New Jersey became the latest state added to the red light camera litigation list when ATS agreed last month to settle another class action lawsuit for $4.2 million. The Woodbridge Patch reported that the settlement affects motorists who received red light camera tickets at lights in 21 different municipalities where the timing of the yellow lights was not properly certified by the state. Motorists who received red light camera tickets will receive a postcard in the mail telling them how to apply for their refund, according to Patch.

In October, the Star-Ledger reported that 27-year-old Lauren Morosoff received a red light ticket from Edison, New Jersey, dated August 2011—despite the fact that Morosoff had moved to Colorado in March 2010 and, thus, had not been in the Garden State for 18 months. This past July, the Star-Ledger reported that a police lieutenant who is also an attorney was appealing a red light ticket he was issued after an alleged September 2011 violation. Clinton Township police lieutenant Ryan Melsky argued that he was denied a presumption of innocence because the court concluded he was driving the vehicle.

In June 2012, the New Jersey Transportation Department said many red-light cameras might not be properly calibrated and ordered 21 of the 25 towns that installed them to stop issuing tickets based on their findings. The suspension affected 63 of the 85 intersections.

You can find more information about consumer fraud in class action litigation by visiting our website. If you believe that you might have a class action claim, contact our firm at (800) 687-3333 or fill out the form on this page to have our class action lawyers review your case.

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The Times noted that “large classes of people who qualify—such as firefighters, police officers, contractors, city workers, residents and students—have it relatively simple,” because official work orders, attendance records or leases validate their claims. Many volunteers, on the other hand, “have only the sketchiest proof that they are eligible for the fund,” according to the Times.

Some of those volunteers cited by the Times include Terry Graves, who is now ill with lung cancer, and former Web designer Jaime Hazan, who now suffers from gastric reflux, chronically inflamed sinuses and asthma. Record mixer Richard Oliver told the Times about how “he spent three sleepless days at ground zero, tossing body bags” after the Wu-Tang Clan canceled its meeting with him the day of the terrorist attacks. He recalled how the Dr. Martens boots he had left on the landing outside his apartment “had rotted away” after he came home and finally caught some sleep. “That was kind of frightening,” Oliver told the Times. “I was breathing that stuff.”

Additional information about products containing asbestos is available on our website. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, complete the form on this page or contact our firm at (800) 687-3333 to have our Dallas litigation attorneys review your case.

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Under the proposed settlement, Toyota agreed to create a fund of $250 million to pay claims to former owners of cars affected by the acceleration recalls, according to the Times. The company said it had already installed so-called “brake override systems” on 2.6 million vehicles whose pedals could stick or become trapped in floor mats, but also agreed to install the systems on an additional 550,000 cars that had not received the equipment. The proposed settlement would also provide a customer support program for more than 16 million current Toyota owners, who would be eligible for free repairs on certain parts for up to 10 years. Toyota recalled more than eight million vehicles in the United States for problems related to floor mats that could become entangled with accelerator pedals, or pedals that could stick with the throttle open.

The Times reported that the overall settlement could total $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion, and it noted that the figure “eclipses other settlements in the auto industry,” such as Bridgestone Corp’s $240 million payout to Ford Motor Co. in 2005 over Ford’s massive Firestone tire safety recall in 2001. In that case, Ford replaced 13 million Firestone tires in one of the biggest recalls in US history.

You can find information about defective products in class action litigation by visiting our website. If you purchased a product that harmed you and may be hazardous to many others, contact our firm at (800) 687-3333 or use the form on this page to let our class action attorneys review your case.

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This proposed plan to prohibit lawsuits against the negligent companies that knowingly exposed workers to toxic chemicals is remarkably callous legislation. The nonprofit organization Protect Missouri Workers says that workers’ compensation benefits are limited to only $799 per week. This amount is horrendously insufficient when it comes to covering medical costs for victims of lung cancer, mesothelioma and other terminal diseases.

Senate Bill 572 and House Bill 1403 are being sold to the public as necessary for “bringing jobs to Missouri.” In fact, the AP published a dubious claim from the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry that suggested “Missouri now is the only state in which the workers’ compensation system is not the exclusive means of resolving claims about occupational diseases.” House Speaker Tim Jones told the AP, “If that is true, I think that’s disastrous to our economic job creation model.”

One enormous problem with this logic is that the proposed legislation eliminating the right to sue for sickened workers would mean that the victim’s final employer—not necessarily the negligent employer—would pay workers’ compensation benefits for future occupational diseases. In other words, innocent local businesses would be required to pay all benefits while the company that was truly responsible for the illness would never be held accountable.

When similar bills last were sent to Missouri Governor Jay Nixon last March, a Kansas City Star editorial said the legislation “would make Missouri a more hostile and dangerous place to work.” Similarly, a St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial noted how “Republicans in the Legislature insist on punishing the grieving families of workers who die from mesothelioma as a result of inhaling asbestos.” Both editorials encouraged Nixon to exercise his power of veto, which is exactly what he did.

“Current law appropriately recognizes the severity and duration of these types of occupational diseases, which may take years or even decades to manifest themselves, by allowing affected workers broader redress through access to the civil justice system,” Nixon said in his veto letter.

Unfortunately, GOP supermajorities in Missouri’s House and Senate will give the state’s Republicans the power to override any gubernatorial veto. In addition to the workers’ compensation changes, the USA Today reported that other “business-friendly laws” are likely to include a minimum-wage freeze, medical malpractice limits and a “controversial rewrite of the state’s anti-discrimination law” that Nixon “has already vetoed twice.”

We have more information about occupations with high risk for mesothelioma available on our website. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, fill out the form on this page or contact our firm at (800) 687-3333 to have our Dallas litigation lawyers review your case.

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The Kentucky settlement was the result of a lawsuit filed in a Louisville federal court by multiple landowners accusing Sprint and Qwest Communications of trespassing on their property, digging up the ground and putting the cables in without permission. Landowners in the Kentucky case and other similar lawsuits alleged that the railroads did not have the right to authorize the installation of fiber-optic cable systems. The AP reported that landowners will receive compensation for both current and future damage to their property as part of the settlement, while the telecommunications companies will be cleared of any other legal issues that may arise from the installation and operation of the cables. The companies will also have the right to access the land in the future without dispute.

According to the AP, other settlements have ranged from $3.1 million in Wisconsin to $5.4 million in Pennsylvania.

Class action lawsuits provide legal recourse for multiple individuals who have experienced similar injustices, and we have more information about other types of class action litigation such as insurance fraud or securities and shareholder rights on our website. If you think you might have a class action claim, contact our firm at (800) 687-3333 or complete the form on this page to have our class action lawyers review your case.

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The buildings were removed between August and December 2011, and the county pleaded no contest to the two violations in Ozaukee County Circuit Court. Both violations were first offenses for the county, and it paid $2,332.50 on each citation. According to the Sentinel, both the notification and pre-demolition inspection are required under Wisconsin environmental regulations, with the only exception being the demolition of a single-family home on its own. If insulation or other asbestos-containing building material is found in the inspection, it must be removed before demolition under state regulations.

Highway Commissioner Robert Dreblow told the Sentinel that the Fair Board accepted bids from companies and organizations for the disassembly and removal of the eight buildings, and his crews were sent in to finish removing remaining structures and concrete slabs after the initial work was done. A portion of a structure left behind at the site of a former exhibition building contained insulation. While a county test on the insulation determined it did not contain asbestos, Dreblow told the Sentinel that the procedure was still done too late. “We violated the procedures and we were fined,” Dreblow told the Sentinel.

The Sentinel noted that asbestos fibers are a known human carcinogen, and exposure to asbestos can result in lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis. We have more information about products containing asbestos available on our website. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, contact our firm today at (800) 687-3333 or complete the form on this page to have our Dallas litigation attorneys review your case.

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Rose never responded to the claims, but court documents showed that each class member will receive $110 for each week that he or she interned on the show, up to a maximum of 10 weeks. The lead plaintiff told the New York Times that the settlement was “a really important moment for this movement against unpaid internships.” The Reporter noted, “Labor attorneys have cautioned that Hollywood could see more litigation over internship programs unless they follow protocol from the Department of Labor that internships be expressly educational, for the benefit of the intern, that the intern doesn’t displace regular employees, that the employer derives no immediate advantage from the intern, that the intern is not entitled to a job after the internship, and that the intern understands that he or she is not entitled to wages.”

Was your last internship more about you providing free work than you receiving any educational value? You might have a class action claim if multiple people were affected by the policy, and you can find additional information about other areas of class action litigation like defective products and consumer fraud on our website. Use the form on this page or contact our firm at (800) 687-3333 to let our class action attorneys see if you have a class action claim.

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You may have seen this Fountain Valley, California, Christmas lights display when it went viral on YouTube last year. Jan Stewart, the owner of the home that has attracted hundreds of spectators every night, told CBSLA that the “Griswold-esque” display is a tribute to her late husband, Larry. “We said, ‘We gotta do that someday, we gotta do that,’” Jan told CBS. “Last year was the year, and then he didn’t make it.”

Larry Stewart was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2007, and he died on May 15, 2011. Before his death, Larry and his wife sued Union Carbide Corporation, claiming that his cancer was the result of being exposed to chrysotile “Calidria” brand fibers that were mined, milled and sold by Union Carbide. Larry worked in plumbing beginning in 1968, and Reuters reported that he testified that his exposure to Calidria occurred while he worked near drywall tradesmen who sanded and swept up the asbestos dust from joint compounds near him on construction sites from 1972 to 1978.

Union Carbide mined Calidria in the Diablo Mountains north of Coalinga in Central California and refined it at a mill in the Salinas Valley. In 2004, the Los Angeles Times reported that “Calidria was used in an array of products, including drilling mud, flooring and joint compound in the United States and concrete blocks in Japan.” At that time, Union Carbide was facing “tens of thousands” of lawsuits that would cost nearly $2 billion to resolve, and the Times noted that analysts said “Union Carbide’s asbestos litigation may not peak for another decade and could continue through 2027.” One company that used Calidria as a thickening agent in its products, Kelly-Moore Paint Co., alleged that Union Carbide “fraudulently promoted Calidria as a uniquely safe alternative to potentially deadly types of asbestos.”

“Larry and his wife always wanted to do something big for Christmas, and I was glad to help make this happen,” family friend Damion Rodriguez told the Fountain Valley Patch. Rodriguez installed the over 56,000 LED lights that are programmed to dance to music, and he told Patch that he hopes to improve upon the display next year to continue honoring Larry’s memory. “Next year we hope to do a better show and start collecting donations for charities such as the American Cancer Society,” Rodriguez told Patch.

You can find additional information about occupations with high risk for mesothelioma by visiting our website. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos, fill out the form on this page or contact our firm at (800) 687-3333 to let our Dallas litigation lawyers review your case.

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The Dallas litigation lawyers at Stanley Iola, LLP hope all of our readers and their families have a happy and safe 2013.

According to the agreement, inmates who were confined for 24 hours or longer in a holding cell at the Lake County Jail between May 13, 2006, and February 1, 2012, will be eligible to submit a claim for payment from the settlement. The seven plaintiffs sued the county, former Lake County Sheriff Roy Dominguez, former Warden Caren Jones, former Warden Benny Freeman and unknown jail supervisors in 2008. They alleged that the jail conditions were “inhumane,” claiming that “inmates were held for weeks or months in overcrowded holding cells after their arrival and had to sleep directly on concrete,” according to the Times. The plaintiffs also claimed in the initial complaint that medical care was “nearly nonexistent” and the floor of the jail had human waste on it.

A class action lawsuit provides legal recourse for groups of individuals who have experienced the same injustice, and you can find additional information about other types of class action litigation such as insurance fraud or securities and shareholder rights on our website. Do you think you might have a class action claim? Use the form on this page or contact our firm at (800) 687-3333 to let our class action lawyers review your case.

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