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Court orders reconsideration of parole judgment
Areas of Focus |
2011/06/14 02:10
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The Supreme Court has ordered a lower court to reconsider its decision to release a criminal on parole.
The high court threw out a lower court decision ordering John Pirtle and other prisoners released from prison on parole.
Pirtle was convicted of killing his wife, and the parole board started denying him parole in 2002. Pirtle sued in federal court, saying his parole was denied without any proof that he posed a danger if he got out.
The lower courts agreed with him and ordered him and other prisoners in similar situations released on parole.
The high court threw out that decision in a summary judgment and ordered the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to reconsider it. |
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2 ex-judges, lawyer back to prison in Miss scheme
Headline Legal News |
2011/06/14 02:10
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Two ex-judges and an attorney from Mississippi must return to federal prison for their convictions in a loan scheme.
A federal appeals court had vacated their bribery convictions but upheld the guilty verdicts on corruption charges. So they needed to be resentenced.
U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate denied requests by Paul Minor and former Harrison County judges Wes Teel and John Whitfield to be re-sentenced to time they have already served.
Wingate on Monday sentenced Minor to eight years, Teel to four and Whitfield about six — all less than previous.
Prosecutors said Minor would guarantee loans for the judges, then used cash and third parties to pay off the debts. Judges then ruled in his favor in civil cases. He has long said he is innocent and was making loans to help friends. |
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Toyota class action suit to start with Utah case
Areas of Focus |
2011/06/11 06:44
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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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Ohio judge says Ford must pay dealers $2B
Headline Legal News |
2011/06/11 06:44
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Ford Motor Co. must pay nearly $2 billion in damages to thousands of dealerships in a 2002 class-action lawsuit that said the automaker violated dealer agreements, an Ohio judge ruled Friday.
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Peter Corrigan in Cleveland issued the ruling based on a Feb. 11 jury determination that the company overcharged dealers for commercial trucks over an 11-year period.
The $2 billion award covers more than 3,000 dealerships and about 474,000 trucks. It includes a judgment of about $781 million and about $1.2 billion in interest.
"In awarding the dealers the amount of money they overpaid for trucks, the jury verdict places ... the dealers in the financial position contemplated by the terms of the contract," said James Lowe, a Cleveland attorney for Westgate Ford Truck Sales Inc., a dealership in Youngstown that represents the class.
Ford's annual report, filed on Feb. 28, says the class action included all dealers who purchased a 600?series or higher truck from Ford from 1987 to 1997. It says the lawsuit accused the automaker of failing to reveal that price concessions were given to some dealers. |
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Fed proposes expanding capital reviews to 35 banks
Legal Topics |
2011/06/11 06:43
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The Federal Reserve wants a broader group of banks to provide details each year about their finances, part of an effort to ensure banks can meet their capital requirements and avoid another financial crisis.
The Fed currently requires the nation's 19 largest banks to submit capital plans annually. The proposal unveiled Friday would expand the list to the 35 largest banks by requiring firms with assets of $50 billion or more to submit annual plans.
Capital is the amount of reserves that a bank holds as a cushion against losses. If the Fed determines a bank doesn't have adequate capital, it can order it to stop paying dividends to stockholders. The central bank is taking comments on the proposal through August and has plans to implement it by January.
The financial overhaul law passed last year directed federal regulators to do a better job monitoring the level of capital that banks keep on hand. Banks have been fighting many of the more stringent controls being imposed under last year's legislation. They contend the tighter rules are not necessary and will restrict their ability to make loans. |
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Pa. appeals court upholds $188M Wal-Mart verdict
Headline Legal News |
2011/06/11 06:43
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A $188 million class-action verdict against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Sam's Club over payment to employees for rest breaks and off-the-clock work was upheld Friday by a Pennsylvania appeals court.
A three-judge Superior Court panel said there was sufficient evidence at trial to conclude there had been a breach of contract, unjust enrichment and violations of state labor laws.
The judges also ruled in a 211-page opinion that the presiding Philadelphia judge erred in determining some of the plaintiffs' legal fees, and sent that part of the case back for recalculation.
The 2006 trial, which lasted 32 days, resulted in a finding that Wal-Mart did not pay employees for all the work they performed and did not let them take their paid, mandatory rest breaks, the judges wrote. The court awarded $46 million in attorneys' fees.
Wal-Mart spokesman Greg Rossiter said the retail giant believes the court decision was wrong in a number of respects and looks forward to additional review in the courts. |
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Lawyer: Baseline Killer suspect a 'ravenous wolf'
Legal Topics |
2011/06/07 16:16
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Graphic images of dead people flashed across courtroom televisions as the victims' families looked on, weeping and consoling one another. Some had to leave to collect themselves.
For the first time since the nine victims were killed in 2005 and 2006, the man accused of the crimes is on trial for murder. The prosecution and defense delivered their dramatic opening statements Monday in the trial against Mark Goudeau, who is accused of being the so-called Baseline Killer.
Goudeau, 46, is also accused of dozens of other crimes, including rape and child molestation. His trial is expected to last nine months, with testimony resuming Tuesday.
Goudeau has pleaded not guilty. If convicted of murder, he could face the death penalty.
Prosecutor Suzanne Cohen told jurors that Goudeau was driven by a hunger to rape, and the victims who didn't cooperate were shot point-blank in the head.
"Beware of the predator that comes to you wrapped in sheep's clothing because he is a ravenous wolf," Cohen said. "Mark Goudeau is that ravenous wolf, and you shall know him by his deeds."
Cohen said "the only thing that matched his hunger to rape was his determination to not get caught and not be sitting in this chair."
"Those innocents did nothing wrong but cross his path while he was hunting," she said.
In his opening statement, defense attorney Randall Craig said there was a serious lack of DNA evidence in the case, and he questioned the integrity of the investigation. |
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