By Breaking Legal News, Breaking Legal News.

Wal-Mart has petitioned the US Supreme Court to reconsider a decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirming class action certification in a gender discrimination case, notes a Jurist report.

The company has asked the court to examine whether the Appeals Court's April ruling was proper under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Due Process Clause, the Seventh Amendment and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 (FRCP). Wal-Mart's position is that the class is overbroad and that the Ninth Circuit's decision is inconsistent with certification standards in multiple circuits.

Wal-Mart also contends that claims for monetary relief cannot be certified under FRCP 23, which it says only applies to claims to injunctive relief. The report states that the case was filed in 2001 by female Wal-Mart employees who contend that Wal-Mart's nationwide policies result in lower pay for women than men in comparable positions and longer waits for management promotions than men.

Originally posted at Breaking Legal News. Please visit http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/.

By Breaking Legal News, Breaking Legal News.

The revelation that BP's Texas City refinery emitted toxic benzene for more than a month has ignited a furor in the port community that has suffered its share of deadly industrial accidents and toxic spills.

Thousands of residents who fear they may have been exposed to the known carcinogen released at the oil refinery from April 6 to May 16 have been flooding parking lots and conference halls where local trial attorneys hosted information sessions and sought clients for class-action lawsuits against the oil giant.

BP faces the new challenge just as it is reaching a key milestone in another crisis — plugging the Gulf of Mexico well that blew out in an oil spill disaster that is costing the company billions of dollars.

On Wednesday, more than 3,400 people lined the hallways and sidewalks around the Nessler Center to sign on to a $10 billion class-action lawsuit filed Tuesday in Galveston federal court by Friendswood attorney Anthony Buzbee.

The lawsuit alleges the release of 500,000 pounds of chemicals - including 17,000 pounds of benzene - has jeopardized the health and property values of people who live and work in the area. At the nearby College of the Mainland, a separate town hall meeting drew a crowd of 600.

"I've never seen anything like this," Buzbee said, looking at the lines waiting to enter a large room at the civic center where lawyers helped people fill out paperwork. "I can't believe this is mass hysteria and that everybody here is a faker," Buzbee said.

Webster-based lawyer Chad Pinkerton said he's met with about 8,000 residents over the past week. "I believe this is probably the largest prolonged release in Texas history and many, many people are sick," he said.

Word of the lawsuits spread this week, propelled in part by rumors that BP was cutting checks to head off the benzene claims from the $20 billion fund established to pay claims related to the oil spill.

Originally posted at Breaking Legal News. Please visit http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/.