News from May 2007
'Everybody is afraid of' chief deputy AG, fired employee says
Hughes CHARLESTON - Bars of black ink conceal statements that Chief Deputy Attorney General Fran Hughes made under oath in a lawsuit of a former employee who claimed she worked on Attorney General Darrell McGraw's re-election campaign on taxpayer time in 2004.
Purdue pleads out, will pay $634 million in fines
McDonnell ABINGDON, Va. - Only a few days after paying $20 million to 27 state attorneys general to settle similar civil allegations, Purdue Frederick Co. pleaded guilty in a Virginia federal court Thursday to criminal charges of misbranding the addictive and abusable nature of its prescription painkiller OxyContin.
Miss. SC has new justice
JACKSON, Miss. - Gov. Haley Barbour appointed former district attorney and trial judge Ann Hannaford Lamar to the Mississippi Supreme Court Wednesday.
U.S. House passes student loan bill
Cuomo WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a law that will require colleges and lenders to provide detailed accounts of any arrangements they might have.
McGraw done with payday lenders
McGraw CHARLESTON, W. Va. - The only payday lender left in West Virginia settled with Attorney General Darrell McGraw Wednesday.
AG Coakley suing Dept. of Energy
Coakley BOSTON - Deciding not to amend energy efficiency standards for certain commercial ventilation systems was a mistake, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said Monday as she announced a lawsuit against the federal Department of Energy.
Dann: Cigarettes not welcome in movies
Dann COLUMBUS, Ohio - Instead of excessive violence or sexual situations, Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann recently spoke out against smoking in movies.
Legislation thrills McCollum
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The prospect of higher civil penalties is encouraging to Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, who on Tuesday praised the recently passed False Claims Act.
Maynard warns that ruling could lead to more entanglement
Maynard CHARLESTON, W. Va. - Justice Spike Maynard of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals warns that a recent Court decision will encourage attorneys to entangle themselves in businesses they represent.
Texas AG's bin bombers bag him fifth ID-protection lawsuit
Greg Abbott announces his lawsuit against RadioShack last month AUSTIN -- The Texas Attorney General's identity-protecting dumpster divers aren't fussy about where they fish for evidence of Texas businesses breaking identity-protection laws.
Purdue Pharma settles multi-state marketing claim
Purdue Pharma will pay nearly $20 million to settle a three-year investigation conducted by 27 attorneys general who alleged it unlawfully marketed its prescription painkiller OxyContin.
Blumenthal talks Cocaine on TV
Blumenthal Cocaine is off the shelves, and Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal let the rest of his plan be known Tuesday afternoon on Fox News.
Attorney general flip-flop-flips on water battle with Washington
Sen. Josh Penry DENVER -- First he butted in. Then he butted out. Now he's butted back in.
Cuomo trying something new
Cuomo NEW YORK - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has shifted some of the focus in his investigation into the college loan industry and has began serving alumni associations with subpoenas.
N.J. joins college loan investigation
Rabner TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey Attorney General Stuart Rabner recently served subpoenas on several organizations that deal with college loans, making him one of several state attorneys general who have followed New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's lead.
W. Va. trial lawyers continue trend, change name
CHARLESTON, W. Va. - The trial lawyers who appear before the West Virginia Supreme Court, as well as the rest of the other state courts, will be calling themselves something different from now on.
Plaintiff blames Wal-Mart for 'unnatural' accumulation of ice
CHICAGO -- An Illinois woman recently filed a complaint alleging that Wal-Mart's negligence during a December 2005 snowstorm led to a fall causing injuries worth more than $300,000.
Blockbuster sued in Cook Co. over icy sidewalk
CHICAGO -- A Chicago plaintiff sued the Blockbuster Videos corporation and its agents on March 30, 2007 for negligence, stemming from a slip and fall in front of the video drop box outside an Oak Park, Ill. store.
Texas Democrats want high-profile blogging judge on highest bench
Judge Susan Criss AUSTIN -- Recent rumors that well-known Galveston Judge Susan Criss could be headed for a state Supreme Court campaign run were on the money.
Baby bibs full of lead, Cuomo said
Cuomo NEW YORK - As lead paint litigation spreads across the country, a pair of state attorneys general say lead exposure is, too.