New England Biz Law Update

Armed with two U.S. Supreme Court decisions delivered in April, environmental attorneys have asked courts across America to force utility companies and automakers to tighten pollution controls. But decisions in lower courts since the landmark rulings have offered a mixed ...

Three Nevada women recently won the biggest verdict yet in the ongoing hormone replacement therapy litigation against Wyeth – convincing a jury the company knew its drugs caused breast cancer but failed to test them or warn patients about the ...

A woman who defeated an insurance company in a lawsuit is entitled to prejudgment interest after a trial court judge awarded her counsel fees as part of her actual damages, the Massachusetts Appeals Court recently decided. The insurance company argued ...

A retiring employee could cash in unused sick time he accumulated before his employer reduced the compensation rate for accrued sick leave, the Massachusetts Appeals Court recently decided.

Blind shoppers can pursue an Americans with Disabilities Act class action against Target based on the inaccessibility of its website, a U.S. District Court judge in California recently ruled in National Federation of the Blind v. Target Corp. (No. 06-1802). ...

Merck & Co. recently agreed to pay $4.85 billion to settle the majority of claims over injuries linked to its Vioxx painkiller. Without admitting wrongdoing, the Whitehouse Station, N.J. pharmaceutical company agreed to settle most claims filed as of Nov. ...

Recent court rulings are jeopardizing the finality and certainty of Family and Medical Leave Act releases.

Federal prosecutors continue to interfere improperly with defense access to witnesses and documents. This article addresses the prosecutorial practices of seeking to limit defense access to grand jury and trial witnesses, and requesting corporations to withhold documents from defense counsel ...

Sweeping procedural changes planned by the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office for Nov. are on hold as the result of last-minute federal court order recently issued.

With an average annual GDP growth of 9.8 percent, China is predicted to become the world’s second largest economy (behind the U.S.) by 2030. U.S. companies are understandably looking to China as a major new marketplace. However, they need to ...