The suit seeks compensation and damages from Safeway, which sold Shirlee Frey of Felton, Calif., the apple; Happy Apple Co., which made the caramel apple; and Shafter, Calif.,-based Bidart Brothers, the farm that supplied the apple. The caramel apples were recalled by Happy Apple on December 24, and Bidart recalled its Granny Smith and Gala apples on January 6, after the listeria strain was traced back to its fruit.

“The subject produced was adulterated, unreasonably dangerous, and not fit for human consumption,” according to the lawsuit. The recalled brands ultimately included Happy Apple, Kroger, Karm’l Dapples and Merb’s Candies brand Bionic Apples and Double Dipped Apples.

A total of 35 people in 12 states were infected with a genetically identical strain of Listeria monocytogenes, including one case in California — the lawsuit case, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Seven people died, including Frey. On December 19, the CDC traced the outbreak to commercially produced, prepackaged caramel apples. Twenty-eight of the 31 ill people interviewed by health investigators reported eating commercially produced, prepackaged caramel apples before becoming ill.

Listeria is especially dangerous in the elderly,…

Updated:   02/10/2015 12:22:00 PM PST

Target Corp. has agreed to pay nearly $4 million to settle a civil complaint filed in Marin County alleging the national retailer charged customers more than the advertised price for its merchandise.

The district attorneys of Marin, Contra Costa, Fresno, Santa Cruz and Sonoma counties and the San Diego City Attorney’s Office filed the complaint. The judgment was signed Monday by Marin County Superior Court Judge Paul Haakenson.

The complaint alleged that since early December 2008, Target unlawfully charged consumers prices higher than its lowest advertised price, misrepresented the weight of Target-brand products, sold commodities by gross weight and sold commodities in less quantities than represented, Marin County prosecutors said.

The complaint also alleged Target failed to abide by the injunctive provisions of a 2008 judgment in a case filed in Contra Costa County by the same plaintiffs.

That judgment prohibited Target from using any scanning system, such as those used at checkout stands, at its 250 stores in California unless Target maintained a compliance program to enhance pricing accuracy and corrected pricing errors.

Marin County Deputy District Attorney Andy Perez said the complaint alleged that the price Target charged its customers for bakery items, for example, also included the weight of the packaging.

Perez said Target also failed to remove the “on sale” price tags of items on shelves after…

The family of the victim, now 20, sued the Boy Scouts, alleging the organization was negligent in its handling of the matter.

A judge ruled earlier this month that the plaintiffs could use the Scouts’ secret “perversion files,” which outline years of molestation claims and incidents, as evidence in the trial, a ruling that opened the door to possible public release of the files.

“We regret there have been times when the BSA’s best efforts to protect children were insufficient, and for that we extend our deepest apologies to victims and their families,” officials with the Boy Scouts said in a statement Thursday.

The lawsuit stemmed from a 2007 incident involving volunteer Scout leader Al Steven Stein, then 29, who was charged with abusing the 13-year-old Scout and two other boys.

Stein pleaded no contest to a felony child-endangerment charge. He was placed on five years’ probation but violated it by having photos of nude children stored on his cellphone. He was sentenced to two years in prison but was paroled early and is now registered as a sex offender in Salinas.

Scout officials said they could not disclose terms of the settlement. The victim’s attorney could not be reached for comment.

“While we can’t comment on the specifics related to this…

The settlement between the family of Cliff Douglass and the VA appears to be the largest payout for a wrongful death claim related to a case at VA Puget Sound since 2001, according to records obtained by the Center for Investigative reporting and The News Tribune through the Freedom of Information Act.

“I’m happy for the family that they have some closure,” said Tacoma attorney Jessica Holman Duthie, who represented the Sammamish man’s family. “But it’s nothing (compared) to the pain and suffering he went through.”

Douglass’ sister said the lawsuit led to an internal investigation and helped her understand that the incident led to changes at the VA.

“I don’t think we can ask for more than that,” Connie Olberg said.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle confirmed the settlement but declined to comment.

The case received widespread media attention last spring as allegations surfaced describing VA employees misrepresenting long delays in care for its patients in Phoenix. That scandal led to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki’s resignation in May and prompted Congress to pass legislation aimed at reducing a backlog in care for the nation’s largest hospital network.

“Clearly my…

The lawsuit said security guards last February prevented activists with Moratorium Now! from handing out flyers about the city’s bankruptcy and gathering petition signatures, threatening them with arrest.

During the incident, a Detroit police sergeant told the activists they would have to leave because the park’s private management company made the rules and didn’t want them demonstrating there, the suit said.

The activists’ treatment is a violation of free speech because Campus Martius is a public park owned by the city, said Michael Steinberg, legal director for the ACLU of Michigan. The park’s management firm cannot be allowed to treat Campus Martius like private property, he said.

“While the city may delegate the responsibility for managing the park to a private entity, they simply cannot sign away people’s rights,” Steinberg said. “Campus Martius is a public park owned by the city of Detroit, for the people of the city of Detroit. They should be able to express their views on matters of public importance there just like any other public park.”

Campus Martius, at…

Wikimedia Commons The suit says a Ruby Tuesday restaurant in Park City, Utah withheld seven temporary positions from male applicants.

The Ruby Tuesday restaurant chain got slapped with a federal lawsuit Thursday, saying it discriminated against hiring male employees at its location in Park City, Utah.

The suit, filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Eugene, Ore., says the Park City restaurant refused to hire men for seven temporary positions as bartenders and waiters in the summer of 2013, saving those spots for women only.

The discrimination supposedly came from “fears about housing employees of both genders together,” according to a statement posted on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s website.

The suit seeks an order forcing the company to stop depriving men of employment, and says the restaurant should pay losses to two men who didn’t get a gig there. It also accuses the Tennessee-based company of unlawful employment practices in nine other states, including Oregon.

John Stanley, a trial attorney for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, told The Oregonian it’s “an unusual lawsuit” and said he couldn’t recall the organization ever handling a case where men claimed jobs were held from them in favor of women.

The company could not be reached for comment.