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French court upholds Scientology fraud conviction
Legal World News |
2012/02/03 16:53
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A French appeals court on Thursday upheld the Church of Scientology's 2009 fraud conviction on charges it pressured members into paying large sums for questionable remedies.
The case began with a legal complaint by a young woman who said she took out loans and spent the equivalent of euro21,000 ($28,000) on books, courses and "purification packages" after being recruited in 1998. When she sought reimbursement and to leave the group, its leadership refused to allow either. She was among three eventual plaintiffs.
"It's a severe defeat for the Church of Scientology, which is hit at the very heart of its organization in France," Olivier Morice, a lawyer for the National Union of Associations Defending Family and Individual Victims of Sects, told reporters after the decision.
Karin Pouw, a spokeswoman for the church in Los Angeles, denounced Thursday's decision, calling it a "miscarriage of justice."
She said the group would appeal the decision to the Court of Cassation and plans to bring a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights. Another complaint is pending with a U.N. special rapporteur. |
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Murray Frank LLP Files Class Action
Class Action News |
2012/02/03 13:51
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Murray Frank LLP has filed a class action complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Case No. 12 Civ. 0672) on behalf of all individuals and institutions who purchased securities of GLG Life Tech Corporation during the period between February 1, 2011 and November 13, 2011 (the “Class Period”), seeking to pursue remedies under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”).
The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, the Defendants made false and misleading statements about or knew but failed to disclose that: (1) the Company’s original equipment manufacturers were experiencing production issues that impacted the packaging and appearance quality of its products; (2) consumers were responding poorly to the Company’s AN0C and stevia products; and/or (3) the Company would not meet its earnings projections.
On October 6, 2011, GLG Life Tech issued a press release disclosing for the first time a negative outlook concerning its AN0C and stevia products. On the news, the Company’s stock price dropped by 42% from a close of $3.45 per share on October 5, 2011 to a close of $1.99 per share on October 6, 2011.
Subsequently, on November 14, 2011, the Company announced financial results for the period ending September 30, 2011. Revenue for the period was $1.7 million, versus revenue of $20.9 million for the same period in the previous year. EBITDA for the period was negative $8.8 million, versus EBITDA of $6.1 million for the same period in the previous year. Following its announcement of these disappointing results, the Company’s management declined to provide any further formal guidance on revenues, EBITDA, or capital expenditures. On the news, the Company’s stock price continued to drop, from a close of $2.32 per share on November 11, 2011 (the last trading day before the announcement) to a close of $2.01 on November 14, 2011.
If you purchased GLG Life Tech securities during the period between February 1, 2011 and November 13, 2011, you may move the Court, not later than February 13, 2012, to serve as Lead Plaintiff for the Class. A Lead Plaintiff is a representative chosen by the Court who acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. You do not need to be a Lead Plaintiff to be included in the class.
www.murrayfrank.com |
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Court won't release CA gay marriage trial videos
Lawyer Blog News |
2012/02/03 10:03
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A federal appeals court refused Thursday to unseal video recordings of a landmark trial on the constitutionality of California's same-sex marriage ban.
Siding with the ban's supporters, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled the public doesn't have the right to see the footage.
The 2010 trial lasted 13 days and was the first in a federal court to examine if prohibiting gay couples from marrying violates their constitutional rights.
It was open to the public and received widespread media coverage, so the recordings would not have revealed any new evidence or testimony.
In deciding to keep the videos under seal, a three-judge 9th Circuit panel cited a promise by the trial judge that the footage would not be seen outside his courtroom.
Former U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker had staff members make the recordings with the caveat that the footage would be used only by him to help him reach a verdict.
Walker, who has since retired and revealed he is in a long-term relationship with another man, originally wanted to broadcast the trial in other federal courthouses and on YouTube.
The U.S. Supreme Court forbade him from moving forward with that plan after the ban's sponsors argued that distributing trial footage could subject their witnesses to harassment. At the time, the 9th Circuit did not allow the federal courts within its jurisdiction to televise trials. The appeals court since has adopted rules that would permit trials to be broadcast under limited conditions. |
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Miss. high court takes ex-gov pardons case
Court Feed News |
2012/02/02 21:00
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The Mississippi Supreme Court said Wednesday it will take up the legal challenge to the pardons ex-Gov. Haley Barbour gave out in his last days in office.
State Attorney General Jim Hood, a Democrat, wants to invalidate dozens of the 198 pardons that Barbour, a Republican, handed out before his second four-year term ended Jan. 10. Ten of the people were still incarcerated when they received reprieves.
Only about two dozen of the people pardoned followed the Mississippi Constitution's requirement to publish a notice about their reprieves in their local newspapers for 30 days, said Hood, who wants the others invalidated. Barbour has said the pardons are valid and that he gave them because he's a Christian and believes in second chances.
Most of the people who could lose their pardons already served their sentences and have been out of prison for years. Some of them were convicted of comparatively minor crimes as far back as the 1960s and 1970s and have never been in trouble again.
Five of the pardoned are being held on a temporary restraining order issued by Hinds County Circuit Judge Tomie Green. The Supreme Court extended that order until it can rule on the matter. It set a hearing for Feb. 9 and said it would try to rule quickly. |
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HIV-positive man who sued Atlanta gets new hearing
Legal Career News |
2012/02/02 18:01
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A federal appeals court on Wednesday granted a new hearing to a 40-year-old man who claimed the Atlanta Police Department rejected his job application because he has HIV.
The ruling was a victory for gay rights advocates and the health groups who had closely watched the case, which was brought in 2010 by a man using the pseudonym Richard Roe.
Among other findings, the three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in the ruling that the city lulled Roe into believing he didn't need to prove his HIV was "non-serious." It ordered the judge who dismissed the lawsuit to take another look at that issue and others prompted by the lawsuit.
The ruling was no surprise, as the panel expressed skepticism about the city's arguments during oral arguments last week, and one judge suggested the court had little choice but to send the case back to the federal judge. |
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Providence mayor warns of possible bankruptcy
Headline News |
2012/02/02 18:01
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Mayor Angel Taveras painted a bleak picture Thursday of the city's finances, saying Providence faces "devastation" and could go bankrupt if retiree benefits aren't cut and tax-exempt institutions like Brown University don't pay more in lieu of taxes.
Taveras said he cut a projected $110 million deficit for the current fiscal year to less than $30 million but that the city is on track to run out of money by June. He said taxpayers and city workers have already sacrificed ? taxes and fees have gone up, several schools were closed and there are 200 fewer people on the city's payroll compared to a year ago ? and he called on retirees and nonprofit hospitals and universities to do the same.
"Everyone must sacrifice or everyone will suffer the consequences," he said at a news conference at City Hall. "We need everyone to be part of the solution."
He said the city can't afford retirees' guaranteed annual cost-of-living increases ? about 600 retirees get increases of 5 and 6 percent ? and that benefits will be cut one way or another, either voluntarily or possibly through court action. He suggested the city could go the way of Central Falls, which was taken over by a state-appointed receiver in 2010 and where pensioners' benefits were unilaterally slashed. The receiver declared bankruptcy on behalf of the city in August. |
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