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Attorney Sues 'Washingtonienne' Author
Legal Focuses |
2008/04/24 08:09
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Former Senate Judiciary Committee counsel Robert Steinbuch sued Jessica Cutler, author of the Washingtonienne blog and subsequent book, claiming she invaded his privacy by publishing in graphic detail the intimate amorous and sexual relationship between Cutler and the Plaintiff, including his alleged predilection for spanking.
Steinbuch also sued Hyperion Books, a division of Disney Publishing Worldwide, which allegedly paid Cutler a $300,000 advance for her book, after her blog became a sensation.
n his federal complaint, Steinbuch says, At the time of his relationship with Cutler, Plaintiff did not know that Cutler was simultaneously engaged in sexual relationships with another man, let alone with five other men, and let alone that she was prostituting herself to some of them; and Plaintiff did not know that Cutler was recording the details of her relationship with Plaintiff in her blog, and Defendant Cutler described Plaintiff as, among other things, a committee counsel who likes spanking. That blog is the subject of a separate and distinct litigaion.
Steinbuch also claims Cutler profited by capitalizing on the publicity generated by her blog and her relationship with Plaintiff by signing a deal with Playboy that included a nude photo spread of her, and the thinly disguised novel, of the roman a clef genre, in which her relationship with him is described in graphic detail.
His complaint adds: Hyperion specifically advertised the book as being in 'a witty, unapologetic voice, the novel's narrator Jackie tells the story of ... the staff counsel whose taste for spanking she accidentally leaks to the office.'
Steinbuch demands $10 million damages for invasion of privacy, false light, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He is represented by Jonathan Rosen of Clearwater, Fla. |
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Judge blocks Philadelphia from enforcing new gun laws
Legal Focuses |
2008/04/18 07:51
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| pA judge on Thursday temporarily blocked the city from enforcing five gun-control ordinances pending a challenge from the National Rifle Association./ppThe NRA argues that state law prevents Pennsylvania municipalities from regulating guns, a view that even the city's crime-weary district attorney shares./ppThe city has no basis to pass any of these gun-control ordinances and they know it, lawyer C. Scott Shields argued on the NRA's behalf./ppCity lawyers contend that Philadelphia can pass gun-control ordinances if the laws are outside the scope of state measures. As an example, lawyer Mark Zecca told the judge that one Pennsylvania county had banned guns at its courthouse./ppAmong other things, the five city ordinances passed April 10 ban the sale of assault weapons; require owners to report a lost or stolen gun within 24 hours; and limit firearms purchases to one a month./ppThey came in response to the city's one-a-day murder rate and its reputation for being a weapons source for criminals in New York and other states with strict gun laws./ppThe judge scheduled arguments for April 28. She said she would rule very quickly, although her decision is sure to be appealed by the losing side./ppMayor Michael Nutter, who declared a crime emergency shortly after taking office in January, quickly signed the City Council bills into law - despite still-pending litigation over earlier gun-control efforts. /p |
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Field Fisher Waterhouse £550,000 injury comp
Legal Focuses |
2008/04/03 07:39
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| pEuropean law firm, Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP, has announced the successful recovery of £550,000 in compensation for a labourer injured at work./ppIn December 2005, the labourer was instructed by his foreman to collect waste materials from a large open shed. On entering the shed, a large mechanical digger with a sharp bladed shovel drove into him. The shovel hit both legs causing a severe injury at work. As a result, he had a below knee amputation of his left leg. This has meant that while he can now walk using a prosthetic limb, he is unable to return to his former employment or any other manual labour./ppPaul McNeil, partner in the Personal Injury Group at Field Fisher Waterhouse, was given legal instruction by the client at the end of 2005. /ppAlthough the labourer’s former employer quickly accepted that they were primarily responsible for the accident, they argued that he was also partially responsible for the negligence. They alleged that he had actually gone into the shed against instructions by the foreman./ppField Fisher Waterhouse succeeded in obtaining substantial interim payments to fund medical treatment and rehabilitation. The initial case to decide the issue of fault was fixed for trial in March 2007, however a few days before this date the employers accepted that they were fully liable for the accident. /ppIn the meantime, there was a dispute between the employer and their insurer, which resulted in the insurer cancelling the policy. The meant that Field Fisher Waterhouse then had to bring proceedings against the employer directly./ppDue to a significant difference in opinion between the employer and Field Fisher Waterhouse’s valuation of the injury compensation claim, another trial needed to be fixed for December 2007 to settle the matter. Eventually after extensive negotiation, the claim was settled out of court in the sum of £550,000 plus costs./ppThe labourer received his damages in full as the case was conducted on a no win, no fee basis./ppPaul McNeil said: “I am happy that we were able to recover this compensation for our client, who was injured through no fault of his own whilst at work.”/p |
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Girard Gibbs Investigates Possible Violation of Diebold, Inc.
Legal Focuses |
2008/03/10 07:28
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| The law firm of Girard Gibbs LLP (a href=http://www.girardgibbs.com/ target=_blank shape=rectfont color=#000066http://www.girardgibbs.com/font/a) announces that it is investigating alleged violations of fiduciary duties by the board of directors of Diebold, Inc. (NYSE:DBD) (span id=bwanpa0“/spanDieboldspan id=bwanpa1”/span) relating to a buyout offer by United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX) (span id=bwanpa2“/spanUnited Technologiesspan id=bwanpa3”/span). pIt is alleged that Dieboldspan id=bwanpa4’/spans directors are violating their fiduciary duties of due care, good faith and loyalty by rejecting without discussion an acquisition offer at a substantial premium by United Technologies, to the detriment of Diebold and its shareholders. Despite the potential to enhance shareholder value beyond that which Diebold can offer as an independent corporation, the board of directors has refused to negotiate with United Technologies. /ppOn March 3, 2008, United Technologies went public with an offer to buy Diebold for $2.63 billion, or $40 a share. This represented a 66% premium to Dieboldspan id=bwanpa5’/spans February 29, 2008 share price of $24.12. United Technologies has stated, in a press release, that if the Diebold board begins merger discussions, it is open to raising the offer price. On the same day, Dieboldspan id=bwanpa6’/spans board categorically rejected the offer and refused further negotiation. /ppIf you own stock in Diebold and you wish to discuss your rights as an investor, please visit our website, a href=http://www.girardgibbs.com/bkr.html target=_blank shape=rectfont color=#000066http://www.girardgibbs.com/dbd.html/font/a, or contact Jonathan K. Levine, Esq. (a href=mailto:jkl@girardgibbs.com target=_blank shape=rectfont color=#000066jkl@girardgibbs.com/font/a) or Aaron M. Sheanin, Esq. (a href=mailto:ams@girardgibbs.com target=_blank shape=rectfont color=#000066ams@girardgibbs.com/font/a) toll free at (866) 981-4800. /p |
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Nixon Peabody taps ex-Choate partner
Legal Focuses |
2008/03/07 11:31
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| pBoston Law firm Nixon Peabody LLP has hired William Tripp as counsel in the firm's private client practice, the firm said on Friday. /ppTripp, who has been a trusts and estates lawyer for more than 35 years, joins Boston-based Nixon Peabody from crosstown law firm Choate Hall amp; Stewart LLP, where he was a partner. /ppBill brings years of experience to our firm regarding the management and financial oversight of hundreds of millions of dollars in trusts assets, said Jack Fitzgerald, leader of the firm's private clients practice, in a statement. /p |
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Glancy Binkow Goldberg LLP Announcement
Legal Focuses |
2008/03/07 11:29
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| Glancy Binkow amp; Goldberg LLP -- representing shareholders of SunOpta Inc. -- announces 21 days remaining to move to be a lead plaintiff in the shareholder lawsuit. All persons and institutions who purchased or otherwise acquired the common stock of SunOpta Inc. (SunOpta or the Company) (Nasdaq:STKL) between August 8, 2007 and January 25, 2008, inclusive (the Class Period), may move the Court not later than March 28, 2008, to serve as lead plaintiff; however, you must meet certain legal requirements. table align=right border=0tbodytr/tr/tbody/tablepIf you wish to receive a copy of the Complaint, or have any questions concerning your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Michael Goldberg, Esquire, of Glancy Binkow amp; Goldberg LLP, 1801 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 311, Los Angeles, California 90067, by telephone at (310) 201-9150, Toll Free at (888) 773-9224, or e-mail to info@glancylaw.com, or visit our website at a href=http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/ctr?d=137815amp;u=http://www.glancylaw.com target=_topwww.glancylaw.com/a. /ppThe Complaint charges SunOpta and certain of the Company's executive officers with violations of federal securities laws. Among other things, Plaintiff claims that Defendants' material omissions and dissemination of materially false and misleading statements concerning the Company's business and financial performance caused SunOpta's stock price to become artificially inflated, inflicting damages on investors. SunOpta primarily operates as a producer and processor of natural and organic foods in the United States and Canada. The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period defendants failed to disclose, among other things, that the Company was experiencing problems with its internal controls and inventory. /ppOn January 24, 2008, following the close of trading, defendants shocked investors when they published a press release that revealed, for the first time, that the Company was performing well below expectations and that defendants expected to cause the Company to take a material restatement charge in the near term -- rendering its prior reported financial statements and reports unreliable, false and materially misleading. The Company said it expected to post a profit of 12 cents to 14 cents per share for the year, citing issues within its fruit and BioProcess groups that led to pretax write-downs and provisions of $12 million to $14 million. Among problems the Company cited were inventories within the Company's Fruit Group's berry operations requiring a write-down to net realizable value, whereby preliminary estimates indicated that an adjustment in the range of $9 to $11 million for this issue and related items is necessary. The Company disclosed a charge of approximately $3 million pre-tax, related to difficulties in collecting for services and equipment provided to a customer under the terms of an existing equipment supply contract within the SunOpta BioProcess Group. /ppAfter SunOpta drastically lowered its fiscal 2007 profit forecast and announced that financial restatements are likely, shares of SunOpta plunged to a low of $6.05 on January 25, 2008. /ppPlaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of Class members and is represented by Glancy Binkow amp; Goldberg LLP, a law firm with significant experience in prosecuting shareholder lawsuits, and substantial expertise in actions involving corporate fraud. /ppIf you are a member of the Class described above, you may move the Court, not later than March 28, 2008, to serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet certain legal requirements. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this Notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Michael Goldberg, Esquire, of Glancy Binkow amp; Goldberg LLP, 1801 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 311, Los Angeles, California 90067, by telephone at (310) 201-9150 or Toll Free at (888) 773-9224 or by e-mail to info@glancylaw.com. /ppMore information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at a href=http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/ctr?d=137815amp;u=http://www.primenewswire.com/ca target=_topwww.primenewswire.com/ca/a. /p |
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