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Toyota class action suit to start with Utah case
Law Firm News |
2011/06/24 22:19
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The first lawsuit to go to trial in a massive class action against Toyota Motor Corp. over acceleration problems that led the company to recall 14 million cars will involve a crash that killed two people in western Utah, a federal judge said Friday.
U.S. District Judge James Selna told attorneys the case of 38-year-old Charlene Jones Lloyd and 66-year-old Paul Van Alfen, whose Toyota Camry slammed into a wall in Utah in 2010, is scheduled to go to trial in February 2013.
The case - Van Alfen v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. - will be the first of several bellwether lawsuits, intended to determine how the rest of the litigation will proceed.
Selna wrote in a tentative order that he hoped the selection would markedly advance these proceedings.
The Court believes that selection of a personal injury/wrongful death case is most likely the type of case to meet that goal, Selna said.
Toyota said it welcomes the Utah case as the first suit to reach court.
We are pleased that the initial bellwether will address plaintiffs' central allegation of an unnamed, unproven defect in Toyota vehicles, as every claim in the multi-district litigation rests upon this pivotal technical issue, the company said in a statement.
Toyota has previously argued the plaintiffs have been unable to prove that a design defect in its electronic throttle control system is responsible for vehicles surging unexpectedly. It has instead blamed driver error, faulty floor mats and sticky accelerator pedals. |
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Casino owner cited in complaint against Ala. judge
Law Firm News |
2011/06/24 22:19
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A casino owner accused of buying votes in Alabama for pro-gambling legislation is cited in a judicial complaint against a former state judge, who's accused of letting a gambling lobbyist bankroll her re-election campaign while she was handling a custody dispute involving the casino owner's grandchildren.
An attorney for VictoryLand casino owner Milton McGregor said Tuesday that he did nothing wrong and the complaint filed against former District Judge Patricia Warner of Montgomery is based on errors.
It's reckless and somebody is going to have to answer for that, defense attorney Joe Espy said Tuesday outside the federal courthouse.
The 72-year-old McGregor is in the third week of a trial where he and eight others are accused of buying and selling legislators' votes for pro-gambling legislation with campaign contributions. The legislation was designed to keep McGregor's now-closed VictoryLand casino in Shorter operating.
Late Monday afternoon, the state's Judicial Inquiry Commission filed a complaint against Warner, a Democrat who resigned unexpectedly last week less than six months into her second term. The 74-count complaint accuses Warner of judicial misconduct in several cases, including the one involving an effort by McGregor's former son-in-law to regain visitation rights with McGregor's grandchildren.
The complaint will be heard by the Alabama Court of Judiciary, which can sanction her if it finds her guilty of misconduct and impose financial penalties. A spokesman for the state pension system said Warner qualifies for state retirement benefits. The amount was not immediately available. |
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Mont. Supreme Court rules against Paws Up
Law Firm News |
2011/06/20 00:10
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div id=bg_contentdiv class=padding10div class=entrydiv class=articlepThe Montana Supreme Court has reversed a lower court and ruled that a Montana construction company can either collect a debt or foreclose on a high-end guest ranch involved in a decade-long financial fight./ppThe Independent Record reports that the high court on Tuesday ruled that the owner of Paws Up used a shell corporation to try to avoid paying Helena-based Dick Anderson Construction./ppPaws Up is owned by Monroe Property Co., which is controlled by David Lipson, the former CEO of the haircut chain Supercuts./ppIn 2001 Anderson filed a lawsuit seeking to collect the final $800,000 on the $10 million project. Arbitrators awarded Anderson about $1.4 million in 2005 in damages, interest and attorney's fees./p/div
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Ala. chief justice warns more court layoffs coming
Law Firm News |
2011/05/17 04:34
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Alabama Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb warned the state's judges and circuit clerks Monday to expect substantial layoffs because of the budget crisis in the state judicial system.
Cobb met with judges and clerks mostly by conference call Monday. The meeting was not open to news reporters or the public. She said 270 court employees have already lost jobs in the past two years because of budget cuts, and she expects another 265 court workers to be laid off during the coming fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
Cobb told The Associated Press that she had hoped to receive a $10 million supplemental appropriation from the Legislature to help the courts get through the remainder of the current year. She said that is unlikely now because the money is needed to help with recovery from last month's violent tornadoes that killed more than 200 in Alabama.
She said she doesn't expect to receive the supplemental appropriation and she also believes a bill to raise the state's cigarette tax by $1 a carton is dead for this session. Some proceeds from the cigarette tax were to go to the courts. |
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Trump real estate courses didn't deliver, suit says
Law Firm News |
2011/05/04 19:18
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Before Donald Trump sold the idea of a possible 2012 presidential bid, the bombastic real estate mogul peddled the American dream at a place called Trump University. He promised consumers the golden opportunity to be my next apprentice and learn insider secrets of real estate.
But a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in San Diego claims that the possible GOP presidential candidate's courses instead delivered expensive infomercials disguised as educational classes that preyed on vulnerable Americans in troubled economic times.
George Sorial, assistant general counsel for the Trump Organization, told The Chronicle this week that the allegations contained in the suit are completely ridiculous, adding that Trump University stands 100 percent behind any course we offered.
Sorial dismissed the lawsuit as an effort by two former students and their attorneys looking to make a quick buck from the celebrity businessman.
There wouldn't even be a lawsuit if the Trump name weren't attached to it, he said.
But Tarla Makaeff, 37, a former fashion designer and marketer from Corona del Mar (Orange County), told The Chronicle in an interview this week that Trump's university was hardly worthy of the name. |
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High court rejects quick review of health care law
Law Firm News |
2011/04/25 09:27
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The Supreme Court rejected a call Monday from Virginia's attorney general to depart from its usual practice and put review of the health care law on a fast track. Instead, judicial review of President Barack Obama's signature legislation will continue in federal appeals courts.
The justices turned down a request by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a leading opponent of the law, to resolve questions about its constitutionality quickly. The Obama administration opposed Cuccinelli's plea.
Only rarely, in wartime or a constitutional crisis, does the court step into a legal fight before the issues are aired in appellate courts. Hearings already are scheduled in May and June in three appeals courts.
The case still could reach the high court in time for a decision by early summer 2012.
Cuccinelli said he asked for speedy review to end crippling and costly uncertainty about the law. |
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