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Mass. court reprimands judge libeled by newspaper
Headline News |
2008/12/19 09:16
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| Massachusetts' top court has publicly reprimanded a judge who wrote threatening letters to the publisher of the Boston Herald after he won a $2 million libel judgment against the paper.pThe Supreme Judicial Court's punishment for Judge Ernest Murphy is slightly less severe than the public censure and $25,000 fine recommended by the state's Commission on Judicial Conduct. The SJC did order Murphy to reimburse the commission for its costs./ppThe case began in 2002, after the Herald published a series of stories depicting Murphy as soft on crime. Several quoted Murphy as saying a young rape victim should get over it./ppMurphy won his lawsuit, then wrote threatening letters to the Herald publisher demanding payment./ppMurphy agreed in August to step down from the bench, citing health problems brought on by the stress of the case. /p |
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Court raises hopes of Hanford radiation plaintiffs
Headline News |
2008/12/16 09:04
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| A U.S. Supreme Court decision Monday raised hopes that as many as 2,000 plaintiffs could be compensated for health problems they blame on radiation from a Washington state nuclear site instrumental in the Manhattan Project and the Cold War.pThe court issued a one-line denial of an appeal by contractors who worked at the Hanford nuclear reservation. The contractors — E.I. Du Pont De Nemours amp; Co., General Electric Co. and UNC Nuclear Industries Inc. — were challenging a lower-court ruling last spring that sided largely with the plaintiffs./ppThe people exposed to radiation lived in eastern Washington, eastern Oregon and Idaho, downwind of Hanford, as the U.S. government was developing atomic bombs in the 1940s./ppThe government did not disclose until 1986 that radiation had been released at the site, and since then the downwinders have sought compensation for thyroid cancer and other conditions they believe were caused by the exposure./ppThis is very exciting for us, Richard Eymann, one of the plaintiffs' lawyers in the long-running case, told The Spokesman-Review of Spokane. With a new administration coming in, we want a serious look at compensation for these people after years of litigation./ppSo far, the plaintiffs have not agreed to a settlement offer by the contractors that would compensate them based on the amount of radiation they likely received and the illnesses they have, said Kevin Van Wart, lead attorney in Chicago for the Hanford contractors./p |
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Court allows lawsuits over 'light' cigarettes
Headline News |
2008/12/15 09:16
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| The Supreme Court on Monday handed a surprising defeat to tobacco companies counting on it to put an end to lawsuits alleging deceptive marketing of light cigarettes.pIn a 5-4 split won by the court's liberals, it ruled that smokers may use state consumer protection laws to sue cigarette makers for the way they promote light and low tar brands./ppThe decision was at odds with recent anti-consumer rulings that limited state regulation of business in favor of federal power./ppAltria Group Inc. argued on behalf of its Philip Morris USA subsidiary that the lawsuits are barred by the federal cigarette labeling law, which forbids states from regulating any aspect of cigarette advertising that involves smoking and health./ppJustice John Paul Stevens, however, said in his majority opinion that the labeling law does not shield the companies from state laws against deceptive practices. The decision forces tobacco companies to defend dozens of suits filed by smokers in Maine, where the case originated, and across the country./p |
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List of potential victims grows in NY fraud case
Headline News |
2008/12/14 09:01
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| Investors who put their fortunes in the hands of arrested New York money manager Bernard Madoff are waiting to hear how much of their stake is left.pThe roster of potential victims in what prosecutors said was a $50 billion Ponzi scheme has grown exponentially longer in the past few days./ppMadoff, 70, said in regulatory filings that he only had around 25 clients, but it has become apparent that the list of people who lost money may number in the hundreds or even thousands./ppAmong those who have acknowledged potential losses so far: Former Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman, New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon and J. Ezra Merkin, the chairman of GMAC Financial Services./ppA charity in Massachusetts that supports Jewish programs, the Robert I. Lappin Charitable Foundation, said it had invested its entire $8 million endowment with Madoff. The organization's executive director said she doesn't expect it to survive./ppOther institutions that believed they had lost millions included The North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System and the Texas-based Julian J. Levitt Foundation./ppHedge funds and other investment groups looked like big losers too. The Fairfield Greenwich Group said it had some $7.5 billion in investments linked to Madoff. A private Swiss bank, Banque Benedict Hentsch Fairfield Partners SA, said it had $47.5 million worth of client assets at risk./p |
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Insurer's asbestos-related lawsuits at high court
Headline News |
2008/12/13 09:14
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| The Supreme Court agreed Friday to consider reinstating a roughly $500 million settlement of asbestos-related lawsuits against the Travelers Companies Inc.pThe settlement would also block any new lawsuits against Travelers arising out of the insurance company's long relationship with Johns Manville Corp., once the world's largest producer of asbestos./ppTravelers has been named in dozens of lawsuits claiming that it tried to hide the dangerous health effects of asbestos. Asbestos is a mineral that was commonly used until the mid-1970s in insulation and fireproofing material. Exposure can increase the risk of lung cancer, mesothelioma and other ailments, according to federal health agencies./ppThe company has argued that asbestos-related claims should be paid out of a trust created by Johns Manville in the 1980s and approved by a federal bankruptcy judge. Money for the fund came largely from insurers./ppTravelers agreed to settle with several groups of plaintiffs provided that federal courts make clear that it would not have to face any new similar lawsuits./ppThe 2nd U.S Circuit Court of Appeals in New York overturned lower-court approval of the settlement, saying a bankruptcy judge lacks the authority to act so broadly. The justices, at arguments in March, will consider the question of the bankruptcy court's power./ppThe consolidated cases are The Travelers Indemnity Co. v. Bailey, 08-295, and Common Law Settlement Counsel v. Bailey, 08-307. /p |
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Victim's kin file suit in Wal-Mart stampede death
Headline News |
2008/12/03 18:52
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| The family of a New York man who was trampled to death the day after Thanksgiving by a stampede of bargain hunting Wal-Mart shoppers has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.pThe family also filed notice that Nassau County, on Long Island, and its police department will be sued./ppThe lawsuit against Wal-Mart and the Long Island mall where it is located was filed Wednesday in state Supreme Court in the Bronx on behalf of Elsie Damour Phillipe. Phillipe is the sister of victim Jdimytai Damour (DHMEE'-tree Di-MOHR'), and is the court-appointed administrator of his estate./ppDamour, a temporary worker hired for the holiday season, was crushed to death when some 2,000 customers stormed into the Valley Stream store./ppNone of the defendants in the lawsuit immediately responded to requests for comment. /p |
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