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Appeals court reinstates lawsuit against Glock
U.S. Legal News |
2012/07/27 18:52
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A California appeals court has reinstated a now-retired paralyzed Los Angeles police officer's product liability lawsuit against gun manufacturer Glock.
Enrique Chavez was paralyzed from the waist down when his 3-year-old son accidentally shot him with his service pistol.
The lawsuit claims the .45-caliber Glock 21 pistol lacks adequate safeguards against accidental discharge. There is no grip safety on the Glock.
A Los Angeles judge dismissed the suit two years ago, saying a Police Department review of the gun's design found the Glock's advantages outweighed any inherent risks.
The San Francisco Chronicle says the 2nd District Court of Appeals on Tuesday reinstated the suit, saying a jury could conclude that a grip safety strong enough to withstand a child's grasp would minimize the risk of accidental discharge. |
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Court rejects Florida prison privatization appeal
Court Feed News |
2012/07/25 22:52
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An appellate court on Tuesday tossed out Attorney General Pam Bondi's request for a decision to uphold the proposed privatization of 29 South Florida prison facilities.
A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal rejected her plea to reverse a lower court's ruling against privatization, saying Bondi couldn't appeal on her own after her client, the Department of Corrections, declined to do so. The panel unanimously dismissed the case because Bondi was not a party.
"A party who suffers an adverse judgment in Circuit Court has the right to appeal, but nonparties whose rights have not been adjudicated have no right of appeal," Chief District Judge Robert Benton wrote for the court.
Leaders of the Republican-controlled Legislature had urged Bondi to appeal after Gov. Rick Scott decided the department, which is part of his administration, would not.
One of Bondi's assistants acknowledged during oral argument last month that it was too late to carry out the privatization due to the expiration of a budget provision authorizing the plan. Nevertheless, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Glogau asked the appellate court to issue a ruling upholding the privatization provision that would set a precedent for future budgets. |
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Pa. high court denies Orie Melvin request
Legal World News |
2012/07/20 18:37
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A Pennsylvania state Supreme Court justice who is fighting political corruption charges has lost a request for her fellow justices to intervene in her criminal court case and require that an out-of-county judge preside over it.
The state Supreme Court issued the one-page order denying the request from suspended Justice Joan Orie Melvin on Tuesday. Melvin had sought to keep Allegheny County judges from hearing her case, complaining that one Allegheny County judge is married to a key prosecution witness, Lisa Sasinoski.
Melvin also had objected to a local district judge presiding over her preliminary hearing, saying the case may be too complex. Melvin asked her colleagues on the state Supreme Court to intervene after an Allegheny County judge denied her initial request. |
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Wash. Senate hopeful sought to seal court files
Law & Politics |
2012/07/18 23:37
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A couple months before Brad Toft emerged as the only Republican in a crucial state Senate race, he pressed officials to seal records from a past court case.
In a signed letter, Toft seemed to suggest that he wasn't the same person cited in the court files, saying that he shared a name with one of the parties but arguing that "the specific identity of the defendant is unclear." He wanted the records blocked from public inspection, declaring that the files might do damage to his reputation.
Toft, however, acknowledged to The Associated Press that he was the defendant in the case, saying he was simply exploring whether an old judgment could be vacated. |
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Wis. town barred from beefing up farm water rules
U.S. Legal News |
2012/07/11 22:51
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The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a rural town lacksthe authority to impose tougher water-quality standards on a livestockfarm than the state requires.Magnolia, a community about 30 miles south of Madison, granted LarsonAcres Inc. a permit in 2007 when it wanted to expand, but included anumber of conditions because residents blamed it for polluting theirwater supply. The farm initially had 1,000 cows and now has about2,900.Among the conditions, the farm had to allow the town to conductmonthly water quality tests on its land, and it had to follow certaincrop-rotation strategies to reduce nitrate buildup.The farm sued, arguing that pollution-control measures are laid out bythe state and can't be modified by individual towns.The state Supreme Court agreed, ruling that the town exceeded itsauthority by imposing additional measures.The case has been watched by rural Midwest communities struggling todeal with the expansion of so-called factory farms. States throughoutthe farm belt have seen big farms get bigger as the agricultureindustry continues to consolidate.Similar cases have been filed in six other Midwestern states, butWisconsin's is believed to be the first to reach a state supremecourt. |
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FBI investigates missing $17M in trust funds
Business Law Info |
2012/07/09 22:44
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The FBI is investigating the apparent theft of $17 million from Northern California trust fund accounts.
The San Jose Mercury News says the money has vanished from the trust funds of dozens of Santa Clara County residents who relied on a money manager to oversee their life savings.
Probate court records show the investigation centers on accounts administered by Christine Backhouse. She handles more than $104 million in assets.
Court records show she doesn't have enough insurance to cover the missing funds.
Backhouse says a boyfriend secretly wired millions of dollars out of the trusts.
The Campbell money manager mostly handled private trusts with no judicial oversight of her fees for service. |
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