News in Brief: March 23, 2016 – Lumber Liquidators, Busch and More

Today, we have reports of a wage and hour settlement, a sleepy juror, low tolerance for a watered down beer suit, black box warnings and (surprise, surprise) Lumber Liquidators finds itself in the headlines yet again.

Interstate Hotels Settles into $1.4 Million Missed Break Payout

Interstate Hotels has agreed to pay $1.4 million to settle claims that it failed to give employees proper meal and rest breaks. Employees at Interstate Hotels’ Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in Los Angeles reportedly weren’t paid for the hour of break time they should have had – but didn’t take – during shifts that sometimes lasted up to 12 hours. The settlement will cover a class of 1,450 current and former employees who worked at Westin Bonaventure between November 14, 2010 and March 15, 2016.

Juror Dismissed For Sleeping During GM Ignition Trial…Again

Yes, a second juror in the General Motors ignition switch bellwether trials has been dismissed for sleeping on the job. Despite reportedly valiant efforts to stay awake and pay attention, juror number one was excused from the trial. The jury is now left with eight members, five men and three women.

Anheuser-Busch Wins Alcohol Content Class Action

In the summer of 2014, a multidistrict litigation against Anheuser-Busch was dismissed. About a year later, an appeals court took another look at the case and decided that the decision was the right one. The suit had claimed that Anheuser-Busch watered down its beers and then lied about the alcohol content. The judge, however, found that federal alcohol regulations permit some variation when it comes to how the products are labeled. The Federal Alcohol Administration Act allows a difference of up to 0.3 percent from the percentage listed on the label, whether it was done intentionally or not.

Opioids Now Require FDA Black-Box Warning

The Food and Drug Administration has announced that it will now require black box warnings on opioids, which include opiates and other substances that produce morphine-like effects on the body’s opioid receptors. The warnings are in response to the FDA’s concern over increasing problems with addiction to prescriptions including oxycodone, hydrocodone and morphine. These types of drugs will now carry labels that state they should only be used by patients with severe enough pain to require them, dosing instructions, and guidelines for which treatments they aren’t appropriate for.

Lumber Liquidators Settles with the State

Before we get too far into this, I have to say that this settlement isn’t for the class actions that were brought against Lumber Liquidators on behalf of consumers. The $2.5 million Lumber Liquidators is paying now is to settle claims brought against the company by the state of California. This resolves claims that the company sold imported flooring that exceeded the California Air Resources Board formaldehyde limits – but, again, none of the $2.5 million will be going to consumers.