Justia Injury Law Opinion Summaries

Plaintiffs, 23 Liberian children, charge defendant with using hazardous child labor on its rubber plantation in violation of customary international law. The Alien Tort Statute, 28 U.S.C. 1350, confers on the federal courts jurisdiction over "any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States." The district court dismissed. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, despite disagreeing with the district court holding that a corporation cannot be held liable under the statute. The court also stated that the plaintiffs were not required to exhaust remedies in which alleged violations occurred. Plaintiffs did not establish an adequate basis for inferring a violation of customary international law; the company does not employ children, they work to help their parents meet quotas, and there was no evidence about work expectations for Liberian children living off the plantation.

A citizen of Illinois brought personal-injury claims against the driver of a tractor-trailer and his employer, citizens of Indiana, shortly before expiration of the limitations period. Service of process on the employer occurred eight months later. After the driver notified the district court that he had filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the district court stayed the case as to the driver, as required by the Bankruptcy Code, then dismissed the case against the employer with prejudice, finding that plaintiff failed to exercise reasonable diligence in serving process. The Seventh Circuit dismissed for lack of jurisdiction; dismissal of claims against the employer was not a final judgment because plaintiff continues to seek adjudication of his claims against the driver. The court noted that plaintiff has taken different positions with respect to the viability of the claim against the driver and has filed a state court suit against the driver.

In 1995, 14 years of applications and appeals, an ALJ found that the mine worker was entitled to black lung benefits, dated to 1981. The award was reversed in 1996. In 2000 the Seventh Circuit held that denial of a 1981 claim did not preclude the award and remanded. In 2001 an ALJ again awarded benefits. The company initiated proceedings for modification and refused to pay. In 2003 an ALJ denied the petition for modification; in 2004 the benefits review board reversed. The company, by then liquidated in bankruptcy, withdrew. The issuer of a surety bond, was notified, but did not intervene. The ALJ declined to hold the proceedings in abeyance. In 2008 a successor insurer filed a motion for conditional intervention in the modification proceedings. An ALJ granted the motion and the modification. In 2009 the miner died and the review board affirmed the modification, terminating benefits. The Seventh Circuit reversed. The modification proceeding should have been dismissed when the company ceased to be a real party in interest to serve as the proponent of modification, and the surety, which might have served as a real party in interest in support of modification, failed to seek timely intervention.

A citizen of Illinois brought suit against several non-Illinois companies and one Illinois company, alleging failure to warn with respect to side effects of Yazmin birth control pills. The defendants removed to federal court, claiming improper joinder. The district court dismissed the Illinois pharmacy owner, restoring diversity, and dismissed the suit after the plaintiff abandoned the case. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, applying the "learned intermediary doctrine" and reasoning that the pharmacy had no duty to warn, absent knowledge of a particular susceptibility. The "common defense" exception does not serve as a basis for remand because the plaintiff alleged that the other defendants concealed information.

The wife of a deceased coal miner argued that her claim for black lung benefits should be remanded to the administrative law judge (ALJ) because sect. 1556 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), Pub. L. No. 111-148 (2010) revived a presumption under the Black Lung Benefits Act (BLBA), 30 U.S.C. 901, that was not available when the ALJ denied benefits. The presumption states that if a miner was employed for 15 years or more in underground coal mines and other evidence demonstrates the existence of a totally disabling respiratory or pulmonary impairment, there is a rebuttable presumption that such miner is totally disabled due to pneumoconiosis, that his death was due to pneumoconiosis, or that at the time of his death he was totally disabled by pneumoconiosis. The presumption did not apply to the miner's claim, filed in 2001. The Seventh Circuit remanded, rejecting the coal company's arguments concerning due, process, retroactive application and unconstitutional taking.

The plaintiff stopped working in November, 2005, due to a variety of ailments, and filed a disability claim in August, 2007. The claim was denied in September. The plaintiff's appeal, received in April, 2008, 11 days after the stated 180-day deadline, was denied. She filed suit under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. 1132. A magistrate upheld the denial. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. The plaintiff failed to exhaust administrative remedies. The plan has a clear deadline; the plaintiff was not denied meaningful access to review procedures and did not allege that pursuing administrative remedies would be futile. The court rejected a "substantial compliance" argument, noting that the plaintiff did not offer an explanation for the late filing. The Plan was not required to show prejudice as a result of the delay to justify rejecting the claim. Letters sent by the plaintiff could not reasonably be construed as notice of appeal. The Plan has procedures to minimize conflicts of interest and its refusal to consider the appeal was not arbitrary.