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Federal judge blocks Calif. low-carbon fuels rule
Legal Career News |
2011/12/30 21:07
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California officials say they will ask a federal judge to stay his ruling that blocks the state from enforcing the first-in-the-nation mandate for cleaner, low-carbon fuels.
In a decision issued Thursday, Fresno-based U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence O'Neill said the low-carbon fuel rules favor biofuels produced in the state. He said that violates the U.S. Constitution's commerce clause by discriminating against crude oil and biofuels producers located outside California.
California Air Resources Board spokesman Dave Clegern disagreed, saying the fuel rule is "an evenhanded standard that encourages the use of cleaner low carbon fuels by regulating fuel-providers in California."
He said the board plans to ask the judge to stay the ruling, and appeal if necessary to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Out-of-state fuels producers hailed the decision as a win for California drivers. |
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Request by WVU to dismiss Big East suit denied
Legal Career News |
2011/12/28 18:26
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A Rhode Island judge on Tuesday denied a request by West Virginia University to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the Big East Conference over the university's bid to make a quick exit for the Big 12.
Providence County Superior Court Judge Michael Silverstein rejected all of the university's arguments for dismissal.
The school had argued the Rhode Island courts did not have the authority to decide the matter and should defer to the courts in West Virginia, where the first civil suit was filed in this dispute.
The university also claimed it can't be sued in Rhode Island because it has sovereign immunity as an agency of the state of West Virginia and was not properly notified by the Big East of its lawsuit.
Court spokesman Craig Berke said the timetable for future legal proceedings in Rhode Island has not been determined.
The Big East's lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and an order that West Virginia stay in the conference for 27 months.
West Virginia accepted an invitation from the Big 12 in October and hopes to join in time for the 2012 football season.
Since then the school and Big East have each sued the other and filed motions to dismiss the other's lawsuits. A West Virginia judge earlier this month refused to dismiss a university lawsuit against the Big East. |
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Appeals court says Anschutz owes $17.3M in taxes
Legal Career News |
2011/12/27 19:19
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A federal appeals on Tuesday agreed with a tax court that determined Colorado billionaire Philip Anschutz owed at least $17.3 million in taxes.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver upheld the tax court's 2010 ruling. The court said the Anschutz Co., which Anschutz owns, is also liable for at least $77 million in taxes.
Anschutz spokesman Jim Monaghan said Anschutz already paid the taxes but appealed that he owed them. Anschutz's wife, Nancy, was also named in the case because they file tax returns jointly.
The taxes are from stock transactions in 2000 and 2001.
At issue were stock deals that were structured to spread the tax liability out over several years. Judges agreed with tax regulators that that the transactions were sales, and not pending transactions as Anschutz argued.
Such transactions executed through so called variable prepaid forward contracts and share-lending agreements are a fairly common practice by large shareholders hoping to raise money while deferring taxes, according to Robert Willens, a former Lehman Brothers director who now heads a Wall Street tax and accounting firm.
According to the court documents, the Internal Revenue Service in 2003 issued guidance on how the transactions should be structured to avoid taxes, but Willens said the IRS in 2006 issued another letter warning that the arrangements could result in taxable income. In a friend-of-the-court filing in the case, Liberty Media Corp. argued the transactions amount to loans, not sales, and that they provide an important way for companies to raise money and create jobs. |
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Glancy Binkow & Goldberg LLP Has Filed a Class Action
Legal Career News |
2011/12/25 00:00
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Glancy Binkow & Goldberg LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of investors who purchased common stock of Keyuan Petrochemicals, Inc. between August 16, 2010 and October 7, 2011, inclusive alleging violations of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934.
The complaint alleges violations of federal securities laws, Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5, including allegations of issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market which had the effect of artificially inflating the market price of Keyuan’s common stock.
If you suffered a loss in Keyuan you have until January 17, 2012 to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff. To be a member of the class you need not take action at this time; you may retain counsel of your choice or take no action and remain an absent class member. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this Notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Michael Goldberg, Esquire, of Glancy Binkow & Goldberg LLP, 1925 Century Park East, Suite 2100, Los Angeles, California 90067, by telephone at (310) 201-9150, Toll Free at (888) 773-9224, by e-mail to shareholders@glancylaw.com, or visit our website at http://www.glancylaw.com. |
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Mentally disabled detainees granted class status
Legal Career News |
2011/12/21 14:42
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A federal judge has granted class-action status to a case brought on behalf of mentally disabled detainees who lack legal representation in immigration court.
The order issued under seal in November by U.S. District Court Judge Dolly Gee was made public Monday. The case involves detainees in California, Washington and Arizona who have been deemed mentally incompetent to represent themselves.
The American Civil Liberties Union and other immigrant advocates want the federal government to appoint lawyers to represent mentally disabled detainees. Advocates brought the case last year on behalf of two men who had been detained for years.
A message left seeking comment at the Department of Justice was not immediately returned.
Immigrants are not required to use attorneys in deportation proceedings and attorneys are not provided free-of-charge in immigration court. |
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Calif. company due in court for Colo. fire deaths
Legal Career News |
2011/12/19 17:10
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A California specialty painting company is expected to plead guilty in the 2007 deaths of five workers at a Colorado power plant, in the rare prosecution of a company.
RPI Coatings Inc. of Santa Fe Springs, Calif., is expected to plead guilty Monday to five misdemeanor counts of workplace safety violations resulting in death.
During a court hearing earlier this month, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jaime Pena said the company likely would pay a substantial compensation to the victims' survivors as part of a plea deal.
The workers died after a fire broke out inside a pipeline at Xcel Energy's Cabin Creek hydroelectric plant near Georgetown, Colo., about 40 miles west of Denver.
A jury in June acquitted Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy Inc., which owns the power plant, of all criminal charges. The company has paid millions in compensation to the families. |
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