Pair of rulings could alter class action landscape

By John D. Hanify and Jason C. Weida
POSTED: March 5, 2013
Tags: February 28 2013 issue

Last November, the U.S. Supreme Court justices spent the morning listening to two important class action cases that may offer the opportunity for the court to impose stricter standards for the certification of class actions.

Employers ignore union info requests at their peril

By Todd A. Newman and Brian D. Carlson
POSTED: March 5, 2013
Tags: February 28 2013 issue

The National Labor Relations Board recently ruled that an employer committed an unfair labor practice — or ULP — by failing to respond “in a reasonably timely manner” to a union information request concerning bargaining-unit employees, even though the information sought by the union ultimately was found to be irrelevant to the union’s role as [...]

Director liability: corporate minutes as Trojan horse

By Stephen M. Honig
POSTED: March 5, 2013
Tags: February 28 2013 issue

What should director minutes say and how detailed should they be? It likely depends on the maturity of the company, the personality of its management, and the input of its lawyers.

More litigation on way after verdict against Apple

By Sylvia Hsieh
POSTED: March 5, 2013
Tags: February 28 2013 issue

In a major milestone in the smartphone patent wars, a federal jury has found that Apple’s iPhone infringes on three patents with respect to the camera feature and the handling and rejection of calls.

Business consultant can sue over performance evaluation

Says review process tainted by gender bias

By Eric T. Berkman
POSTED: March 5, 2013
Tags: February 28 2013 issue

A business consultant who was fired after a negative performance evaluation could sue her employer for gender discrimination based on evidence that a manager who had taken part in the evaluation process had previously engaged in allegedly sexist behavior toward her, the Massachusetts Appeals Court has decided in an unpublished decision.

Nurse who defied order can still sue under ADA

By Eric T. Berkman
POSTED: March 5, 2013
Tags: February 28 2013 issue

A nurse who was fired for insubordination after refusing to carry out an order she felt she could not handle while recovering from a serious injury could sue her employer for retaliation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

For government, FY 2012 a record year for qui tam actions

By Correy E. Stephenson
POSTED: March 5, 2013
Tags: February 28 2013 issue

It’s safe to say that Boston lawyer Joseph M. Makalusky ended 2012 on a high note. In late December, Makalusky’s client Mark Giddarie was awarded $18.5 million for his role as a whistleblower in a False Claims Act suit against pharmaceutical company Sanofi, which agreed to pay the federal and state governments a total of [...]

Mixed reaction to SEC whistleblower data

By Kimberly Atkins
POSTED: March 5, 2013
Tags: February 28 2013 issue

In its first full year, a federal whistleblower program that boosted the amount of awards to employees and others who report credible information about fraud and other securities violations spurred more than 3,000 tips and resulted in one five-figure payout.

Injunction vacated in ‘nominative-use’ trade name case

By Eric T. Berkman
POSTED: March 5, 2013
Tags: February 28 2013 issue

A high-end manufacturer of luxury goods was not entitled to a preliminary injunction restricting the use of its trademarked name by an off-price retail chain, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has decided.