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IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn to plead not guilty
Areas of Focus |
2011/05/23 15:50
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Former International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn will plead not guilty to sexual assault charges and will be acquitted, his lawyer says.
In an interview with Israel's Haaretz newspaper today, Benjamin Brafman said he was confident his client would be acquitted on charges of sexually assaulting a 32-year-old maid in a New York hotel.
"He'll plead not guilty and in the end he'll be acquitted," Brafman told Haaretz during a brief visit to Israel.
"Nothing is certain, but from what I've discerned in the investigation, he will be acquitted.
"He has impressed me very much. Despite the circumstances, he's doing well. He's not happy to have been accused of actions he didn't take."
Mr Brafman is known in the US for having taken on several high-profile legal cases, including the defence of Michael Jackson and rapper Sean Combs. |
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Head of Delaware Business Court Joining Law Firm
Legal Topics |
2011/05/21 15:52
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The head of Delaware's Court of Chancery, a key venue for matters of corporate law, is taking a job with a California-based law firm.
Chancellor William Chandler III will join Palo Alto-based Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati on June 18. He had announced in April that he was retiring from the bench. In a statement released by the firm Thursday, Chandler said Wilson Sonsini has an outstanding legal practice and one of the most enviable client bases in the nation.
Chandler has served on the chancery court since 1989 and was appointed to the top post of chancellor in 1997.
He has presided over many high-profile cases, involving companies such as Walt Disney Co., Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp., News Corp., eBay Inc., Citigroup Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dow Chemical Co. |
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4 ex-Auburn players indicted on felony charges
Areas of Focus |
2011/05/19 16:08
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Four former Auburn football players have been indicted on felony robbery and burglary charges by a Lee County grand jury.
Court documents posted online Wednesday show that Michael McNeil, Antonio Goodwin, Shaun Kitchens and Dakota Mosley were indicted on five counts of first-degree robbery, one count of first-degree burglary and one count of misdemeanor third-degree theft of property.
They are scheduled for arraignment on May 26 in Lee County Circuit Court.
Mosley also faces a misdemeanor charge of conspiracy to hinder business.
The players were pulled over and arrested shortly after five occupants of a mobile home reported being robbed at gunpoint on March 11. |
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Mack Trucks, Volvo to pay $525M to settle suit
Headline Legal News |
2011/05/19 16:07
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Mack Trucks Inc. and its parent, AB Volvo, will pay $525 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by more than 9,300 retirees of the North Carolina truck maker after they challenged potential reductions to their lifetime health benefits.
The Legal Intelligencer reported Tuesday that Senior U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick gave preliminary approval of the settlement. A hearing is Sept. 7 to decide if the settlement is fair and reasonable.
The suit was filed in Michigan after Mack sought a ruling that lifetime benefits of its retirees were not vested and could be modified or eliminated. Both cases were consolidated in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Mack reached an agreement with the UAW in May of 2009 on a voluntary employees beneficiary association, or VEBA, that would have the union oversee retirees' health benefits. Mack and Volvo agreed to fund it with $525 million, paid in five annual installments.
Mack said it expects the final approval of the VEBA in September.
The company also reported that deliveries nearly doubled in April from a year earlier with 1,608 trucks delivered from the 810 it recorded in April 2010, an increase of 99 percent. |
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Court says FOIA request cannot be used in lawsuit
Headline Legal News |
2011/05/17 15:37
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The Supreme Court says a Freedom of Information Act request cannot be used to trigger a False Claims Act lawsuit.
The court on Monday voted 5-3 to agree with arguments by Schindler Elevator Corp., which sought to get a lawsuit against it dismissed.
Daniel Kirk, a former employee, sued on behalf of the government, claiming Schindler had not complied with reporting requirements involving the employment of Vietnam veterans.
But a judge threw out his lawsuit, saying Kirk's information came from a FOIA request. The False Claims Act says that lawsuits cannot be filed using publicly disclosed information. The judge said FOIA reports were public information.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City overturned that decision but the high court said it was correct.
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the court's opinion, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy and Samuel Alito.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented and was joined by Justices Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor. |
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Court lets Minn. corporate disclosure law stand
Legal Topics |
2011/05/17 15:37
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A federal appeals court has affirmed a judge's decision to let stand Minnesota's law requiring the disclosure of corporate political donations, saying the state's rules are similar to laws upheld by the Supreme Court and the groups who want them blocked are unlikely to prevail.
In an opinion filed Monday, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed with claims that Minnesota's disclosure requirements effectively prohibit corporate independent expenditures and impose burdensome regulations that ban free speech.
"The burden on corporations appears light, and the reporting requirement greatly facilitates the government's informational interest in monitoring corporate independent expenditures," the appeals court found. The judges wrote that rather than banning contributions, the law provides a way to disclose certain information.
Minnesota law requires that in election years, businesses and independent groups must submit five reports and disclose large donations within 24 hours for the three weeks leading up to the primary and the last two weeks before the general election. In off years, one report is required. The registration requirement is triggered when businesses or independent funds spend more than $100. Penalties for violations can be up to $25,000.
One member of the three-judge panel disagreed with the majority in part, saying the state's reporting requirements chill political speech. |
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Minn. court: Defendant may withdraw guilty plea
Areas of Focus |
2011/05/16 15:37
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The Minnesota Court of Appeals says defendants may withdraw a guilty plea if they are not told a conviction could result in deportation.
The court on Monday sided with Rene Reyes Campos. Campos said if he knew he risked being deported for a conviction for simple robbery for the benefit of a gang, he never would have pleaded guilty.
Campos was 17 when he was charged in Hennepin County in 2009, and had been a lawful U.S. resident for about seven years. He agreed to plead guilty as an adult and get a stayed sentence. He was not told the plea could affect his immigration status.
Last June, Campos moved to withdraw his plea. |
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