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A federal NY judge certified a class-action lawsuit alleging major tobacco companies defrauded consumers by marketing “light” cigarettes as safer than regular brands. The class consists of anyone who purchased cigarettes labeled “light” or “lights” after they were put on the market back in the early 1970s. Defense attorneys argued that it should not have been certified as a class because it is impossible to determine the plaintiffs’ motives for buying light cigarettes without surveying each one.

A former OSHA area director claims “negligence and indifference to safety” led to a TX refinery explosion last year. The explosion killed 15 and injured hundreds as the result of “gross negligence” according to the ex-official’s report. The company strongly disagrees with his statements and plans to refute them in court.

A federal judge ruled, in a lawsuit against Haliburton, that he had no authority in second-guessing decisions made involving the conduct of war. The lawsuit alleged the company knowingly sent unarmed civilians into a danger zone that resulted in the death of several Haliburton subsidiary employees. The surviving truck drivers who filed suit plan to appeal the judge’s ruling.

A judge gave Merck & Co. permission to access a juror’s bank and cell phone records to determine the extent of his financial relationship with a Vioxx plaintiff who was awarded $32 million for the death of her husband. The juror testified in a pre-trial deposition to borrowing money from the plaintiff. Merck claims “highly suspicious” cell phone records indicate phone calls between the two occurred days after the juror received his jury summons and the day prior to jury selection.

A lawsuit over the collapse of a MS bridge in Stone County was upheld by the state Supreme Court. The lawsuit alleged the county was negligent in maintaining the bridge after the plaintiff suffered injuries when she drove off the collapsed portion. According to court documents, the county was warned about the bridge’s deteriorating condition at least twice a year from 1995 through 1999 by the State Aid engineer’s report and supervisors’ onsite inspections.

Women may experience a higher occurrence of blood clots in the legs and lungs if they opt to use a birth-control patch instead of a pill, according to the FDA. The label on the Ortha-Evra birth control patch has been updated to warn consumers of its risks after a study revealed users had twice the likelihood of clots. The Associated Press conducted an investigation last year that linked several blood clot related deaths and injuries to the patch.

California is suing the United States’ six largest automakers for vehicles whose emissions are causing global warming. The state complains that the automakers have created a “public nuisance” by producing millions of vehicles that emit dangerous levels of carbon dioxide. The lawsuit names U.S. operations of General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and a division of Chrysler.

The NY trade group for doctors is suing Oxford Health Plans and its parent company, United Health Group, for illegally coercing doctors into doing more business with them. According to the suit, Oxford and United told thousands of doctors that joining one of the two insurers’ networks would mean they’d have to join the other. The suit alleges the companies violated state anti-trust laws and laws governing unfair and deceptive trade practices.

Fifteen of the 53 victims of a Greyhound bus crash are suing the company for allowing an unfit driver to transport passengers. The plaintiffs claim the bus driver, who was one of five killed in the crash, was talking on his cell phone, listening to an iPod-like device, and falling asleep at the wheel. The attorney who filed the suit expects at least a dozen more victims to file a claim.

The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) has opposed Zurich American Insurance Co.’s class-action settlement claiming it would harm insurance buyers and independent agents. The company was sued over its broken compensation practices and is waiting for court approval of two settlements for $171.7 million and $152 million. In the PIA’s federal court request to decline approval, their disclosure claims the settlement is “inaccurate, violates existing state and common law, and is rife with serious and fatal flaws.”