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Court: State prisoners count at home in redistricting
Court Watch |
2011/12/05 10:12
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A state court ruled Friday that prisoners must be counted among voters back in their home neighborhoods rather than in upstate prisons for the purpose of redrawing state legislative districts, a likely blow to the slim Republican majority in New York’s Senate.
Although prisoners cannot vote, the decision means more voters will be counted as living in heavily Democratic New York City and other urban areas as part of the redistricting process, which is tied to the census. That would reduce the population upstate and likely result in fewer seats in the Assembly and Senate representing sparsely populated upstate areas where prisons are located.
The Senate’s Republican majority says it will appeal the ruling by a trial level judge in Albany.
The immediate practical result of the decision could be minor. The state redistricting commission is already redrawing legislative districts by following a 2010 law requiring prisoners to be counted in their latest home neighborhoods. |
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Federal Court of Canada Certifies Class Action
Court Watch |
2011/11/28 09:13
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Branch MacMaster LLP and Hordo Bennett Mounteer LLP report that the Federal Court of Canada has certified the BIM Class Action against Business in Motion International Corporation and Alan Kippax. By order dated November 10, 2011 , Mr. Justice Rennie of the Federal Court officially certified the action on behalf of the national class, as represented by the Plaintiff, Mr. Mark Cuzzetto .
The lawsuit was initiated in May, 2010 against BIM and its principal, Alan Kippax. BIM operated a plan called the Time Leverage System, recruiting representatives to sell Perpetual Motion Products. The lawsuit alleges that the Defendants have been engaged in the operation of an unlawful multi-level marketing scheme and/or pyramid scheme contrary to the Competition Act. The class members seek damages for the money they paid to the Defendants.
Persons who have purchased the product and who wish to participate in the action do not need to do anything at this time. Persons who do not want to participate in the action must opt out by January 18, 2012 by completing the online form on the website.
Bim CLASS ACTION
DID YOU PURCHASE A PERPETUAL MOTION PRODUCT FROM OR THROUGH BUSINESS IN MOTION INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION? IF SO, PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY AS IT MAY AFFECT YOUR RIGHTS.
WHAT IS THIS CASE ABOUT?
A class action lawsuit has been certified in the Federal Court of Canada claiming that Business in Motion International Corporation and Alex Kippax (BIM) ran an illegal pyramid scheme and an illegal multi-level marketing scheme. A copy of the Statement of Claim and Order certifying the action as a class proceeding can be found at www.BIMclassaction.com.
HOW WILL THE LAWSUIT PROCEED?
A trial will be held to determine the common issues in the action.nbsp; If these issues are determine in favor of the class members, there might still need to be individual hearings to determine the entitlement of each class member to a refund.
WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO PARTICIPATE?
There is nothing you have to do right now. Unless you opt out, you will be bound by the result of the common issues trial. However, in order to make sure you are notified of any important developments in the action, we recommend you register on our website at www.BIMclassaction.com.
WHAT IF I DO NOT WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS LAWSUIT?
If you do not want to be part of the class action, you must complete the online form at www.BIMclassaction.com.nbsp; If you do not have access to the internet, please contact Ulla Herlev at Branch MacMaster LLP. You must complete the online form by no later than January 18, 2012 .
DO I NEED TO PAY ANYTHING?
You will only need to pay legal fees if the action is successful in obtaining you a refund of some of the monies you paid.nbsp; Those legal fees will be paid directly from the refund you receive.nbsp; You will not need to pay any legal fees out of your own pocket.
Any fee paid to the lawyers must be approved by the Court as being fair and reasonable. The fee agreement entered into by the representative plaintiff provides for the lawyers to be paid up to 1/3 of any amounts recovered or any benefit obtained from the class action. If and when this occurs, the lawyers will apply to Court for approval of that percentage or some lesser amount.
If the class action is unsuccessful at the common issues trial, you will not pay any legal fees.
WHO ARE THE LAWYERS FOR THE CLASS?
The lawyers for the class are:
BRANCH MACMASTER LLP
Barristers and Solicitors
1410 - 777 Hornby Street
Vancouver , BCnbsp; V6Z 1S4
HORDO BENNETT MOUNTEER LLP
Barristers and Solicitors
1400 - 128 West Pender St.
Vancouver , BCnbsp; V6B 1R8
Mark Cuzzetto (the representative plaintiff) has been appointed by the Court to instruct the lawyers for the common issues stage. The lawyers must act in the interest of all class members. |
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Defendant in $670M scam enters guilty plea in Va.
Court Watch |
2011/11/23 09:48
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A man who cooked the books for a $670 million insurance industry scam pleaded guilty Monday to charges he helped mislead thousands of investors worldwide.
Jorge Luis Castillo, 56, Hackettstown, N.J., entered pleas in U.S. District Court to conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud in U.S. District Court. He is scheduled for sentencing May 22 and could receive up to 20 years in prison and fined up to $250,000.
Castillo, who originally was scheduled for trial in 2012, will assist the government's prosecution of Minor Vargas Calvo, 60, the president and majority owner of Provident Capital Indemnity Ltd., a Costa Rican company. He is scheduled for trial in February. He has pleaded not guilty to similar charges.
The government called Castillo a gatekeeper for Provident. As a certified public accountant, he cast himself as an outside auditor and falsely reported a rosy financial picture for the company, which had a global client base.
This is truly an international fraud in scope, U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride said in a conference call after Castillo entered his plea. As a result of Mr. Castillo's crimes, a lot of people lost life savings to life settlement companies because of the worthless guarantees that Mr. Castillo helped create. |
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Courts weighs scrapping huge California water pact
Court Watch |
2011/11/21 09:21
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A vanishing lake figures large in a court battle over how Southern California gets it water, a high-stakes dispute with consequences that could ripple throughout the western United States.
A California appeals court is considering whether to overturn a landmark 2003 agreement that created the nation's largest farm-to-city water transfer and set new rules for dividing the state's share of the Colorado River. A three-judge panel of the 3rd Appellate District in Sacramento will hear arguments Monday and is expected to rule within three months.
Farmers and environmentalists involved in the lawsuit argue the pact is deeply flawed, while California water agencies say it is critical to keeping an uneasy peace on the river. The court has given each side 45 minutes to make its case and asked lawyers to focus on whether the state of California violated its constitution by essentially writing a blank check to restore the shrinking Salton Sea.
California long used more of the Colorado River than it was granted under agreements with Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and Mexico. Its overindulgence was never a big problem until Sunbelt cities like Phoenix witnessed explosive growth and other states clamored for their full share. Drought only exacerbated tensions. |
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Russia court rejects $16 billion claim against BP
Court Watch |
2011/11/13 11:10
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A Russian court on Friday rejected a $16 billion claim against BP PLC filed by an obscure minority shareholder in BP's Russian venture, TNK-BP.
The court victory may have softened the blow that BP sustained when Rosneft dropped it as a partner in developing Russia's untapped Arctic oil and gas riches. The multibillion dollar deal broke down after TNK-BP's Russian billionaire shareholders blocked it, claiming that BP should be pursuing it through TNK-BP.
The Arbitration Court in the Tyumen region in Siberia on Friday dismissed two motions filed by a group of minority shareholders led by Andrei Prokhorov, who owns 0.0000106 percent in TNK-BP. The lawsuits are a $13 billion claim against BP and a $2.8 billion suit against two BP-nominated directors on TNK-BP's board.
Prokhorov and other shareholders claimed that BP and its representatives damaged TNK-BP's interests by failing to include the Russian venture in the Arctic deal with Rosneft.
BP's Russian partners in TNK-BP have denied any connection to the minority shareholder's suit. The claim was the reason why Russian police raided BP's office in August, which happened just days after Rosneft teamed up with ExxonMobil to develop the Arctic. |
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Court likely to overturn Calif. law on livestock
Court Watch |
2011/11/10 09:38
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The Supreme Court seemed ready Wednesday to block a California law that would require euthanizing downed livestock at federally inspected slaughterhouses to keep the meat out of the nation's food system.
The court heard an appeal from the National Meat Association, which wants a 2009 state law blocked from going into effect. California barred the purchase, sale and butchering of animals that can't walk and required slaughterhouses under the threat of fines and jail time to immediately kill nonambulatory animals.
But justices said that encroached on federal laws that don't require immediate euthanizing.
The federal law does not require me immediately to go over and euthanize the cow. Your law does require me to go over and immediately euthanize the cow. And therefore, your law seems an additional requirement in respect to the operations of a federally inspected meatpacking facility, Justice Stephen Breyer told a California lawyer. |
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