Headlines

The Delaware Court of Chancery has issued an opinion in a shareholder lawsuit seeking to enjoin the proposed going-private merger of PLATO Learning, Inc. (NASDAQ: TUTR) and subsidiaries of Thoma Bravo, LLC.

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 Weitz & Luxenburg for their role as claimants' counsel in negotiating the global settlement against Congoleum.

For the fifth time since its inception, Lawdragon™ has named Motley Rice founding member Ron Motley to its <i>Lawdragon™ 500 Leading Lawyers in America</i> list for 2010. A first time recipient of this honor, Motley Rice member Jodi Flowers was also named to the 2010 list for her exceptional contributions to the practice of law.

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 used for waste disposal on military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Reporting on burn pits that have often been used as a method of waste disposal on U.S. military bases in both Iraq and Afghanistan, Dan Rather speaks with soldiers, veterans, doctors and other experts to explore the potential health risks posed by burn pits and investigates the claims of those who have alleged a link between their illnesses and exposure to burn pit emissions during their service abroad.

Researchers in a recent study found that pregnant women taking the drug bupropion, formerly known as amfebutamone, may have an increased risk of having a baby born with a specific type of heart defect. Initially researched and marketed as the antidepressant Wellbutrin, buproprion was subsequently found to be an effective smoking cessation aid and is also marketed as the smoking cessation drug Zyban.

Attorney Anne Kearse will serve as a guest speaker on Tuesday, May 18, 2010 at the 11th Annual Forum on Litigating and Managing Asbestos Claims, an American Conference Institute event.

Co-founder Joe Rice will serve as a guest speaker at the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems.

Asbestos attorney John Herrick will be speaking at PALS 2010, the Plaintiffs' Asbestos Litigation Co-Counsel Seminar held annually by The Hoffman Law Firm.

In recognition of the thousands of Canadian workers who have been killed, injured or suffered illness due to workplace-related hazards, Motley Rice honors Canada's National Day of Mourning, also known as Workers' Memorial Day, and its mission to both commemorate those who have been hurt or lost their lives on the job and advocate for stricter health and safety standards in the workplace.