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Appeals court reinstates BP shareholders' lawsuit
Legal Topics |
2014/02/18 22:46
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A federal appeals court on Thursday reinstated a shareholders lawsuit filed against BP Alaska in the wake of two oil spills in 2006 on the North Slope that exposed problems with the company's pipeline maintenance program.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the U.S. District Court of Western Washington on several claims.
Shareholders sued BP in 2008, claiming management made misleading statements about the conditions of the company's pipelines, and its maintenance and leak detection program after the first spill of 200,000 gallons onto the North Slope tundra two years earlier. The lawsuit claims BP made the statements knowingly or with deliberate recklessness.
The shareholders claim BP's share price fell 4 percent after the second spill five months later and the subsequent field shutdown for maintenance.
The Associated Press left messages seeking comment for attorneys on both sides of the case.
BP spokeswoman Dawn Patience said in an emailed statement that the company had not had an opportunity to study the decision, so "it would not be appropriate to comment."
BP Exploration Alaska Inc. was fined $20 million in 2007 after pleading guilty to a federal environmental crime for failing to prevent the crude spill, the largest ever at Prudhoe Bay.
The problems became known after the March 2006 spill prompted the FBI and the Environmental Protection Agency to open an investigation into maintenance practices at the 30-year-old field.
They found that thick sludge caked along the bottom of the leaky pipe was protecting colonies of bacteria that produce a corrosive acid. The acid had eaten an almond-sized hole in the steel over the course of several years, and that's where the spill occurred. |
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Nevada Officials Won't Defend Gay Marriage Ban
Legal Business |
2014/02/13 23:48
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In an about-face, Nevada has decided against defending its constitutional ban on same-sex marriages, the latest step in a series of battles being waged across the nation on the volatile issue.
Nevada's attorney general and governor said Monday that they won't defend the state's gay marriage ban pending before a federal appeals court, saying a recent court decision made the state's arguments "no longer defensible."
Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto filed a motion with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that said Nevada's legal arguments supporting the voter-approved prohibition aren't viable in light of the court's recent ruling that said potential jurors cannot be removed from a trial during jury selection solely because of sexual orientation.
"After thoughtful review and analysis, the state has determined that its arguments grounded upon equal protection and due process are no longer sustainable," Masto said in a statement.
Nevada's move comes as courts around the country and the federal government have chipped away at laws that prohibit same-sex marriage and benefits in recent months. Meanwhile, some states and interest groups have rallied to defend limiting marriage to between a man and a woman. |
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Ky. high court to hear death penalty appeal
Legal Topics |
2014/02/13 23:48
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The Kentucky Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in the case of a death row inmate who has twice won a new trial.
The justices on Thursday will take up the case of 57-year-old Michael Dale St. Clair, who was convicted in the 1991 slaying of distillery worker Frank Brady in Bullitt County.
St. Clair has won three trials in the case, which has lingered for years in appeals.
St. Clair and another inmate escaped from an Oklahoma prison before going on a multistate spree that ended in Kentucky with Brady's death. St. Clair also faces a murder charge in New Mexico for the 1991 kidnapping and slaying of paramedic Timothy Keeling.
St. Clair also received a second death sentence for capital kidnapping from the Hardin County Circuit Court. |
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Farmer pleads guilty in pot growing scheme
Legal Topics |
2014/02/10 22:56
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A Northern California farmer renowned nationally for his heirloom tomatoes has pleaded guilty to leasing out his greenhouses for growing marijuana.
Sixty-four-year-old Thomas Jopson of Sutter County pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture at least 50 marijuana plants, three years after 2,168 marijuana plants were seized from the ranch of Thomas and David Jopson in Rio Oso.
The Sacramento Bee reports that an Oakland medical marijuana entrepreneur, Yan Ebyam, faces trial March 3 for allegedly setting up marijuana cultivations at the ranch and at a wholesale florist greenhouse in Sacramento County.
U.S. District Judge United States John A. Mendez ordered Thomas Jopson to appear for sentencing June 24. According to statements in court, David Jopson is expected to plead guilty on Feb. 18. |
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Lawyers for Boston Marathon suspect due in court
Legal Topics |
2014/02/10 22:55
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Federal prosecutors and lawyers for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will be in court this week for the first time since U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder authorized prosecutors to seek the death penalty against Tsarnaev.
A status conference is scheduled Wednesday in U.S. District Court.
The 20-year-old Tsarnaev is charged with carrying out a terrorist attack that killed three people and injured more than 260. Prosecutors say he and his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, built pressure cooker bombs, then placed them near the finish line of the marathon last April 15.
Prosecutors announced Jan. 30 that they will seek the death penalty against Tsarnaev. He has pleaded not guilty to a 30-count federal indictment.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev died following a shootout with police. |
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Case challenging gay-marriage ban heard in Va.
Legal Topics |
2014/02/07 00:23
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In a case that could give gay marriage its first foothold in the old Confederacy, a federal judge will hear arguments Tuesday on whether Virginia's ban on gay marriage should be struck down _ the position the state's newly elected Democratic attorney general has endorsed, angering many Republican lawmakers.
In January, Attorney General Mark Herring's office notified the federal court in Norfolk that it would not defend the 2006 voter-approved constitutional amendment in a lawsuit. Republicans have accused Herring of abandoning his responsibility to defend the state's laws. On Tuesday morning, a handful of protesters gathered at the courthouse. They shouted phrases decrying his position and carried signs: "Herring's herring. AG's must uphold the law."
Across the street, gay-marriage supporters _ in about equal numbers _ shouted their support for the plaintiffs and carried signs saying "Marry who you love."
Newly elected Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe has rebuffed calls to appoint outside counsel to defend the ban. On Monday, Republicans in the House passed a bill that would give lawmakers standing in lawsuits where the attorney general and governor have chosen not to participate. |
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Australian court rules ANZ Bank late fees too high
Headline Legal News |
2014/02/07 00:22
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One of Australia's largest banks faces a multimillion dollar payout to thousands of customers after a judge ruled on Wednesday that late payment fees it charged on credit cards were exorbitant.
ANZ Banking Group Ltd. partially lost a class action law suit in the Australian Federal Court brought by more than 43,000 customers who claimed they had been charged excessive fees for years. In some cases the fees were 70 times the cost to the bank of administering late payments.
Justice Michelle Gordon ruled that the bank had been illegally imposing penalties for late payments on credit cards.
She agreed with lead plaintiff Lucio Paciocco's argument that the fees were "extravagant, exorbitant and unconscionable," and represented a breach of contract.
But she also ruled in ANZ's favor by dismissing claims that other types of bank fees were illegal penalties.
It was not clear how much the bank would have to pay back customers who had been charged too much over six years. Lawyers for the bank and customers have until next week to agree on a proposal for repaying customers that the court can rule on. |
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