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Settlement Reached in Disney Suit
Breaking Legal News | 2007/01/04 19:49

Walt Disney Co. has settled a lawsuit brought by the family of a woman that said her fatal aneurysm was triggered by the Indiana Jones Adventure ride in Disneyland.

Both sides refused to release the settlement terms, agreed to Friday. The trial was set to start Thursday in Los Angeles.

"Safety always has been, and continues to be, our top priority," said Rob Doughty, a Disneyland spokesman, in a prepared statement.

Barry Novack, the plaintiff's attorney, declined to comment about the family's reaction.

Cristina Moreno, of Barcelona, Spain, was a 23-year-old newlywed on her honeymoon when she and her husband rode the Indiana Jones attraction in Anaheim on June 25, 2000, court documents state. Within a few hours, she collapsed from a bleeding cerebral aneurysm. She died a few months later.

Her estate filed the lawsuit in 2001, seeking more than $1 million in damages. The plaintiff alleged that that the jerky moves and emotional stress from the ride prompted the pre-existing aneurysm to rupture, court documents state.

At least three other lawsuits related to Indiana Jones-ride injuries were filed then settled.

The Moreno case might have made it easier for visitors to successfully sue over ride-related injuries. In a ruling last year tied to the case, the California Supreme Court found that Disney must apply "the utmost care and diligence" related to passenger safety, allowing the case to go forward.



Miers steps down from chief counsel post
Breaking Legal News | 2007/01/04 17:12

White House legal counsel Harriet Miers resigned from her post Thursday effective January 31. Press Secretary Tony Snow gave no specific reason for her departure except to say that she has been working at the White House for six years. In a White House press briefing he added: Harriet is a very special person in this White House. She is beloved not only because she is a really good human being, she's an extraordinarily wonderful human being, but also somebody who is a very careful and scrupulous lawyer, a ferocious defender of the Constitution, and somebody who was also deeply loyal to the President, and just somebody who is a delight to work with. So it is one of these things where everybody really -- it's very bittersweet, and you can get that from the tenure of the -- tenor of her note. She has decided that it's time to move on. She and Josh Bolten have had a series of conversations in recent days about this, and she made her decision yesterday.

Miers, formerly President Bush's personal lawyer and the first female president of the Texas State Bar Association, was Bush's first nominee to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court in 2005.

The soft-spoken Miers has described herself as a "Texan through and through." White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove said she can be "tough as nails." Bush once called her "a pit bull in size 6 shoes."

She was Bush‘s personal lawyer in Texas, took on the thankless job of cleaning up the Texas Lottery when he was governor, and followed him to Washington to serve as staff secretary until Bush appointed her White House counsel, succeeding Alberto Gonzales when he was named attorney general.

Miers withdrew her nomination after intense scrutiny by lawmakers and observers wary of her lack of judicial experience.



Chile drops tax charges against Pinochet's widow
International | 2007/01/04 17:11

A Chilean appeals court has dropped tax evasion charges against the widow and two children of former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet. In a decision Wednesday, the Santiago Court of Appeals upheld charges against Pinochet's youngest son and two of his lawyers and also dropped other charges against Pinochet's relatives for acting as accomplices in the use of false passports.

Pinochet, his wife, four of his children, daughter-in-law, former attorney and secretary were indicted in early 2006 on charges of filing false tax returns. Pinochet died last month without ever facing trial in either the tax evasion case or on multiple human rights charges.



Appellate court upholds Indiana voter ID law
Court Watch | 2007/01/04 16:48

The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on Thursday upheld an Indiana law requiring voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot. In its ruling, the court upheld a lower court decision that the law does not put an undue burden on the right to vote and therefore does not violate the US Constitution. The Indiana Democratic Party and the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana had appealed the district court's decision, but during oral arguments Judge Richard Posner, who wrote the appeals court ruling, was skeptical of the plaintiffs' contention that the law would prevent voters from casting ballots.

The US Supreme Court issued a per curiam opinion last October ruling that Arizona could enforce its voter ID law, which requires voters to show government-issued ID cards at the polls. Similar voter ID laws have been upheld in Georgia and Pennsylvania, though the Missouri Supreme Court struck down a law last year requiring voters to show ID cards at the polls. A lawsuit over Ohio's voter ID legislation ended just before last November's mid-term election in a settlement requiring future Ohio absentee voters to show proof of ID when applying for absentee ballots, but allowing absentee ballots already obtained without ID to be counted.



Many Happy Returns: Tax Filing Season Begins
Tax | 2007/01/04 15:21

The Internal Revenue Service began its 2007 filing system with instructions on how to apply for newly enacted tax breaks and recommendations that more taxpayers give up paper and file electronically.

The agency said that it will send out 17 million tax packages this week to taxpayers who previously filed paper returns. The IRS expects to process about 136 million individual tax returns for 2006, with more than half filed electronically.

It pointed out that one major change this year will be the telephone excise tax refund. The government stopped collecting the federal excise tax on long-distance service last August and plans to provide refunds for these taxes billed after Feb. 28, 2003, and before Aug. 1, 2006.

The agency said taxpayers can avoid collecting 41 months of old phone bills by choosing standard amounts. Under standard amounts a person filing a return with one exemption can claim $30, with the amount rising to $40 for those with two exemptions, $50 for three exemptions and $60 for four or more exemptions.

Those desiring a refund based on actual amount of taxes paid should use Form 8913.

The agency also advised taxpayers on how to take advantage of tax breaks renewed by Congress in December, after the IRS had printed its forms for the 2007 filing season. The most significant of the breaks allow taxpayers to deduct state and local sales taxes instead of state income taxes and provide deductions for higher education tuition and fees and for personal expenses incurred by schoolteachers.

The IRS will mail Publication 600 to 6 million taxpayers who receive the Form 1040 package this month with instructions on claiming the sales tax deduction. The agency also advised that it will not be able to process tax returns claiming the belatedly renewed tax breaks until early February. It said that last year about 930,000 tax returns claiming the three tax breaks were filed by Feb. 1.

"As we always do, we encourage taxpayers who think they may claim these deductions to file electronically," said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson. "They will get their refunds faster through e-file. Even more importantly, e-file will greatly reduce the chances for making an error compared to claiming the deductions on the paper 1040."

Another change this year is that taxpayers can split refunds among up to three accounts held by U.S. financial institutions such as banks, mutual funds, brokerage firms or credit unions.

The tax agency also urged taxpayers who earn $52,000 or less to make use of Free File, a free electronic program that is a partnership between the IRS and private tax service providers. It noted that this year private sector partners have agreed to remove from their programs side offerings such Refund Anticipation Loans that offer taxpayers immediate payment of expected refunds but sometimes come with high interest rates and fees.

It noted that taxpayers, after filing returns, can track their refund through the online tool "Where's my refund?" on the IRS web site, www.irs.gov. "With all the changes taking place, this is a good year for paper filers to try e-file," Everson said. "We remind taxpayers that e-filing is fast, secure and reliable."



Brazilian Court Orders Closure of YouTube
Court Watch | 2007/01/04 13:20

According to wire reports, a Brazilian court has ordered YouTube to cease operations until it removes a celebrity sex video involving model Daniela Cicarelli, the ex-wife of soccer star Ronaldo.

Cicarelli filed suit against the Google-owned content site over the video, in which she is said to be seen having sex with her boyfriend, Tato Malzoni, on the beach. According to reports, it quickly became the most viewed video in Brazil. Cicarelli ordered the site to remove the video and demanded $116,000 in damages for each day the video remains on the site. While YouTube did remove the clip, the site’s users have since reposted it.



Iraqi guards questioned over Saddam hanging video
International | 2007/01/04 11:09

Two Iraqi Justice Ministry guards are now being questioned in connection with the taping and release of a camera phone video showing the execution of Saddam Hussein, according to Iraqi lawmaker Sami al-Askeri. Iraqi officials said Wednesday that an official who supervised the execution was also arrested in connection to making the video, but further details are not yet available. The government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki launched an investigation earlier this week into who made the video and how it was distributed.

The video, apparently shot with a cell phone camera by a witness to the hanging, shows witnesses taunting Hussein before he was hanged and depicts Hussein's body dropping through the trap door of the gallows. A separate, authorized video released by Iraqi state television did not include any audio recording and did not show Hussein's actual death. AP has more.

Iraqi officials have been criticized for their handling of Hussein's execution, with a US military spokesman saying Wednesday that the US would have handled the hanging differently, but an adviser to al-Maliki insisted Wednesday that the execution had been done appropriately. Sadiq al-Rikabi said in a statement reported by the New York Times that Iraq's conduct of the execution "has been mischaracterized for political purposes." Al-Maliki's office, meanwhile, has also confirmed that the US embassy in Baghdad pressed for a delay of the execution over unresolved legal issues, but legal adviser Maryam al-Rayas called the decision to push forward with the hanging "a victory for the Iraqi government."



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