In The Media

Tuesday’s filing is certain to be cited by the NCAA as another illustration of why it says it needs a federal law covering college athletes’ ability to make money from their name, image and likeness that also would include protection from antitrust suits. A form of such protection was one feature of a bill that has been offered by Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., although not in the current Congressional session. more »

Consequences, the lawsuit alleges, include shorter life expectancy compared with other King County cities; premature births; over 100 excess deaths per year on average; and more deaths caused by cancer, heart disease and chronic lower respiratory disease. The suit was filed in King County Superior Court by Seattle-based Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro.  more »

Winston & Strawn LLP and Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, the international firms that won the Alston case against the NCAA in the Supreme Court, filed their latest suit in the Northern District of California against both the NCAA and the five Power 5 conferences (Big Ten, SEC, Pac-12, ACC and Big 12). The case names former Oklahoma State running back Chuba Hubbard (who is now with the Carolina Panthers) and former Auburn track athlete Keira McCarrell as plaintiffs.  more »

 In a statement, plaintiffs’ attorney Steve Berman invoked and reshaped a ubiquitous advertising campaign tagline introduced in early 2003. “What happens in Vegas will no longer stay in Vegas,” Berman said. “We intend to expose the under-the-table deals perpetrated by these Vegas hotels.”  more »

Lawsuits so far have blamed established carmakers, not Apple or Google. Sean Matt, a partner in Seattle at Hagens Berman, the law firm that represented owners in the suit against Honda, said he “can sympathize with the engineering challenge” that carmakers face in designing systems that work flawlessly with ever-changing smartphone software.  more »

A lawsuit filed Monday accused three makers of insulin of conspiring to drive up the prices of their lifesaving drugs, harming patients who were being asked to pay for a growing share of their drug bills. “People who have to pay out of pocket for insulin are paying enormous prices when they shouldn’t be,” said Steve Berman, a lawyer whose firm filed the suit on behalf of patients and is seeking to have it certified as a class action.  more »

The case follows the legal trail carved by the O’Bannon and Alston cases, the latter of which ended with the NCAA losing a unanimous verdict before the Supreme Court. The plaintiffs’ lawyers in this suit are among those who were involved in either or both of the earlier cases, led by Steve Berman and Jeff Kessler. (Kessler argued for the Alston plaintiffs before the Supreme Court.) And this case currently is pending before U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken, who presided over the early phases of the O’Bannon and Alston proceedings.  more »

“I think it’s the beginning of the end on restrictions on compensation to student-athletes,” said Steve Berman, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys. “The NCAA is going to have to deal with the modern world, and I don’t think it’s going to affect its product because I think consumers realize the injustice of the system, where coaches and league (commissioners) make millions and millions and the kids get very little. If the kids get paid something it’s not going to be the end of NCAA sports.”  more »

Steve Berman, a lawyer for the plaintiffs in the suit, which sought class-action status, said, “We truly are proud that a case brought by two developers, standing in the shoes of tens of thousands of U.S. iOS developers, could help to bring about so much important change.”  more »

“It is our hope that this victory in the battle for college athletes’ rights will carry on a wave of justice uplifting further aspects of athlete compensation,” said Steve Berman, an attorney for the former college athletes, in a statement following the ruling. “This is the fair treatment college athletes deserve.”  more »

One of the lawyers in the insulin-pricing suit tells Shots that his team is seeking an injunction against the insulin manufacturers that could lower prices. "Hopefully, we will obtain a ruling to that effect within a year," says attorney Steve Berman. The drug companies, for their part, say the allegations against them are false, and they are fighting the suit.  more »

Dozens of people who sued former movie producer Harvey Weinstein claiming sexual misconduct have tentatively settled their case. The disgraced Hollywood mogul and the board of his bankrupt film studio have reached a tentative $25 million agreement, according to attorney Steve Berman, who represents some of the accusers.  more »

​Volkswagen's dealers will receive an average of $1.85 million in a $1.2 billion settlement approved by a U.S. judge on Monday over its diesel emissions scandal. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said the 650 U.S. dealers would be paid over 18 months, ruling the settlement "fair, reasonable, and adequate."  more »

All of this figures prominently in the lawsuit. Hagens Berman, one of the preeminent class action firms in the U.S., is leading the charge for Tesla owners. Partner Steve Berman represented a dozen states in the $206 billion settlement with Big Tobacco, as well as victims of fraud by Enron Corp. and Bernard Madoff. more »

When you want to sue the largest, most powerful companies on the planet, Steve Berman is the guy you call. He forced Jack-in-the-Box to pay $12 million for causing an E. coli outbreak that killed four children. He won a $215 million settlement against Enron for defrauding investors and wiping out employee retirement accounts. He represented auto dealers in a $1.6 billion lawsuit against Volkswagen for cheating on diesel emissions. more »

​Thousands of current and former college athletes could receive $5,000 or more from an agreement to settle part of an antitrust lawsuit against the N.C.A.A., a lawyer for the plaintiffs estimated. In a statement, Steve Berman, a lawyer for the players, called the settlement a “watershed” and estimated that eligible players would receive checks from $5,000 to $7,000. more »

A group of diabetes patients filed a lawsuit Monday against three drug companies for systematically increasing the list prices of insulin for years in an alleged fraudulent-pricing scheme that saddled patients with “crushing out-of-pocket expenses,” according to the filing. more »

Class-action attorney Steve Berman is coming after a drug industry he says is “gouging” the American consumer. And his suits have the potential to crack the lid on the black box of drug pricing, shedding light on a secretive process that has sparked an escalating blame game between drug makers and the many middlemen in the US health care system. more »

Free agency could be coming to college sports. "Free transferring is more appropriate," said Steve Berman, the managing partner at Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro and lead attorney of a case involving a pair of ex-college football players against the NCAA. Whatever the terminology you wish to utilize, it would create a significant impact throughout the world of college athletics more »

Although American demand for dairy has risen steadily for almost 40 years, some farmers tried to limit the supply of milk by killing off their own cows. No, you read that correctly. This mysterious state of affairs was revealed in a nationwide class-action lawsuit against dairy cooperatives, groups of farmers who pool their supplies but, as a whole, serve as middlemen between the farmers and dairy processors. more »

Volkswagen's board of directors appears to be moving quickly to identify and dismiss those responsible for the emissions cheating scandal. Reuters reports the first announcement could come Friday. more »