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Cargill Settles Class-Action Suit
Class Action News |
2007/08/08 13:45
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Wichita, Kan.-based Cargill Meat Solutions has settled for $1.1 million a federal class-action lawsuit filed by Pennsylvania-based employees who claimed they weren't compensated for all the hours they worked.
The lawsuit, filed in March 2006 by seven workers at Cargill's meat processing plants in Wyalusing, Pa., and Hazleton, Pa., alleged that, beginning in March 2003, they weren't paid for time spent performing pre- and post-shift duties, including cleaning and sanitizing protective gear.
In August 2006, U.S. District Court Judge William Nealon certified the class-action complaint, joined by 4,100 former and current workers from the Hazleton plant and 2,300 from the Wyalusing facility.
The settlement, reached late last month, will pay those who opt in between $300 and $900, depending on their job and length of service. Their attorneys will receive nearly $330,000.
The judge's approval effectively dismisses the claims, and bars any employee who chooses to receive payment from suing Cargill with the same claims. |
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First BanCorp Ordered To Pay $74.25 Mln To Settle
Class Action News |
2007/08/06 16:28
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| First BanCorp Holding Co. announced that the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico has issued preliminary order on August 1, 2007, asking the company to pay $74.25 million to settle a class action lawsuit filed by shareholders. First BanCorp said that $61 million settlement amount has to be deposited in a settlement fund within fifteen calendar days of the issuance of the preliminary order. The remaining settlement amount of $13.25 million will be paid before December 31, 2007, the company added. The company noted that this class action lawsuit settlement will have no impact on earnings and capital in 2007, as it has accrued $74.25 million in 2005 for the potential settlement of the class action lawsuit. |
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Homeless woman in class-action suit against Fresno dies
Class Action News |
2007/08/05 16:31
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| A homeless woman suing the city of Fresno over the destruction of homeless people's belongings during raids on thier camps has died just days after the lawsuit gained class-action status. Pamela Kincaid, 51, died Wednesday after friends said she fell four floors from a hospital stairwell. The Fresno County Coroner's Office has called for an autopsy on Kincaid, who was also assaulted a few weeks before her death, said Dr. David Hadden, the county coroner. Kincaid was hospitalized after that attack with bruises on her head and abrasions on her body and face, according to police. Kincaid was among a group of homeless people who sued the city last year for seizing and destroying their property during the raids. A federal judge granted the lawsuit class-action status Monday, which allows other homeless people who claim their personal property was taken and destroyed by the city to join the case. In November, U.S. District Court Judge Oliver W. Wanger ordered the city to stop taking homeless people's property while the lawsuit made its way through court. |
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ATRS, NY Firm Settle Class-Action Against PharmaNet
Class Action News |
2007/08/03 14:03
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| Arkansas Teacher Retirement System and Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP, a New York law firm, announced Thursday that they have settled, for a total of $28.5 million, the securities class-action lawsuit against PharmaNet Development Group Inc. The class action, pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, is led by court-appointed lead plaintiff Arkansas Teacher Retirement System and is captioned In re SFBC International, Inc. Sec. Litigation, 06-cv-00165 (SRC). PharmaNet was formerly known as SFBC International Inc. Under the settlement agreement, the class will be paid $28.5 million, of which $24.5 million will be in cash and $4 million may be either in cash or in stock, at the election of the company. The settlement requires contributions from a number of different defendants, and specifically requires certain of the company's former directors, officers and employees to make a personal contribution towards the settlement of the class' claims. "We are pleased to have reached a settlement of this securities class action on terms that provide a significant benefit to the class, while permitting the company and its new management to focus on the future. We believe that the personal contribution portion of this settlement sends a clear message that shareholders will insist that the directors, officers and employees of publicly traded companies live up to their responsibilities to act as vigilant guardians for the interests of the shareholders they represent," said Paul Doane, director of ATRS. |
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Novartis Unit Faces U.S. Lawsuit
Class Action News |
2007/08/02 13:40
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| A unit of Swiss drug company Novartis AG will have to defend itself against sex-discrimination claims brought by a group of women sales employees in a $100 million class-action lawsuit, a U.S. judge has ruled. Judge Gerard E. Lynch granted class-action status to a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan against Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. by 19 current and former employees in sales-related positions. In his order, the judge also granted a request to dismiss claims against Novartis Corp., the pharmaceutical unit's U.S. parent. The lawsuit, which originally was filed in 2004, had alleged the Novartis unit was discriminatory in its pay, promotions, evaluations and treatment of women who take pregnancy leave. A Novartis spokesman declined to comment, saying the company had just received the judge's order and was reviewing it. |
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Sun-Times Media Group Settling Class Action Suits
Class Action News |
2007/08/01 13:17
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Sun-Times Media Group Inc. (STMG) said late Tuesday that it had entered into an agreement to settle the securities class-action lawsuits in the U.S. and Canada that accused the publishing company formerly known as Hollinger International of making misleading disclosures and omissions about "non-competition" payments, and paying excessive management fees. The settlement will be funded entirely by $30 million in proceeds from STMG's insurance policies, the company said.
The lawsuits, which were consolidated in U.S. District Court in Chicago, were filed against the company, several former directors and officers, some affiliated companies, and STMG's auditor KPMG LLP.
The lawsuits accused the defendants of violating securities laws in the U.S. and Canada. Former Hollinger International Chairman Conrad Black was convicted last month on U.S. federal fraud charges he improperly pocketed phony non-compete fees in the sale of three groups of community newspapers. A jury found him not guilty of fraudulently taking non-compete fees in several other sales. Black faces sentencing in November.
"The settlement includes no admission of liability by the company or any of the settling defendants and the company continues to deny any such liability or damages," STMG said in a statement.
Under terms of the proposed agreement, which needs the approval of courts in the U.S. and Canada, STMG insurers will deposit $24.5 million in insurance proceeds into an escrow account to fund defense costs the company incurred in the securities class action, and other litigation.
The carriers will then be released from any other claims for the July 1, 2002 to July 1, 2003 policy period.
STMG and the other parties "will then seek a judicial determination" on how to allocate the $24.5 million among insured parties, it said.
STMG said it has been in negotiations with Toronto-based Hollinger Inc. -- the holding company convicted former newspaper baron Conrad Black used to control his once-worldwide collection of newspaper -- to determine how the proceeds should be allocated among themselves.
If negotiations fail, they have agreed to go to binding arbitration, STMG said.
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