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Pa. appeals court upholds $188M Wal-Mart verdict
Lawyer Media News |
2011/06/10 23:53
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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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NH Senate rejects changes to anti-bullying law
Lawyer Media News |
2011/05/06 04:39
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New Hampshire's Senate has voted unanimously to reject changes to the state's anti-bullying law, such as limiting school responsibility in dealing with off-campus incidents.
Senators said Wednesday that the current law is only months old and needs further study before any changes are made.
The current law was amended last year for the electronic age. It defines bullying and cyberbullying and allows schools to step in if the conduct happens outside of school and interferes with a student's education or substantially disrupts school operations.
Many states have been moving in this direction, but some New Hampshire lawmakers wanted to restrict the boundaries to school grounds.
The House passed a bill in March that would remove that provision and make other changes. The Senate's rejection leaves the measure's future in doubt. |
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Insurer settles suit with former USU frat members
Lawyer Media News |
2011/05/02 09:23
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A Georgia insurance company that paid a wrongful death claim on behalf of a former Utah State University fraternity has settled the lawsuit it brought against four of the fraternity's members.
The Herald Journal of Logan reports that attorneys for RSUI Inc. told a 1st District Court judge the company had resolved a dispute with the four men. Court records show attorneys met with the judge April 20 — one day before a planned hearing.
RSUI sought $50,000 each from Sigma Nu pledge Chad Burton and chapter officers Cody Littlewood, Colton Hansen and Mitchell Alm as compensation for a settlement payment to the parents of Michael Starks.
Starks died Nov. 21, 2008, from alcohol poisoning after a fraternity event.
At the time, RSUI was the insurer for the fraternity and its members, including pledges. RSUI attorneys have acknowledged that both the company and the four defendants would have been jointly liable to Starks' parents, George and Jane Starks of Salt Lake City. The company claims it paid the full amount of a settlement with the Starks, although those terms have not been made public. |
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Appeals court overturns stem cell research ban
Lawyer Media News |
2011/04/29 09:22
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div class=entrydiv class=articlepOpponents of taxpayer-funded stem cell research lost a key round in a federal appeals court Friday./ppIn a 2-1 decision, a panel of the U.S. court of appeals in Washington overturned a judge's order that would have blocked taxpayer funding for stem cell research. The judges ruled that opponents of taxpayer-funded stem cell research are not likely to succeed in their lawsuit to stop it./ppThe panel reversed an opinion issued last August by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, who said the research likely violates the law against federal funding of embryo destruction./ppWe're thrilled with this decision and look forward to allowing federally funded scientists to continue with their work without political constraints, said Sean Tipton, a spokesman for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine./ppResearchers hope one day to use stem cells in ways that cure spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's disease and other ailments. Opponents say the research is a form of abortion because human embryos must be destroyed to obtain the stem cells./ppThe 1996 law prohibits the use of taxpayer dollars in work that harms an embryo, so private money has been used to cull batches of the cells. Those batches can reproduce in lab dishes indefinitely, and the Obama administration issued rules permitting taxpayer dollars to be used in work on them./p/div
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Democrats criticize hiring of firm for House remap
Lawyer Media News |
2011/04/19 09:02
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div class=entrydiv class=articleDemocratic lawmakers are raising complaints about Republican House Speaker Jim Tucker's decision to hire a law firm with national GOP ties to submit the state House remap to federal officials.
The head of the House redistricting committee, Democratic Rep. Rick Gallot, said Friday the choice creates the appearance of impropriety because the firm had given the Republican delegation advice about redistricting.
The Senate is using its staff to do its redistricting submission.
Tucker has hired Washington, D.C.-based Holtzman Vogel PLLC to guide the redesign of the 105 House districts to the U.S. Justice Department for review under the Voting Rights Act.
Tucker says he chose a firm with the expertise needed for the complex legal work.
The managing partner of Holtzman Vogel is chief counsel to the Republican National Committee.
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Treasury risks overpaying law firms
Lawyer Media News |
2011/04/18 09:03
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The Treasury Department paid out more than $27 million to law firms overseeing the financial bailouts without requiring detailed bills or questioning the incomplete records that the lawyers provided, a government watchdog says.
Treasury's current contracts and fee bill review practices create an unacceptable risk that Treasury, and therefore the American taxpayer, is overpaying for legal services, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program said in a report issued Thursday.
Treasury could not have adequately gauged whether the fees were reasonable because the records are so sparse, the report says.
The report criticizes so-called block billing, in which law firms submit vague and inadequate descriptions of work, and administrative charges — all of which should have been questioned before payment, the report says. |
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