|
|
|
The Brauldi Law Firm Announces Class Action Suit
Class Action |
2007/08/13 10:22
|
The Brualdi Law Firm announces that a securities class actionlawsuit has been commenced in the United States District Court for theNorthern District of Illinois on behalf of purchasers of Motorola, Inc.("Motorola") (NYSE:MOT) publicly traded securities during the periodbetween July 19, 2006 and January 4, 2007 (the "Class Period"). No class has yet been certified in the above action. Until aclass is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless youretain one. If you purchased Motorola common stock during the perioddescribed above, you have certain rights, and have until no later than60 days, in which to move for Lead Plaintiff status. Any member of thepurported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff throughcounsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain anabsent class member. To be a member of the class you need not take any action atthis time, and you may retain counsel of your choice. If you wish todiscuss this action or have any questions concerning this Notice oryour rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contactTali Leger, Director of Shareholder Relations at The Brualdi Law Firm,29 Broadway, Suite 2400, New York, New York 10006, by telephone tollfree at (877) 495-1877 or (212) 952-0602, by email totleger@brualdilawfirm.com or visit our website athttp://www.brualdilawfirm.com/ The complaint charges Motorola and certain of its officers anddirectors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.Motorola builds, markets and sells products, services and applicationsthat make connections to people, information and entertainment throughbroadband, embedded systems and wireless networks. The complaint alleges that in the summer of 2006, Motorola'spoor financial performance had depressed its stock price to below $19per share. In order to artificially inflate the price of Motorolastock, defendants began a series of false and misleading statementsregarding the Company's business and prospects. Specifically,defendants repeatedly told investors to expect strong growth in salesand revenues. On October 17, 2006, defendants announced that Motorolahad failed to meet its revenue and sales projections. As a result ofthis announcement, Motorola's stock price declined over 7% in twotrading days. Then on January 4, 2007, defendants announced thatMotorola's fourth quarter 2006 results also failed to meetexpectations. This time, the Company's stock price declined almost 8%. CONTACT: The Brualdi Law Firm
Tali Leger, Director of Shareholder Relations
(877) 495-1877
(212) 952-0602
tleger@brualdilawfirm.com
http://www.brualdilawfirm.com/
|
|
|
|
|
|
U.S. court upholds ban on some DirecTV ads
Breaking Legal News |
2007/08/10 09:24
|
A U.S. appeals court on Thursday upheld a lower court's decision that prohibits satellite television operator DirecTV Group Inc from airing TV advertisements that claimed superior service in markets where Time Warner Cable Inc operates. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that the lower court erred in preliminarily blocking DirecTV's Internet advertisements, saying the ads were "not even remotely realistic." The appeals court also set aside a part of the lower court's order, saying the way it was worded "could be construed to prohibit the unfavorable comparison of even Time Warner Cable's analog programming." Analog programming refers to basic cable packages, as opposed to digital packages that allow expanded programming and additional features such as high definition (HD) or video on demand. The television ads, which featured ex-Star Trek actor William Shatner and pop star Jessica Simpson, aired last December and in January. They ended with the tag line: "For an HD picture that can't be beat, get DirecTV." Time Warner Cable filed the lawsuit in December, accusing DirecTV of false advertising and deceptive business practices. In February, Judge Laura Taylor Swain of the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York granted a preliminary injunction against DirecTV preventing it from running ads in Time Warner Cable's markets that disparaged the quality of Time Warner's high-definition programming. DirecTV was also ordered then to take down any similar advertisements on its Web site, or other sites. The Internet ads include one in which the picture quality of DirecTV is compared with that of "other TV," which the ad later identifies as representing basic cable, according to the appellate court ruling. The DirecTV side of the screen shows a clear image of football player Kevin Dyson making a touchdown at the Super Bowl, while the image on the "other TV" side is blurry, according to the ruling. "It is difficult to imagine that any consumer, whatever the level of sophistication, would actually be fooled by the Internet advertisements into thinking that cable's picture quality is so poor that the image is 'nearly entirely obscured,'" the court ruled. |
|
|
|
|
|
Candidates stop short on same-sex marriage
Political and Legal |
2007/08/10 09:19
|
Melissa Etheridge confronted Hillary Rodham Clinton about her husband's gay rights record, accusing Bill Clinton of throwing gay and lesbian supporters "under the bus" by pushing for the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy and the Defense of Marriage Act. The Democrats' top three candidates, including Clinton, pledged support for gay rights at the first-ever nationally televised same-sex issues presidential forum - but they and other Democratic candidates attending refused to back gay and lesbian marriages. Facing successive 15-minute interviews by gay rights advocates in Los Angeles last night, Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards all vowed to battle for gay, lesbian and transgender rights. But they stopped short of endorsing gay marriage - a hot-button culture-war issue that could alienate millions of independents and religious conservatives. Etheridge, who announced she was a lesbian shortly after Bill Clinton was inaugurated in 1993, expressed bitterness at his inability to pass gay rights measures he promised during the campaign. "It was a very hopeful time," she said. "But in the years that followed, our hearts were broken, we were thrown under the bus, we were pushed aside. All of those great promises ... were broken." Clinton, who had been warmly received by the studio audience, seemed surprised by Etheridge's comments. "Obviously, Melissa, I didn't see it quite the way you describe it," she said. " ... We didn't get as much done as I would have liked, but I believe there was a lot of honest effort going on." The candidates appeared in the order they accepted the invitation from the LOGO cable network and Human Rights Campaign, with Obama first - and Clinton last. "This forum is a real measure of how far we've come as a community, but there are many of us in our community who'd like to see the candidates come farther on gay marriage," said Fred Hochberg, dean of the Milano urban policy institute at New School University, one of Clinton's highest-profile gay supporters. Suffolk Legis. Jon Cooper, a supporter of Obama who attended the forum, echoed those sentiments, saying, "Although I would love them to come out in support of same sex civil marriage, it's not going to happen right now ... " The forum underscored the gay paradox in the Democratic Party: The candidates support gay rights but are wary of alienating party conservatives and religious blacks in the South. Earlier this year, Clinton and Obama angered Human Rights Campaign leaders by refusing to immediately and forcefully rebuke a general's claim that homosexuality was "immoral." They later released statements indicating their disagreement. Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich and former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel were the only Democrats who have expressed support for gay marriage. Sens. Joseph Biden and Christopher Dodd, who oppose same-sex marriage, declined the invitation, as did all Republican candidates, including Rudy Giuliani, who supports some gay rights. All the Democrats in attendance pledged to back broad new anti-discrimination statutes, want to scrap Bill Clinton's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy for the military, and believe in civil unions that allow same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples. "I'm going to be more sympathetic not because I'm black, I'm going to be more sympathetic because this is the cause of my life," Obama said. Panelist Jonathan Capehart challenged Obama on his opposition to gay marriage, saying his position was "old school." Obama used the remark to point out he'd been the first candidate to accept LOGO's invitation. "There's a reason why I was here first," he said. Etheridge challenged John Edwards on his recent comments suggesting he was opposed to same-sex marriage based on his religious convictions. "I have heard in the past that you felt uncomfortable among gay people," she said. Edwards denied her assertion but offered an apology for linking gay issues and Christianity. "I shouldn't have said that," he said. "I believe to my core in equality ... I will not impose my faith belief on the American people." Gay activists react "I was thinking 'When will they get it that equal means equal?' Senator Obama was talking about how he wanted to extend all rights of marriage to people through civil union. But laws are defined by marriage. Laws are not defined by civil union. We've learned that through New Jersey." - David Kilmnick, executive director of Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth "I appreciated John Edwards speaking about the homeless teenagers in the L.A. community center. That was something that people didn't talk about yet and it's very important - people getting thrown out of the house because they're gay." - Lauren Van Kirk, treasurer of the Stonewall Democrats of Suffolk County "My family comes from the South, so I understand where he's [Obama's] coming from. But between him and Edwards, both of them fall short. They still fall short of calling it marriage. ... Civil union: it's second-class citizenship." - Sheila Marino-Thomas, data entry worker for Marriage Equality New York, who has been with her partner for 14 years "It sounded like she [Clinton] was handing the responsibility for moving the ball forward - fighting - and she said 'well, you guys in the human rights campaign are doing the right thing,' as if to say we can't be doing that in the political realm. It's an easier thing to say, rather than saying I'm going to take up that struggle."
|
|
|
|
|
|
Arizona's high court dismisses tuition suit
Court Watch |
2007/08/10 08:22
|
Students at Arizona's three state universities who hoped a 2003 lawsuit would lower their tuition are out of luck. Saying the tuition increase is a political question and not a judicial one, the Arizona Supreme Court Thursday upheld a lower court's decision to dismiss the case. Four university students sued the Arizona Board of Regents after the board raised tuition 39 percent in a single year. Students said the increases violated the state Constitution's requirement that state universities be "as nearly as free as possible." Attorneys representing the students had hoped that if they won in court, tuition would be lowered to pre-2003 levels, when in-state tuition and fees for undergraduates averaged about $2,500 a year. Undergraduate in-state tuition and fees for the coming school year averages up to $4,949. advertisement Tucson attorney Paul Gattone, who represents the students, said he was disappointed in the ruling. He worries that students from middle-income families will be hurt the most by rising tuition because they aren't eligible for as much financial aid as students from lower-income families. "Certainly we can assume tuition rates are not going to go down any time soon, and they probably will continue to climb," he said. He has not decided whether he will ask the court to reconsider the decision. The state Board of Regents has contended Arizona's tuition is low in comparison to many state universities. The regents have kept tuition and fees in the lower one-third of a sample of 50 public U.S. universities. The average tuition and fees at those universities is $6,635 a year, according to a regents survey.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Law firm for paralyzed woman entitled to $500,000
Legal Business |
2007/08/10 06:24
|
A law firm that represented a woman paralyzed in a botched operation should receive $500,000 more than the $1.07 million the state Legislature has already approved, a Broward judge ruled Thursday afternoon. Sheldon J. Schlesinger's Fort Lauderdale law firm was entitled to the money based on its contract with the parents of Minouche Noel, Broward Circuit Judge Leroy Moe ruled. The judge rejected Schlesinger's request to receive an additional $42,000 in legal costs. Bruce Johnson, the Noels' current attorney, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that his clients were "very disappointed." "We were surprised by the ruling, and we believe it was incorrect," Johnson said to the newspaper. A telephone message left by The Associated Press at Schlesinger's office and with the attorney representing the firm, Bruce Rogow, was not immediately returned after hours Thursday. Noel was left paralyzed from the waist down at 6 months old following surgery at a state clinic in 1999. Now 19, she suffers from spina bifida, a congenital defect in which the spinal column fails to close properly. A Broward jury awarded $8.5 million to the Noels, but state law limits such payments to $200,000 without legislative approval. Lawmakers finally passed the claims bill this year after several failed attempts. Schlesinger filed a lien asking for more money than the legislation allocated to the firm. Last month, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink argued the Circuit Court in Fort Lauderdale lacks jurisdiction on the case. A telephone message and an e-mail left after hours by AP for Sink was not immediately returned. Noel and her family lived in Broward County when the surgery took place but have since moved to Brevard County, where she is attending college. |
|
|
|
|
|
FDA Finds No Heart Risk With 2 Heartburn Drugs
Biotech |
2007/08/10 05:20
|
The popular heartburn drugs Prilosec and Nexium do not appear to spur heart problems, according to preliminary U.S. and Canadian probes announced yesterday. The Food and Drug Administration and its Canadian counterpart, Health Canada, began reviewing the drugs, used by tens of millions of people, in May, when manufacturer AstraZeneca provided them an early analysis of two small studies that suggested the possibility of a risk. Those studies compared treatment of the chronic heartburn known as gastroesophageal reflux disease with either of the two drugs or with surgery, and tracked patients for five to 14 years. The initial analysis found that more patients treated with the drugs had had heart attacks, heart failure or heart-related sudden death. The FDA followed up on those studies and found that they seemed skewed: Patients who underwent surgery were younger and healthier than those treated by drugs, suggesting that the heart link was a coincidence. While the studies' designs make safety assessments difficult, many of the participants who developed heart problems had risk factors before starting the drugs, Health Canada said. The FDA then looked at 14 additional studies of the drugs and found no evidence of heart risks. In a few studies where patients received either medication or a dummy pill, those who took the heartburn drugs had a lower incidence of heart problems. Does African Dust Affect Atlantic Hurricanes? Storm scientists are taking a closer look at whether giant dust clouds from the Sahara could join the El Niño phenomenon as a leading indicator of the ferocity of Atlantic hurricane seasons. Scientists are intrigued by preliminary research showing a direct correlation between the sandy plumes and tropical cyclones. "What we've seen is: more dust, fewer hurricanes," said William Lau, chief of the Laboratory for Atmospheres at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The busy and damaging hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005, which rattled global energy and insurance markets, have heightened interest in storm forecasting and in research on factors that make tropical cyclones either spin into monster storms or wither and die at sea. El Niño, a warming of eastern Pacific waters, has become a dominant storm indicator because it can flatten an Atlantic hurricane season by increasing the wind shear that can rip apart cyclones. Cancer Drug Could Cure Dangerous Skin Disease Four weekly injections of the cancer drug Rituxan may be enough to provide a long-term cure for a rare but potentially fatal skin disorder characterized by blistering lesions that do not heal, French researchers reported. A study published last year showed similarly impressive improvement using a combination of Rituxan and immune globulin over six months. The new results, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggest that Rituxan alone, over a one-month period, is effective. The drug, known generically as rituximab, is made by the biotechnology companies Genentech and Biogen Idec, and approved for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and rheumatoid arthritis. The drug is sold by Roche AG as MabThera outside the United States, Japan and Canada. Roche sponsored the French study. |
|
|
|
|
|
Class action suit accuses law firm of swindling property owners
Breaking Legal News |
2007/08/10 03:25
|
In the eyes of some home owners there seems to be a collection force worse than the IRS: lawyers hired by burdened cities to gather delinquent property taxes.
Representing Pete Gotcher, and all others similarly situated in the U.S., attorney Gilbert T. Adams filed a class-action lawsuit against the Linebarger, Goggan Blair & Sampson law firm, claiming the attorneys suspect collection methods violate the Texas Tax Code.
The suit was filed on Aug. 7 in the Jefferson County District Court.
For more than 30 years Linebarger Goggan has solely focused on collections.
"The early decision to concentrate our energy and resources on delinquent tax collections in Texas led to successes that have elevated Linebarger Goggan from a 'Texas firm' to the national stage," the firm's Web site said. "The firm is now a major player in the collection industry with over 2,800 clients, serving both the public and private sectors from offices in Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia."
According to the plaintiffs' original petition, Linebarger Goggan has been charging and collecting fees from delinquent Texans that are not "expressly provided for in the state's Tax Code."
"Despite the explicit provisions of the Tax Code and defendant's own contracts which define the total compensation due, these defendants wrongfully and deceitfully demand and extract payments from taxpayers in amounts exceeding those permitted by law for abstract or title search fees," the suit said.
The suit says that in some instances the firm and its lawyers benefit directly as "undisclosed principals" while in all instances the "defendants benefit by passing on their overhead expenses to the taxpayers," and in no instances are the fees a "liability of or payable by the taxing entities."
This is not the first suit of its kind. On behalf of Camella O'Brien, plaintiffs' lawyer Adams first filed a lawsuit against Linebarger Goggan back in 2005.
O'Brien's suit also alleged the firm was "deceitfully scheming" money from taxpayers in "amounts exceeding those permitted by law."
In essence, Adams and his clients argue Linebarger Goggan operate an "illegal and deceptive practice," and maximize the firm's partners' profits by extracting money, "which is in addition to statutorily authorized fees to attorneys," from Texas property owners as "fees" not permitted by the Tax Code.
On the other hand, Linebarger Goggan says the firm places honesty and integrity at the center of its professional duty, the firm's Web site stated.
"The firm has made an uncompromising commitment to the highest ethical standards in the collection industry and the practice of law, reflected in the following actions: the retention of an outside ethics advisor who is a former president of the Texas State Bar; and the establishment of an in-house general counsel who developed, implemented and oversees compliance with the firm's current code of ethics."
The four-count suit faults the firm with fraud, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment and civil conspiracy.
"Linebarger Goggan has developed a scheme, plan or system for the extortion of these monies and concealed their misdeeds," the suit said.
The plaintiffs seek a return of the monies allegedly "illegally obtained," common law and statutory damages, exemplary damages, "and to achieve a formal declaration that such fees are not authorized," the suit said.
Judge Gary Sanderson, 60th Judicial District, has been assigned to the case. |
|
|
|
|
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. |
Law Firm Directory
|
|