Worcester Business & Commercial Law Blog

Businesses and pension holders from Massachusetts to California are watching the outcome of a particular federal lawsuit. BP, the company that made the news during the Gulf oil spill, now faces a lawsuit after it allegedly did not report safety issues to its New York City pension fund. The fund has filed a lawsuit for a minimum of $39 million in losses. The lawsuit, which was filed on April 17 in Manhattan, claims that the company misled investors.

Parties involved in the business litigation include city employees, emergency personnel, teachers and police officers. The lawsuit claims that BP tried to minimize the damage and the resulting costs after the April 20, 2010, explosion killed 11 employees in the largest oil spill in American history.

A federal judge has ruled that certain technology companies such as Apple and Google should not be sued under a class action strategy. The judge's ruling was explained by the belief that the various allegations of wage repression and freedom to transfer jobs were too diverse to result in a successful class action lawsuit. For Massachusetts workers who might have been considering joining a class action business litigation suit, this means that they will now be required to file individual complaints against technology companies.

Tens of thousands of employees of various technology companies are said to have been affected by the companies' actions. However, the judge believed that the rights of the workers covered too many various issues to allow their complaints to be filed singly. A class action lawsuit must address similar issues for all plaintiffs in order to be collectively filed, and a judge must rule that the class can exist based on the evidence presented by the plaintiffs.

Although Harvard Business School graduates have been lukewarm about starting businesses in Boston, the city has much to offer a start-up company. The act of business formation should always take into account the benefits as well as the disadvantages of company start-ups, and Boston, which many feel is not friendly to entrepreneurs, can actually offer some benefits to the novice business owner.

Although some experts state that entrepreneurs see Boston as having an inferior lifestyle and being unfriendly to business, the city has many advantages for business owners. Plenty of "start-up ready talent" is available in this college city, as well as mentorship from some of the country's best business owners. Boston is also full of people who have the vision to solve big business problems, including those who brainstorm creative solutions to the problems facing business owners. 

Analogic Corporation, a company that specializes in medical imaging and aviation security, has announced its acquisition of Ultrasonix Medical Corporation. The business formation cost the company $83 million, which may be adjusted per the purchase agreement. Ultrasonix supplies ultrasound systems that are compatible with Analogic's current technology. The purchase will be accretive at the start during the fiscal year 2014.

The company plans to combine the Ultrasonix brand of products with its own BK Medical brand to strengthen its Global Ultrasound Group. Ultrasonix has established sales channels and point-of-care products that Analogic hopes to use to improve its own status as a supplier of mobile ultrasound solutions. According to Analogic's leaders, the company is proud to be working with Ultrasonix and the professional experience the company brings to bear in the ultrasound market.