Thursday, October 15, 2009Last Update: 11:23 AM PT

     Lennar Renaissance built 259 defective homes in its Creekview development in Elk Grove, a class action claims in Sacramento County Court.

     HSBC Mortgage Service illegally collected interest on second mortgages it services, according to a $40 million class-action claim in Baltimore County Court.

     Pictometry International claims Geospan violates patent on its GeoVista system, which can measure ground features from aerial photographs, in Rochester, N.Y., Federal Court.

     e2Interactive claims Blackhawk Network violates its patent on a "system and method for authorizing stored value card transactions," in Madison, Wisc., Federal Court.

     A man claims he got Stevens-Johnson syndrome by taking Mylan Pharmaceuticals' drug Dilantin and West-Ward Pharmaceuticals' and Hikma Pharmaceuticals' phenobarbital and phenotoin sodium, in Oxford, Miss., Federal Court.

     Aspect Medical Systems is selling itself to Covidien for the unfair price of $210 million or $12 a share, though Aspect recently has sold at $12.01, shareholders say in Delaware Chancery Court.

     Phyllis Molchatsky and Steven Schneider sued the USA for $2.4 million, saying the SEC refused to perform its nondiscretionary functions in its so-called investigations of Bernard Madoff and his company, in Manhattan Federal Court.

     Alltell Communications pushes its cell phone services with spam that its victims have to pay for, a class action claims in Santa Clara County Court, San Jose.

     Newt Gingrich used her copyrighted photos without permission in his book, "Rediscovering God in America," Carrie Devorah claims in DC Federal Court.
     Devorah also sued Thomas Nelson publishers and its imprint, Integrity Publishers. She says the defendants knew or should have known her photos were copyrighted, as they appeared in her book, "God in the Temples of Government," which was published in 2003. Nelson published Gingrich's book in 2006.

     Eddie Van Halen claims California Board Sports violates his trademarked red, white and black guitar design by selling "Osiris Duffel-Halen" shoes, also in red, white and black, in San Diego Federal Court.

     Willsie Cap & Gown Co. discriminated against Hispanic workers by prohibiting them from speaking Spanish at work and firing them for complaining of OSHA safety violations, three workers say in separate complaints in Omaha Federal Court.
     
     Protection Plus Security Corp. told a lesbian employee she was "going to hell" because "the Bible condemns gay people," she says in a discrimination complaint in Passaic County Court, N.J.
     
     Class-action complaints alleging Labor Code violations have been filed against these defendants: Ralphs Grocery Co. and Kroger, and Valleycrest Landscape Development, in Los Angeles Superior Court; Caremark, in Alameda County Court, Oakland; Panella Trucking, and Foremost Superior Marble Co., in Sacramento Federal Court; Cort Detective Bureau, in Manhattan Federal Court; SSP America, in Brooklyn Federal Court; K&S Discount Food & Beverages, Priority One Financial Services, R&B Logistics, and Informa Support Services, in Tampa Federal Court; BJN Inc., Sabi LLC, and Dr. Jill's Foot Pads, in Fort Lauderdale Federal Court.
     (Companies not separated by commas are defendants in the same case.)

     These defendants sold fraudulent health insurance products that aren't really health insurance, Massachusetts claims in Suffolk County Court: Consumer Health Benefit Association, National Benefits Consultants, Guarantee Trust Life Insurance Co., and Vantage America Solutions.

     American Cellular Labs and Max Muscle Sports Nutrition mislabel steroids as dietary supplements, a class action claims in Sacramento Superior Court.
     The class claims the defendants mislabel their drugs they push under the names TREN-Xtreme, MASS Xtreme, ESTRO Extreme, AH-89-Xtreme, HMG Xtreme, MMA-3 XTreme, VNS-9 Xtreme, and IT-40-Xtreme, throughout the United States.

     Chicago Bears tight end Desmond Clark claims Bryce Karl, of Alberta, Ontario and Orem, Utah, took $400,000 from him to invest in Teton Air Ranch, a supposed airplane hangar business, and refuses to return the money as promised, in Orlando Federal Court.

      Volkswagen TDI engines from 1999 and 2000 clog with carbon through normal use and VW concealed the defect by telling dealers to call it a problem of "routine maintenance" not covered by warranty, a class action claims in King County Court, Seattle.

     Salix Pharmaceuticals' Osmoprep tablets, given before a colonoscopy, caused a woman's kidneys to fail, she claims in Tulsa County Court.