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Louisiana to get $12M in Health Net case
Court Watch |
2011/04/06 09:13
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| pThe Louisiana Supreme Court has ordered Health Net Inc., a major health maintenance organization, to cover more than $180 million in claims by consumers, health care providers and creditors in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas./ppLouisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon told The Advocate that Louisiana will get the smallest portion of the payout./ppWe have about $12 million coming to us to policyholders, providers and general creditors, meaning companies who sold them supplies or that rented them space, Donelon said./ppDonelon said the unanimous ruling, issued Friday, will reimburse all of AmCare Louisiana HMO's members, providers, and creditors for any losses caused by Health Net's conduct./ppHealth Net sold health plans in the three states to AmCareco Inc. in 1999. In 2002, the troubled health plans were placed under state supervision. Each of the state's insurance departments sued AmCareco and Health Net, alleging fraud, negligence, conspiracy and breach of fiduciary duty./ppIn 2005, a state district court jury awarded the Texas plaintiffs around $100 million in damages. In 2005, a state judge in Baton Rouge issued similar verdicts against Health Net and awarded $30 million to the Louisiana and Oklahoma plaintiffs./p |
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Blockbuster showdown coming today in bankruptcy court
Court Watch |
2011/04/02 23:37
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| pSeveral bidders are set to duke it out for Blockbuster Inc. at a bankruptcy auction in New York today. They reportedly include Dish Network Corp. and billionaire investor Carl Icahn./ppThe movie-rental chain has received several bids other than the opening bid of $290 million from a group of debtholders made in February. Blockbuster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September./ppDish and Icahn have each submitted a bid, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter. /ppDish Network declined to comment. Icahn could not immediately be reached for comment./ppJay Indyke, attorney for the committee of unsecured creditors, says several bids had come in but did not specify who they are from./ppIcahn has been expected to make a bid. He was part of the group of debtholders that provided Blockbuster financing to operate while in bankruptcy in September. Everyone in that group, except for Icahn, made an opening bid in February, known as a “stalking horse” bid, to buy Blockbuster for $290 million. /ppBlockbuster used to dominate the U.S. movie rental business. But it lost money for years as that business declined because customers shifted to Netflix Inc., video on demand and DVD rental kiosks./ppProspective bidders are either after Blockbuster’s assets, such as its name, kiosks and movie-download service, or the money they can make from liquidating the brand, analysts said./p |
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Court nixes new rape trial in dispute over poem
Court Watch |
2011/03/24 09:28
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| pA court has overturned a decision granting a new trial to a convicted rapist who claimed his rights were violated when a poem written by the victim was kept out of evidence during trial in Wayne County. /ppThe poem expressing regret about alcohol and sex was written before the woman's encounter with Dustin Wiecek in 1999. /ppA federal judge says the exclusion hurt Wiecek's ability to fully confront his accuser at trial about her personal life. But a U.S. appeals court on Wednesday disagreed, saying Wiecek's lawyer had much opportunity to challenge the woman's credibility. /ppWiecek was accused of using GHB, known as a date-rape drug. He's already served 41 months in prison, more than the minimum sentence. He's been free on bond since fall 2009. /p |
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Oregon appeals court: Teeth not dangerous weapon
Court Watch |
2011/03/24 06:28
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| pThe Oregon Court of Appeals has ruled that teeth are not a dangerous weapon./ppThe decision Wednesday overturned a first-degree assault conviction for a Marion County man who bit off part of a neighbor's ear in 2008 in a drunken fight./ppThe Oregonian reports a second-degree assault conviction against 30-year-old Scott Russell Kuperus II stands. But first-degree assault involves a dangerous weapon, and teeth don't qualify./ppHis attorney says the first-degree assault charge that carried a sentence of 90 months in jail will be dismissed and Kuperus will be sentenced to 70 months for second-degree assault./p |
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Ex-judge Camp sentenced to 30 days in prison
Court Watch |
2011/03/11 11:55
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| pJack Camp, the former federal judge ensnared in a scandal involving drugs and a stripper, was sentenced Friday to 30 days in prison and 400 hours of community service./ppSenior U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan said he could not give a sentence of only probation because Camp had breached his oath of office./ppHe has disgraced his office, Hogan said. He has denigrated the federal judiciary. He has encouraged disrespect for the rule of law./ppBefore being sentenced, Camp apologized for what he had done and thanked his family and friends, many of whom filled the courtroom./ppI have embarrassed and humiliated my family as well as myself, Camp said. I have embarrassed the court I have served on and I am deeply sorry for that. When I look back at the circumstances which brought me here and look at what I did, it makes me sick./ppCamp said that at the end of the day, the only thing I can say is that I'm so very sorry./ppAs a judge, Camp often meted out harsh sentences and rarely gave breaks to defendants who presented mitigating circumstances to explain their conduct. On Friday, Hogan was asked by Camp's lawyers to grant leniency because of the ex-judge's decades-long battle with a bipolar disorder and brain damage caused by a 2000 biking accident./p |
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Court blames LA County for ocean pollution
Court Watch |
2011/03/11 11:55
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| pA California appeals court has sided with environmentalists in a decision that blames Los Angeles County and its flood control district for sending polluted runoff into the Pacific Ocean./ppThe 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the county is responsible for the heavily polluted storm water flowing untreated each year down the Los Angeles and San Gabriel rivers./ppThe Natural Resources Defense Council and Santa Monica Baykeeper environmental groups say the ruling is a turning point in the battle for clean water. Council attorney Aaron Colangelo says the county must now eliminate the flow of pollutants./ppThe Los Angeles Times says the Flood Control District argued its channels were simply conduits for upstream polluters, but the court says the district controls the flow to the ocean./p |
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