Leonard Riggio, the founder of Barnes & Noble has agreed to settle a shareholder lawsuit that alleged that he wrongfully profited by pushing the bookstore chain to buy a college textbook firm that was also owned by him. Under the terms of the settlement, Riggio, who also serves as the chairman of Barnes & Noble, will pay $29 million to settle those allegations.
The shareholder lawsuit had alleged that Riggio had unfairly profited from the buyout of the textbook firm, Barnes…
A judge has ruled that Pom Wonderful, a manufacturer of fruit-based beverages that pushed its products as being beneficial in the reduction of heart disease and other conditions, made use of deceptive advertising.
According to the judge, Pom Wonderful, a company that is widely known for its pomegranate juice, made use of false advertising practices in order to push claims that the products were good for the treatment of, or to prevent, or reduce the risk of heart disease, erectile dysfunction…
By: Sam G. Sherman, Esq.
The NLRB has once again postponed its order requiring employers to post a notice concerning employees' right to collectively bargain. In October, the NLRB issued a final ruling requiring employers to post the notice by November 14, 2011. A few days later, the NLRB extended the deadline to January 31, 2012. Then, on December 23, 2011, the NLRB extended the deadline to April 30, 2012.
Yesterday, the NLRB chairman indefinitely postponed the posting requirement and provided…
By: Sam G. Sherman, Esq.
Sam Sherman with Higgs, Fletcher & Mack was recently quoted by NBC news discussing the Brinker decision that we wrote about last week.
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Since the financial crisis broke, the Securities and Exchange Commission has acted against more than 100 people and firms whose wrongdoing contributed to the crisis. The agency crossed a milestone last week when it filed civil fraud charges against 2 former bank executives who were charged with using a loan modification scheme to ‘whitewash’ real estate loans. However, criticism that the agency is not doing enough to crack down on companies responsible for the financial meltdown, continue.
The Securities and Exchange…
By: Sam G. Sherman, Esq.
The California Supreme Court decided Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Sup. Ct. today. Of course, employers throughout the state have been watching this case closely and waiting to see whether the Supreme Court would require employers to "ensure" employees take meal breaks, or merely "provide" employees with those breaks.
Ultimately, the Court decided the following:
Employers are obligated to afford hourly employees meal and rest periods and to relieve employees of all duties during those…
In a victory for Bank of America, a judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed by investors who wanted the bank to buy back mortgage loans underlying securities of more than $1 billion. The case Walnut Place LLC versus Countrywide Home Loans Inc. had been filed in New York State Supreme Court.
The case involves home loans by Countrywide Financial Corp. Bank Of America brought out Countrywide Financial Corp. in 2008. Investors suing under the name Walnut Place filed a lawsuit…
A judge has ruled against Apple, holding that the company cannot pursue its patent infringement lawsuit against Eastman Kodak. Apple's patent infringement lawsuit was meant to stop Kodak from selling the patents during its bankruptcy proceedings. The judge asked Apple and Kodak return to court later this month with ideas on a quick resolution of the ownership dispute.
Kodak maintains that Apple's ownership claims are inaccurate, while Apple insists that Kodak misappropriated its technologies. The patent involves a digital camera with…
By: Sam G. Sherman, Esq.
In Aleman v. Airtouch Cellular the Second District Court of Appeals issued a win for employers interested in scheduling hourly employees for split shifts. California's wage orders define a split shift as "a work schedule, which is interrupted by non-paid non-working periods established by the employer, other than bona fide rest or meal periods." The wage orders state: "When an employee works a split shift, one (1) hour's pay at the minimum wage…
A court has ruled in favor of Apple in its patent infringement lawsuit against Motorola. The court has ruled that most of Motorola Mobility’s products actually infringe on Apple's slide-to-unlock image patent.
Millions of consumers who use smart phones use the Apple patent when they perform gestures on the ‘unlock’ image, in order to unlock the device. Apple has won this round, the first time that the company has prevailed in any patent lawsuit against Motorola. Motorola has already announced that…