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Idaho inmates settle lawsuit over prison violence
Legal Career News |
2011/09/21 16:15
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A potential class-action lawsuit against the nation's largest private prison company over allegations of violence at the Idaho Correctional Center has been settled in federal court.
The agreement between the inmates and Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corporation of America was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Boise.
In it, CCA doesn't acknowledge the allegations but agrees to increase staffing, investigate all assaults and make other sweeping changes at the lockup south of Boise. If the company fails to make the changes, the inmates can ask the courts to force CCA to comply.
The inmates, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, sued last year on behalf of everyone incarcerated at the CCA-run state prison. They said the prison was so violent it was dubbed "Gladiator School," and that guards used inmate-on-inmate violence as a management tool and then denied prisoners medical care as a way to cover up the assaults.
CCA has denied all the allegations as part of the settlement, but the agreement is governed under a section of the Prison Litigation Reform Act which only applies in cases in which prisoners' constitutional rights have been violated. |
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Kona coffee dispute prompts class-action lawsuit
Class Action News |
2011/09/21 14:16
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A spat involving Safeway and Hawaii coffee growers is still brewing, even after the supermarket giant agreed to change labeling on its Kona blend coffee.
A $5 million class-action lawsuit was filed in federal court in Northern California claiming Safeway profited off the reputation of Kona coffee while selling an inferior product with very little Hawaii-grown coffee.
The lawsuit was filed Aug. 30, a day before Safeway's letter informing the Kona Coffee Farmers Association the company would change its packaging to reflect the percentage of Kona it contains. The farmers had called for a boycott of Safeway's 1,700 stores nationwide after a farmer saw the Kona blend for sale in a California store.
In an effort to protect a world-famous Hawaii product, the state's Board of Agriculture Chairman Russell Kokubun sent a letter to Safeway officials asking them to comply with a law here requiring labels to specify the percentage of Hawaii-grown coffee included in the blend. The law requires those blends have at least 10 percent Hawaii-grown coffee. But because Safeway's Kona blend isn't sold in any of the 19 Hawaii locations, Kokubun could only ask for voluntary compliance. |
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Court halts Texas execution of ex-Army recruiter
Criminal Law Updates |
2011/09/21 11:16
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A former Army recruiter who for the third time this year was hours away from his scheduled execution for the rape-slaying of a woman in Fort Worth nearly 10 years ago was granted yet another reprieve by the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Cleve Foster, 47, was set to die Tuesday evening in Huntsville.
The high court twice earlier this year stopped Foster's scheduled lethal injection. The latest court ruling came about 2½ hours before Foster could have been taken to the Texas death chamber.
Foster was meeting with one of his lawyers in a small holding cell a few feet from the death chamber when a Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman delivered the news.
"He thanked God and pointed to his attorney, saying this woman helped save his life," prison spokesman Jason Clark said.
He also said Foster repeated his insistence that he was innocent. |
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Court sets aside class-action suit by Costco women
Class Action News |
2011/09/21 10:19
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Citing the U.S. Supreme Court's recent Walmart ruling, a federal appeals court set aside - but did not dismiss - a class-action suit by more than 700 women who accused discount retailer Costco of using an "old-boys' network" to bypass them for promotions.
A federal judge in San Francisco ruled in 2007 that the women had presented enough evidence of a "common culture" at Costco to proceed with a single nationwide suit against the company, rather than file individual claims.
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that decision Friday, relying in part on the Supreme Court's ruling in June dismissing a class action against Walmart by as many as 1.5 million female employees. The high court said the women had failed to show a company-wide policy that allegedly led to gender-based disparities in pay and promotions.
Likewise, the appeals court said, the Costco plaintiffs have not yet shown that they have enough in common to justify a class action.
The court said opposing expert witnesses disagreed about a central issue - whether the company promoted women less often than men in all regions or only a few - and said U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel should have resolved the dispute before letting the case proceed. |
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Jason R. Maier - Nevada Personal Injury Attorney
Law Firm News |
2011/09/21 09:20
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Jason R. Maier
Jason Maier is the managing partner of the law firm Maier Gutierrez & Associates, focusing his practice on business, commercial and personal injury litigation.
A graduate of American University’s Washington College of Law, Mr. Maier began his legal career as a law clerk for United States District Judge James Mahan (District of Nevada). It was during Mr. Maier’s time working with Judge Mahan that he developed an interest in litigation and trial practice.
Following the federal court clerkship, Mr. Maier had the opportunity to join the white collar litigation practice of Skadden Arps in Washington, D.C., where he represented national and international clients in various investigations by the federal government.
Las Vegas Injury & Wrongful Death Attorneys
If you or a family member has been in an accident, we can help. If one of your employees was involved in an accident and your company is facing a lawsuit, we can help.
We have a track record of successfully litigating personal injury and product liability cases for our clients. We have significant experience with these types of cases, ranging from quick, favorable resolutions to taking cases all the way through trial and appeal.
Maier Gutierrez PLLC
2500 West Sahara Avenue, Suite 106
Las Vegas, Nevada 89102 |
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Ill. court rules against releasing Drew Peterson
Lawyer Blog News |
2011/09/20 14:46
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The Illinois Supreme Court says Drew Peterson must stay in jail while the former police officer fights charges that he murdered his third wife. Peterson has been jailed for more than two years. His trial has been on hold while prosecutors appeal a ruling that bars them from introducing statements allegedly made by his wife, Kathleen Savio. Peterson says the long wait violates his right to a speedy trial. The state Supreme Court rejected his petition Monday without explanation. Peterson attorney Joel Brodsky says it's very uncommon for someone to be held so long without a trial. He says he's disappointed by the court's decision. The retired Bolingbrook police sergeant has also been named a suspect in his fourth wife's disappearance but has not been charged. |
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