Headlines

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recently distributed to all regional VA offices a 30-page training letter detailing a new policy for the offices to use when determining benefits for veterans who have been exposed to environmental hazards while on duty. Among the environmental hazards named are the burn pits…

On May 7, 2010, U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano issued an order in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey regarding the bankruptcy case, In re Congoleum Corp., 09-cv-4371, and the dispute that has been a source of contention in the case over payments to Motley Rice member Joe Rice and Perry Weitz of…

Reuters reports on the Delaware Court of Chancery's recent opinion regarding the proposed going-private merger between PLATO Learning, Inc. and Thoma Bravo, LLC.

A deep-sea wellhead about 40 miles southeast of the Louisiana coast became unstable due to mounting gas pressures before suffering an explosion on Tuesday, April 20, 2010, that resulted in a massive oil spill that has had a destructive effect on the Gulf region's economy and those who depend upon the coast's…

A putative class action lawsuit has been filed in the state of Mississippi by George W. Schmidt, II of Schmidt Law Firm and co-counsel firm Motley Rice LLC against BP p.l.c. and several other drilling defendants in connection with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, April 20…

On Friday, May 28, 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives passed language that directs the Secretary of Defense to report on the possibility of creating an active registry for service members and veterans who have been exposed to occupational and environmental hazards, including burn pits.

Two former nuclear enriching facilities in Pennsylvania's Parks Township-Apollo area are facing federal lawsuits filed on Friday, May 28, 2010, by 15 area residents who allege that facility operations caused illness and death resulting from such factors as environmental contamination and chemical exposure.

Motley Rice filed putative class actions against BP, Transocean, Halliburton and numerous other defendants in connection with the BP oil spill that began in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, April 20, 2010.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, tarballs resulting from the BP oil spill have begun to come ashore east of Pensacola, and ecotourism businesses in South Florida may already be feeling the impact. Some in the industry say that advanced bookings have dramatically decreased since the oil…

The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) announced on Wednesday, June 9, 2010, that they have joined institutional investors Amalgamated Bank and Manville Trust as plaintiffs in a shareholder lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, West Virginia against Massey Energy officers and…