News from February 2007
AG Hood testifies in D.C.
Hood WASHINGTON, D.C. - The State of Mississippi continued its battle against the insurance industry Wednesday, with Attorney General Jim Hood and Rep. Gene Taylor testifying before a House Committee on Financial Services subcommittee.
Tenn. Supreme Court seat up for grabs again
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee's Judicial Selection Commission announced Wednesday that it will be accepting applications from middle and west Tennessee for the state's vacant Supreme Court seat.
State's caseload outgrowing resources, Chief Justice warns
Chief Justice Ronald M. George SACRAMENTO -- The state of California will need an additional 100 judges over the next two years, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald M. George has told state lawmakers.
Liability or Nuisance? Decision was easy for AG Lynch
Lynch PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch has always wanted the companies that used to manufacture lead-based paint to take liability for their product, just not in a products liability case.
Ind. SC won't make new exception to doctrine
Dickson INDIANAPOLIS - A retaliatory discharge claim will not be included in the list of Indiana's exemptions to the employment at will doctrine, the state's Supreme Court recently decided.
Madigan's raiders may find sleepy voting booths today
Lisa Madigan Illinois attorney general Lisa Madigan seems to determined to ensure that Illinois polling places no longer resemble - well - Illinois polling places.
Attorney: W. Va. SC looking ahead in insurance opinion
Maynard CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A recent opinion by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals will help avoid future attempts at collusion by plaintiffs and insured parties, an attorney involved in the case said Monday.
Bribery trial of Miss. tobacco lawyer, two state judges starts
JACKSON, Miss. - An attorney who represented the State of Mississippi during the landmark 1998 tobacco settlement went on trial Monday, accused of bribing two judges.
Post-trial motions denied in AG Lynch's lead paint case
Lynch PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch scored another victory Monday in his case against lead-based paint manufacturers when a Superior Court judge denied the companies' motions for a new trial and judgment as a matter of law.
State Farm asks judge to recuse himself; AG Hood files to intervene in Katrina settlement hearing
Hood GULFPORT, Miss. - A day after State Farm Insurance Co. asked a federal judge to recuse himself from presiding over a portion of a proposed settlement with policyholders affected by Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood filed a motion to participate in Wednesday's settlement hearing.
McGraw still handing out settlement money
McGraw CHARLESTON - Just one week after his chief deputy told a legislative committee otherwise, Attorney General Darrell McGraw again was handing out lawsuit settlement money.
Termite-treatment dispute gets hearing, rules Arkansas SC
Chief Justice Jim Hannah LITTLE ROCK -- Federal arbitration is the correct remedy for a contractual dispute with a pest exterminator, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled late yesterday.
Receivable deposit keys quick-take eminent domain, SC rules
Justice Ming W. Chin SACRAMENTO -- Two important conditions governing California's so-called "quick-take" eminent domain action are both constitutional, the state Supreme Court ruled late yesterday.
Iowa SC says pollution clause lets insurer off hook in death
Justice Michael J. Streit DES MOINES -- Carbon monoxide is a form of pollution, the Iowa Supreme Court stated in a ruling released today.
Gov. Rell chooses next Chief Justice of Conn.
Rogers HARTFORD, Conn. - Appellate Court Judge Chase Rogers, a former co-worker of state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, will be Connecticut's next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Gov. Jodi Rell announced Tuesday.
Blumenthal debates hedge fund manager
Blumenthal Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal recently offered his opinion in the case of a hedge fund manager accused of soliciting clients by maintaining a company Web site.
Insurers group responds to Hood
Hood DES PLAINES, Ill. - Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood claims he is attempting to protect insurance consumers with the legislation he recently crafted and is pushing on the state, but one industry head says the measures would have the opposite effect.
Miller wins petrol tank suit, has another in the pipeline
Tom Miller DES MOINES -- The problem of environmental damage from leaking petroleum-storage tanks in Iowa is apparently never-ending.
File review before attacking tax decision in court: Idaho SC
Justice Roger S. Burdick BOISE -- Attack might be the best method of defense on the football field but it isn't necessarily recommended at the Idaho Supreme Court.
Tennessee judicial candidates lose discrimination appeal against Governor
Bredesen NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee's Supreme Court decided Wednesday that Gov. Phil Bredesen did not discriminate against two white applicants vying for the open spot on the five-seat Court.