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Settlement could pay $657M to WTC rescuers, recovery workers who sued over Sept. 11 illnesses	Claims
NEW YORK _ After years of fighting in court, lawyers representing the city, construction companies and more than 10,000 ground zero rescue and recovery workers have agreed to a settlement that could pay up to $657.5 million to responders sickened by dust from the destroyed World Trade Center.

WSJ(3/12) Examiner: Lehman Torpedoed Lehman	Management Liability
A federal judge released a scathing report on the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. that singles out senior executives, auditor Ernst & Young and other investment banks for serious lapses that led to the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

AIG, Federal Czar Reach Deal on Bonus Pay to Be Returned	Insurers
American International Group has reached an agreement with the Obama administration's compensation czar to pay back the remaining money employees agreed to return last year after an uproar over bonuses at the insurance giant, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.

Advisen MSCAd Featured Case: $19 Million Settlement In 'Glass Ceiling' Suit

Liability

The Outback Steakhouse chain's parent company, OSI Restaurant Partners, LLC, will pay $19 million to settle a gender discrimination class-action lawsuit tried in Colorado. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sex bias lawsuit was filed in September 2006 under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. According to the complaint, female employees at Outback failed to get promoted to higher-level, profit-sharing management positions at the restaurants. The EEOC further claimed that women were denied favorable job assignments, particularly in kitchen management, which was a requirement for employees being considered for top management jobs in the Outback restaurants. (MSCAd Case Id. 633921)

Mondaq.com: Data Security Breaches Cost Real Money [Mondaq.com]	Liability
Reprinted with permission from FindLaw.com. A recent study relating to data security breaches in the United States shows that total per-incident costs are substantial.

Seasonal worker entitled to workers' comp, says South Carolina Supreme Court [Lawyers USA]	Workers Compensation
An employee is entitled to compensation for injuries sustained when he fell on a wet sidewalk at housing supplied by his employer, the South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled in reversing trial court. The plaintiff, who is a legal resident, was recruited as a seasonal worker and moved from Florida to South Carolina to work in a tomato packing house.

UPDATE:Judge Declines To Stay Arbitration In Chevron-Ecuador Dispute	Environmental
By Chad Bray. Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES. A U.S. judge declined Thursday to stay an international arbitration in a dispute between Ecuador's government and Chevron Corp. over who should pay for alleged environmental damages in the country's Amazon region.

US Rep. Campbell: New Bill Would Let RRGs Write Commercial Property	Regulation
Risk retention groups would be allowed to write commercial property coverage in a new bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. "It's going to give property owners a completely new option available to them to insure their property," Campbell told BestWire. For existing commercial insurers, he said "it creates a new competitor."

Miss. jury: Lawyers committed fraud in lawsuit	Liability
JACKSON, Miss. Illinois Central claimed McComb attorneys William Guy and Thomas Brock knew their clients lied about being involved in earlier asbestos litigation when they were questioned during the railroad lawsuit. Guy served two terms as a state representative in the late 1960s and 1970s before moving to the Senate for one term.

Les Schwab pays $2 million to settle EEOC suit	Liability
SEATTLE -- Les Schwab Tire Centers, one of the largest automotive businesses in the West, has agreed to pay $2 million to settle claims it refused to hire qualified women who applied for jobs changing tires. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued the company four years ago in U.S. District Court in Seattle.

Appeals Court Rejects SEC Theory on Implied Misstatements	Regulation
A federal appeals court has rejected for the first time a legal theory put forth by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that underwriters can violate the law simply by referencing false or misleading materials about investment products such as mutual funds.

Mondaq.com: Social Networking Attacks: Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid? [Mondaq.com]	Liability
Reprinted with permission from FindLaw.com. Social networking, via sites like Facebook and Twitter, is the current big thing. The report reveals a recent increase in attacks through social networking sites due to a use of abbreviated URLs. The overall results of the recent Security Labs Report are sobering.

Class action allowed in Cargill plant wage fight	Liability
SCHUYLER, Neb. Several similar lawsuits are pending against other meatpacking companies in Nebraska. The plaintiffs say Cargill fails to pay its hourly workers for the time they spend dressing in protective gear, sanitizing tools, and walking to and from work stations, among other things.

WSJ(3/12) U.S. Weighs Stricter Car-Safety Rules	Regulation
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is considering new rules for the design of automobiles, including possible requirements that cars be equipped with advanced-brake technology and "black boxes" that record crash data, the top U.S. highway-safety regulator said Thursday.

Texas officials sued over whooping crane deaths	Environmental
DALLAS -- A conservation group's lawsuit filed Thursday blames Texas environmental regulators for a record die-off of endangered whooping cranes, alleging water-use policies left the birds starving and without water.