A federal judge in North Dakota has given final approval to a $7 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit brought against Canadian Pacific Railway. The suit arose from a January 2002 derailment and chemical spill in that state, near Minot, that sent a deadly cloud over the area. The plaintiffs' attorney, Gordon Rudd, says checks could be in the mail by mid-November. The settlement, approved by U.S. District Judge Dan Hovland, does not affect people who have filed individual lawsuits against the railway. Canadian Pacific Railway attorney, Tim Thornton, said settling the class-action lawsuit "seemed like the appropriate thing to do'' and that the railway is "glad to have it resolved.''

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Less than a year after contaminated lettuce was blamed for making dozens of customers sick, Taco John's corporations in South Dakota and surrounding states are suing food suppliers for negligence. The class-action lawsuit, filed in federal court in Sioux Falls, seeks a jury trial and $5 million. The plaintiffs named are Taco John's corporations in Iowa, Minnesota, and North and South Dakota. Defendants are Bix Produce Company and Roma Food Enterprises. The cover sheet on the filing describes the cause of the action as "negligence in the handling of food." The U.S. District Judge agreed to seal the complaint, so little else about the initial filing is publicly available. It is unclear if the lawsuit is connected to last year's E. coli contamination, but The Associated Press reported in December that Taco John's International dropped Bix Produce as a supplier in the wake of that outbreak.

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According to an annual national ranking of state civil justice systems, California's class action law ranks 46th in the nation in fairness and reasonableness. The rankings were released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for Legal Reform. John H. Sullivan, president of the Civil Justice Association of California says, "Simply put, California has the fifth-worst class action law in the country and it's time for the Legislature to install balance and clarity and make this part of the civil justice system work for all Californians. Until the Legislature does, consumers will continue to pay for these lawsuits through higher prices of everyday goods and services." CJAC claims other states and Congress have passed reforms to improve their class action laws, yet California statutes have remained largely unchanged, giving neither judges nor lawyers clear guidelines for handing these cases. California is increasingly seen as a safe haven for opportunistic class action lawsuits, the group said.

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A class action lawsuit involving hundreds of Labrador City women who were exposed to tainted gynecological instruments appears to be resolved. The suit involved 327 women and was launched after they were told they would need to be tested for diseases such as HIV and hepatitis A and C. Lawyer Ches Crosbie says it's not certain that participants in the class action suit would have received more compensation. The women were informed in 2003 that they may have been exposed to infectious diseases while they underwent tests at the gynecological clinic at Capt. William Jackman Memorial Hospital in Labrador City. Brenda Rideout, a Labrador City resident who joined the action, said it's important for women to not be complacent about the care they receive. "We should make sure this kind of thing shouldn't happen," she said. "Just going and getting a simple test done isn't something where you should be putting yourself at risk for losing your life."

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The massive peanut butter recall brought hundreds of phone calls to a Fort Myers law firm. Now, a class action complaint has been filed with one of the firm's offices in Hendry County. However, it will represent people across the state. Hundreds of kids and adults are part of a statewide class action suit. Scott Weinstein, with the law firm of Morgan and Morgan, filed the complaint against peanut butter company ConAgra. "There are hundreds of individual files," said Weinstein. "If people can show they had medical expenses like going to the hospital or doctor because they had salmonella and a stomach problem, or prescriptions they needed to get, they need to be reimbursed."

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