Law And More

Bayer & Roundup - Will It Settle?

To many constituencies, ranging from management experts to investors, the leadership at Bayer seems like a Ship of Fools. Meanwhile the stock has been on a sustained downward trajectory. 

Here are more details from The Wall Street Journal.

Less than a year ago Bayer purchased Monsanto, maker of Roundup. Not soon after, in a U.S. courtroom, Roundup was associated with a death from cancer. The verdict, which was reduced, had been $289 million.

More recently there had been a jury verdict of more than $2 billion. There remains 13,400 total plaintiffs. In terms of the stock, Bayer currently is worth less than the $63 billion it had paid for Monsanto. 

The question, as the WSJ, points out is: Will Bayer settle?

Essentially, Bayer is waiting to see how the appeals go - yes, it is appealing all verdicts - in order to get a clear picture of the legalities.

Also, a win could significantly affect its perception of where it stands legally.

There is also the reality that around the world, regulatory agencies find the active ingredient in Roundup - glyphosate - safe. That includes the EPA in the U.S. 

In addition, investors want to have put on the board those who understand U.S. litigation and crop science. 

Also, the elephant in the room is that Roundup is still being sold. There are commercials for it on U.S. network television.

For now, leaders of the company will probably keep their jobs. That's primarily because the financial and branding situation is so severe that it would be more risky to have a management shakeup than just cruise along.

The Bayer perfect storm, to use the cliche, is one which would make a fascinating case study for U.S. public relations crisis experts. 

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Lawyers Stuck with Intrusive Traumatic Memories - What Neuroscience Has Discovered (and monks always knew)

Forgetting is what we victims of PTSD yearn for. Not fear, as with those who carry the Alzheimer's gene. Here and here are at the top of the list of what I hope to strategically forget.

On this front, Axios hammers there is good news from neuroscientists. Here is that special report, hot off the press an hour ago. In a nutshell, we stuck in past trauma can get the hang of bringing up memories and inputting new information that override the hardened memories.

Quanta Magazine is among the growing number of publications explaining what neuroscientists have been discovering about what's called "actively forgetting." Here it notes:

"One form of active forgetting that scientists formally identified in 2017 is called intrinsic forgetting. It involves a certain subset of cells in the brain ... that degrade the engrams in memory cells."

Essentially, this is a process. What neuroscientists speculate about it is that it could constitute the decay of the links among neurons which imprint the memory. 

Actually, this is not new.

In 2003, I began an amazing journey of cognitive therapy with Amy Karnilowicz in West Hartford, Connecticut. Our objective had been to reframe how I perceived the world and created ways of reimagining my behavior. Yes, together we were rewiring my brain. 

And, for centuries, Buddhist monks have been helping the suffering through meditation which also rewires the brain.

That ability of the brain to change, sometimes radically, is called "neuroplasticity."

Around mid 2012 I began training in mindfulness at the Zen Center in New Haven, Connecticut. I might or might have rewired my brain.

But by early 2014 I was on the I-95 ramp heading west out of the pricey New York Metro area. I had the insight and courage to start over again - both my business and my life when over-60. Aside from one speedbump, I have been thriving. 

Buddhist teachers also provide exercises such as "cutting the cord" to reduce the distraction of intrusive negative memories.

But there are those traumas I haven't been able to shake. My career coach wisely told me not to discuss them with others. So, that has stopped. However, the pain from the flashbacks is still disabling. 

Neuroscience is offering hope that we can parachute out of most of that into a more Hallmark type of daily thought processes. I am alert for notices of clinical trials in my area. The journalist still in me will find a way to report on them.

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

"Jane Smith, et al. v. United Healthcare and United Behavioral Health" - America No Land for Mental Illness/Addiction

Patrick Kennedy, son of Ted Kennedy, was the champion on this one: He helped push into law the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act.

Supposedly that was to create a level playing field in how healthcare insurers covered mental illness and sundry compulsions, including drug-taking. 

As Bloomberg reports in a major article, that's not what has been unfolding.

Over the phone and in the legal system there is a brutal battle to receive treatment which is paid in full or in part by insurance.

A recent high profile lawsuit has been the class action "Jane Smith v. United Healthcare Insurance Co. and United Behavioral Health." Here is a copy of the complaint. So far it's been a victory for the plaintiff class but few expect that decision to endure. A decertification of the class is anticipated on appeal. 

In that litigation, reports Modern Healthcare:

"A federal judge ruled ... that United Behavioral Health breached its fiduciary duty to patients by using unreasonable and overly restrictive guidelines to make coverage decisions for tens of thousands of mental health and substance abuse patients."

Meanwhile, as Bloomberg hammers, America is in a mental health and addiction crisis. All too frequently that ends in suicide. To that we can add: Violence in schools, the workplace, and churches.

Yet, the elephant in the room is the question: What is effective treatment for mental illness and abuse of substances, be it booze or food (or the lack of food as in anorexia)?

So little is still known about that. Among the families of those with those syndromes there are familiar stories of the young adult having 30-day (expensive) stays in multiple rehab facilities - and continually relapsing. Death is not uncommon. That can happen through what appears to be an "accidental" overdose or suicide. 

Also, there is the issue of transparency. As I explain in this article, both insurers and clients must demand more detailed information about the mindset of the healthcare professional, what clinical approaches are being used, why, the expected outcomes, progress so far, and what alternatives are being considered. 

The insurers are not necessarily the bad guys.

Perhaps the real villain is the lack of useful research on what works and what doesn't. Obviously, not much is working.

That even applies to the "free" mode of treatment - Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Too often it is the model for treatment in rehab centers. Stays at those rehabs can be billed at a thousand bucks a day. In a very real sense we are all paying for that.

Also, courts continue to "sentence" substance abusers to AA.

However, AA's success rate, according to addiction specialists, ranges between 8% and 12%. Now classic is the 2105 The Atlantic article analyzing the poor track record of AA. Here is that manifesto. 

Sure, let the court cases continue. Legal rulings have been a game-changer in America.

But perhaps what might be the most productive move would be to conduct a multi-disciplinary investigation (including hard-nosed business types) of what is going on in understanding, treating, and paying the bill for mental illness and substance abuse. 

Until answers are found families will be in turmoil, careers will be derailed, violence will occur, and lots of folks will die. That's just the way it is. But that's not the way it has to be. 

Full Disclosure: From age 11 I have suffered chronic clinical depression. You bet, along the way I received pricey but what I assess as unhelpful treatment. What has been effective is no-cost mindfulness. When my mood is darkening, I stop my day and meditate for two or three minutes. I was trained in mindfulness, without any fee, at the Zen Center, near Yale, in New Haven, Connecticut. 

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings - Code in Television for Depicting Character as "Troubled"

It's a lazy producer's standard trick: Panning the camera on Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings to signal that character X or Y is troubled. 

Tonight the camera doing the AA meeting panning was on "Chicago P.D."

That's how the episode kicked off. A member of the elite unit was in attendance. A woman's voice was discussing the Fourth Step, that is taking a fearless inventories of one's wrongs. Also articulated was the AA meme that members are as sick as their secrets.

Launched in the 1930s, AA has become the universal symbol for the struggle of dealing with problem drinking. Opioids are getting much media attention. However, as CNN reports, one out of eight people abuse alcohol.

Leveraging AA as a quick way of referring to all the ramifications of excessive drinking has gone on and on. That is despite the pile on of critical articles about the overall ineffectiveness of the approach. The most influential analysis of what is out of date with the AA assumptions and treatment plan had been published in The Atlantic. Here it is.

Among what's wrong with the AA way of recovery is that it is time-consuming. Those new in recovery are advised to attend 90 meetings in 90 days. In addition, it is also recommended they confer regularly with an AA sponsor. They are also encouraged to do service work. 

However, the success rate is low.  Severe critics put it at a mere 5%. Addiction specialists estimate it to be between 8% and 12%. That is still low.

Since the 1930s, science has come a long way in understanding the brain. Addiction experts have also created alternates to the standard provided by AA. 

However, pop culture is stuck in the past. So are many courts which still "sentence" DUIs to AA meetings. They have to get papers signed by the AA facilitator to document attendance.

It would be a public service if producers begin showcasing other kinds of recovery models.

In addition, those on the front lines of reforming sentencing might establish a committee to operate a pilot study comparing different types of recovery options which will be provided by courts. Addiction experts could loop in and explain the pros and cons of the choices to the defendant. 

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

Post "Pilliod v. Monsanto" Roundup Verdict - Investors Frantic, Plaintiffs Unlikely to Settle

The $2 billion jury award for punitive damages in the "Pilliod v. Monsanto" Roundup litigation was as much a neck-snapper as the$140 million one in "Hogan v. Gawker."

The latter resulted in Gawker's going bankrupt.

Things don't look a whole lot brighter for Bayer, the parent of Monsanto.

This Pilliod verdict was the third big one to go against Bayer. The Wall Street Journal reports that Bayer will appeal all three.

Meanwhile, the implications of this most recent award are grim for Bayer.

In Europe, on the Dax index the stock plunged 2.3%. That follows its previous downward trajectory as investors become increasingly skeptical that the leaders at Bayer knows what they are doing. The only recent bright sign on the horizon in the management of company is the sale of Coppertone. 

Also, the whopper of a verdict, The Wall Street Journal notes, likely will deter the remaining 13,400 plaintiffs from settling.

It is usually in the defendant's monetary and branding self-interest for the plaintiff to settle on a confidential basis. But right now that doesn't seem like it will happen in the Roundup litigation. 

Lawyer Charles Harder emerged a star from "Hogan v. Gawker." Likewise Brent Wisner of law firm Baum Helund could be on his way to celebrity status. 

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

Monsanto Roundup - CA Jury Awards $2B in Punitive Damages

Bayer might go down in business history as making a very dumb move acquiring Monsanto.

For the third time Monsanto has been hit with a huge monetary verdict against it.

In the California trial, beginning March 28th, the jury awarded $2 billion in punitive damages to Alva and Alberta Pilliod. They had used the herbicide Roundup and contended it has been a significant factor in acquiring non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.  Here are more details from Law.com.

Brent Wisner of law firm Baum Hedlund represented the plaintiffs. Here is the background information on the litigation from that law firm. 

According the the coverage in Law.com, Monsanto indicated it was disappointed in the verdict. It noted that the plaintiffs had a series of other ailments. However, it did not say if it would take any further action.

On the ABC evening news David Muir featured this verdict. 

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

 

"Holly Atkinson, et al. v. Prabhjot Singh, et al." - Alleged Gaslighting

Some bits of litigation resonate in the collective unconscious. And make for major media stories. 

One of them could be "Holly Atkinson, et al. v. Prabhjot Singh, et al." 

That because it alleges "gaslighting" or the deliberate effort to have others doubt their sanity.

Who hasn't been a victim of that at home, school, on the job, and/or in a romantic relationship?  

In addition, the alleged masters of the gaslighting are or were big wigs at the prestigious Arnhold Institute for Global Health (AIGH), which is part of the Mount Sinai Health System's Icahn School of Medicine in New York City.

Put the two together and this is one lawsuit which the defendants, if guilty, should not want to go to trial. They should push for a rapid settlement. The longer this unresolved complaint is out there the more damage can be done to the careers of the defendants and the brand of AIGH as well as Mount Sinai.

Here is coverage by Science Magazine of that lawsuit, filed in federal court April 26th, 2019.

And here is a copy of the 174-page complaint. When you read the lawsuit, you will notice that Mount Sinai Health System is named as a defendant.

Essentially, the complaint alleges discrimination based on gender, age, race, religion, and national origin. The game, the seven female and one male plaintiffs contend, was that the director - Prabhjot Singh - who was hired in 2015 made it his business to drive out older female employees and hire younger males.

Singh, along with his chief of staff - David Berman - allegedly used gaslighting tactics, in hopes that the women would resign. In an article in Psychology Today by Stephanie Sarkis, Ph.D., "gaslighting" is defined as:

" ... a tactic in which a person or entity, in order to gain more power, makes a victim question their reality."

Dr. Sarkis notes that is more effective than most assume. Usually it starts out slowly. The victim is unaware that the manipulation method is being used - usually until it is too late. The suffering can be profound.

Among the alleged approaches inflicted at AGIH was having physician and former medical journalist - Holly Atkinson demoted. She had built and directed the human rights program there. If she wanted to remain employed at AGIH she was told she would have to had to take a $60,000 pay cut. Her new job responsibilities including maintaining a Mailchimp list. 

Some plaintiffs took notes during their interactions with the AGIH leadership in order to confirm for themselves that such and such a direction was given at the time. Later that was made not to seem what had previously been ordered.

In addition to alleged discrimination, the complaint contends Singh did not tell the truth to funders about the status of a software project and did not have the mandatory reviews for some research initiatives. Those are issues which come up in plot lines of the pop culture hospital shows. 

Depending on how much attention this lawsuit receives in the general and scientific media, "Atkinson v. Singh" could rock the medical community. 

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Case Strategy - Beyond AI to Psychic Training

Over and over again, Steve Jobs told his illegitimate daughter Lisa two things.

One, that he would someday be famous.

And, two, that he would die young.

Both happened. That's what Lisa recounts in her memoir "Small Fry."

So, what's up for grabs is the assumption that Jobs had been psychic.

The stretch from that is that such an ability to intuit the future helped with his product development.

He could envision how a user-friendly personal computer would change how and where work is done. He could also imagine fusing that computer with a phone. 

It's likely that everyone has psychic powers. But not everyone opens the self to them. 

Salem, Massachusetts clairvoyant Laurie Cabot made it her mission to help woman gain access to that ability. Her book is "The Witch in Every Woman." Here it can be ordered from Amazon.

Mindfulness coaches essentially do the same thing.

Practicing psychics such as at Angelica of the Angels in Salem, MA guided me on how to unleash that power in myself. In addition, I enrolled in formal classroom exercises.

Lawyers can start out with booking a reading at Angelica.

Soon enough when lawyers are immersed in the strategy of a trial they will have another resource in addition to Artificial Intelligence. It's training their consciousness to pick up messages from wherever.

That can be a continual process.

In the actual courtroom they can flip the switch to receive input from other dimensions. Next, members of the legal team connect the dots in real time. 

Reflection: Should law schools provide an elective on psychic intelligence? Students at Harvard Law School aren't far from Salem. Meanwhile they can take a class in psychic phenomenon there. 

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

Pelvic Mesh - $120 Million Verdict Smackdown on Johnson & Johnson by Philly Jury

Another Gawker type verdict?

Recall the jury in "Hogan v. Gawker" awarded the plaintiff $140 million. Consequently, the defendant went out of business.

Could that kind scenario happen on a much larger scale to BigPharma player Johnson & Johnson?

In Law.com, Max Mitchell tells us what has gone down so far in the jury case of the pelvic mesh in Philadelphia. The facts still aren't all in yet and J&J's response is unknown.

Essentially, the case, as with much of the opioid litigation and criminal prosecution, is about failure to adequately warn.

Late yesterday, after a three-week trial, the jury in Philadelphia made up its mind about J&J's Ethicon product - TVT-O Pelvic Mesh. The lead plaintiff was Susan McFarland. The jury decided there was not enough warning about the risk. Its verdict included an award of $20 million in compensatory damages and $100 million in punitive damages.

The plaintiffs were represented by lawyers from Kline & Specter. The defendant was primarily represented by Beck Redden.

This win for the plaintiff has been only one among many in the Philly area. Also there had been a $9.9 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by the attorney general in the state of Washington. 

A week ago, though, also in Philly, there had been a jury verdict for the defendant.

One aspect of this kind of litigation that makes it high profile is that the product is still on the market. That's the way Ethicon has been playing it. The liability risk therefore can grow and grow. Could J&J go out of business? Not unthinkable.

Meanwhile its brand is tarnished. Given the opioid epidemic, shade has been thrown on all pharma.

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

 

 

 

The State Attorney General - Genius in Filing Public Interest Lawsuit

Both the pelvic mesh litigation against J&J in Washington and the opioid lawsuit in Ohio regarding opioids had similarities.

Both were filed by the state attorney general.

In WA that was Bob Ferguson.

In OH it was Mike DeWine who later successfully ran for state governor.

Some recall how Rhode Island attorney general Sheldon Whitehouse catapulted to fame with his lawsuit against the former lead paint companies. Today he's a U.S. senator. Eventually the RI Supreme Court tossed the lawsuit but Whitehouse was already on an upward trajectory. 

Launching a high-profile lawsuit in the public interest can be a genius move for a state attorney general. The media, which tends to be liberal, can position and package him or her as a superhero on behalf of the people. 

Also, both lawsuits focused on the marketing aspect. According to the WA lawsuit, the safety of the product allegedly had been misrepresented. There was also an allegation that it was pitched directly to consumers.

In the OH one of the main allegations was that the risks weren't properly described in the marketing outreach.

In addition, both had settled.

Law.com reports:

"Johnson & Johnson's Ethicon Inc. unit has agreed to pay nearly $10 million to Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson to settle the first lawsuit brought by a state over its transvaginal mesh devices."

If J&J is wise it will have its public relations representatives present decision as the right thing to do. That concept has been used so often, including for eating oatmeal for breakfast, that it is meaningless. But its utility in messaging is still possible.

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com