News from September 2012
Group touts 'report card' on Fla. SC justices
Lewis TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - A group working to help oust three members of the Florida Supreme Court announced Saturday it will be traveling the state this month, touting its so-called "report card" on the three justices.
Harris touts mortgage settlement in DNC speech
Harris CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Legal Newsline) - California Attorney General Kamala Harris, in her speech Wednesday night at the Democratic National Convention, touted the $25 billion nationwide mortgage settlement her and 48 other state attorneys general helped negotiate earlier this year.
Coakley settles with staffing firm
Coakley BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley announced settlements on Wednesday with a temporary staffing firm and its client company to resolve allegations that they failed to properly pay more than 1,200 workers at a Woburn facility.
Eighth Circuit temporarily blocks law on corporate political spending
Riley ST. LOUIS (Legal Newsline) - A federal appeals court said Wednesday a Minnesota law requiring that all associations make independent expenditures through an independent expenditure political fund is "most likely" unconstitutional.
SEC files suit over 'Buckets of Money' seminars
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - A nationally syndicated radio "wealth" advisor has run afoul of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
DOJ thwarts sticky notes merger
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Fortune 100 company 3M of Minnesota backed away from its acquisition of Avery Dennison Corp.'s Office and Consumer Products Group after the Department of Justice said it would file an antitrust lawsuit to block the deal.
Tenth Circuit says lease cancellation challenge too late
Obama DENVER (Legal Newsline) - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a decision that rejected a challenge to the U.S. Department of the Interior's cancellation of 77 Utah oil and gas drilling leases for environmental concerns.
Lawsuit filed over Superfund cleanup
PADUCAH, Ky. (Legal Newsline) - A western Kentucky waste management company is suing companies that disposed of waste in a Calvert City Superfund Site.
Mo. AG announces judgment in hazardous waste case
Koster JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Legal Newsline) - Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced on Thursday that he has obtained a judgment against a Greene County couple for alleged violations of the Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Law.
Mich. SC orders union-backed proposal to be put on ballot
Young LANSING, Mich. (Legal Newsline) - The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a union-backed proposal that would add the right to collective bargaining for public and private sector employees to the state constitution should be added to the state's November ballot.
N.J. chief justice temporarily assigns judges to SC
Rabner TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) - New Jersey Chief Justice Stuart Rabner has temporarily assigned two Appellate Division judges to the state's high court.
Del. SC affirms record $300M attorney fee award
Holland DOVER, Del. (Legal Newsline) - The Delaware Supreme Court last week upheld a fee, awarded to a group of plaintiffs lawyers, worth more than $300 million.
Strip club takes case over fees to N.Y. high court
Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman ALBANY, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - A strip club near Albany is asking New York's highest court to exempt it from a state sales tax on its admission fees and so-called "couch sales."
Texas SC orders judge to clarify why he disregarded verdict
Floyd AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline) - For the second time in the same case, Texas' highest court is directing Judge Donald Floyd of Jefferson County to definitively state his reasons for disregarding a jury verdict and granting a plaintiff a new trial.
Ill. court reverses $17.8M asbestos verdict
Steigmann SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (Legal Newsline) - A split panel of the Illinois Fourth District Appellate Court has reversed a $17.8 million verdict in a McLean County asbestos conspiracy case.
W.Va. SC hears public financing arguments
Loughry CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - After nearly two hours of oral arguments, the question of additional public funding in the West Virginia Supreme Court race rests squarely in the hands of the state Supreme Court.
Poker buddies accused of insider trading swap
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday accused a California man with giving inside information about Nvidia Corporation's earnings to a poker buddy.
SEC accuses Chinese weight loss company of fraud
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday accused a Chinese weight loss company and its top executive of fraud.
Farmers Field bill challenged in Calif. court
Stormer LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A coalition of community activists and four individuals filed suit Thursday against the state of California challenging a recently enacted law that insulates the developer of a proposed Los Angeles stadium from environmental lawsuits.
Maine AG seeks First Circuit review of Medicaid plan amendment
Schneider AUGUSTA, Maine (Legal Newsline) - Maine Attorney General William Schneider says he had "no choice" but to file a petition for review with a federal appeals court after the federal government refused to rule on the state's request to make cuts to its Medicaid program on an "expedited basis."