News in Brief June 16 – FedEx, Fiat Chrysler and More

FedEx Settles Driver Wage Lawsuit

FedEx has agreed to pay $240 million to settle lawsuits in 20 states that claimed the company misclassified its drivers as independent contractors. Under the settlements, close to 12,000 class members will be able to claim part of their unpaid wages.

Saint-Gobain Sued Over Groundwater Contamination

Saint-Gobain Performance Plastic is facing a proposed class action claiming that it used a toxic chemical (perfluorooctanoic acid – PFOA) to make Teflon and, in turn, contaminated local groundwater. According to the lawsuit, several Saint-Gobain factories use PFOA – and the negligence of the factory operators has cost nearby residents. The residents are now forced to buy bottled water and are likely to see a loss in their properties’ value, according to the suit.

Lawsuit Claims Fiat Chrysler’s Uconnect Is Defective

Fiat Chrysler has been hit with a lawsuit claiming that the Uconnect systems in some of its vehicles are defective. According to the suit, consumers were deprived of some of the features promised with Uconnect version 6.5/RA4. Allegedly, the GPS navigation system and Weather Map applications don’t work properly (if they work at all) due to a software programming defect.

Lawsuit: Intuitive Sold Defective Medical Instruments

Intuitive Surgical has been hit with a proposed class action that claims the company’s defective medical devices injured patients. According to the lawsuit, Intuitive’s devices (which they designed, manufactured and sold to hospitals) caused metal debris to make its way to patient’s brains. The device in question wasn’t named in the complaint. The lawsuit is looking to compensate a group of ten unnamed people who underwent mitral valve repair surgery and were left with metallic fragments in their brains.