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pCase01 = "In a potential class action, Kabateck Brown Kellner is representing a large group of ARCO/AMPM franchise owners against ARCO/BP. In this case, the franchises allege that ARCO/BP encouraged them to test a new inventory tracking system manufactured by a publicly-traded company called Retalix. Unfortunately, the software experienced serious and costly problems, including full system shutdowns, ghost transactions, non-compliant releases, and security vulnerabilities. After detecting and noting these problems, ARCO/BP shut down the pilot program in California, but reopened it on the East Coast. The problems persisted there. ARCO/BP was eventually sued by East Coast franchisees, and settled that case. Despite a mandatory "upgrade" to the program in California in 2009, the problems persist. The class action seeks injunctive relief against the company and compensation for further losses.";
pCase02 = " Kabateck Brown Kellner was co-lead counsel in historic litigation that resulted in tens of millions of dollars for families of victims of the Armenian Genocide. The Marootian v. New York Life Insurance Company (Case No. CV99-12073 CAS, United States District Court, Central District of Los Angeles) class action is the oldest resolved case in U.S. history: 90 years passed between the original events and the $20 million settlement. It is also the first recorded case addressing issues involving the Armenian Genocide.In a subsequent class action, Kyurkjian v. Axa (Case No. CV02-01750 CAS, United States District Court, Central District of Los Angeles), a $17.5 million settlement was secured against French insurance giant, Axa S.A. In each of these class actions, the insurers were made to fulfill their long overdue obligations to the heirs of the victims of the Genocide. Kabateck Brown Kellner is currently prosecuting claims on behalf of heirs of the Armenian Genocide arising from bank deposits and other assets held by Deutsche Bank, as well as insurance claims against Victoria Versicherung AG insurance company.";
pCase03 = " Citysearch is an internet search engine that many small businesses use to advertise. Unfortunately for them, these businesses are being billed by Citysearch for alleged fraudulent clicks on their advertisements. Kabateck Brown Kellner filed a class action complaint on behalf of small businesses that seeks damages for Citysearch's alleged practice of overcharging pay-per-click advertisers by charging the advertisers for fraudulent clicks.";
pCase04 = "Representing Florida boat owners in a class action against major gasoline companies for damages to boats caused by ethanol blended fuels. This case asserts that gas companies failed to warn that ethanol blended fuel, which has an affinity for water and \"phase separates\" into a gasoline and high concentration ethanol and water layer when contaminated with small amounts of water, can damage boat fuel tanks and engine parts. The case seeks recovery on a market share theory against all named gasoline companies, and seeks injunctive relief in the form of warnings by the gasoline companies of the effect of ethanol blended fuels on boats.";
pCase05 = "In August and September 2004, Hurricanes Charlie and Francis hit Volusia County, Florida, leaving a trail of destroyed homes and other properties. When these hurricanes occurred, many homeowners believed that their insurance coverage would provide help to rebuild and start over. Unfortunately, many insurance companies did not honor their agreements. Kabateck Brown Kellner has filed multiple bad faith actions against the insurance companies, and has recovered millions of dollars that these insurance companies initially refused to pay the homeowners associations, allowing homeowners to begin rebuilding their homes.";
pCase06 = " Kabateck Brown Kellner has two pending cases against search engine Google that alleges the internet colossus uses illegal practices to boost its advertising revenues. Advertising is the corporation's largest source of revenue. In order to advertise on Google, advertisers must sign up with Google's AdWords program. During this sign up process, Google allegedly fails to inform advertisers that by leaving an input form blank for advertising on third-party websites (which says \"optional\" next to it); advertisers will be billed for their ads appearing on third-party websites. The second case, RK West v. Google, Inc., was also filed on behalf of Google advertising customers to provide them with a remedy for Google's alleged practice of placing ads on \"parked websites,\" websites that only have ads and are a source of click fraud. When a customer receives a bill from Google, they only see the number of clicks and the amount which they owe; Google does not reveal from what websites the advertisements have been clicked on. This practice of non-disclosure leaves advertisers with no way of distinguishing between valid and invalid clicks from parked domains.";
pCase07 = "Hewlett-Packard (\"HP\") has the largest market share of printers and printer cartridges in the United States. HP makes a substantial profit from selling printer cartridges. In a series of class action cases filed on behalf of consumers by Kabateck Brown Kellner, it is alleged that HP has incorporated technologies that either prevent consumers from using all of the toner that they have purchased, or accelerate the use of toner in a manner that is not disclosed. As a result, HP makes a substantial profit at the expense of consumers. For inkjet printers, the lawsuit alleges that HP has designed many models to use color ink when printing black and white text or images, causing the printer to use expensive color toner even though the user is not printing a color image or text. In a separate case, the plaintiffs allege that HP has designed its printers and cartridges to shut down on an undisclosed \"expiration date\" which occurs before they have run out of ink. Kabateck Brown Kellner also represents consumers that have filed a class action alleging that HP has designed its laser printers to indicate that HP toner cartridges are empty, when in fact a significant amount of toner remains. The complaints also allege, depending on the printer model, that the user is either prevented from printing until a new cartridge is installed or the user has to follow a complex set of steps to override the shutdown mechanism.";
pCase08 = " Kabateck Brown Kellner, LLP represents the plaintiffs in a multi-billion dollar class action lawsuit against the Republic of Turkey. The lawsuit, which also targets The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey and T.C. Ziraat Bankasi as financial instruments of the Turkish government, charges that the Turkish government illegally confiscated property during the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923. The suit seeks class action status on behalf of all person of Armenians ethnicity who are residents of the United States and who had their property seized by the Turkish government.";
pCase09 = " Kabateck Brown Kellner, LLP represents the plaintiff in the prosecution of trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract claims involving Bookmark — the first piece of software designed to allow users to \"take a picture\" of their computer system's state and thereby auto-resume to exactly where they left off after a power failure, hardware breakdown or system shutdown.";
pCase10 = "In 2009, Kabateck Brown Kellner, LLP, filed suit against several drug-manufacturing and marketing corporations including GlaxosmithKline, SmithKline Beecham and McKesson Corporations, alleging that these corporations misrepresented the safety of a drug known as Rosiglitazone and marketed as Avandia that is commonly used to treat Type 2 Diabetes. Dozens of plaintiffs, either consumers of the drug themselves or heirs of deceased consumers, claim injuries caused by the drug’s fatal side effects that led to heart attacks, congestive heart failure and other serious cardiovascular incidents. Drug trials conducted by the defendants themselves as well as by outside doctors showed that patients consuming Avandia faced a 31% to 64% increased risk of cardiovascular problems that could result in death. Yet, according to the lawsuit, defendants deceitfully failed to warn about these adverse reactions, and even advertised the product as safe to consumers and their doctors. Plaintiffs seek monetary relief, including punitive damages, for causes of action that range from strict product liability for failure to warn to breach of warranty to fraud and wrongful death. This case has settled, pursuant to a confidential settlement agreement. However, we are still evaluating cases for those wishing to consult with an attorney.";
pCase11 = " Pharmaceutical manufacturer Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals is facing numerous lawsuits throughout the United States from women alleging that they have suffered serious personal injuries from using Bayer's popular oral contraceptives Yaz and Yasmin. The plaintiffs allege that Yaz and Yasmin caused them strokes, blood clots, and other health problems or put them at higher risk for these serious health issues. The plaintiffs further allege that Bayer knew, or should have known of these increased risks, because the FDA formally warned them of these risks in warning letters. Kabateck Brown Kellner has agreed to represent forty-eight women in pursuit of their claims against Bayer.";
pCase12 = " Recently, many airlines have increased the number and amount of fees they charge customers in addition to the price of the ticket. Among these fees is a so-called \"fuel surcharge.\" Kabateck Brown Kellner filed suit against several major airlines alleging a wide-ranging antitrust conspiracy to fix the level of so-called \"fuel surcharges\" on flights between the West Coast and Pacific and Asian countries. This case has been consolidated with others around the country and it is currently pending in the Northern District of California. Defendant Airlines include Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, EVA Airways, Japan Airlines International, Malaysia Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Quantas Airways, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, United Airlines.";
pCase13 = " Although a federal jury convicted former Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano of racketeering charges stemming from his use of illegal methods of investigating individuals for his high profile clients, the saga is far from over. Kabateck Brown Kellner is heavily involved in the pending civil process that seeks justice for Mr. Pellicano's victims; as well as punishment for those who aided Mr. Pellicano's conspiracy, but escaped prosecution in the criminal courts. Kabateck Brown Kellner has filed a class action suit against AT&T for its role in facilitating Pellicano's wiretapping scheme, which violated thousands of people's personal, legal and financial privacy. The case could potentially encompass a class of thousands, making AT&T liable for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. Kabateck Brown Kellner also represents several individuals in connection with the Pellicano matter, including: (1) Academy Award-winning actor Keith Carradine (\"Deadwood,\" \"Dexter\") and his wife in a suit against AT&T, his ex-wife, and Mr. Pellicano; (2) Donna Dubrow against Mr. Pellicano and her ex-husband John McTiernan, the director of such blockbusters as \"Die Hard,\" \"The Hunt for Red October,\" and \"The Thomas Crown Affair.\" There have been numerous articles on this matter, some of which include:
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/may/26/local/me-wiretap26;
http://www.newsweek.com/id/57001?tid=relatedcl;
http://www.allbusiness.com/services/legal-services/4464486-1.html;
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1141047297126;
http://articles.latimes.com/2006/mar/14/local/me-pellicano14";
pCase14 = "Prempro is a popular hormone replacement medication prescribed by physicians to alleviate the symptoms of menopause. A study performed by the National Institute of Health (NIH) determined that long-term use of Prempro may significantly increase the risk of cancer of the breast, heart attacks, strokes and blood clots. Wyeth, the manufacturer of Prempro, has now included in its labeling new guidelines that warn against using Prempro on a long-term basis. However, this new warning was issued after many women already commenced their use of Prempro and already developed the health problems identified in the NIH study. Kabateck Brown Kellner represents over 200 women against Wyeth who allege they suffered serious injuries as a result of their use of Prempro.";
pCase15 = "Illegal practices by lenders were one of the major causes to the housing crisis that our country is currently experiencing. Kabateck Brown Kellner represents homeowners in separate class actions against numerous lenders for selling Option Adjustable Rate Mortgage (\"Option ARM\") loans that allegedly violate the Truth in Lending Act and other laws. These cases allege that banks acted deceptively in selling Option ARM loans in two ways. First, the banks failed to disclose that the initial, low \"teaser\" interest rate resets almost immediately to a higher rate. Then to make matters worse, although the actual minimum monthly payments in an Option ARM usually remained fixed for the first few years, the \"teaser rate\" usually expires after the first month. As a result, borrowers making the monthly fixed, minimum payments set forth in their notes experience negative amortization on the loan because the payment amounts are less than the interest accruing on the loan that month. Thus, the homeowner gets deeper into debt, despite making regular payments. These cases seek to prevent widespread foreclosures and remedy the financial damage to homeowners caused by unlawful lending practices.";
pCase16 = "Vioxx is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) commonly prescribed for complaints of pain and inflammation caused by osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as general symptoms of severe pain. Research in June 2000 known as the VIGOR study discovered that compared to patients on naproxen, patients taking Vioxx had an increased risk of serious cardiovascular episodes, including heart attacks and strokes. The Wall Street Journal disclosed internal documents from Merck, the manufacturer of Vioxx, that showed Merck knew of the potential hazards of Vioxx for years, yet nevertheless suppressed this information and retaliated against the researchers that voiced negative opinions regarding the safety of Vioxx. Consequently, in September 2004, Merck withdrew Vioxx from the US market because of documented research showing an increased risk of cardiovascular problems including heart attacks, strokes and blood clots related to use of Vioxx. Kabateck Brown Kellner is in the process of securing settlements from a $4.85 billion global settlement fund for several hundred people with claims of injuries caused by taking Vioxx.";
pCase17 = "An action brought pursuant to California's Unfair Competition Law against defendant GlaxoSmithKline, Inc. (\"GSK\") for its false and deceptive promotion of its psychotropic drug \"Paxil.\" Plaintiff, who is seeking to represent a class consisting of all California consumers who purchased Paxil, alleges that GSK employed a systematic marketing campaign which, via uniform and material misrepresentations and omissions, promoted \"Paxil\" as \"non-habit forming\". Plaintiff's motion for class certification is presently pending in the Los Angeles Superior Court.";
pCase18 = "In October 2010, Kabateck Brown Kellner, LLP, filed suit against various pharmaceutical companies that marketed metoclopramide, a drug commonly used to treat various digestive disorders including acid reflux. Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had not approved this drug for long-term use, a dozen individual plaintiffs claim that the pharmaceutical companies intentionally failed to warn them and their doctors of known associated risks. In fact, as a drug only approved for short-term use, consumers should have been warned that they could not take it for longer than 12 weeks. Along the way, starting as early as 1989, plaintiffs claim that the drug companies failed to review or simply ignored warnings published in medical literature, including articles and epidemiological studies that reviewed side affects associated with the drug’s long term use. Claimants say that long term ingestion of this drug resulted in their suffering from permanently disabling neurological illnesses such as inability to control movements in their extremities, faces, tongues and mouth and in rapid eye blinking. Among other damages, the plaintiffs seek to recover their past and future medical expenses. This case is pending.";
pCase19 = " This case involves Service Advisors employed at various defendant owned and operated dealership and collision repair centers throughout the State of California. This class action is brought against Sonic Automotive for its unlawful policy and practice of not paying its Service Advisors proper overtime compensation, and for not providing for meal and rest periods, in violation of California Industrial Welfare Commission Orders 4-2000 and 4-2001 (as contained in the California Code of Regulations (8 Cal. Code Regs. Section 11170)), as well as California Labor Code sections 200, 223, 226.7, 500, 510, 512(a), 515, 1194, and 1198, and for violation of the California Business and Professions Code, sections 17200 et seq. Sonic Automotive Inc.’s alleged unlawful policy and practice has resulted in unpaid overtime and unpaid meal and rest periods to Plaintiff and the class.";
pCase20 = " Lexxiom, Inc., in cooperation with various attorneys across the country, has developed a scheme where consumers with high levels of credit card debt are convinced to signed up for debt negotiation services, believing that licensed attorneys would be handling their cases. In reality, non-attorney employees of Lexxiom, Inc. handle the debt negotiations, all while representing that they work for, or are under the supervision of, a licensed attorney. Victims of the scheme are advised by the law firm that is supposedly handling their case to stop paying their credit card bills and instead make payments into 'trust accounts' that can then be used to settle their debts. Payments into this trust account are often made for several years before any attempt to settle debts is made. During this time, debt levels increase dramatically and credit scores are ruined. Those who attempt to terminate their relationship with the defendants receive no refunds of the money paid into the 'trust account'. Even for those who have their debts settled, the fees paid to defendants negate any negotiated debt reduction. The suit seeks damages and injunctive relief for violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the California Unfair Competition Law, the California Consumers Legal Remedies Act, professional negligence and breach of fiduciary duty.";
pCase21 = "In February 2011, Kabateck Brown Kellner, LLP, filed a product liability lawsuit charging that various medical device makers such as Johnson and Johnson produced defective hip replacement products, the "ASR system," and failed to warn consumers about their known defects. Further, according to the lawsuit, defendants concealed aberrantly high rates of failure during five years of testing before finally recalling the device in August 2010. And, while other makers of similar devices carefully screened and trained surgeons in proper procedures to implant the artificial hips, the lawsuit claims that the ASR system makers instead focused on aggressive marketing with little regard for selecting and educating surgeons. Plaintiffs have suffered from the device breaking apart in their hips, causing debilitating pain and will have to undergo replacement surgery. According to a quote in a 2010 New York Times article, one of the two doctors named in the lawsuit admitted that he and the company that hired him had known of shortcomings with the device for years prior to the recall yet failed to do anything about it. This case is pending.";
pCase22 = " Kabateck Brown Kellner represents several plaintiffs that allege an ingredient in a dye used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedures caused them to develop Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF). NSF is a devastating condition for which there is currently no cure. Symptoms of the disease include high blood pressure, severe skin discomforts and irritations, and muscle and bone pains. NSF can eventually be fatal in some instances. NSF only develops in people with renal insufficiency who are exposed to gadolinium contrast dyes. This exposure often occurs during an MRI. The actions seek compensatory damages, medical expenses and other economic damages, as well as punitive damages. Kabateck Brown Kellner has already obtained a settlement for one plaintiff.";
pCase23 = "Kabateck Brown Kellner is representing over a thousand homeowners who suffered damage to their homes as a result of the recent southern California Wild fires. Farmers insurance has systematically and in bad faith either refused to pay valid claims or severely underpaid valid claims as a result of damages from these fires. KBK has filed 5 actions so far, stemming from fires in 2007, 2008, and 2009, and anticipates filing on behalf of hundreds of more Farmers policyholders who have been mistreated with regard to their claims from the 2009 Station fires.";
pCase24 = "Kabateck Brown Kellner, LLP, represents a family whose member, a young man, suffered fatal side effects from Accutane that was prescribed to treat his acne. Specifically, plaintiffs claims that Accutane, produced and marketed by defendants Hoffman La Roche, Inc., and Roche Laboratories, led to their family member’s depression and subsequent suicide. Plaintiffs contend that Accutane should have carried a warning label about the possible negative emotions that it could invoke. In proving that Accutane can result in depression, plaintiffs will rely upon the expert opinion of Dr. James Bremner, an expert in psychiatry and nuclear medicine who has performed research in this area.";
pCase25 = " Kabateck Brown Kellner has brought suit against various major auto insurance carriers on behalf of insureds who have been involved in an automobile accidents where their cars suffered a total loss. The cases allege that insurers have routinely and systematically underpaid insureds for the value of their totaled vehicle, including failing to pay the value of gasoline left in the insureds' cars at the time of their accident. The insurance companies sued include Mercury, AIG and Wawanesa. The actions seek economic damages, punitive damages, restitution, and injunctive relief on behalf of harmed policyholders and individuals.";