Here is a list of recent Class Action Lawsuit Settlements

GSK Reaches Potential $28 Million Settlement over Defective Paxil Tablets

GlaxoSmithKline has reached a tenative $28 million settlement in a class action lawsuit over manufacturing defects in certain tablets of their best selling antidepressant Paxil.

The suit alleged that Paxil "controlled release" (CR) tablets made between April 1, 2002 and March 4, 2005, contained a manufacturing defect that caused the tablets to split apart.

The settlement, if approved, would reimburse patients and insurers who paid for the drug. The amount each class member will recieve will depend on how many defective pills they bought, to a maximum of $150 per person. For a pill to be "defective" under the settlement, it must have split before it was removed from the container.

Class members who choose to exclude themselves from the settlement must do so by May 15. Those who wish to object to the settlement terms must do so by July 1. A final approval hearing will be held on July 10, 2009.

MARCH-27-09: Parties Settle Paxil "Split Pill" Class Action [CONSUMER AFFAIRS: PARTIES SETTLE PAXIL SPLIT PILL CLASS ACTION]

Trimboard Class Action Settlement

A class action settlement has been reached in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina Charleston Division with Louisiana Pacific for compensation to home owners and others for damaged TrimBoard on their structures.

The plaintiff alleged that the TrimBoard was unsuitable for exterior use, and that it often failed prematurely due to water absorption, resulting in swelling or decay. Many homeowners were negatively impacted by this defective product, including a loss in overall resale value of their homes, and a second class action to include residents outside of Charleston County, SC, is now pending.

TrimBoard is a manufactured or composite wood trim product, sometimes referred to as medium density fiberboard, which is used as trim on the exterior of structures. It comes in different widths, and is often used as trim around windows and doors, at corners of structures as corner board, as or over the band board at the base of the first floor, as fascia or soffit near the roof line, and/or as decorative trim on columns, rail posts, and along porches or stair stringers.

It was sold to customers as "easier to use" and "more durable" than other trim products, despite the fact that Louisiana Pacific was aware of its defective nature, particularly with installations in coastal South Carolina, which is recognized as being in a severe weather belt. The product was commonly used during periods of rapid neighborhood development in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Prior to the settlement in Charleston County, Louisiana Pacific would inspect the house, deny any product defect, blame the installer, and then offer a small "policy" settlement for some damaged wood, at $5.00 or so per foot of damaged board.

If a homeowner has TrimBoard on their structure, the settlement provides for compensation of $17 per foot for partial replacement of damaged TrimBoard or $14 per foot for complete replacement of damaged TrimBoard, less attorney fees of one-third. The settlement also provides for a greater amount of the TrimBoard to be eligible for compensation. The Charleston County settlement received final court approval in January and class counsel is now attempting to secure similar benefits for the rest of the state in a second class action pending in the same court.

MARCH-26-09: Class Action Settlement for Homeowners in Charleston County to Expand State-Wide [EMEDIAWIRE: TRIMBOARD CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT]

New Mexico to Share in $109 Million Settlement for Securities Class Action

The attorney general of New Mexico, Gary King, has announced that the New Mexico State Investment Council and the Educational Retirement Board will benefit from a potential $109 settlement of a securities class action settlement brought against Ernst & Young and HealthSouth Corp. According to the law firm representing the plaintiffs, this is among the largest settlements obtained to date against an outside auditor in a securities class action.

The suit alleged that over a 7 year period Ernst & Young manipulated its accounting in various ways which resulted in the financial statements for HealthSouth to be materially false and misleading. That, in turn, led investors to pay more than they should have for HealthSouth’s securities and subsequently suffer hundreds of millions of dollars of damages.

The other plaintiffs in the suit are Central States SE and SW Areas Pension, the Michigan Public School Employees’ Retirement System, the State of Michigan Employee’s Retirement System, the State Police Retirement System and the Judges Retirement System.

MARCH-25-09: NM part of $109 million settlement [NEW MEXICO BUSINESS WEEKLY: NM PART OF $109 MILLION SETTLEMENT]

Proposed $20 Million Settlement for Veterans' Data Theft Class Action

A notification program began today, as ordered by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, to alert veterans, spouses of veterans, and members of the military of a proposed $20 million settlement reached with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and certain Department employees in their official capacities (together called the "Defendants") in a class action lawsuit about the theft of computer equipment which was reported to contain personal information.

The Class includes all veterans, spouses of veterans, and military personnel who had actual damages from May 3, 2006 through February 11, 2009 that were directly related to the theft of computer equipment which was reported to contain personal information from the home of a VA employee on May 3, 2006. The Class also includes all representatives, heirs, administrators, executors, beneficiaries, agents, and assigns of Class Members.

Actual damages include out-of-pocket expenses incurred as a direct result of the theft, including those that were: used to protect or monitor personal or financial information; or the result of physical symptoms of severe emotional distress. Out-of-pocket expenses may include, for example, the purchase of credit monitoring to protect against identity loss.

Any money remaining in the Settlement Fund after paying Class Members, lawyers' fees, costs, and expenses will be donated to the Fisher House Foundation, Inc. and The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, both veterans-related charities.

Notices informing Class Members about their legal rights are scheduled to appear in consumer and military publications in the United States leading up to a hearing on July 28, 2009, when the Court will consider whether to grant final approval to the settlement.

Those affected by this settlement can send in a claim form to ask for a payment, or they can ask to be excluded from, or object to, the settlement and its terms. The deadline for exclusions and objections is June 29, 2009. The deadline to file a claim is November 27, 2009.

MARCH-23-09: Court to Notify Veterans About a Class Action Settlement [PR NEWSWIRE: VETERANS' CLASS ACTION]

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