News from 2011
Calif. AG sues over plastic water bottles
Harris SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - California Attorney General Kamala Harris is suing three companies for allegedly making false and misleading claims in marketing their plastic water bottles as "100-percent biodegradable and recyclable."
N.J. AG objects to Morgan Stanley's $6.5M settlement
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - New Jersey Attorney General Paula Dow has a problem with financial services firm Morgan Stanley's proposed settlement in a class action lawsuit that alleges bid-rigging.
Biden suing mortgage registry
Biden WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden announced a lawsuit on Thursday against the mortgage registry MERS that he says is at the middle of the housing crisis.
Ind. AG sues Fla. businesses
Zoeller INDIANAPOLIS (Legal Newsline) - Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced a lawsuit on Thursday against two Florida-based foreclosure assistance companies that allegedly promised to stop home foreclosures and failed to deliver.
Texas AG, weight loss clinics come to agreements
Abbott AUSTIN (Legal Newsline) - Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced agreements on Thursday with several weight loss clinics and a distributor of a weight loss product in Texas requiring that the companies significantly alter their marketing.
Study: Philly courts courting plaintiffs from outside city
Wright PHILADELPHIA (Legal Newsline) - A newly released academic study by a law school professor asserts that Philadelphia's civil court system is attractive to plaintiff's from outside of the city at the expense of local consumers and businesses.
Plaintiffs committee wants past testimony admitted in BP suits
Roy NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - Plaintiffs attorneys preparing for trial over liability for the Deepwater Horizon explosion seek to admit past testimony of witnesses who now refuse to testify because they might incriminate themselves.
McGraw gets temporary injunction against debt buyers
McGraw CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - A West Virginia court has entered an order preventing three Cavalry Company debt-buying businesses from collecting debts in the state without a license.
Millions spent on retention elections, report shows
Kilbride WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - A campaign to unseat Illinois Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride triggered the nation's costliest retention election in 25 years, according to a national report released Thursday.
Mo. judge declares mistrial in tobacco lawsuit
ST. LOUIS (Legal Newsline) - A St. Louis jury on Tuesday failed to return a verdict in a class action case against Philip Morris USA over whether smokers were deceived into believing "light" and low-tar cigarettes reduced health hazards.
Abbott asked to consider suing mortgage company
Abbott HOUSTON (Legal Newsline) - The Texas county that includes Houston said Tuesday it planned to ask state Attorney General Greg Abbott to consider suing Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. over allegedly unpaid filing fees.
Texas AG suspends ATV dealer's license
Abbott AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline) - Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott on Tuesday announced the resolution of an enforcement action against a New Braunfels-based ATV dealer and its owners.
Iowa AG seeks info from Mich. labor law poster company
Miller DES MOINES, Iowa (Legal Newsline) - Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller asked a Polk County judge on Wednesday to order a Michigan-based labor law poster seller to provide information sought by the Consumer Protection Division.
Barbour: Miss. not really getting $20 million from settlements
Barbour JACKSON, Miss. (Legal Newsline) - Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has warned a joint legislative budget committee against relying on recent legal settlements with four pharmaceutical companies as a "windfall" for the state budget next year.
Okla. tribe says wind farm doesn't trump its oil, gas rights
TULSA, Okla. (Legal Newsline) - A federally recognized Native American tribe in Oklahoma is asking a U.S. district court to prohibit a group of companies from proceeding with construction of a wind farm on its oil and natural gas-rich land.
Gov. Haley slams unions, promises reform
Haley WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said Wednesday that the saga of a Boeing plant in her state is "the most un-American thing" she's ever seen.
Congressman calls NLRB a 'rogue agency'
Issa HINGTON - (Legal Newsline) House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R.-Calif.) called the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) a "rogue agency" in an Oct. 17 letter to the board's general counsel Lafe Solomon. Solomon has defied the committee's subpoena.
W.Va. Congresswoman says EPA's agenda is destroying jobs
Capito WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, co-founder of the Congressional Coal Caucus, says the federal Environmental Protection Agency's "extreme agenda" and regulations are destroying jobs.
Health care law tied to unconstitutional mandate, attorney says
Clement WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement gave a preview of his future argument in the health care challenge on Wednesday.
Former Ga. AG sees problem with lawsuit-financing
Baker WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Former Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker said Wednesday that integrity of America's courts is in danger because of companies that specialize in funding litigation.