Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed 12 Lehman Brothers executives, including CEO Richard Fuld, in connection with three grand jury investigations into the investment bank’s fall. Also included in the subpoenas: Former Lehman CFO Erin Callan, who landed at Credit Suisse after being booted from Lehman for hedge fund short selling. Feted less than a year ago as one of Wall Street’s most powerful women, Callan will be turning to Proskauer partner Robert Cleary for help.
Posts on ‘October 17th, 2008’
Corporate Liability Key in Chevron Case
An epic legal battle going to trial in federal court in San Francisco this week will ask jurors to decide whether oil giant Chevron sanctioned human rights abuses that killed and wounded protesters at its Nigerian facilities, or was simply protecting its employees from belligerent kidnappers. The decade-long fight has produced a 2,000-item court docket that may become a rare, and potentially precedent-setting, test of company liability for injuries to foreign nationals at the hands of a foreign government.
Son Pleads With Drug Maker to Allow Use of Medication in Fred Baron’s Cancer Fight
The physician for nationally known plaintiffs lawyer Fred Baron is fighting a pharmaceutical company in an effort to treat Baron’s blood cancer with a medication that the FDA has not yet approved for that purpose. News of Baron’s condition surfaced this week when his son posted online a letter that he had sent to the CEO of Biogen Idec Inc. A Biogen spokeswoman says representatives for former President Bill Clinton and U.S. Sens. Hillary Clinton and John Kerry have contacted the company on Baron’s behalf.
Judge: FMLA Doesn’t Shield Worker From Being Fired for Other Reasons
A federal judge has ruled that the Family and Medical Leave Act does not protect a worker who takes a medical leave, but is fired in the interim for reasons unrelated to the planned leave. Judge Lawrence F. Stengel dismissed an FMLA claim brought by a bank manager who was fired in the wake of an investigation that revealed embezzlement by the bank’s head teller. The plaintiff claims that he informed bank executives of his plan to take leave for knee-replacement surgeries just one month before he was fired.
Jury Awards $400,000 to Deaf Patient for Denial of Interpreter Services
A New Jersey jury’s $400,000 verdict for a deaf patient whose doctor refused her an interpreter may be a wake-up call for all professionals — including lawyers — that they risk liability for disability discrimination. The plaintiff’s attorney says the award is a national record in the United States for such a case. She adds that the physician’s malpractice carrier did not defend the case and will not cover the liability because quality of care was not at issue.
UBS Taps Sullivan & Cromwell as U.S. Counsel for $60 Billion Bailout
The Swiss National Bank and the government of Switzerland extended a helping hand to UBS on Thursday, creating a fund for the bank to dump $60 billion in illiquid assets. The Am Law Daily has learned that UBS has tapped Sullivan & Cromwell to advise it on U.S. aspects of the Swiss bailout. The firm is no stranger to UBS, having advised Switzerland’s largest bank in its $10.8 billion acquisition of private banker PaineWebber in 2000.
Asbestos Cases in Jeopardy Following Ohio Supreme Court Ruling
The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that a 2004 law imposing stricter rules on those suing for asbestos-related injuries can be applied to cases pending before the legislation was passed, a move that could frustrate thousands of people seeking claims. The 5-to-2 decision means that many of the 40,000 Ohio cases filed before the law was enacted are likely to be dismissed. It also has potential ramifications in Florida, Georgia, Kansas and other states that have sought to use such laws to reduce litigation.