generic cialis

Personal Injuries or Wrongful Death

Gilman and Pastor represents individuals who have sustained personal injuries or wrongful death caused by the negligence of others, including compensation for pain and suffering, lost wages and past and future medical expenses.
Our representation of clients includes injuries and deaths resulting from negligent conduct, design and marketing defects.

http://www.gilmanpastor.com/case.php?id=100

Published by: Ken on September 26th, 2009 | Filed under Personal Injury
1 Comment »



Medtronic Infuse Graft System

Gilman and Pastor is representing individuals who were injured resulting from the Infuse Bone Graph manufactured by Medtronic, Inc., which was approved for use in lower spine repair surgery to promote bone growth.
Medtronic’s Infuse has been linked to many fatalities or life-threatening complications when used in surgeries on the upper spine and neck.

http://www.gilmanpastor.com/case.php?id=99

Published by: Ken on September 26th, 2009 | Filed under Personal Injury
1 Comment »



Personal Injury Attorneys

Gilman and Pastor’s personal injury attorneys have represented many individuals in personal injury and insurance related claims, including but not limited to automobile, truck and motorcycle crashes, premises liability, property damages, property and casualty losses and professional malpractice cases.

http://www.gilmanpastor.com/case.php?id=101

Published by: Ken on September 26th, 2009 | Filed under Personal Injury
1 Comment »



$15 Million Settlement in Securities Fraud Action for Securities Market Manipulation.

The firm served as Co-Lead Counsel in In re Blech Securities Litigation, 94-CIV-7696-RWS (S.D. N.Y.) asserting market manipulation claims against the brokerage firm of D. Blech & Co., its principals, its clearing broker, Bear Stearns & Company and several other alleged participants in connection with an alleged scheme to inflate the prices of various biotechnology securities.

In a vigorously litigated case, the firm obtained certification of a class of purchasers of 22 separate securities, successfully opposed various motions to dismiss, and, subsequently, motions for summary judgment, and after extensive discovery and trial preparation, negotiated over $15 million in cash settlements on behalf of the class. This case resulted in extremely important reported judicial opinions concerning clearing broker and other liability issues. In re Blech Securities Litigation, 961 F. Supp. 569 (S.D. N.Y. 1997).

Published by: Ken on September 26th, 2009 | Filed under Complex Business Litigation
1 Comment »



I.R.S. Section 412(i) Litigation

Gilman and Pastor is representing business and entities who have been audited by the Internal Revenue Service for pension and retirement funds. The firm has put together a top team of professionals to defend such litigation and audits.

Life Insurance Companies and their Agents have been selling abusive life insurance and annuity products. Many pension plans have been promoted as legitimate retirement plans which contain various life insurance products and annuities. Unfortunately the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) has now attacked many of these pension and retirement plans and is conducting audits to demand payment for taxes, penalties and interest and attempting to disqualify many plans.

If you are an accountant, business owner, corporate officer, dentist, doctor, professional athlete, professional or corporation of high net worth, you were unscrupulously targeted by life insurance companies and their agents to purchase a 412i defined benefit pension plan. You were chosen to purchase a 412i plan because you have the net worth to pay for it.

Our investigation has disclosed that many life insurance companies, promoters, attorneys, and accountants promoted and sold these plans, including but not limited to the following:

  • American General Life Insurance Company
  • Guardian Life Insurance Company
  • Hartford Life and Annuity Insurance Company
  • Indianapolis Life Insurance Company
  • Pacific Life Insurance Company
  • Pension Services, LLC
  • Many Other Life Insurance Companies and Agents

The individuals and groups above devised a scheme to sell abusive tax shelters under the auspices of Section 412(i) of the tax code. A 412(i) is a defined benefit pension plan. It provides specific retirement benefits to participants once they reach retirement and must contain assets sufficient to pay those benefits. A 412(i) plan differs from other defined benefit pension plans in that it must be funded exclusively by the purchase of individual life insurance products.

To create a 412(i) plan, there must be a trust to hold the assets. The employer funds the plan by making cash contributions to the trust, and the Code allows the employer to take a tax deduction in the amount of the contributions, i.e. the entire amount.

The trust uses the contributed funds to purchase some combination of life insurance products (insurance or annuities) for the plan. As the plan participants retire, the trust will usually sell the policies for their present cash value and purchase annuities with the proceeds. The revenue stream from the annuities pays the specified retirement benefit to plan participants.

These defendants (with the aid and knowledge of the insurance companies) used the traditional structure and sold life insurance policies with excessively high premiums. The trust then uses the large cash contributions to pay high insurance premiums and the employer takes a deduction for the sum of those large contributions. As you might expect, these policies were designed with excessively high fees or “loads” which provided exorbitant commissions to the insurance companies and the agents who sold the products.

The policies that were sold were termed Springing Cash Value Policies. They had little or no cash value for the first 5-7 years, after which they had significant cash value. Under this scheme, after 5-7 years, and just before the cash value sprung, the participant typically purchases the policy from the trust for the policy’s surrender value. In theory, you have a tax free transaction.

The IRS does not recognize the tax benefit of such a plan and has repeatedly issued announcements indicating that such plans are contrary to federal tax laws and regulations.

Have you received a letter from the IRS either (1) informing you of an upcoming audit of your plan or (2) demanding payment for substantial tax “penalties and interest”? The “tax free” benefit pension plan you purchased might be a scam, a fraud. Please allow us to speak with you and review your documentation to help you to determine your best course of action. Your communications will be treated with the strictest attorney-client confidence.

If you were a victim of such a sale of a 412i or 419 plan, we encourage you to contact us immediately for legal assistance. You may also receive a free initial consultation by telephone at 877-428-7374. If you desire a free initial phone consultation please leave a specific time or time period within which to contact you.

Since you have already expanded a substantial amount of money in your pension plan and believed it was a legitimate retirement plan, you are obviously shocked to now learn that major life insurance companies and their agents may have sold you improper retirement plans simply to generate enormous commissions on life insurance and annuities.

http://www.gilmanpastor.com/case.php?id=96

Published by: Ken on September 26th, 2009 | Filed under Complex Business Litigation
1 Comment »



Pension Benefit Victims

Most employees are not aware that their employers may not have contributed sufficient assets to pay promised benefits to future retirees or that the assets in their retirement plans may have substantially decreased in value creating a phenomenon known as under funding. This under funding could result in the inability of your pension plan to pay the retirement benefits due you.

http://www.gilmanpastor.com/case.php?id=41

Published by: Ken on September 26th, 2009 | Filed under Complex Business Litigation
2 Comments »



CVS Overtime Lawsuit

We are litigating a collective action against CVS Pharmacy and its parent corporation Caremark alleging that the companies have systematically and intentionally misclassified assistant managers as exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for the express purpose of avoiding paying these employees overtime.

We allege that assistant managers are ordinary employees with little or no supervisory responsibilities, and do not qualify for the FLSA-exempt status CVS and Caremark have used to avoid paying overtime pay at the rate of time-and-a0half for hours worked over 40 hours per work week.

Virtually all “assistant managers” at CVS are required to work a minimum of 45 hours per work week without any overtime pay.

http://www.gilmanpastor.com/case.php?id=95

Published by: Ken on September 26th, 2009 | Filed under Unfair Employment Practices
2 Comments »



Delta Air Lines

Gilman and Pastor, LLP represented a proposed class of present and retired pilots of Delta Air Lines, Inc., challenging Delta’s methodology of calculating pension insurance benefits for participants in certain Delta retirement plans.

http://www.gilmanpastor.com/case.php?id=93

Published by: Ken on September 26th, 2009 | Filed under Unfair Employment Practices
2 Comments »



Costco

Our firm is investigating complaints by current and former employees of Costco regarding Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violations. Among the claims we are investigating are that Costco has

(1) intentionally and improperly designated department managers as “exempt” managers for its warehouses in order to avoid payment of overtime wages and other benefits.

(2) locking hourly employees inside each warehouse every night for approximately 15 minutes after they have finished work and are off the clock, during which time the stores’ managers perform closing activities, such as removing jewelry from display cases and emptying cash registers.

(3) denial of overtime pay for workers who worked more than 40 hours per work week.

http://www.gilmanpastor.com/case.php?id=92

Published by: Ken on September 26th, 2009 | Filed under Unfair Employment Practices
1 Comment »



The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P)

We are investigating claims against The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, which operates A&P, The Food Emporium, and Waldbaums, regarding current and former employee claims that the A&P chains violate their employees’ overtime rights. Among these allegations are that the chains fail to pay employees overtime wages and delete hours actually worked from time records in violation of the fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

http://www.gilmanpastor.com/case.php?id=91

Published by: Ken on September 26th, 2009 | Filed under Unfair Employment Practices
1 Comment »



rss feed