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State appeals court rejects power plant approval
Environmental |
2014/02/10 13:44
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A state appeals court has rejected approval of Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s planned new natural gas power plant in Contra Costa County.
The 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco said the California Public Utilities Commission approved the plant in Oakley without hearing firsthand from anyone that it was needed.
The court issued its 3-0 ruling on Wednesday. The Contra Costa Times reports (http://bit.ly/1e9Ew76) that the court has previously also turned back the commission's approval of the plant.
PG&E spokeswoman Tamar Sarkissian told the newspaper the utility was carefully reviewing the court's ruling.
Supporters say California needs more energy production, and the 586-megawatt plant would help.
Opponents say the state should be moving away from fossil fuels to other, cleaner energy sources. |
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Australian court rules ANZ Bank late fees too high
Legal Spotlight |
2014/02/06 15:22
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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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Judge finds Citgo guilty of Clean Air Act felonies
Environmental |
2014/02/06 15:21
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A South Texas judge has fined Citgo Petroleum more than $2 million after finding it guilty of felony violations of the U.S. Clean Air Act by its Corpus Christi refinery.
U.S. District Judge John Rainey handed down his verdict and punishment Wednesday in Corpus Christi.
Dozens of residents near Citgo's Corpus Christi refinery testified that they were sickened by pollution from the refinery. The Corpus Christi Caller-Times reports prosecutors accused the Venezuelan-owned company of not installing roofs on two oil-water separator tanks the company operated between 1994 and 2003.
Dick DeGuerin of Houston, who represented Citgo, said the company will appeal the conviction.
Melissa Jarrell, a Texas A&M-Corpus Christi associate criminal justice professor, predicted the verdict could prompt other air pollution victims to seek similar prosecutions elsewhere. |
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7 now guilty in Pendleton contractor bribery case
Current Cases |
2014/02/03 13:57
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Two civilian defense contractors have pleaded guilty in a San Diego federal court, bringing to nine the number of defendants who have admitted guilt in recent days to their involvement in a scheme involving bribes and kickbacks at Camp Pendleton and other federal facilities.
Federal prosecutors say Paul Dana Kay of PK Excavation and Manuel Ramirez of MRN Construction, Inc., entered the pleas to violations of the Anti-Kickback Act on Friday.
Six former contractors and a former Defense Department employee have pleaded guilty in the past two weeks to involvement in the scheme.
They include Natividad Lara Cervantes, who referred to himself as "The Godfather of Camp Pendleton," and admitted accepting bribes.
Sentencing is scheduled for April. The defendants face maximums ranging from three years to 20 years in prison. |
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Man pleads not guilty in deadly Lodi crash
Breaking Legal News |
2014/02/03 13:56
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A man has pleaded not guilty to murder, driving under the influence and other charges in a car crash in Central California that killed five members of a family, including a pregnant woman.
The Record of Stockton reports that 28-year-old Ryan Morales entered the plea in San Joaquin County Superior Court on Monday.
Authorities say Morales was driving at freeway speeds in a residential area in Lodi on Oct. 22 when he crashed into a pickup. Five of the pickup's occupants died.
Authorities say Morales had been drinking apple-flavored vodka with his father. A preliminary analysis allegedly showed his blood alcohol count was 2 ½ times the state's limit.
Authorities say they sought a murder charge against Morales because he acted with complete disregard for human life.
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Teen charged in Mass. teacher killing due in court
Current Cases |
2014/01/30 13:56
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A 15-year-old Massachusetts boy charged with killing his math teacher is returning to court Thursday for arraignment on a second rape charge.
Philip Chism is charged in the October killing of Colleen Ritzer, a 24-year-old teacher at Danvers High School.
Chism has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape, robbery and murder. He was indicted last week on the initial rape charge. In court documents filed last week, state police say Chism admitted killing Ritzer but denied raping her.
Police say they want to conduct a forensic examination of Chism's cellphone to see if he memorialized the killing in photos, video or audio recordings.
Authorities allege Chism raped and killed Ritzer after she asked him to stay after school for extra help.
Chism's arraignment is in Salem Superior Court. |
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Viacom, Fox want to run anti-smoking ads too
Breaking Legal News |
2014/01/30 13:56
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More TV networks want to gain from tobacco companies' mandate to run anti-smoking ads that will cost tens of millions of dollars.
Fox Broadcasting and the company behind MTV, Comedy Central and BET argue that a court-ordered plan to air anti-tobacco ads on ABC, CBS and NBC won't do a good job reaching young adult and black viewers. Those populations were aggressively targeted by the tobacco industry and are areas of concern for the public health community.
Fox, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox Inc., and Viacom Inc. are asking the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to include its channels in the anti-smoking ad purchase.
The required ads stem from a 2006 ruling that the nation's largest cigarette makers concealed the dangers of smoking for decades. A judge ordered the tobacco companies to pay for corrective statements related to issues such as the adverse health effects of smoking, the addictiveness of smoking and nicotine and the negative health effects of secondhand smoke. The companies involved in the case include Richmond, Va.-based Altria Group Inc., owner of the biggest U.S. tobacco company, Philip Morris USA; No. 2 cigarette maker, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., owned by Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Reynolds American Inc.; and No. 3 cigarette maker Lorillard Inc., based in Greensboro, N.C.
Along with the TV ads, the tobacco companies are also meant to publish statements in newspapers, websites and on cigarette packs.
The tobacco companies and the federal government last month agreed on how to publish the statements. The court must still approve the deal.
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Class action or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued. This form of collective lawsuit originated in the United States and is still predominantly a U.S. phenomenon, at least the U.S. variant of it. In the United States federal courts, class actions are governed by Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule. Since 1938, many states have adopted rules similar to the FRCP. However, some states like California have civil procedure systems which deviate significantly from the federal rules; the California Codes provide for four separate types of class actions. As a result, there are two separate treatises devoted solely to the complex topic of California class actions. Some states, such as Virginia, do not provide for any class actions, while others, such as New York, limit the types of claims that may be brought as class actions. They can construct your law firm a brand new website, lawyer website templates and help you redesign your existing law firm site to secure your place in the internet. |
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