News from May 2013
AGs call for 'black box warning' on prescription pain relievers
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) -- The National Association of Attorneys General sent a letter Monday to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration urging it to require a so-called "black box warning" on prescription pain relievers in an effort to better protect newborns.
Calif. AG sues JPMorgan Chase over debt collection lawsuits
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) -- California Attorney General Kamala Harris filed an enforcement action Thursday against JPMorgan Chase & Co. for allegedly engaging in unlawful and fraudulent practices of debt collection in the state.
Report: Utah AG faces second ethics complaint
SALT LAKE CITY (Legal Newsline) -- Utah Attorney General John Swallow, already under fire for possible election law violations, reportedly is at the center of another ethics complaint.
U.S. SC sides with Monsanto in patent infringement case
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) -- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that a farmer who bought patented seeds cannot reproduce them through planting, and harvest them, without the patent holder's permission.
Report: Judge to resentence former Pa. SC justice
PITTSBURGH (Legal Newsline) -- The judge who sentenced former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin to what some have deemed an unusual sentence last week has now ordered that Melvin be resentenced.
N.M. AG settles with mortgage lender
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (Legal Newsline) -- New Mexico Attorney General Gary King on Monday announced a settlement with a major lender and servicer of consumer loans that allegedly fast-tracked foreclosures against the families and estates of deceased homeowners.
Cuccinelli: Assistant AG recognized for breaking up human trafficking ring
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) -- Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli announced Wednesday that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has recognized one of his assistant attorneys general for his role in breaking up a sex trafficking ring.
Ky. AG calls on national retailer to stop selling replica pill bottles
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Legal Newsline) -- Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway on Wednesday called on national retailer Urban Outfitters to stop selling flasks, shot glasses and pint glasses that look like prescription pill bottles.
Colo. AG appoints new administrator to Consumer Credit Unit
DENVER (Legal Newsline) -- Colorado Attorney General John Suthers announced Tuesday the appointment of Julie Ann Meade to serve as the administrator of the office's Consumer Credit Unit.
Kan. AG announces $130,000 judgment against Colo. roofer
TOPEKA, Kan. (Legal Newsline) -- Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt on Wednesday announced a $130,000 judgment against a Colorado roofing company for allegedly violating the Kansas Consumer Protection Act.
R.I. SC says state not required to pay lead industries' court costs
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Legal Newsline) -- The Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled Friday that the state does not have to pay more than $10 million in litigation costs to a group of companies sued by the state over lead paint exposure.
Mass. AG announces indictments against Internet cafe owners
BOSTON (Legal Newsline) -- Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley on Tuesday announced indictments against the owners of a Revere-based Internet cafe and their corporation on charges of operating an illegal slot parlor.
N.Y. AG calls for federal housing agency acting director's immediate removal
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) -- New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, in an op-ed published Wednesday, called for the immediate removal of Edward DeMarco, the acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Authority.
Mich. AG concerned terms of mortgage settlement not being met
LANSING, Mich. (Legal Newsline) -- Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, in a letter Wednesday, said he is concerned that certain terms of the nationwide mortgage settlement are not being met by the five banks that signed on to the deal.
S.C. high court upholds sales tax exemptions
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) -- The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled this week that the state's sales and use tax exemption and cap scheme, as a whole, does not violate the state constitution's equal protection guarantee and prohibition against special legislation.
N.M. SC rules against water company in dispute with city
SANTA FE, N.M. (Legal Newsline) -- The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a city did not engage in an unlawful taking of a water company's property when it chose to provide water within an area located outside its limits.
Mich. appeals court says insurer shouldn't have to pay attorney fees
LANSING, Mich. (Legal Newsline) -- The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled this week that a lower court was wrong to make an insurer that already was ordered to shell out money for Medicare and personal injury protection payments to also pay a plaintiff's attorney fees.
Ark. AG rejects wording of proposed referendum on 'private option' law
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Legal Newsline) -- Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, in an opinion Tuesday, rejected the wording of a proposed ballot measure on a "private option" law that state legislators approved this year as an alternative to expanding Medicaid's enrollment.
Wis. Assembly passes bill clarifying physician informed consent law
MADISON, Wis. (Legal Newsline) -- The Wisconsin Assembly on Wednesday passed a bill that clarifies the state's physician informed consent law in the wake of a state Supreme Court decision last year.