|
|
|
High court to hear suit over Cheney event arrest
Lawyer Blog News |
2011/12/05 18:06
|
The Supreme Court said Monday it will hear an appeal from Secret Service agents who say they should be shielded from a lawsuit over their arrest of a Colorado man who confronted Vice President Dick Cheney.
The justices will review a federal appeals court decision to allow Steven Howards of Golden, Colo., to pursue his claim that the arrest violated his free speech rights. Howards was detained by Cheney's security detail in 2006 after he told Cheney of his opposition to the war in Iraq.
Howards also touched Cheney on the shoulder, then denied doing so under questioning. Appellate judges in Denver said the inconsistency gave the agents reason to arrest Howards.
Even so, the appeals court said Howards could sue the agents for violating his rights — an unusual twist that the agents and the Obama administration said conflicts with other appeals court decisions and previous high court rulings in similar cases.
Justice Elena Kagan is not taking part in the case, probably because she worked on it while serving in the Justice Department. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ala court voids $8.4M verdict against GE Capital
Lawyer Blog News |
2011/12/02 19:01
|
The Alabama Supreme Court has reversed an $8.6 million verdict against GE Capital Aviation Services in a lawsuit filed by Pemco World Air Services Inc.
The justices ruled Friday that a lower court was wrong when it refused to overturn a verdict returned by jurors in 2009 in Dale County. The Tampa, Fla.-based, Pemco has a plant in Dothan.
Pemco refurbishes airplanes, and GE Capital leases and finances aircraft. The companies accused each other of breach of contract and fraud in 2004 over a contract to convert Boeing 737 owned by GE Capital from passenger planes into freighters.
Jurors sided with Pemco, but the Supreme Court says evidence didn't support the claim. The justices sent the case back to Dale County for a new trial. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Court to look at overtime pay for drug sales reps
Lawyer Blog News |
2011/11/28 16:01
|
The Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether pharmaceutical sales representatives can bill their employers for overtime, a case that could affect the pay of tens of thousands of people.
The court said Monday that it will review a federal appeals court ruling that held the sales reps do not qualify for overtime under federal labor law. Other appeals courts have ruled differently and the pharmaceutical industry joined in the call for Supreme Court review.
The sales reps meet with physicians in the hope that doctors will prescribe one company's medicine over another's. Two salesmen who once worked for drug maker GlaxoSmithKline filed a class-action lawsuit claiming that they were not paid for the 10 to 20 hours they worked each week on average outside the normal business day. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
NY top court clears probe of inflated appraisals
Lawyer Blog News |
2011/11/22 17:46
|
New York's top court has cleared the state attorney general to pursue allegations that First American Corp. and subsidiary eAppraiseIT inflated property appraisals under pressure from client Washington Mutual.
The Court of Appeals says federal regulations do not pre-empt state claims alleging fraud and violations of real estate appraisal rules.
Then-Attorney General Andrew Cuomo brought the 2007 civil suit alleging the practice contributed to the national subprime mortgage crisis.
Washington Mutual collapsed in 2008 and became the nation's largest bank failure ever.
Six top court judges ruled that Congress envisioned "a robust partnership with the states" in aiming to prevent real estate appraisal abuse.
In a dissent, Judge Susan Read says the suit challenges a bank's federally regulated mortgage practices. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pivotal CA gay marriage ban decision due Thursday
Lawyer Blog News |
2011/11/17 13:55
|
The California Supreme Court is poised to release a decision that could prove pivotal to the future of the state's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage.
The court says it will file a written opinion Thursday morning clarifying whether the sponsors of ballot initiatives can defend their measures from legal challenges without the cooperation of the governor and attorney general.
A federal appeals court considering the constitutionality of the 2008 ban, known as Proposition 8, asked the state high court to weigh in on that question before it gets to the merits of the case.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has expressed doubts about the ability of Proposition 8's sponsors alone to challenge a lower court ruling that overturned the initiative. California's previous governor and attorney general both refused to appeal the decision. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Missouri Supreme Court upholds strip club restrictions
Lawyer Blog News |
2011/11/16 12:34
|
The Missouri Supreme Court has upheld a 2010 state law imposing restrictions on strip clubs and other sexually oriented businesses.
In a unanimous decision Tuesday, the court rejected claims from the adult entertainment industry that the law infringed on free expression rights and was passed in violation of legislative procedures.
The court said there was enough evidence to support the Legislature's belief that the restrictions served a government interest in minimizing negative effects from sexually oriented businesses.
The law requires sexually themed businesses to close by midnight. It also bans full nudity, alcohol, minors and touching between semi-nude employees and customers.
The Supreme Court's ruling affirms a prior decision by a Cole County judge. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recent Lawyer News Updates |
|
|
Lawyer News RSS
