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In February of 2010, Ormat concluded that the company’s 2008 financial statements required restatement and that current statements were unreliable. This occurred because capitalized costs for exploration and development of select properties that the company did not plan on developing were suspected to be improperly calculated into financial equations.  Once this information became public, Ormat stock declined by nearly 13% over a three day time period. Lawyers are investigating potential claims that Ormat directors and/or executives failed to fulfill the Company’s fiduciary responsibility which has caused financial harm to stock holders.

Questionable breaches of fiduciary duty have been a topic of discussion for Comcast as well.  An ERISA class action lawsuit was recently filed on behalf of nearly 90,000 Comcast employee stock plan participants with the allegation that Comcast executives projected unreasonable company growth, despite knowledge that there were reasons in the competitive market which would impact Comcast’s projected growth.

Fiduciary duty is outlined in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. It is not known if a class action lawsuit will be filed against Ormat Technologies at this time. Lawyers are merely in the discovery stage of an investigation to identify the possibility of any company wrong doing. Ormat shareholders may be entitled to financial compensation for the damage sustained due to the company’s failing to perform fiduciary duties. Yet, a lawsuit must be filed against Ormat technologies before this occurs. A lawsuit against Ormat Technologies will not occur until claims have been identified as valid by lawyers and a federal judge agrees that a lawsuit may be filed.

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An ERISA class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of nearly 90,000 Comcast employee stock plan participants because of an alleged breach in fiduciary duty by the company’s failure to make “reasonable” investments. Total plan assets were over $2 billion in 2006 and roughly $293 million consisted of Comcast stock.

The fundamental contention in the lawsuit dates back to 2007 predictions of Comcast executives who projected that the company would do very well in that year, despite knowledge of competitors’ bonus programs that could significantly reduce Comcast revenue. The Comcast executives’ projection drove stock prices up creating a false inflation of stock prices.  Consequently, Comcast employees suffered losses because a significant portion of their investments were in Comcast stock.  Comcast’s stock price plummeted from a high of over $28 in February to $18 plus in December.

The lawsuit was granted in federal court because of premises identified in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. One of the highlights during initial arguments was that a lawsuit is not justifiable when an employee signs a release or leaves the company.  However, the Judge determined that ERISA provides for a continuing duty to review plan holdings and divest imprudent fund plans. So, if Comcast failed to exercise duty, then they have committed a wrongdoing.  Over the course of the next months, facts surrounding the case will be heard in court to identify if any wrong doing occurred on the part of Comcast.

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Toyota has agreed to pay $16 million in penalties after the government contended that Toyota knowingly refrained from disclosing the sticky gas pedal defect to the public and did not take action to protect the public from harm. Toyota’s agreement does not mean that the company admits to wrongdoing. However, the company accepted the $16 million penalty within a 24 hour time period. The next legal cases will be those of people that were injured or died because of the sticky gas pedal. Personal injury lawyers are preparing their legal cases against Toyota nationwide. In fact, over 150 lawyers recently gathered in San Diego to bring attention to the high number of reports of people injured by Toyota’s sticky gas pedal.  Lawyers may contend that Toyota committed fraud and racketeering in a conspiracy to mislead the government and consumers. People that have been injured because of a sticky gas pedal on a Toyota vehicle may be entitled to financial compensation for their injuries, including: lost wages, medical expenses and pain and suffering.  Toyota owners that have lost value in their vehicles because of the extensive recalls may also be entitled to financial compensation.

The Latest Recall: Sienna Mini Vans

Toyota Sienna Mini Vans (1998-2010), totaling 600,000 vehicles, were the latest Toyota recall Toyota model to come to the forefront. The reason for the recall relates to the risk that the spare tire carrier cable can corrode following exposure to road salts. This poses a risk that the cable will fail, leading to the spare tire dismounting from the minivan and a possible car accident. The Sienna Mini Vans are added to the millions of other Toyota vehicles that have been recalled since October of 2009.

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Guidant, LLC, maker of a cardiac defibrillator, pled guilty to criminal violations of the Food and Dug Administration Cosmetic Act which requires that medical device companies disclose risks of serious injury and death that are associated with their products. The Guidant defibrillator was used in cardiac surgery to produce a shock to restart the heart when the device detects that the heart fails.  Guidant apparently was aware that there were short circuit failures in their Ventak Prizm 2 DR (Model 1861) and the Contak Renewal (Models H135 and H155), but failed to disclose this information to the proper authorities or the public.

The FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations spent four years investigating this case before determining that criminal allegations must be brought against the manufacturer. The affected Guidant defibrillator models were designed to detect and treat irregular heart rhythms, but when they fail due to short circuiting can result in sudden death momentarily. In the end, Guidant admitted to making a false statement about the Ventak Prizm 2DR device and failing to notify the FDA that the company made a correction to the Contak Renewal devices in order to reduce the risk of sudden death.

Guidant, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boston Scientific Corporation, has now been presented with the largest criminal penalty imposed on a medical device company that failed to meet FDA requirements in the Cosmetic Act.

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Stuffed animals, rain ponchos and play jewelry are some of the Toy products that Daiso California LLC had been selling before a recall. The risks associated with their products included strangulation from the rain ponchos, lead poisoning from the jewelry, and choking from the stuff animals.

Since Daiso California LLC has violated federal safety laws, the company has been forced to cease importing children’s toys to the U.S. and must pay fines in excess of $2 million.

The CPSC has a list of safety standards and testing requirements that toy vendors must abide to in order to sell children’s toys in the U.S. Toy companies must also place proper warning labels on their toys so that parents are aware of the risks for children using the toys. However, sometimes the risks are omitted from the label or the manufacturer fails to perform proper testing to identify the risks relating to their toys. Toy manufacturers may also provide a label that informs the parent of the appropriate age of a child to use the toy. This is often done because there is some kind of risk that would apply to a child’s use of the toy that is out of the age bracket identified on the label.

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Paternity rights in Indiana have been leveraged for fathers effective July 1, 2010, based on a new Indiana law ( Indiana Code 16-37-2-2.1).  Currently, when a child is born out-of -wedlock, Indiana law allows for the establishment of paternity by the filing of a Petition to Establish Paternity or the signing of a paternity affidavit by both parents.  Assuming that the paternity affidavit is properly signed and all Indiana Code Requirements are met, the mother has sole and physical custody, while the father is entitled to “reasonable parenting time”.   This means that the child lives with her mom and the mom also makes all decisions concerning health care, education, and religious upbringing.

Pursuant to the new statute regarding paternity rights, the child will still live with the mother.  However, the parties can agree to share joint legal custody.  In other words, the father and mother will jointly make decisions concerning healthcare, education and religious upbringing.  Both parents will have equal access to school and medical records.

This paternity right statute does not mention what happens when there are disagreements between parents concerning, education, health care and similar decisions that may occur sometime in the future.  However, in non- affidavit cases, if the parties disagree and cannot resolve their disagreements, the parties can petition the court to modify custody so that one parent has sole custody and will make all decisions.  In all likelihood, the same procedure will apply under this statute.

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Reglan, manufactured by Baxter Healthcare Corporation, has long been used in over 2 million children and adults for the treatment of gastrointestinal conditions such as diabetic gastroparesis disease and gastroesophageal reflux disease. The ill effects of Reglan use has not become fully apparent until recently. The FDA has announced that long term and high dose use of Reglan is linked to Tardive Dyskinesia, a highly disabling medical condition that creates repeated involuntary muscle movements of the face, tongue, eyes, arms and legs. This is particularly disheartening since the drug is only approved for short term use, but physicians have prescribed longer term use for many years. It is recommended that treatment not exceed three months.

Tardive Dyskinesia not only impedes day-to-day life, but is embarrassing because of involuntary body movements that may be rapid and jerky, slow and continuous. The lips may repeatedly grimace, the tongue may protrude irregularly, the eyes may move rapidly, the arms, legs and fingers may be impaired. There is no proven medical treatment for Tardive Dyskinesia, but the symptoms have decreased in a select number of people using Reglan once the medication was not used any longer.

Reglan has not been recalled by the FDA. Instead, there has been a black box warning placed on the drug label that describes the risk of Tardive Dyskinesia, even after the drug is stopped. The risk of Tardive Dyskinesia is greatest with long term or high dose use. This black box warning was placed following a high number of reports of Tardive Dyskinesia in Reglan users. Reglan is considered the most common cause for drug induced movement disorders.  Reglan, also known as Metoclopramide, is available in the form of tablets, syrups, and injections.

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In November of 2009, Yaz and a similar product Ocella were recalled following reports of serious injury in users as young as thirteen years old. The problems associated with Yaz and Ocella involve the dosage of drospirenone which is known for creating health problems in users that live in European countries. In fact, the use of this ingredient in oral contraceptives was previously banned in several countries.

Since 2009, over 1,000 lawsuits have been filed against Bayer, the makers of Yaz. As more consumers become aware of the medical conditions that Yaz can cause, it is suspected that more lawsuits will arise in the case against Bayer.  The company’s Yaz product has been linked to fifty deaths in women that experienced blood clots while taking the oral contraceptive.

Women today have many choices available to prevent pregnancy. When a new option is introduced to the FDA, the product must meet specifications such as delivering a higher value to the user or providing an improved choice for the user when compared to other options. Other hormone medications such as Prempro have been linked to breast cancer.

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Car accidents can be reduced if we were heed one of the earliest lessons offered in driver’s training or during behind-the-wheel instruction- be a defensive driver.  Anticipate what others might do on the road. Be aware of your surroundings. Listen. Be cautious. Be ready to take evasive action if a car accident is upon you. Prepare yourself for the worst-case scenario.

Car accidents today, however, often have nothing to do with a driver’s competence or a vehicle’s road-worthiness. A car accident could be caused by the risky acts of another driver.  In fact, one of the great road risks has nothing to do with or a driver’s competence. It is the absence of auto/truck insurance or the lack of adequate coverage.

Did you know that some states have upwards of 25 percent uninsured or under-insured drivers on the road during any given day, according to the National Insurance Council? In tough economic times, these numbers can increase dramatically. As traumatic as a car accident can be, imagine for a moment that the other driver who hits you doesn’t have auto insurance at all, or has inadequate car insurance.  The thought of being injured or your car being rendered inoperable can quickly turn into a painful reality and nightmare following a car accident.

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Car accidents happen. In fact, on average, it is estimated that an American citizen is in an auto accident six times during his or her lifetime. There were 6.4 million automobile accidents in the U.S. during 2005, the latest statistic available. However, the National Highway Transportation Safety Board’s early estimate is that 34,000 people were killed in motor vehicle accidents in 2009. Since there is a likely chance that you will be involved in a car accident in your lifetime, we’ve listed some tips for you know about car accidents.

1) Remain at the scene of the car accident. Whether there is injury or property damage or not, it is important to stay at the scene until the police give you permission to go. A person who leaves an accident scene prematurely can be cited and even charged criminally. It is better to wait and take the extra time to give an incident report to the police than to later find yourself in deep trouble.

2) At the car accident scene, do not move or administer first aid to anyone who is injured. You set yourself up for greater liability if something goes wrong and you are held responsible. Turn your car emergency flashers on and call 911, letting the trained first-responders handle the rest.

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