Legal Research

Late News from the U.S. Supreme Court February 20, 2008

By David Badertscher, PLL

source: Law.com News Update, February 20, 2008.

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Supreme Court Allows Retirement Plan Participants to Sue Over Losses
The Associated Press

"The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that individual participants in the most common type of retirement plan can sue under a pension protection law to recover their losses. The unanimous decision has implications for 50 million workers with $2.7 trillion invested in 401(k) retirement plans. James LaRue of Southlake, Texas, said the value of his stock market holdings plunged $150,000 when administrators at his retirement plan failed to follow his instructions to switch to safer investments. The issue in the LaRue case was whether the Employee Retirement Income Security Act permits an individual account holder to sue plan administrators for breaching their fiduciary duties."

Justices Make it Tougher to Sue Makers of Medical Devices
The Associated Press

"The Supreme Court on Wednesday made it harder for consumers to sue manufacturers of federally approved medical devices. In an 8-1 decision, the court ruled against the estate of a patient who suffered serious injuries when a catheter burst during a medical procedure. The case has significant implications for the $75 billion-a-year health care technology industry, whose products range from heart valves to toothbrushes. In a recent three-month span, federal regulators responded to over 100 safety problems regarding medical devices."

Full post as published by New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library on February 20, 2008 (boomark / email).