Plaintiffs sue over ‘all natural’ claims 
POSTED: Monday, April 23, 2012 at 10:30 AM PTBY: Correy Stephenson
Tags: Ben & Jerry's, ConAgra, Federal Trade Commission, Food and Drug Administration, Frito-Lay, Kashi, Snapple, Trader Joes
A number of recent lawsuits allege that companies are falsely advertising their products as “all natural” or “100 percent” natural when they in fact contain synthetic ingredients or genetically modified organisms. Defendants include major brands such as Ben & Jerry’s, ConAgra, Frito-Lay, Kashi, Naked Juice, Snapple and Trader Joe’s. “These cases are being filed every [...]
Employer request for Facebook passwords yields legislation, investigation
POSTED: Thursday, March 29, 2012 at 02:46 PM PTBY: Correy Stephenson
After recent reports that employers were requesting Facebook passwords from job applicants, state and federal legislators quickly responded with possible legislation. And they’ve asked for a federal investigation into the practice. Employers like the city of Bozeman, Mont. had a policy of asking applicants for passwords to their email addresses, social networking sites and other [...]
Damaged crops yield $40 million verdict for farmers in Oregon court
POSTED: Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at 09:20 AM PTBY: Correy Stephenson
Two farmers received a total of almost $40 million from a Portland, Ore., jury after their nursery crops, including blueberry, rhododendron and Japanese maple plants, were destroyed by a faulty fertilizer. The plaintiffs switched to a new fertilizer that was marketed as a controlled release product but was in fact a watered-down slow release with [...]
Should lawyers advertise as ‘specialists?’
POSTED: Friday, March 23, 2012 at 01:56 PM PTBY: Correy Stephenson
Tags: Idaho Bar Association
To stand out from the crowd, lawyers in some states can advertise themselves as “specialists” in a given practice area, but they must be sure to follow state ethics rules. J. Michael Hayes, a sole practitioner in Buffalo, N.Y., encourages attorneys to embrace the term. Hayes, who is board certified in Civil Trial Advocacy by [...]
Recovering damages for undocumented workers
POSTED: Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 10:52 AM PTBY: Correy Stephenson
Tags: Department of Homeland Security
As the number of undocumented workers rises, personal injury attorneys are increasingly struggling with how to handle illegal immigrants as clients. In January 2010, the Department of Homeland Security estimated that 10.8 million undocumented individuals resided in the United States. “Immigration is a hot button issue and there is a lot of hostility about undocumented [...]
New laws offer greater asset protection for clients
POSTED: Wednesday, December 28, 2011 at 12:19 PM PTBY: Correy Stephenson
Two new laws that recently took effect in Nevada offer clients across the country new avenues for asset protection. One law addresses self-settled trusts, which allow personal use of the trust assets by the settlor. The measure includes a provision that allows trusts set up in other jurisdictions to be moved to Nevada without re-starting [...]
The pitfalls of ‘frictionless’ social media
POSTED: Monday, December 26, 2011 at 03:03 PM PTBY: Correy Stephenson
Technological advances continue to make life easier and yet more complicated at the same time. Take “frictionless” social media – full integration between sites like Facebook and various third party applications and websites so that friends and family know where you are and what you are doing at all times, without a user having to [...]
HIPAA audits have begun
POSTED: Friday, December 16, 2011 at 11:00 AM PTBY: Correy Stephenson
All entities covered under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act must get ready – audits of privacy and security compliance under the Act have officially begun. Under the auspices of the 2009 HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health) Act, the Department of Health and Human Services was mandated to conduct periodic [...]
