News from April 2010
Pa. company is 89th to collapse under asbestos claims
PHILADELPHIA (Legal Newsline) - Durabla Manufacturing, a Pennsylvania company that made sealing products, collapsed under the weight of 108,000 asbestos suits.
Former AGs request leniency in bank fraud case
Janet Reno CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (Legal Newsline)-- Six former U.S. attorneys general -- including Janet Reno and Edwin Meese III -- and 17 other senior Justice Department veterans say federal prosecutors are seeking a grossly excessive sentence in the financial crimes case of a former kosher slaughterhouse manager.
McKenna sues two auto dealers
McKenna EVERETT, Wash. (Legal Newsline) - Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna has filed a lawsuit against two auto dealerships for allegedly misleading sales and advertising practices that caused consumers to pay higher prices for vehicles.
Md. home builder ordered to pay restitution
Gansler BALTIMORE (Legal Newsline) - Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler has announced final order has been issued to require a home builder to pay more than $480,000 to consumers stemming from alleged failures to complete construction on homes.
Blumenthal wants rate increase rejected
Blumenthal HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on Wednesday called on the Department of Public utility Control to reject a proposal by a utility to increase rates by $210 million.
Appeals court OKs Wal-Mart class action
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline)-A federal appeals court ruling this week has opened the door for thousands of female Wal-Mart employees to sue the retail giant in a single class action lawsuit for alleged gender discrimination.
Report says Cuomo to run for governor
Cuomo NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo will reportedly make the long-awaited announcement that he is running for governor in May.
DuPont asks for rehearing of punitives issue
Hill CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - DuPont has asked the West Virginia Supreme Court for a rehearing of the once-$381 million case against it.
Cuomo reaches agreement over used cars
Cuomo NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has announced that more than $100,000 in restitution will be distributed by his office to customers of two Hudson Valley and Long Island auto dealerships that allegedly misrepresented used cars they sold.
Mills backs health insurance decision
Mills AUGUSTA, Maine (Legal Newsline) - Maine Superior Court Chief Justice Thomas Humphrey has affirmed the denial of Anthem Health Plans of Maine's 2009 rate increase request by the state insurance superintendent, Maine Attorney General Janet Mills has announced.
Cuomo called 'prince of darkness'
Cuomo NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - New York Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada, Jr., recently sued by Andrew Cuomo, on Friday termed the New York attorney general "the prince of darkness."
N.H. company barred from work in Mass.
Coakley BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has barred a New Hampshire construction company from bidding or contracting for any new public projects in the state for six months as a result of misclassifying its workers.
Telecommunications company to pay credits in N.C.
Cooper RALEIGH, N.C. (Legal Newsline) - North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper announced Friday that a telecommunications and cable company serving western North Carolina has agreed to pay additional credits to consumers who experienced lengthy service outages last fall.
Coakley orders Domino's... to pay up
Coakley BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley's office has cited the former owner of Domino's Pizza franchises for wage and hour violations for the second time.
Calif. appeals court overturns asbestos decision
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A California appeals court has overturned a $5.6 million asbestos verdict, finding that valve-maker The William Powell Company is not liable for the injuries sustained by Edward Walton.
Mine tragedy ad may result in ethics charge
Underwood CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - The law firm that ran advertisements in the wake of the recent Raleigh County mine tragedy is expecting an ethics complaint.
Bill would let Tenn. guv hire private attorneys
Bredesen NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Legal Newsline) - The Tennessee Legislature is considering a measure that would allow the Governor's Office to hire private attorneys to represent the state without the attorney general's permission.
Blumenthal boasts of court victory
Blumenthal HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - A first-in-the-nation court victory has been declared by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal against the insurance arm of Wells Fargo.
Md. AG issues cease-and-desist against mortgage company
Gansler BALTIMORE (Legal Newsline) - Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler's Securities Division ordered a Montgomery County-based mortgage company to cease and desist violating Maryland's securities law on Thursday.
Judgment obtained against Mass. landlord
TAUNTON, Mass. (Legal Newsline) - Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has obtained a judgment against a Fall River landlord and his tenant for allegedly posting discriminatory rental advertisements on Craigslist.org.