Legal Blog: Anita Loya Needed A Lawyer

kroger has a lot more lawsuits and pending lawsuits against them than walmart has and no one complains about that.why?why is it anyones business what wm does?

...kroger has a lot more lawsuits and pending lawsuits against them than walmart...

The earth is flat, the moon is made of green cheese, and Elvis is alive and the head of the CIA.

Lawsuits are a millstone around the neck of the Beast of Bentonville. This from Wal-Mart’s annual report a couple of years back:

“The Company (Wal-Mart) is involved in a number of legal proceedings, including antitrust, consumer, employment, tort, and other litigation. The lawsuits discussed below, which are among the matters pending against the Company, if decided adversely, may result in liability material to the Company’s consolidated financial statements.”

...liability material to the Company’s consolidated financial statements. You have to love the sound of that.

pulling my head out of my ass would mean facing reality about wm.fear of the real world has me lying to myself and you as a way to be emotionally secure.wm became the only real job ever meaningful to me because of the wm cheer and when they fired me it created mental obsession of how great they must be.my life would be crushed and wasted if wm did not exist.can you imagine life without wm.

“...liability material to the Company’s consolidated financial statements. “ Ken V~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Ken,perhaps that is yet ANOTHER reason for quantity fade in the significantly decreasing numbers of new Superstores,in favor of expansion abroad,where the likelihood of being successfully sued is significantly lessened.

What Will the Next 10 Years Bring Us?

I believe Ken alluded to those photos that Wal-Mart keeps hanging around at the Home Office...you know… the photos of all those CEO’s who are supposedly gunning for Wal-Mart’s profits?

I think they should take them all down and replace them with the photos of of the following.  I’m sure RDS would be pleased to see an exhibit that honors some of the people that have done so much for the capitalistic system he keeps defending.  Got a few of your own you’d like to add to this list, RDS?

This is not an official ranking… that’s so hard to do when you consider everything that these individuals have sacrificed to make America the truly great place it is!

1.  Lee Scott......................Wal-Mart
2.  David Glass..................Wal-Mart
3.  Thomas Coughlin..........Wal-Mart
4.  Ken Lay (Enron: yeah he’s dead...so what?)
5.  Jeffrey Skilling..............Enron
6.  Bernie Ebbers...............Former World Com CEO
7.  Dennis Kozlowski..........Former Tyco CEO
8.  Angelo Mozilo...............Countrywide CEO

and rounding out the 1st 10....

9. Ralph Cioffi...................formerly with Bear Stearns
10. Matthew Tannin...........formerly with Bear Stearns

funny ken you have no answer to my claims on your favorite kroger chain huh?you just put out more bs to cover your sorry rear end.funny idiots like you ken are so quiet on all the lawsuits and discrimination suits against your favorite stores and have no problem not holding them to the same high standards you hold wm to.

“.....idiots like you ken are so quiet on all the lawsuits and discrimination suits against your favorite stores.....”
m att hew vantress in gresham,oregon

How about you matthew telling everyone about the favourite store discrimination suits?

R E M E M B E R
J O N Q U I E R E
Q U E B E C
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

R E M E M B E R
J A C K S O N V I L L E
T E X A S
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

kroger and others alex have lawsuits and discrimination lawsuits and sexual harrasment suit against them too.yet you are too stupid and dumb to realize that.tell me alex why you are so quiet on that?yet you piss and moan about wm explain that one without name calling can you do that?

“kroger and others"~Matt

You didn’t say any more than before.

“....discrimination suits against your favorite stores....."~Matt

“....yet you piss and moan about wm explain that one without name calling can you do that?”

Examples of name calling are what Matt?

R E M E M B E R
J O N Q U I E R E
Q U E B E C
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

R E M E M B E R
J A C K S O N V I L L E
T E X A S
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

A Pantheon of Corporate Criminals

“why you are so quiet...?” ~m att hew vantress

I’ve been asking this question too mv.  Why are you, RDS, bbrd, and “mary” so quiet about the rather impressive listing of “Corporate Bad Boys” I posted?  Perhaps if you don’t care for my suggestion that Wal-Mart hang the photos of these “distinguished” corporate citizens at its Home Office in Bentonville, you might consider an alternative.  Maybe you can start a letter writing campaign to get Alice Walton to hang the photos in her Crystal Bridges art museum. 

I can almost hear RDS frenetically pecking away at his keyboard in the wee still hours of the morning just to spin this into something that’s compatible and palatable with his views on unfettered capitalism.  Come on!  SIS BOOM BAH!  Let’s hear some cheers for for capitalism as it’s practiced in America, “mary” and bbrd!

Speaking of “corporate bad boys,” how could I overlook, Neil Bush and other members of the Bush family who had direct involvement with the Savings and Loan bailout in the 80’s, and Andrew Fastow, of Enron fame?

Screwed by: Don’t forget Conrad Black-(that’s a nod to Alex in Canada). I read just recently that Black has penned a book about Richard Nixon during his present incarceration,a “glowing “ tribute to tricky Dick. Who says there’s no honor among theives?

Screwedby,

“Why are you, RDS, bbrd, and “mary” so quiet about the rather impressive listing of “Corporate Bad Boys” I posted?”

Mainly because of a couple of things!!  First, are the first two names on your list, when were they convicted of crimes?  The only reason they are on your list, is because of your distain for Wal-Mart!!  Second, is because you are trying to indict a whole system, based on a few ‘bad apples’, would you be as willing to indict the whole Union system, based on a list containing Jimmy Hoffa?

Should we be against the democratic system, because we have prisons full of criminals?  Should we indict the City of Milwaukee, because Jeffery Dommer lived there?  Or, the City of Chicago, because Mayor Daly Sr. and his ‘Machine’ ran it once?

Lawsuits have been noted in some other posts, how many of them, are based on false statements or foolish claims?  For example: the spilled coffee case, who’s fault was that really, the woman’s or McDonald’s?  Yet, the woman won!!  Does that make McDonalds criminal?  And, as you may have noticed, the ones that were indicted for crimes are paying for their crimes!!

Lastly, many of those people were victoms of circumstance and events beyond their control derailed their managements, much the same as when Bret Farve threw an interception, when he did, did that make him a ‘bad’ quarterback?  Take Angelo Mozilo, was he responsible for the ‘sub-prime housing’ meltdown or was he just caught up in it?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, RDS, someone is helping you with your homework (either that or the ginkgo biloba has kicked in). That’s not to say the substance of your posts has gotten any better, but recently your comments show a structure missing from the keyboard of Bootstrap Bob.

11. Samuel Israel III* ~ swindled hedge-fund investors out of hundreds of millions.

Weren’t hedge-funds ‘designed’ to protect investors against loss? :o)

*Now, it don’t seem to me quite so funny
What some people are gonna do f’r money.
There’s a bran’ new gimmick every day
Just t’ take somebody’s money away.

I think we oughta take some o’ these people
And put ‘em on a boat, send ‘em up to Bear Mountain . . .
For a picnic. ~ Bob Dylan

“Or, the City of Chicago, because Mayor Daly Sr. and his ‘Machine’ ran it once? “ RDS~~~~~~~~~Well, it seems that is EXACTLY the tar being put on the” Republican brush”, with which they want to paint Barack Obama-that HE"S from Chicago-i.e., according to neo-CON spin, that automatically indicts Obama for being FROM Chicago.BTW,RDS, not that I have a dog in the union hunt, but U.S.  unions were formed BECAUSE of the unbridled greed of capitalists,all the way back here to garment manufacturers and mine owners ,at the turn of the last century.

Incidentally,RDS, the patron saint of freemarkets ,Milton Friedman,taught economics at the University of Chicago-hence the Chicago School of Economic Theory-Obama taught at the University of Chicago,also. Here’s a few recent words from Naomi Klein, in the Nation:~~~~~~~"Obama’s love of markets and his desire for “change” are not inherently incompatible. “The market has gotten out of balance,” he says, and it most certainly has. Many trace this profound imbalance back to the ideas of Milton Friedman, who launched a counterrevolution against the New Deal from his perch at the University of Chicago economics department. And here there are more problems, because Obama--who taught law at the University of Chicago for a decade--is thoroughly embedded in the mind-set known as the Chicago School. “

Ms Klein rightly draws attention to the irony--I mean, the irony--of Obama’s lurch to the right:

The irony is that there is absolutely no reason for this backsliding. The movement launched by Friedman, introduced by Ronald Reagan and entrenched under Clinton, faces a profound legitimacy crisis around the world. Nowhere is this more evident than at the University of Chicago itself. In mid-May, when university president Robert Zimmer announced the creation of a $200 million Milton Friedman Institute, an economic research center devoted to continuing and augmenting the Friedman legacy, a controversy erupted. More than 100 faculty members signed a letter of protest. “The effects of the neoliberal global order that has been put in place in recent decades, strongly buttressed by the Chicago School of Economics, have by no means been unequivocally positive,” the letter states. “Many would argue that they have been negative for much of the world’s population.”

When Friedman died in 2006, such bold critiques of his legacy were largely absent. The adoring memorials spoke only of grand achievement, with one of the more prominent appreciations appearing in the New York Times--written by Austan Goolsbee. Yet now, just two years later, Friedman’s name is seen as a liability even at his own alma mater.

More than 100 faculty members have signed a letter of protest!~~~~~~~~~~~~~BTW, Friedman was closely affiliated with the Hoover Institute at Stanford University in California.

Speaking of Angela Mozilo “gettting caught up” in subprime-hey its more like “getting caught” ,period-as have some of Angelo’s fave peeps~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Countrywide’s Many ‘Friends’
by Daniel Golden Jun 12 2008
Senators Dodd and Conrad are among the government officials who scored V.I.P. loans from C.E.O. Angelo Mozilo. An exclusive Portfolio investigation
“The Two U.S. senators, two former Cabinet members, and a former ambassador to the United Nations received loans from Countrywide Financial through a little-known program that waived points, lender fees, and company borrowing rules for prominent people.

Senators Christopher Dodd, Democrat from Connecticut and chairman of the Banking Committee, and Kent Conrad, Democrat from North Dakota, chairman of the Budget Committee and a member of the Finance Committee, refinanced properties through Countrywide’s “V.I.P.” program in 2003 and 2004, according to company documents and emails and a former employee familiar with the loans.

Other participants in the V.I.P. program included former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, and former U.N. ambassador and assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke. Jackson was deputy H.U.D. secretary in the Bush administration when he received the loans in 2003. Shalala, who received two loans in 2002, had by then left the Clinton administration for her current position as president of the University of Miami. She is scheduled to receive a Presidential Medal of Freedom on June 19.

Holbrooke, whose stint as U.N. ambassador ended in 2001, was also working in the private sector when he and his family received V.I.P. loans. He was an adviser to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

James Johnson, who had been advising presidential candidate Barack Obama on the selection of a running mate, resigned from the Obama campaign Wednesday after the Wall Street Journal reported that he received Countrywide loans at below-market rates.

Most of the officials belonged to a group of V.I.P. loan recipients known in company documents and emails as “F.O.A.’s”—Friends of Angelo, a reference to Countrywide chief executive Angelo Mozilo. While the V.I.P. program also serviced friends and contacts of other Countrywide executives, the F.O.A.’s made up the biggest subset.

According to company documents and emails, the V.I.P.’s received better deals than those available to ordinary borrowers. Home-loan customers can reduce their interest rates by paying “points”—one point equals 1 percent of the loan’s value. For V.I.P.’s, Countrywide often waived at least half a point and eliminated fees amounting to hundreds of dollars for underwriting, processing and document preparation. If interest rates fell while a V.I.P. loan was pending, Countrywide provided a free “float-down” to the lower rate, eschewing its usual charge of half a point. Some V.I.P.’s who bought or refinanced investment properties were often given the lower interest rate associated with primary residences.

Unless they asked, V.I.P. borrowers weren’t told exactly how many points were waived on their loans, the former employee says. However, they were typically assured that they were receiving the “Friends of Angelo” discount, and that Mozilo had personally priced their loans.

The V.I.P. loans to public officials in a position to advance Countrywide’s interests raise legal and ethical questions. Countrywide’s ethics code bars directors, officers and employees from “improperly influencing the decisions of government employees or contractors by offering or promising to give money, gifts, loans, rewards, favors, or anything else of value.” Federal employees are prohibited from receiving gifts offered because of their official position, including loans on terms not generally available to the public. Senate rules prohibit members from knowingly receiving gifts worth $100 or more in a calendar year from private entities that, like Countrywide, employ a registered lobbyist."~~~~~~~~~(Go to Portfolio.com to read the remainder of this online exclusive.)

Just So We Understand You, RDS...

Are you saying if a CEO or corporate executive hasn’t been indicted or sentenced to serve at least 25 years in prison, he’s not worthy of the title “Corporate Bad Boy?”

NO!  Regardless of what you think RDS, Lee Scott and David Glass belong on this list!

And...as far as your assertion that Angelo Mozilo got “caught up” in the subprime scandal...I think ddrb was closer to the truth when she said he was “caught.”

It is time for Bret Farve to roll me another fat doobie in the discussion of corporate criminology!!

Mattress does Kroger have 5000 plus lawsuits at any given time like wm? 

I have yet to see a lawsuit against Kroger anywhere.

So you MUST SHUT UP.

Prove that they have all the lawsuits that you claim.

Mattress does Kroger have 5000 plus lawsuits at any given time like wm? 

I have yet to see a lawsuit against Kroger anywhere.

So you MUST SHUT UP.

Prove that they have all the lawsuits that you claim.

“I have never said that all executives were saints, but just because a few are ‘bad’...”

Here we see RDS back-pedaling as fast as he can.  Kinda makes you wonder if there is some sort of arbitrary number of bad corporate leaders RDS is willing to tolerate as a price of worshiping capitalism!

You don’t think the “corporate poster boys” that have been caught are just the “tip of the iceberg,” RDS?

what is there to argue about, wal mart is all bottom line period.

Screwedby,

“Here we see RDS back-pedaling as fast as he can.  Kinda makes you wonder if there is some sort of arbitrary number of bad corporate leaders RDS is willing to tolerate as a price of worshiping capitalism!”

Who’s back-pedaling, anyone with half a brain knows that their are ‘bad’ people everywhere!!  And, when it comes to the temptation of handling large sums of money, it is not hard to understand how SOME people can go astray!!  Is there an arbitrary number of Catholic priests that YOU would be willing to tolerate as a price of worshiping religion?  If you can’t trust a priest to walk the straight and narrow, how can you expect everyone else to?  And, you seem to be on the side of the ‘little guy’, well, there are thousands of them that got ‘caught’ and are in prison and that too is just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ as well!!  Under our system of Law, a person is ‘innocent until PROVEN guilty’, but it seems under your system, ‘a person is guilty, if YOU THINK he is’!!

But, if you feel capitalism is a such a ‘bad’ system, what would you replace it with?

ddrb,

The Republicans will hit Obama, with everything they can, just the same as the Democrats will hit McCain, it’s called politics!!

And, as for those Countrywide VIP loans, who was it that made up the majority of those loans?  And, wasn’t Senator Christopher Dodd, Democrat from Connecticut, running for President not that long ago?

dam right kroger has maore lawsuits than wm jow at the same tuime.i looked it up and know several former kroger management people who have confirmed that to me.

joe kroger does have 5000 lawsuits and sometimes more at one time. of course they are a union shop thats why you dont piss and moan on that huh?i know several former management people from kroger and i have my own sources that confirmed that to me.joe get off your lazy ass and investigate on your own like i did.

ok so i lied again.but who is going to find me out.what is wrong with lying anyway since i never prove what i claim.so what if i am totally full of shit as long as some fool other than me believes the lies i tell trying to make wm look good.what is wrong with that.i never have to prove any bs i claim.its great!

If I pucker up any more to kiss Walmart’s ass, my face will collapse too!!

Why are you, RDS, bbrd, and “mary” so quiet...

Can’t speak for the others, but I’m just hanging-out in the rafters, watching…

Glad you missed me!

As for your little “list”, Mr. Screwed, the difference is some of those named are convicted felons, while others are not.

Nothing would please me more than for a couple of those “nots” to sue your pants off (since everyone knows who you are, anyway).

Try doing a search for “Kroger Lawsuits.” There are a lot of hits.  It’s hard to say if they have more than Walmart or not, but there are a lot.  What I found more interesting was that they are into banking and insurance.  Which is interesting since Walmart was not allowed to get into the banking industry because all the anti Walmart liberals decided that it would be damaging to the industry, but somehow it was alright for Kroger to get into finance and insurance.

Like Clock Work: Wal-Mart Faces 80 Class Actions, Most from Off-The-Clock Allegations
By Kimberly Morrison, The Morning News
June 21st, 2008
Wal-Mart has worked overtime to show its kinder, gentler side, but accusations of workplace misdeeds are surfacing in a slew of class-action lawsuits that continue to challenge the retailers new image.

There are at least 80 class-action lawsuits in 41 states pending against the Bentonville-based retailer, 76 of which stem from wage and off-the-clock issues, according to Wal-Mart’s 10K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

There are more cases against the Bentonville-based retailer than those disclosed in Wal-Mart’s federal filings. Companies are not required to disclose all legal proceedings, just those that may result in “material” financial losses, or more than 10 percent of the current assets of the company.

Among the lawsuits facing Wal-Mart, The Morning News examined five cases. The cases represent potentially the largest judgments or potential financial impact, or the highest number of plaintiffs.

Dukes v. Wal-Mart is a standout. It’s being called a landmark case in employment discrimination. The suit’s 1.6 million plaintiffs, representing all of Wal-Mart’s female employees, makes it the largest sex-bias case in U.S. legal history.

“The company can not reasonably estimate the possible loss or range of loss that may arise from these lawsuits,” Wal-Mart stated in its federal filing with the SEC.

There are, however, a few suits from which the retailer might expect to take a blow.

Wal-Mart is facing a $198 million lunch tab from Savaglio v. Wal-Mart, a class-action lawsuit in which employees said they were not provided meal and rest breaks in accordance with California state law.

A similar case in Pennsylvania involved complaints of missed meal and rest breaks and other failures to pay employees for all time worked. That case—Braun/Hummel v. Wal-Mart—resulted in a judgment against Wal-Mart of nearly $188 million.

Wal-Mart has consistently denied wrongdoing in these and other cases.

Both Savaglio and Braun/Hummel cases are tied up in appeals, delaying the payout to 301,000 current and former employees that make up the two lawsuits.

It also means the retailer hasn’t yet footed the combined $251 million bill.

But can any of these lawsuits financially threaten a retailer that made $12.8 billion in net income in its more recent fiscal year?

“It’s not like they wouldn’t be able to pay the light bill if they had a billion dollar settlement,” said Patricia Edwards, fund manager with San Francisco-based Wentworth, Hauser and Violic. “It wouldn’t be good, don’t get me wrong. But the low point in cash last year at quarter end was just short of $5 billion.”

Edwards said Wal-Mart reserves cash for potential future lawsuit payouts so there would be a reduced impact on shareholders in the event of such a case. With Wal-Mart’s ability to absorb some of the impact, a billion dollar payout may show up in earnings as a loss of 5 cents per share, Edwards said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SAVAGLIO V. WAL-MART

The largest verdict to date against the retailer is Savaglio v. Wal-Mart, which also grabbed the No. 10 spot on The National Law Journal’s list of top verdicts from 2005.

The allegations in this case are like the others—they were not provided meal and rest breaks in accordance with state law. In California, employees working more than 6 hours receive a 30-minute meal break or an additional hour pay. Wal-Mart, the workers allege, did neither.

The 2005 jury trial of the case resulted in a verdict of $57 million in statutory penalties and $115 million in punitive damages. The judge later in 2006 awarded the plaintiffs an additional $26 million in costs and attorney’s fees.

Wal-Mart stated in its federal filing that “the company believes it has substantial factual and legal defenses to the claims at issue.”

The retailer in January filed its notice of appeal.

“We won and Wal-Mart has appealed virtually everything under the sun,” said Michael Christian, attorney with Minneapolis-based Zelle, Hofmann, Voelbel & Gette LLP. “Nothing happens during the pendancy of that appeal. The briefing will be completed within the next months and at that point, the court will likely set an oral argument for some point in the fall. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What I found more interesting was that they are into banking and insurance.

While interesting, Dave, it’s nothing as big as one would think.

Kroger outsources that stuff through established players in the industry (and puts their brand on it). 

WM did the same thing several years ago with a network of in-store banks in the south (before that bank was eventually merged into/rebranded SunTrust).

As far as I know, Target is the only competitor out there who owns their own “true” bank (and even now, they have been following the industry and selling it off large stakes to Chase, and others).

Dave,would you be kind enough to post a source,or cut and paste your stories or sites for Kroger involved with banks? All I found was a professor named JOHN KROGER from Potland ,Oregon talking about unfair banking involving credit card practices.~~~~~Kroger Talks Legal Action Against Credit Cards
Posted by Matt Davis on Fri, Jun 13 at 8:58 AM
Democratic (and bizarrely, it seems, Republican, too) Attorney general candidate John Kroger wants to put together a multi-state lawsuit against banks across the country to force them to stop cheating hard-working families out of debt through unscrupulous practices, he said last night.

Kroger, a charismatic Lewis & Clark professor who has prosecuted Enron and mafia bosses, held up a credit card offer received by his campaign at a Town Hall sponsored by economic fairness group Our Oregon, SEIU and OSPIRG, at Portland State University last night. The card offered an interest rate of 5.25%, or 9.24%, or 12.24%, or 15.24%, “as determined by us, based on a credit evaluation and a number of factors,” Kroger quoted. “And it goes on to quote one other factor, including the size of your credit line. But the point is, the box that’s supposed to tell you what you’re getting doesn’t tell you what you’re getting.”

“And then at the bottom of the offer in four point type, it says ‘I acknowledge that any service or benefit may be modified at any time’,” Kroger continued. “So the bottom line is, none of this counts.”

“What angers me is the idea that consumers are blamed,” he said. “I can’t tell you what the legal impact of this offer is, and I’m a pretty reasonable lawyer. So what is the average consumer going to be able to do?”

“I don’t think we in Oregon have enough money to fight the banks on our own,” he said. “But if we ally ourselves with other states, just like with tobacco, we can have a huge positive impact.”

A credit card company was the biggest contributor to the Bush campaign in 2000. In 2006, credit card companies charged consumers $36bn in fees. In 2007, they charged consumers $192bn in penalty fees, that’s $872 for every adult in the US. You might like to check out the movie Overdrawn, by Portland director Karney Hatch, if you want to learn more.

Jeff Merkley, who is running for US senate, listed the ways credit card companies screw people over. From double cycle billing, which means you pay interest on a balance you’ve already paid off, to giving unfair notice to get your payments in on time. Then there’s misleading terms, unfair payment allocation, so you pay off the lower interest debt before the screwy, high interest debt, not to mention inadequate notice of going over your limit. “This makes credit cards an ‘I gotcha’ type of operation,” he said.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Correction:PORTland (not POTland)-although some Oregonian posts here might indicate otherwise.

That is true for their insurance but their mortgage fund appears to through Kroger since the mortgage is through KPF mortgage LLC, and no other financial institution is listed. 

DDRB It’s impressive that you can copy and paste.  I can too. 

“SERVICE EMPLOYEES (SEIU)

Ex-Milwaukee Local Heads Plead Guilty to False Record-Keeping

Danny Iverson and Debra Timko should consider themselves lucky.  Back in March 2006 a federal grand jury issued a 33-count superseding indictment against the pair, each of whom had served as president of Service Employees International Union Local 150 in Milwaukee.  They faced mail and wire fraud charges in connection with a $90,000 embezzlement scheme.  Recently, they’ve learned they will avoid prison.  On August 23, Iverson and Timko each pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin to two counts of willful failure to maintain accurate union records, agreeing to make a joint $63,000 in restitution.”

New York SEIU Local Hit with RICO Suit by Rival Security Union

“A good many of America’s labor unions have learned to fear and loathe the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO.  Fighting a RICO suit can mean costly legal bills, and possibly (as the Teamsters can attest), a settlement leading to tight and longstanding federal oversight.  Perhaps less known, however, is that unions themselves may sue under the law.  And their target can be another union, not just an employer.  Such is the case in what appears to be a David-and-Goliath battle within organized labor – at least in the minds of the organization holding the slingshot.  On April 10, the Allied International Union (AIU) announced it had filed a civil suit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and its flagship New York City affiliate, Local 32BJ.  The suit charges the SEIU with racketeering, extortion and fraud.  It’s a dramatic set of charges.  But they just might hold up. 
The Allied International Union isn’t likely a household name even to many observers of organized labor.  Based in Mineola (Long Island), N.Y., the union represents about 6,800 security guards in the New York City, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles areas.  Its leaders insist they’re being bled dry by the far larger Service Employees, which includes security guards, especially at Local 32BJ, the launching pad for the career of current AFL-CIO President John Sweeney.  Andrew Stern took over the SEIU international helm from Sweeney a dozen years ago, and has continued the union’s aggressive style of organizing, more than doubling its ranks to 1.9 million members.  The RICO suit claims some of that increase has come at the expense of the AIU, and through highly illegal actions. 
The RICO complaint accuses the Service Employees and related parties of using member dues to conduct smear campaigns against Allied officers, run SEIU-friendly stealth candidates in AIU elections, and threaten security companies who hire AIU members.  The intent of these actions, argues Allied lawyer Dennis Devaney, is to drive his client out of existence.  “The RICO Act contains specific legal remedies for private parties that have been harmed by illegal racketeering,” he remarked.  Also named as defendants are SEIU Local 1877 (Los Angeles) and SEIU officials Michael Fishman, Neil Diaz and Andrew Friedman.  This case may wind up exposing some people in high places.”

There are more but I got bored.  Apparently the SEIU that supports this site is also sued and charged with crimes on occassion.  So I guess while you’re boycotting Walmart you should also boycott this site as well as all companies that have SEIU workers.

DDRB here is the site for Kroger personal finance “We’re the financial services partner for the Kroger family of stores - proud to offer you smart financial products and services”

http://www.krogerpersonalfinance.com/Max/KPFhome.htm

For as good as you are at copying and pasting you aren’t very good at researching.  Does that mean that you get your stories from other anti Sites?

This pretty much says it all - straight from the Kroger 10-K. It says the same thing as the WM’s filing that Ken V was trumpeting.

Various claims and lawsuits arising in the normal course of business, including suits charging violations of certain antitrust, wage and hour, or civil rights laws, are pending against the Company. Some of these suits purport or have been determined to be class actions and/or seek substantial damages. Any damages that may be awarded in antitrust cases will be automatically trebled. Although it is not possible at this time to evaluate the merits of all of these claims and lawsuits, nor their likelihood of success, the Company is of the belief that any resulting liability will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position.

The Company continually evaluates its exposure to loss contingencies arising from pending or threatened litigation and believes it has made adequate provisions therefor. Nonetheless, assessing and predicting the outcomes of these matters involve substantial uncertainties. It remains possible that despite management’s current belief, material differences in actual outcomes or changes in management’s evaluation or predictions could arise that could have a material adverse impact on the Company’s financial condition or results of operation.

Dave” Where is Kroger mentioned in the SEIU actions you cut and pasted?Incidentally,WalMart was sued under RICO by some illegal immigrants that were hired to do cleaning.(I posted this on earlier threads.) However, it is coincidental that you bring up RICO. Just yesterday I was reading that RICO is being used AGAINST landlords who rent to illegal immigrants. The suit in Plainfield New Jersey alleges that there were so many undocumented workers tenants in a particular apaprtment building,that it constituted unlawful harboring and should be considered unlawful enterprise that encourages illegal immigration.RICO prosecutes organized crime AND immigration related offenses.

Re: National Labor Relations Act:

By Matt Hayes
Wal-Mart made history last Friday, though probably not the kind of history it wants to be making.

Eight people employed to clean Wal-Mart stores sued Wal-Mart Corporation, along with nine other named defendants, in Federal District Court in New Jersey under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act (search).

What’s historic about the lawsuit is the basis of the complaint. Under certain circumstances private individuals, rather than the U.S. government, can commence a civil action against organizations engaged in ongoing criminal activity that causes them damage. In their complaint, the eight illegal immigrants who sued Wal-Mart asserted that it was their employment relationship with Wal-Mart or its cleaning contractors—a relationship that is consensual—that constituted the ongoing criminal activity.An individual’s use of the RICO statute against companies that hire illegal aliens is authorized by the 1996 immigration reforms. 

To fans of “The Godfather,” this would be like Frank Pentangeli using RICO to sue Michael Corleone. And that is an apt comparison, because RICO was designed to combat organized crime and its influence on labor. Now Wal-Mart, an icon of American business, finds itself the target of a RICO action.

The federal lawsuit has other features that may surprise Americans. Employment of illegal aliens is prohibited under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 , so each plaintiff has conceded in the complaint that he is without legal immigration status and is removable from the U.S. Nonetheless, each plaintiff asserts a right to pay, owed for work performed, that approximates that which a person with legal immigration status would have received for the same work, to include back pay and overtime.

Such claims are authorized under the National Labor Relations Act , which governs back pay claims for all people in the U.S. without regard to their immigration status. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 does nothing to restrict an illegal alien’s right to advance a back pay claim, in recognition of the strong American belief that all people should be paid for work they have done.

The New Jersey plaintiffs’ complaint reads like a novel. Some plaintiffs contend that companies created specifically to employ illegal immigrants and skirt employment laws hired them. They were generally paid $350.00 in cash for a seven-day workweek. Their employers withheld no payroll taxes, and as a result, they contend, paid nothing in the way of social security. Wal-Mart, they allege, was aware of these arrangements and actively conspired with plaintiffs’ employers. 

To this writer’s knowledge, this case is the first in which plaintiffs cite their own employment relationship with defendants, which is a relationship that required the plaintiffs’ own ongoing participation, as the basis of a RICO claim.

There are many other potential plaintiffs that don’t labor under that disability, though. Citizens, green card holders, and U.S. companies that have been deprived of employment or business opportunities because of some employers’ practice of hiring illegal aliens have succeeded in civil RICO claims in the past.

“While the plaintiffs in the New Jersey case may see the RICO portions of their case against Wal-Mart dismissed, American businesses and citizens, and lawful permanent residents should not have the same problem,” says Craig Nelsen of Friends of Immigration Law Enforcement.

(The above story involving WalMart is dated 2005----Note: The Plainfield case is a current-AP wire story)

The SEIU ones had nothing to do with Kroger.  My point was that the largest financial supporter of this site was being sued.  Which means if you use lawsuits as the basis for whether a company is honest or not than you have to condemn this site and all of the SEIU stores and their other connections.

Dave” Where is Kroger mentioned in the SEIU actions you cut and pasted?

Could it be because Kroger is represented by the UFCW and not the SEIU?

You’ll get it, one of these days, * ...

LAWSUITS- The new ‘Retirement Plan!!

Sue a ‘deep pockets’ company and you can come out with a ‘tidy’ retirement fund!!  You no longr need to work for your money, just get together with some of your friends and get a lawyer to start a ‘class action’ suit and you are on your way!!  People will jump on the bandwagon and soon, you will have enough people to render a nice SETTLEMENT, and if it does end up in court, you will have a bunch of sympathetic jurers on your side and want to punish that ‘evil’ ‘deep pockets’ company, end result, “Big Bucks”!!

Think about it, if some illegal aliens can sue, there should be no problem for you to do it!!  Do you need ‘Proof’?, no way, word of mouth is good enough, but, remember, a jury will fall for a ‘sob story’, the sadder the better, so think up a good one, it could be worth ‘millions’!!  Happy Retirement!!

“” Apparently the SEIU that supports this site is also sued and charged with crimes on occassion.  So I guess while you’re boycotting Walmart you should also boycott this site as well as all companies that have SEIU workers.

Dave in
Monday, June 23 at 12:26 PM~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dave, perhaps YOU should be be boycotting THIS site,considering your apparent hatred for SEIU,in particular,and unions,in general.

Speking of suing WalMart for retirements benefits-here’s some chutzpah incarnate(ALMOST incarcerated)----AP----:"Wal-Mart lawyers argued before the Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday that the retailer should be allowed to break a multimillion-dollar retirement package with a former executive because he acknowledged defrauding the company.

But a lawyer for former vice chairman Tom Coughlin said a lower court dismissal of Wal-Mart’s claim should stand, as Coughlin didn’t defraud the company while in negotiations for his retirement agreement. Lawyers in the case say the package is worth between $12 million and $15 million.

Coughlin attorney William W. Taylor III said in a perfect world, no company or person would have to sign contracts when “unaware” of potential liabilities.

“But that’s not the real world and that’s not what these parties wanted to do,” Taylor said.

Coughlin worked for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for 28 years, a protege of company founder Sam Walton. Coughlin retired in January 2005.

By April 2005, Wal-Mart disclosed it was suspending Coughlin’s benefits amid allegations that the former executive used Wal-Mart money and gift cards to pay for a slew of personal items, from hunting trips and hunting dog training to clothes, alcohol and parts and service for personal vehicles.

Coughlin pleaded guilty to fraud and tax charges in federal court and began serving a 26-month home detention in October.

Bentonville-based retailer filed a circuit court lawsuit to cut Coughlin’s retirement benefits, but a judge dismissed the suit. Theodore Boutrous, a lawyer for Wal-Mart, told the state Supreme Court that Coughlin had a “duty of loyalty and candor” to the company to be honest as he sat down in retirement negotiations.

“He knew that if he told the truth, he wouldn’t get a retirement package,” Boutrous said. “If he told truth, he would be terminated. And so he lied.”

Boutrous said concealment of theft should be enough to void Coughlin’s retirement package."~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Friday, March 23, 2007

Now for “the sob story “part of the “retirement plan"-----Federal judge gives former Wal-Mart executive community service instead of prison term [Associated Press via International Herald Tribune]

“A former Wal-Mart executive avoided a prison term Friday when a federal judge resentenced him for tax evasion and fraud convictions.

The judge added only 1,500 hours of community service to Tom Coughlin’s punishment, and Coughlin said he was grateful.

“Judge, I just want to thank you for your fairness,” he said.

In 2006, U.S. District Judge Robert Dawson had sentenced Coughlin to 27 months of home detention, five years’ probation, a $50,000 fine and $400,000 restitution.

In an appeal by federal prosecutors, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year said the sentence was too lenient and sent the case back to Dawson.

During the resentencing, the judge said Coughlin, 58, had a history of community service, no criminal record and has medical problems. Dawson promised a 30-page sentencing memorandum elaborating on his reasoning.

Formerly the No. 2 executive at Wal-Mart, Coughlin was accused of stealing gift cards and having the Bentonville-based company cover the cost of other items, for a total loss that Wal-Mart estimated at about $500,000. Officials say Coughlin has paid his fine and restitution.

In January 2006, Coughlin pleaded guilty to wire fraud and tax evasion. He faced a possible sentence of more than 28 years in prison and fines of $1.35 million.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Plumlee objected to the lack of prison time and called a Bureau of Prisons doctor to the stand. Dr. Jeff Allen, chief of health programs for the bureau’ central office in Washington, testified that the prisons could take adequate care of Coughlin.

Plumlee said the government would have to review the judge’s decision before deciding whether to appeal the sentence again.

Dawson said the sentence he gave Coughlin is substantial punishment.

“Coughlin has suffered greatly, for he had it all and squandered his success. For that he is paying the price and will be punished for the rest of his life,” the judge said.”

Monday, February 04, 2008---WMW~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don’t sweat the small stuff (*), Dave—obviously, she’s now digging from within WMW for material.

If she were a radio DJ, * could call the last two posts “From the WMW vaults, it’s the TWIN SPIN!

ONE month later, let’s take a look at what community service looks like for Mr. Coughlin:-----------Friday, March 14, 2008
The Benton County Rich Are Different....

If you or I bounced a check for groceries at the Wal-Mart, they would have the local prosecutor throw our butts in jail. Now, if you were a wealthy corporate executive and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars then claimed to be feeling too poorly to go to a minimum security federal country club, well, then you’d probably just have to stay in your mansion for a couple of years.

The United States Attorney must have been surprised to learn that Tom Coughlin was out and about, feeling perky enough to attend the Hunting Heritage Superfund Banquet last Saturday night at the Quail Unlimited barn in Bentonville—where alcohol flowed freely in “dry” Benton County, where a designer camouflage suit from San Francisco-area clothier Foxy Huntress went for $2,500, and where firearms were auctioned in the presence of a felon. The banquet organizer said Coughlin was there doing “community service,” and one of his admirers added that “all that stuff about his federal case is a bunch of crap.”~~~~~~~~~~~~"Sobbing", all the way to the bank?

You can compare Kroger and Wal-Mart all you like but Wal-Mart still holds the record for the largest sex-discrimination suit in the history of juris prudence. Dukes v. Wal-Mart with a potential 1.6 million plaintiffs.

How much of the Beast’s resources have already been wasted and the case hasn’t even come to trial yet.

...(not POTland)...

You too, dd? I never would have pegged you for an “old stoner”. :o)

“it’s the TWIN SPIN! “--bbrd------Gee, I thought you were talking about you and Dave,bb. Not, Sam and Dave, but SAME and Dave.

Ken: Your HALF right---I just won’t say WHICH half.......

----"And the beautiful part is they’re all right here in the WMW Archives! “

bbrd in
Thursday, April 24 at 08:54 AM~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You can compare Kroger and Wal-Mart all you like but Wal-Mart still holds the record for the largest sex-discrimination suit in the history of juris prudence. Dukes v. Wal-Mart with a potential 1.6 million plaintiffs. “

That number is insanely inflated.  All the women that had been employed by Walmart were included in the suit unless they said that they didn’t want to be included. 

“Dave, perhaps YOU should be be boycotting THIS site,considering your apparent hatred for SEIU,in particular,and unions,in general. “

You still don’t get it, which isn’t suprising.  If you hold the fact that Walmart is being sued against them then you have to hold it against the unions when they are sued.  Otherwise you’re showing you’re insane bias and hatred for a company that has done absolutely nothing to you.

Dave: Before you start accusing people of insanity, lets set the record straight-unions and WalMarts are NOT equal entities-and that you can compare them in any fashion is not only illogical, but disingenuous at best and dupicitous at worst. WalMart has been successfully sued by the EPA,also, so according to your logic,the Federal government should be boycotted? It hasn’t stopped WalMart from doing business with the FEDS_look at the uptick in Lobby Money on Capital Hill by WalMart recently.What I see is you unfairly maligned Kroger just so you could attempt to smear SEIU.

DUKES V. WAL-MART

Dukes v. Wal-Mart represents a whopping 1.6 million female employees and alleges Wal-Mart systematically discriminated against women in promotions, pay, training and job assignments/

The case was brought on behalf of all past and present female employees in the company’s U.S. retail stores and warehouse clubs since 1998. Six women, including two who still work at Wal-Mart stores, originally filed the suit in 2001.

Wal-Mart in December lost its second bid to have a federal appeals court in San Francisco reconsider a lower-court decision to grant class-action status.

Wal-Mart is still fighting the court’s decision.

A three-judge panel of the federal appeals court split 2-to-1 in the decision to uphold the class-action status. The retailer on Jan. 8 filed a petition for “rehearing en banc,” or, by the full 15-judge panel.

Both sides are waiting on the Ninth Circuit to set a briefing schedule so they can respond to arguments.

After briefing, the court could still take several months to resolve the panel and “en banc” reviews, said Brad Seligman of Berkeley, Calif.-based The Impact Fund and lead attorney for the eight firms representing the plaintiffs.

“At root, this is not a novel case,” Seligman said. “It is a very straightforward case about whether Wal-Mart is paying women less than men and not promoting them as often as they should.”

The plaintiffs seek, among other things, injunctive relief, front pay, back pay, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees. And the final tally on that, should the plaintiffs win their case, could amount to more than a billion dollars.

“Based on the analysis we presented to the court in 2003, it didn’t take any mental gymnastics to get to the billion dollar range,” Seligman said. “I’m sure it’s more now."~~~~~~~Kimberly Morrison,The Morning News

ddrb,

“Lawyers in the case say the package is worth between $12 million and $15 million.”

So, wouldn’t you agree, that even though Tom Coughlin admitted criminal activity against Wal-Mart, his suit, which could net him $12 to $15 million, would be a nice retirement amount?  And, see how well a ‘sob story’ works, it kept hm out of jail!!  But, it probably makes Ken V, root for him, as it will take all those millions out of Wal-Mart’s pockets!!

“WalMart has been successfully sued by the EPA,also, so according to your logic,the Federal government should be boycotted?”

I think you have that backwards, you don’t boycott the one suing, you boycott the one being sued!!

“lets set the record straight-unions and WalMarts are NOT equal entities-and that you can compare them in any fashion is not only illogical, but disingenuous at best and dupicitous at worst.”

You are right, they are not equal, the fact is, that a union should never have to be sued, as they don’t interact with the public and their members in the same manner Wal-Mart does and they must have done something ‘real’ bad to get sued!!  After all, they wouldn’t do the things that Wal-Mart is claimed to have done, they’re a union, and have to set an example of truth and honesty, a ‘shining example’ to their members and the world!!  If not, then they are no better than the companies they ask to obey the rules the union makes and shouldn’t expect the companies to do what they can’t do themselves!!

“Dave: Before you start accusing people of insanity, lets set the record straight-unions and WalMarts are NOT equal entities-and that you can compare them in any fashion is not only illogical, but disingenuous at best and dupicitous at worst.”
I agree that unions and Walmart are not equal, since Walmart pays people money to do work for them, and unions take money from people, but since we were talking about groups that were sued they were equals for the discussion.  In that they are both groups and they have both been sued.  Also “dupicitous” is not a word, according to the dictionary anyway.  Next time you try to act smart and use big words try spelling them correct or use ones that are actually words. 

“WalMart has been successfully sued by the EPA,also, so according to your logic,the Federal government should be boycotted? It hasn’t stopped WalMart from doing business with the FEDS_look at the uptick in Lobby Money on Capital Hill by WalMart recently.”
You still are failing to see the point.  My whole point was that if you are going to use the fact that Walmart gets sued against them then you have to keep the same criteria for every business and group.  Since I was not the one bashing Walmart for the lawsuit, I do not need to boycott anyone else because of lawsuits.  Also the example you used was brilliant since we were talking about companies that were being sued and you gave the example of a group that was suing.  I hope you can see the difference between the two. 

“What I see is you unfairly maligned Kroger just so you could attempt to smear SEIU.”
I wasn’t even the one who brought Kroger into the discussion.  So that statement is pretty absurd.  I brought up the SEIU to point out that most businesses and organizations get sued.  So if you are going to bash Walmart for them then you need to bash the SEIU, and every other business or organization that gets sued.  I tried to explain it simply for you this time, but I have the feeling you still will not understand.

Is this Kroger Watch? SEIU watch?-NO-its WalMart Watch.!...BTW, duplicitous IS a word, Dave- I left out the” L “inadvertently. BTW,Lawsuits are just a portion of WHY many do not like WalMart-here AND in other countries.

PS-Dave, I was using,or trying to use duplicitous-its nicer and more polite than calling you dishonest.

But, it probably makes Ken V, root for him, as it will take all those millions out of Wal-Mart’s pockets!!

Probably? lol Most definately!

...then you have to keep the same criteria for every business and group.

I love you right wing-nuts and your rules.  Who makes this stuff up?

OK, let’s discuss just the “business and group” with the largest class action suit in history, Wal-Mart, and the most suits of any corporation, also Wal-Mart!

<i>The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has had to file more suits against the Bentonville billionaires club (Wal-Mart) for cases of disability discrimination than any other corporation. A top EEOC lawyer told Business Week, “I have never seen this kind of blatant disregard for the law.”

Walmart is trying to roll me on my pension. Gives me thought on how I screwed over all those working people for Sam and now the spiritual economy of “And as you would that men should do to you, do you also to them likewise.” is trying to have meaning with me. Strangely my Walmart ideology has become a self-inflicted bummer.

Dave,

Believe it or not, there is a SEIU Watch…

http://www.calnurse.org/seiu-watch/record/

hey ddrb why are you so quiet maam on your unions being so buddy buddy with the democrat party and democrat politicians?yes you can hold unions and companies to the same standard.funny ddrb you are quiet when your favorite unions are sued and have nothing to say on that but you are all up in arms anytine a place you hate like wm is sued,thats makes you a selfish,egotistical spoiled rich hypocrite.

ddrb we know what site this is so shut up.if we want to bash your favorite kroger chain then too bad the hell with you we will.if you dont like it too bad.how about ddrb all the millions of dollars your union buddies put in campaigns?why dont you piss and moan about that instead of wm all the time?your postings are so old and outdated.who the hell cares about lawsuits from 3 yrs ago?i sure as hell dont and most on here dont either.

ddrb,

Isn’t it funny how when someone SUES Wal-Mart, that’s great, but, if Wal-Mart sues someone, (ie: Debbie Shanks) they are ‘evil’?  Guess, wrong or right doesn’t mean anything anymore, it’s only who has the ‘deepest pockets’, right?

Believe it or not, there is a SEIU Watch…

Buh bye!*

*Actually, I don’t want bbrd and Dave to go off on a union-bustin’ spree. That would leave poor RDS all alone holding the Bentonville propaganda bag. Seriously, guys, he’s just not up to it.

I don’t really care enough about the SEIU or any other union to join a site like that.  I don’t want to work for one, but since unions seem to be struggling to stay in existence I’m guessing that wont be a problem.  I only brought them up to prove a point. Unfortunately, that point was clearly lost on ddrb. 

DDRB, I know what duplicitous means, though I think it was a strange word choice in that case. I was just trying to figure out what “dupicitous” meant.

I was just trying to figure out what “dupicitous” meant.

In Texas we have a name for people like you, Dave. Nit picker.

Since you two both seem to have issues with ddrb, Dave, I feel compelled to ask. Are you and bbrd a ‘couple’? Not that there is anything wrong with that but it would explain a lot.

I have no issue with DDRB, and for the record DDRB was the one that started talking to me, and was the one that called me “disingenuous at best and dupicitous at worst,” despite the fact that nothing I was saying was at all deceitful.  I really don’t care enough about what anyone on here says to “have issues” with anyone on here.

I really don’t care enough about what anyone on here says...

That works out well then, Dave, as I consider most of your posts ‘skip-overs’.

hey ddrb.....thats makes you a selfish,egotistical spoiled rich hypocrite. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

m att hew vantress in gresham,oregon
Tuesday, June 24 at 06:56 AM~~~~~~~~~~~-IF your opinion WERE accurate,matt-ress,I would be a pro-WalMarter.

my opinions are very accurate unlike all of your b.s. on here ddrb.see you cant answer why your unions are so buddybuddy with the democrats huh?

Since you two both seem to have issues with ddrb...

No more than the usual—you know, the poor grammar, the recycled posts, her not shaving her armpits—the usual…

...I consider most of your posts ‘skip-overs’.

Obviously, not - seems to me you’ve responded to nearly everything Dave has said…

Your obsession with geting personal... ~ me

My obsession?? Ha—that’s rich! ~ bbrd