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The U.S. Justice Department announced the deal Friday, which included one guilty plea to wire fraud, $25 million in fines, $125 million for injured motorists, and $850 million for recall and replacement costs. Prosecutors said Takata and three of its executives, who separately face fraud and conspiracy charges, repeatedly falsified critical test data about the safety of its products for more than a decade. “Automotive suppliers who sell products that are supposed to protect consumers from injury or death must put safety ahead of profits,” said U....

A few weeks ago, when we were brainstorming topic ideas, someone mentioned the idea of writing a post on what to do if you are planning a vacation – Memorial Day weekend and summertime are approaching, after all. One of our editors mentioned Tenderloin notices as a “must do” before leaving. We Googled. Lies. All lies. It turns out that there is no support for the oft-used “Notice of Availability” in the text of Tenderloin Housing Clinic v....

In a case involving a construction contract of a shopping center, trial court’s judgment is affirmed in part and reversed in part and remanded where: 1) trial court erred in refusing to award litigation costs to Vons who had prevailed on two causes of action assigned to it by the original plaintiff, and thus the case is remanded for purposes of determining what costs were reasonably necessary to the conduct of the litigation; and 2) trial court did not err in denying Von’s motion for an award of attorney’s fees under Civil Code section 1717, because the warranty on which the plaintiff’s claims were based contained no attorney’s fees provision....

When a city council wants to engage in land use planning, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a study (which can take months) before the city council can do anything. Ah, but not so when citizens themselves propose a land use initiative: there, an abbreviated environmental impact study will suffice. It must be completed in 30 days, if at all. This issue arose after Walmart wanted to open a new 27,000 square foot “Supercenter” in Sonora (Tuolumne County)....

We’ve been flying a lot lately, so we’ve become all-too-familiar with the not-so-gentle touch of the Transportation Security Administration’s enhanced patdown. Why would we opt for a stranger’s (literally) back-handed caress over the comparatively-painless backscatter? Because the TSA still hasn’t complied with a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals order to engage in proper rulemaking exercise to use the “naked scanners.” Principles, people. In July 2010, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) asked the D....

Here’s a refreshing thought. You know that saying about letting the dead rest in peace? Well, that may be a bit hard to ensure when there are people running amok stealing bodies from Catholic cemeteries. That’s right. New York police are investigating the theft of a woman’s body from a NY Mausoleum. The body stealing bandits entered three mausoleums and removed a casket from one, according to Suffolk County Deputy Inspector Robert Brown....

Vaccines are overwhelmingly safe, but in a few very rare instances, they can have unintended side effects. The National Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 provides a federal cause of action for parents whose children have been injured by vaccines. The Paluck family sued the Secretary of Health and Human Services for compensation over a claim that an MMR vaccine caused infant K.P. to lapse into a “severe neurological disability.” After the case bounced around the court system for a bit, the Court of Federal Claims vacated a special master’s determination that K....

Akin Gump has a lot of shiny offices and attorneys sporting pin stripes. But the firm may not be the best place to go for outdoor signage law guidance. World Wide Rush, one of the Akin Gump’s former clients, says that the firm gave it erroneous advice. Akin Gump was retained to consult the company about using outdoor signage in Los Angeles. A city ban prohibited the use of “supergraphic” signs....

A college rivalry is one thing, but this is potentially criminal: New Orleans police are looking into the videotaped sexual assault of an unconscious man wearing LSU football gear. The alleged attackers: University of Alabama football fans. The incident happened at a fast-food joint in New Orleans’ French Quarter, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. Alabama had just dominated LSU to win the BCS title, 21-0. Bama fans celebrated up and down Bourbon Street, but some of the rowdiness apparently got out of hand....

Civil rights laws aren’t always used in popular ways, and sometimes groups will make claims that may appear facially valid, but ultimately are so far off base as to even be offensive. Surprisingly, two nonprofits have decided to take on Harvard and its law review, for discriminating against white men, and have recently amended their complaint in response to the university’s motion to dismiss. In short, the complaint alleges that the law review and university’s pro-diversity policies disadvantages white men who seek to teach at the school, or write for or edit for the law review....

In a patent infringement action involving golf balls, district court judgment is affirmed in part and vacated in part where: 1) the court did not err in its claim construction regarding the golf ball covers; 2) the court did not err in concluding that substantial evidence supports the verdict that defendant failed to prove invalidity due to obviousness; 3) the court did not err in excluding the test-ball testimony on the issue of obviousness, and did not abuse its discretion in refusing to allow defendant to introduce evidence of a parallel inter partes re-examination of the patents proceeding before the Patent and Trademark Office; 4) the verdict form returned by the jury reflects an irreconcilable inconsistency and thus a new trial on obviousness must be granted; and 5) the court erred in granting summary judgment that the claims were not anticipated, as the Nesbitt golf ball patent incorporates by reference the potential cover layer materials described in an earlier patent, and thus defendant has raised a genuine question of material fact concerning anticipation....

Taxpayers in Albuquerque, N.M. just bought themselves $3,100 worth of marijuana – and not one of them gets a share. Medical marijuana patient Toni Armijo is the sole recipient of the funds. She’s being reimbursed for an August 2010 law enforcement incident that left her pot plants dead. Who knew marijuana couldn’t withstand a few hours in a paper bag? Not Albuquerque police, that’s for sure. But again, officers weren’t looking for drugs....

Despite more than a dozen stab wounds and a blow from a hammer to the head, Laurie VanLandingham née McKenna survived. The morning after she and her friend Jeanine Grinsell were attacked by a security guard during an unauthorized tour of Carolands Mansion in Hillsborough, California, Laurie crawled out of a ravine on her elbows, then flagged down a passing car. Jeanine, also alive at that point, later died on the operating table, according to the San Jose Mercury News....

Denial of a granddaughter’s petition to determine persons entitled to distribution from her grandmother’s estate is affirmed as the exclusion of unmentioned heirs or relatives from the will’s dispositions, or an intent to disinherit those who contest those dispositions, does not sufficiently express or manifest an intent to arrest the operation of the anti-lapse law following a legatee’s death. Read Estate of Tolman, No. B215644 [HTML] Read Estate of Tolman, No....

Ex-Bronx prosecutor Bernadette Greenwald has a penchant for pink guns. She also seems to like shooting them at neighborhood kids. The strange story started on an idyllic Sunday afternoon. Well, it was idyllic until somebody decided it would be fun to play a game of “ding-dong ditch” on Greenwald. Greenwald’s doorbell rang twice that afternoon. Whoever was at the door ran before she answered. The third time someone rang the doorbell, Greenwald got a little peeved....

Sure, we’d all like to work at Bob Loblaw’s law job or many of the other glamorous, yet very realistic depictions of legal work on T.V. When we’re fantasizing about our jobs, why not include some fantasy employers? From Ally McBeal’s unisex bathroom to Saul Goodman’s bags of illicit cash, which T.V. law firms would be the best place to practice? Florrick, Agos, Lockheart, Gardner, Stern and Friends (“The Good Wife”) The law firm at the center of “The Good Wife” has changed names and forms so many times now, we can’t even remember what it’s called – yet most of the faces have stayed the same....

Former NHL players are rallying to sue the League for not doing enough to protect past players from concussions. St. Louis Blues player Gary Leeman (1996-1997) and nine other former players have joined in a federal class-action lawsuit on Monday against the National Hockey League (NHL), seeking compensation for past and future medical costs as a result of brain trauma incurred during their careers, reports ESPN. Will ex-hockey players follow former football stars in reaching a settlement for their injuries?...

In ex parte proceedings, after plaintiff obtained a writ of attachment and levied on certain deposit accounts of defendant, trial court’s grant of third-party claimant Wachovia Capital Finance Corporation’s application for release of the levied property and order quashing the levy is reversed where: 1) the record contains no evidence to support the trial court’s finding that Wachovia holds a perfected security interest in the accounts on which plaintiff levied; and 2) the record contains no evidence that Wachovia met any of the alternative requirements for showing that its security interest was not subordinated to plaintiff’s attachment lien....

To properly prepare for the bar exam requires more than just taking the right classes and locking yourself in a room for weeks on end with your books, notes, and practice exams. One often overlooked aspect of preparation is the financial aspect. If you can’t afford to take the bar immediately after law school, you’re taking a big risk that you’ll retain enough information. You not only need to pay for your post-graduation bar prep course and sitting for the bar exam itself, but you also need to pay all your living expenses....

Stewart Dolin, a senior attorney at a large law firm, stood at the train station and contemplated his life. Then he jumped in front of the train. His story of suicide, apparently induced by depression and being demoted at work, haunts many lawyers. Studies say that an alarming number of attorneys – 28 percent – are depressed. The legal industry ranks 11th in suicide rates by profession. So what made Dolin take that last, irreversible step in his battle with depression?...