PROTECT CONSUMER JUSTICE.ORG

Associated Press: A judge declared the statutory cap on non-economic damages unconstitutional because “the rights of a person to a remedy for an injury and to have that decided by a jury include the assessment of damages.”

New York Times: MetLife has agreed to pay $40 million after accusations it didn’t check its database of policyholders against Social Security death records to determine if it needed to send benefit payments to survivors.

Safety Research & Strategies: It’s not just Toyota that faces allegations of sudden unintended acceleration; Kia and Subaru have both reached confidential settlements regarding similar issues with their vehicles.

Associated Press: A Chinese drywall manufacturer has agreed to pay for repairs of about 4,500 homes ruined by contaminated product in a settlement that would also cover health problems stemming from the drywall.

Washington Monthly blog: An investigation by journalists found some members of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration committee of medical experts that looked into the potential dangers of the Bayer birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin had potential conflicts of interest.

Bloomberg: Chevy will use phosphate-based lithium ion batteries in its Spark, after three fires earlier this year involving batteries after crash tests of the Chevy Volt.

Washington Post: Members of two U.S. Food and Drug Administration committees voted that the labels now on the pills don’t provide adequate warning about the pills’ potential for causing blood clots.