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Jeffco Commission chooses to hire California law firm
Lawyer News |
2011/07/28 08:32
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div class=entrydiv class=articleThere are 48 hours until the Jefferson County Commission's big decision on whether to file bankruptcy, settle, or wait some more. But the county is already spending money to prepare for what would be the biggest Chapter 9 bankruptcy ever. Tuesday the commission hired bankruptcy expert Kenneth Klee's L.A.-based law firm to consult with the county and represent it if bankruptcy is filed.
The county hasn't heard any response from its creditors to a plan to settle the sewer debt out of court, so they're preparing as if they'll be going into court as early as Thursday.
All 5 commissioners left no doubt they are prepared to file Chapter 9 bankruptcy if they don't see an agreeable settlement.
Without any meaningful progress by the creditors, I believe this commission has the wherewithall, and the fortitude to do what's necessary and to go ahead and resolve this crisis, Commissioner Jimmie Stephens said.
Part of the reason? They want to protect customers from a 25% rate increase proposed by the receiver and keep $75 million in sewer funds that the receiver wants control of. Both of those could happen Friday if there's no agreement.
The receiver is going to put a 25% rate increase, and our constituents can't take that, Commissioner Sandra Little-Brown said. It's a burden on them and this will save them from that, they way to do that is to file bankruptcy.
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Immigrants Sue Alabama Over Immigration Law
Headline News |
2011/07/28 08:32
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Alabama’s new immigration law will subject all immigrants to harassment, says a lawsuit filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court.
The lawsuit is filed on behalf of five plaintiffs, who include two undocumented immigrants, two Mexican immigrants who are U.S. citizens and the spouse of an undocumented worker.nbsp; The lawsuit maintains that the law violates provisions in the Alabama Constitution that encourage immigration.
Our point is these people have individual rights that cannot be tread upon by the Alabama Legislature, said Thomas Drake, a Cullman attorney representing the plaintiffs.
A statement from Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange's office said they were reviewing the complaint and would defend the law vigorously.
Signed by Gov. Robert Bentley on June 9, the new immigration law makes it a crime to be an undocumented immigrant in Alabama and allows law enforcement to detain individuals they have a reasonable suspicion of being in the country illegally.
The law also makes it illegal to give undocumented immigrants rides and requires school districts to check on the immigration status of students who enroll.
The law is modeled on Arizona's immigration law, parts of which have been blocked by federal court.
The American Civil Liberties Union, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the National Immigration Law Center filed suit earlier this month to overturn Alabama’s immigration law. |
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Health care lawsuit reaches Supreme Court
Law Firm News |
2011/07/28 08:31
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A conservative law firm asked the Supreme Court Wednesday to strike down the health care overhaul, challenging the first federal appeals court ruling that upheld President Barack Obama's signature domestic initiative.
The appeal filed by the Thomas More Law Center of Ann Arbor, Mich., said Congress overstepped its authority in requiring Americans to purchase health insurance or pay financial penalties.
The center said that if the Supreme Court ratifies the law, the federal government will have absolute and unfettered power to create complex regulatory schemes to fix every perceived problem imaginable and to do so by ordering private citizens to engage in affirmative acts, under penalty of law.
Last month, a divided three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati rejected the center's argument in upholding the centerpiece of the law, the insurance requirement.
In addition to being the first appeals court ruling on the landmark law, the 6th Circuit's decision also was the first in which a Republican-appointed judge, Jeffrey Sutton, voted to uphold the law. President George W. Bush nominated Sutton.
Federal appeals courts in Atlanta and Richmond, Va., also have heard arguments on challenges to the law, but have yet to issue decisions. The federal appeals court in Washington is scheduled to hear argument in yet another health care case in September. |
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Calif Supreme Court rules on illegal local taxes
Topics |
2011/07/26 09:16
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Ruling in a Los Angeles case, the California Supreme Court has ruled taxpayers can file class-action claims when seeking refunds from cities and counties for illegal local taxes.
Monday's unanimous ruling overturns lower-court rulings requiring taxpayers to file individual refund claims.
In class action claims, an individual can win damages for an entire group of people affected by the same unlawful action.
The San Francisco Chronicle says Estuardo Ardon sued the city of Los Angeles in 2006, claiming a city telephone tax was illegal because it was linked to a federal excise tax that had been ruled invalid. The suit seeks millions of dollars in refunds for all phone customers in the city.
But the case has remained on hold while state courts determined whether Ardon can represent a group. |
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Class action lawsuit filed over Antero drilling
Law Firm News |
2011/07/26 09:16
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A class action lawsuit has been filed against Antero Resources alleging that the company's gas drilling activities in Battlement Mesa threaten the health of residents.
The suit was filed in Denver District Court on behalf of all 5,000 residents of the unincorporated community, which is located next to Parachute in western Garfield County.
An attorney representing the residents, Corey Zurbuch, says the suit argues that drilling exposes the people of Battlement Mesa to hazardous pollution.
Antero representatives, along with others in the industry, have long argued that their activities are not hazardous to the residents of Garfield County, according to the Glenwood Springs Post Independent. |
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NJ court rules against son in Plain estate dispute
Law Firm News |
2011/07/26 09:16
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A New Jersey court has ruled against the son of Belva Plain in a dispute over the late author's estate.
John Plain had claimed his mother, the bestselling author of more than 20 novels, and sisters had schemed to cut him out of her will.
Attorneys for Belva Plain's estate argued that her son had signed an agreement in the 1990s vowing not to contest her will.
Friday's decision in state Superior Court in Essex County dismissed John Plain's claim. Plain's lawyer said he was reviewing the decision.
Belva Plain began writing her novels after raising her children and becoming a grandmother. When she died in her sleep last fall at her home in New Jersey at age 95, more than 28 million copies of her books were in print. |
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