News in Brief March 24, 2016 – Trump, Toys and Testosterone

In today’s headlines, we find Donald Trump’s modeling agency (yes, that Donald Trump) escaping a class action, a judge refusing to consolidate product liability cases, and a toy company permanently barred from selling certain products.

Trump Model Class Action Falls Short

A class action claiming that Trump Model Management both underpaid its employees and engaged in wire fraud was dismissed from New York federal court on Wednesday. The case claimed that despite agreeing to pay its models a $75,000 annual salary, Trump Model Management paid less than the required minimum wage and took a portion of that income for fees such as dermatologist visits and limousine rides. The lawsuit was dismissed because the plaintiff failed to challenge the defense’s argument that she was paid above minimum wage or present the actual number of hours she worked.

Toy Maker Barred From Selling Dangerous Toys

Zen Magnets LLC has been barred from selling toys that have long been seen as hazardous, and even deadly, to children. This decision stems from a lawsuit that claimed Zen Magnets would repackage and sell recalled magnets from Star Networks LLC, along with several magnets of its own, in products such as Neoballs and Neocubes. Reportedly, at least one child has died from swallowing the magnets and many others have had to have them surgically removed from their stomachs. The judge found that Zen’s argument – that its new packaging and warnings made the recalled magnets an altogether different product – weren’t enough to allow it to keep selling them.

Testosterone Product Cases Are Not to Be Consolidated

A Pennsylvania judge has decided that several cases alleging that testosterone-containing products can cause heart attacks are not to be consolidated. The plan was to combine close to thirty similar cases to make it easier for them to be managed and to allow for coordination with the multidistrict litigation going on in Illinois. The reasoning for turning down the consolidation request was not given at the time of the decision.