Toyota's public relations nightmare appears far from over.

The beleaguered automaker is facing renewed allegations that it systematically withheld information and ignored safety issues that could have prevented fatal accidents.

Dmitrios Biller, a former Toyota lawyer who handled product liability lawsuits, said in multiple media interviews that the automaker willfully tried to suppress evidence of defects.

"Toyota is a very secretive corporation," Biller told the L.A. Times. "It doesn't believe anybody outside the corporation deserves to know what is going on inside, even if it kills somebody."

"You have to understand that Toyota in Japan does not have any respect for our legal system. They did not have any respect for our laws."

An appeals court says an Orange County family can proceed with a lawsuit against the California Highway Patrol over graphic crash photos that were leaked by the agency.
The Fourth District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana on Monday reversed a lower court's dismissal of the lawsuit against the CHP and two of its employees for leaking the photos of a decapitated teenager that ended up on the Internet.

In the ruling, the court said the family of Nicole "Nikki" Catsouras can pursue damages for negligence, invasion of privacy and infliction of emotional distress.

The CHP admitted that two employees e-mailed nine photos of Nikki's body to friends and family for apparent shock value on Halloween day in 2006.

An attorney for one of the employees says he is considering an appeal.

The nation’s second largest video chain submitted a Chapter 11 petition to the bankruptcy court in Richmond yesterday. Movie Gallery, which also owns Hollywood Video, has headquarters in Oregon.

Movie Gallery owns 16 locations in the Richmond area, and seven stores are currently having closing sales, according to its website.

In the new filing the company reported between $10 million and $50 million in assets, and $500 million to $1 billion in liabilities.

This is the second time the company filed for bankruptcy. The last time was in 2007, also filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond.

A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that the city did not violate the First Amendment by limiting the number of billboards along its roadways and parks.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said the city's goals of reducing visual clutter, improving the overall aesthetic appearance of the city and regulating traffic safety were reasonable.

"The fact that the city has chosen to value some types of commercial speech over others does not make the regulation irrational," the appeals court said. It concluded that it did not matter that the city had enforced its regulations sporadically since 1940.

A lower court judge reached the same conclusion in the case last year. That ruling was appealed by companies, including Clear Channel Outdoor Inc. and Metro Fuel LLC, that market hundreds of billboards.

They said the city infringed on commercial speech rights by stiffening rules against big billboards and lighted signs near parks and highways while letting smaller signs flourish on lampposts, taxicabs and phone booths. A lawyer for the companies did not immediately return a phone message for comment.

Tully Rinckey PLLC is pleased to announce the addition of attorney’s Jannika E. Cannon as a Senior Associate and Matthew Estes as an Associate in its Washington, D.C. law office. Both Ms. Cannon and Mr. Estes will focus their practice on federal sector labor and employment law. 

Ms. Cannon will provide representation to federal employees in a wide range of employment and labor issues including discrimination, sexual harassment, equal pay, adverse action, and Title VII claims, Inspector General (IG) Investigations, and whistleblower reprisal claims. She has significant experience representing clients at all stages of the administrative process before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), and Office of the Special Counsel. As a former federal employee herself, she has personal knowledge and insight into the unique rights these employees hold, and can assist clients in a wide spectrum of cases.

Ms. Cannon earned her Juris Doctorate at North Carolina Central University, graduating cum laude. In addition to her law degree, Ms. Cannon holds a B.S. degree from Tennessee State University. She is admitted to practice in Maryland and the District of Columbia.

Mr. Estes has previously concentrated his legal efforts in representing federal and civil service employees in adverse/disciplinary action cases, discrimination cases before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, federal retirement and disability retirement cases including Federal Erroneous Retirement Coverage Corrections Act (FERCCA) adjustments, and whistleblower retaliation cases.  He has significant experience in federal and private sector employment law, representing federal and state employees, labor relations unions, and private sector employees.

Mr. Estes received his Juris Doctorate degree from George Mason University School of Law and is licensed to practice in the Commonwealth of Virginia and Washington, D.C. During his time in law school, Mr. Estes was a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Club and a volunteer with the Community Service Club.  Prior to law school, Mr. Estes received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia, attaining a degree in Government with a concentration in Political Theory. He is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia.

For more information about Jannika Cannon and Matthew Estes’ addition to Tully Rinckey PLLC or the firm’s federal labor and employment law practice, please contact Jessica Brociek at 202-787-1900 or via email at jbrociek@tullylegal.com.

As Al Milano watched in court, prosecutors laid out a sampling of Jamar Houser's previous run-ins with the law even before the 18-year-old was accused of killing 80-year-old Angeline Fimognari last month.

Houser, who was arrested Friday, was arraigned Monday and issued $3 million bond in the Jan. 23 shooting death of Fimognari in the parking lot of St. Dominic's Church on the city's South Side.

Authorities said Houser's record dates back to when he was just 14 and convicted in juvenile court of receiving stolen property. Two years later, he was convicted on aggravated robbery. Then in September, he was accused of assaulting Jabone Kennedy, who claimed Houser thought he had said something about his father.

That same day Houser was arrested for reportedly firing a gun into the air outside his house on Volney Road. His bond for that was set at $500,000.

"If that bond were still in place, he likely would still be incarcerated pending trial," said city Prosecutor Jay Macejko.

A judge ruled Monday that online travel sites such as Expedia do not owe the city of Anaheim $21 million in hotel taxes for rooms booked over the Internet, the first ruling of its kind in California on an issue that has bubbled up in cities across the country.

In her ruling, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl set aside last year's decision by a city hearing officer that the travel booking sites owed $21.3 million to Anaheim in back hotel taxes.

The city is reviewing its options, spokeswoman Marty DeSollar said in an e-mailed statement.

A coalition of the online travel sites, including Priceline, Expedia Inc., Orbitz, Hotwire, Hotels.com and Trip Network Inc., filed papers asking to overturn the hearing officer's ruling.

Such disputes are increasingly common between online travel companies and tourist-dependent cities.

Lawsuits or complaints have been filed around the country by cities or customers, including in Georgia, Maryland, Texas, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania and in the California cities of San Diego and San Francisco.