News from April 2010
N.M. House GOP asks AG to challenge health care law
Gary King (D) SANTA FE, N.M. (Legal Newsline) - Republicans in the New Mexico House of Representatives this week urged state Attorney General Gary King to join a lawsuit challenging landmark federal health care legislation signed into law recently.
Breyer: Obamacare faces Supreme Court review
Stephen Breyer WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline)-Legal challenges to the national health care overhaul signed last month by President Barack Obama will be heard eventually by the U.S. Supreme Court, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer predicted Thursday.
Mass. AG settles with online payday lender‏
Martha Coakley (D) BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said Thursday that her office has reached a settlement with an online payday lender that was charging up to 600 percent interest for short-term loans.
W.Va. CALA criticizes attorney's mine disaster ad
Underwood CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - A legal reform group is criticizing the timing of an attorney's advertisement in the wake of the recent Raleigh County mine tragedy, while the attorney says he was simply trying to give a helping hand.
Arkansas AG declines to wade in on health care law's constitutionality
Dustin McDaniel (D) LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Legal Newsline)-Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said Wednesday that his office won't advise the state Legislature on whether the new federal health care reform law is constitutional.
Van Hollen warns against voting overhaul
J.B. Van Hollen (R) MADISON, Wis. (Legal Newsline)-Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen on Wednesday urged state legislators to reject proposed changes to rules governing voter registration.
Ohio chief justice pick draws criticism
Eric Brown (D) COLUMBUS, Ohio (Legal Newsline) - Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland on Wednesday gave a candidate for state Supreme Court chief justice the post on a temporary basis, sparking criticism that the governor needlessly injected politics into the court.
Georgia governor circumvents AG to join health care lawsuit
Sonny Perdue (R) ATLANTA (Legal Newsline)-Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue is suing the federal government over the constitutionality of the new health care reform law without the help of Democratic state Attorney General Thurbert Baker.
University 'welcomes' AG's probe into Palin contract
Sarah Palin (R) TURLOCK, Calif. (Legal Newsline)-The president of California State University Stanislaus says he "welcomes" an investigation of the campus's foundation by Attorney General Jerry Brown.
Outside counsel bill becomes law in Florida
McCollum TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - Florida Gov. Charlie Crist on Wednesday signed into a law a bill that increases transparency in contracts given to private attorneys while capping the amount they can make.
Legal reformers seek to derail lawsuit lending bill
Ed Murnane SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (Legal Newsline)-Legal reformers in Illinois say they are counting on the state House of Representatives to quash a bill they say would help trial lawyers file more lawsuits.
Mississippi will challenge Obamacare without Hood
Barbour JACKSON, Miss. (Legal Newsline) - Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has decided to join the multistate challenge to federal health care reform, proceeding without state Attorney General Jim Hood.
Delegate not surprised by McGraw decision
Miller CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - One of West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw's biggest critics says a federal court has done to McGraw what state lawmakers won't.
Cuomo: Company targeted military personnel
Cuomo WATERTOWN, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has taken legal action against an electronics store and its affiliated companies over allegations of targeting soldiers with fraudulent and deceptive business practices.
Cordray, debt collector settle
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray has secured $207,500 in consumer restitution in a settlement with a collection agency, resolving allegations of consumer harassment when collecting debt.
CalPERS sued over insurance exclusion
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline)--CalPERS, the nation's largest public employee pension fund, is being sued over the agency's refusal to sell long-term care insurance to same-sex spouses of state government workers.
Washington AG sues over Yucca Mountain decision
Rob McKenna (R) OLYMPIA, Wash. (Legal Newsline)-Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna is suing the Obama administration over a move to jettison plans for a nuclear waste repository in the remote Nevada desert.
Calif. officials target small tobacco companies
Pedro Nava (D) SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline)-California officials want money from the nation's small tobacco companies that have avoided paying into an escrow account for the states.
Four states mulling intervention in whistleblower suit
Masto LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A federal judge has given four states a deadline to decide if they want to join a whisteblower lawsuit filed against pipemaker JM Eagle.
Alaska AG, cruise association reach agreement over passenger tax
Dan Sullivan ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Legal Newsline)- Alaska Attorney General Dan Sullivan and the leader of the Alaska Cruise Association signed an agreement this week that could settle a federal lawsuit over the state's cruise ship passenger head tax.