News from January 2009
Koster praises FDA decision to allow stem cell trial
Chris Koster (D) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Legal Newsline)-Pointing to his father's battle with diabetes, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster praised the Food and Drug Administration's decision to allow testing using human embryonic stem cells.
Mich. AG: Leave emissions standards to Congress
Mike Cox (R) LANSING, Mich. (Legal Newsline)-Siding with his state's auto industry, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox says Congress, not individual states, should regulate tailpipe emissions.
Exxon settlement will benefit Vermont's petroleum cleanup fund
MONTPELIER, Vt. (Legal Newsline) - ExxonMobil will pay $150,000 to reimburse the State of Vermont for the cleanup of several of its service stations in the state.
Cuomo may take look at Merrill Lynch bonuses
Cuomo ALBANY, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - Not surprisingly, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is upset that Merrill Lynch accelerated bonus payments to its executives before its deal to become part of Bank of America went through.
McCollum settlement nets $1 mil for further investigation into mobile content industry
McCollum TALLAHASSE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum has reached a $1 million settlement with a California-based mobile content marketer.
Cuomo passed over for Clinton's former Senate seat
Andrew Cuomo (D) ALBANY, N.Y. (Legal Newsline)-New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo was passed over Friday for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by newly-confirmed U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Brown to run: 'I've done it before'
Jerry Brown (D) WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - California Attorney General Jerry Brown appears to have taken the advice of fellow long-time Bay Area Democrat, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.
Ill. AG sues payday loan collection agency
Lisa Madigan (D) CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) -- Deceptive collecting practices and threatening and abusive language used while attempt to collect debts on behalf of payday loan companies have lead to a lawsuit against a Jacksonville, Fla., collection agency.
Nevada AG willing to take 6 percent voluntary salary cut
Catherine Cortez Masto (D) CARSON CITY, Nev. - Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto says if state workers are forced to take a pay cut to help the state make ends meet, she will also take a 6 percent pay reduction, her office said Friday.
L.A.'s Rocky to take on rematch for AG's office?
Rocky Delgadillo (D) LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - If Rocky Balboa can make another comeback at 50 years old, surely an embattled city attorney facing a federal investigation who was crushed in his first attempt to become California's Attorney General in 2006 can try again in 2010. Right?
Allina Hospitals & Clinics decries AG's lawsuit
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (Legal Newsline)-Allina Hospitals & Clinics says a lawsuit filed this week by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson against the company is without merit.
Prison funding feud with AG could result in musical chairs for 7,000 inmates
Jerry Brown (D) SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - Following efforts by the California Attorney General to block $8 billion in improvements to the state's prisons, the court appointed receiver charged with improving chronically poor heath care has recommended that more than 7,000 inmates be transferred to prisons with better medical facilities.
California AG investigates Wall Street bond deals
Jerry Brown (D) SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal News Line) -- The California Attorney General's Office has launched an investigation into charges that Wall Street officials rigged bidding on financial contracts made to local governments, which in turn inflated the costs charged to taxpayers.
Calif. Supreme Court OKs lawsuit against Wyeth
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (Legal Newsline)-The California Supreme Court decided this week not to hear the case that held pharmaceutical company Wyeth Inc. responsible for injuries to a patient who took a generic version of a drug that the company developed but didn't sell.
Relief for Tenn. consumers facing foreclosure announced
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Legal Newsline) -- Tennessee's attorney general has announced Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation's largest independent mortgage lender and servicer, has agreed to settle claims of predatory lending.
Missouri AG makes key appointments
Chris Koster (D) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Legal Newsline)-Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster has named a St. Louis lawyer to head his office's Litigation Division, the Democrat said in a statement.
Calif. AG sues contractor for workers' rights violations
Jerry Brown (D) SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - California Attorney General Jerry Brown filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking $4.13 million in lost wages, benefits and penalties from a drywall contractor based in Bakersfield, Calif.
Cuomo learns Senate fate today
Andrew Cuomo (D) ALBANY, N.Y. (Legal Newsline)-New York Gov. David Paterson is expected to announce today his pick to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by newly confirmed U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Oregon justices expected to rule on school funding lawsuit
Oregon Supreme Court justices SALEM, Ore. (Legal Newsline)- The Oregon state Supreme Court is expected to release Friday its ruling on a closely watched case over school funding.
U.S. Senate passes pay equity bill, paving way for flood of lawsuits
Barbara Mikulski (D) WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline)-The first piece of legislation that U.S. President Barack Obama signs into law could be a bill that critics say would be a gift to the nation's trial lawyers.