The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled that a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the federal False Claims Act may be thrown out of court as a penalty for the lawyer’s misconduct. The issue arose when Judge Milton Shadur, a federal court judge in Chicago, dismissed a whistleblower suit against Sallie [...]

U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon, the New Orleans federal judge overseeing consolidated U.S. lawsuits involving tainted Chinese drywall, has ordered the inspections of several homes in Florida, Louisiana, and seven other states to help set up a protocol for affected homes. The court-ordered inspection is intended to be an unbiased and consistent way to [...]

Lawsuits over tainted Chinese drywall number approximately 150, and more are being filed almost daily, according to federal court records. The cases, which are being consolidated in a New Orleans federal court, involve drywall imported from China that is tainted with sulfur gases. Drywall, a product sometimes called Sheetrock, gypsum board and wallboard, is the [...]

U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon, who presides over hundreds of suits involving tainted Chinese drywall, has set a goal of January 2010 to hold the first Chinese drywall case in his New Orleans court. The lead lawyer for defendants in the case say that they need more time to prepare, however.  See related story. Judge [...]

A federal judge in Mississippi has refused to dismiss a False Claims Act suit against State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. The lawsuit, filed by two sisters who worked as claims adjusters for an independent contractor hired by State Farm to help process claims after Hurricane Katrina, alleges that State Farm inflated and overpaid homeowners’ [...]

Product safety regulators with the U.S. and China will meet in China in October to discuss the safety of products manufactured in China and imported to the United States. The countries will review measures to ensure a mutual understanding of the need for manufacturers to meet U.S. requirements for product safety for issues like lead [...]