Posts Tagged ‘ Class Action Lawsuit’

California Statute of Limitations Defined

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

Nearly everyone has heard the legal term “statute of limitations,” but not many people outside the legal industry fully understand what it means. The Irvine California personal injury attorney Samer Habbas makes client education a priority. To that end, here is a brief definition of California’s statutes of limitations.

Statutes of limitations exist in both the criminal and civil justice system in the U.S. For our purpose today, we will address the statute of limitations in civil proceedings. A “statute” is a law enacted by the legislature that puts a time limit on how long you have to pursue a legal remedy for wrongful conduct after the alleged conduct took place. After the statutory period for wrongful conduct has expired, the person injured by the conduct no longer has the right to file a lawsuit unless a legal exception applies to their particular situation.

People outside the legal professions are inclined to think that the statute of limitations is one concept applied to many different civil actions. However, there are many different statutes of limitations and exceptions, such as the statutes of limitations for the civil actions listed here:

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VIOXX® Class Action Suits Suffer Setback in California Courts

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

In a statement released on Pharmaceutical Online, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Victoria Chaney struck down a request to certify a class of consumers and insurers seeking reimbursement from drug manufacturer Merck over costs of VIOXX®. The ruling dashes the hopes of plaintiffs and insurance companies who sought the ability to conduct class-action suits seeking compensation for the pain medication’s tendency to increase the risk of heart attacks or strokes among long-term, high-dosage users.

At the heart of the ruling is the concept of legal and factual similarity between the claims. According to Judge Chaney, not enough similarity exists among the members of the class. Her ruling states that each plaintiff would need to show damages and other facts in the case on an individual basis. As a result, treating the plaintiffs as a class would offer limited benefits in reducing the time and cost of litigation, and the emphasis of a class-action case would focus on the differences between plaintiffs rather than on the similarities.

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