about incidents of sexual harassment, and failed to address the problems in a timely way.
- Kinks Persist in Class Action Fairness Act: Experts
Portfolio Media/Securities Law 360 - April 9, 2008
Having one judge oversee cases involving dramatically different state claims is also contrary to a CAFA goal to handle class actions more efficiently, said Michael Hausfeld.
- Class Actions Could Expand European Presence
Forbes - April 8, 2008
“If you are talking about U.S. style class action cases becoming more common in Europe then the answer is definitely no,” said Rob Murray. “The legal systems are completely different,” he added.
- Shareholder Sorrow [Video]
First Business - April 7, 2008
Partner Carol Gilden shares insight on securites class actions.
- Cartel Tales
Financial Management (UK) - April 1, 2008
Anthony Maton says that boards need to consider whether their companies have a claim for compensation against competitors or suppliers that have been fixing prices or rigging markets. "Where your firm's rivals or suppliers have engaged in such activities, your business will almost certainly have suffered a loss," he says. "Typically, it will have been overcharged by ten per cent in a price-fixing case, so it is entitled to be compensated for that amount."
- SocGen Turns to Skadden for Class Action Battle
LegalWeek - March 26, 2008
Societe Generale has called in Skadden to battle a class action law suit brought by shareholders following recent heavy losses sustained by the French lender. The suit was filed earlier this month by class action specialist Cohen Milstein. Managing partner Steve Toll is leading the team for Cohen Milstein.
- CJC Pushes for Overhaul of UK Class Action System
The Lawyer - March 24, 2008
Anthony Maton, who worked on the successful transatlantic class action against British Airways (BA) and Virgin Atlantic, said an opt-out system should be implemented in every jurisdiction across the EU. He said, "The opting-in system is notoriously difficult when you're talking about small sums of money."
- Jewelry Giant Not a Girl's Best Friend: Suit
Employment Law 360 - March 20, 2008
Joseph M. Sellers said, "While Sterling Jewelers sold more than $1 billion in jewelry last year, it failed to pay the women behind the counter the same wages it paid men and failed to offer them the same chances for promotion.”
- Sex Bias Suit Filed Against Sterling Jewelers
Women's Wear Daily - March 19, 2008
A group of 15 current and former female employees of Sterling Jewelers, Inc., have charged the retailer with engaging in a pattern of widespread sex discrimination by denying promotions and equal pay to women.
- SocGen Slapped with Class-Action Suit
Investment Dealers Digest - March 17, 2008
Cohen Milstein has filed a class-action lawsuit against Societe Generale, chief executive Daniel Bouton and director Robert Day for allegedly misleading investors regarding activities and exposure in the subprime mortgage markets, and the bank's lack of sufficient controls and failure to act on information it had regarding the irregular trades conducted by trader Jerome Kerviel.
- Issuers File Class Action Suits Against 37 Firms
The Bond Buyer - March 17, 2008
Michael D. Hausfeld said, "As a result of this conspiracy, the plaintiffs and other class-action members were deprived of extra money they otherwise would have received from their municipal bond investments and could have spent on important public works projects, such as roads, buildings, and mass transit."
- SocGen Faces Investor Lawsuit Over Losses
Reuters - March 15, 2008
The complaint alleges that the defendants made false and misleading statements and concealed material adverse information regarding SocGen's internal controls and exposure to subprime loans and collateralized debt obligations.
- SocGen Shares Dive on US Law Suit News
AFP - March 13, 2008
US law firm Cohen Milstein Hausfeld & Toll filed the suit in a federal court in New York on Wednesday alleging that Societe Generale misled investors about its exposure to risky US mortgage securities and failed to clamp down on a rogue trader who ran up massive losses.
- EEOC Says Job Bias Charges Rose 9% in 2007
Employment Law 360 - March 5, 2007
Joseph Sellers said that uncertainty in the workplace makes employees more vigilant, and leads them to question whether they or their co-workers are being discriminated against. Sellers also called the increase in retaliation charges incredible.
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