Ten of the world's biggest automakers were sued on
Wednesday by U.S. consumers who claim they concealed the risks of carbon
monoxide poisoning in more than 5 million vehicles equipped with keyless
ignitions, leading to 13 deaths.
According to the
complaint filed in federal court in Los Angeles, carbon monoxide is emitted
when drivers leave their vehicles running after taking their electronic key
fobs with them, under the mistaken belief that the engines will shut off.
The 28 named plaintiffs said this
can injure or have "deadly" results for people who inhale the
colorless and odorless gas, including when vehicles are left in garages
attached to homes. They also said the defect reduces their vehicles' resale
values.
A keyless ignition lets a driver
start a vehicle by pushing an on-off button, instead of inserting a key, once
the vehicle senses the presence of a nearby electronic fob.
The defendants include BMW (BMWG.DE),
including Mini; Daimler's (DAIGn.DE)
Mercedes Benz; Fiat Chrysler (FCHA.MI);
Ford Motor Co (F.N);
General Motors Co (GM.N);
and Honda (7267.T),
including Acura.
Also named as defendants were
Hyundai (005380.KS),
including Kia; Nissan (7201.T),
including Infiniti; Toyota (7203.T),
including Lexus; and Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE),
including Bentley.
Aclass action
lawsuit that accused two dairy groups of manipulating the Northeast milk market
and driving small farmers out of business is one step closer to being settled.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the antitrust lawsuit Allen v. Dairy Farmers of Americahave asked U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss to
approve a new $50 million settlement to put the case to rest.
Lawyers proposed a $50 million settlement last year, but
Reiss denied it in March because 35 farmers representing 28 farms objected to
the proposed settlement.
Reiss wrote in her March 31 denial that the court needed to
make sure that the settlement was procedurally fair and not the result of
collusion. Several farmers had alleged collusion between their lawyers and
defendants, Reiss wrote, and said they were concerned about potential
retaliation from Dairy Farmers of America for accepting the settlement.
The class-action case has gone on for six years against
Dairy Farmers of America and Dairy Marketing Services. The plaintiffs are 8,900
farms, which have largely agreed to end the dispute without a trial. A little
under 1 percent remain opposed.
The $50 million works out to about $4,000 per farm, which
are often owned by a single family. Farms would be allowed to leave the Dairy
Farmers of America and join another cooperative. The settlement also requires
the dairy cooperative to make its business practices more transparent to
members.
Disgruntled homeowners have
started a class action lawsuit against government-controlled insurer Southern
Response.
The group's lawyer, Grant Cameron,
said 47 policyholders had officially filed a case in the High Court at
Christchurch on Wednesday over delays by the insurer in settling Canterbury
earthquake claims and unfair offers.
He said Southern Response had
failed in its duty, with some homeowners still waiting nearly five years after
the first of the devastating quakes and unable to afford to litigate on their
own.
"The insurer is essentially
low-balling the settlement offers," he said, adding some claimants had
been offered 40 to 60 per cent less than the true worth of their homes.
Parties to the action have joined
on a "no win, no fee" basis and Mr Cameron said the litigants were
waiting on court approval to allow any other interested claimants to join in
the next three months.
Boeing Co. agreed
on Wednesday to a preliminary deal to settle a long-running
lawsuit accusing
the company of mishandling its 401(k) plan to the detriment of its employees.
The
settlement comes the day a trial was scheduled to begin in the nine-year-old
case. Terms weren’t disclosed. The two sides are expected to update the court
on details of the talks next month and set a timeline for seeking final
approval, according to a court order.
Filed on
behalf of 190,000 Boeing employees and retirees, the class-action suit accused
Boeing of failing to uphold its fiduciary duties to employees by allowing
excessive 401(k) fees to go unchecked, choosing higher-cost retail mutual funds
over cheaper options, and improperly making 401(k) plan decisions to benefit
vendors receiving other Boeing business.
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