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Software Vendors Accuse Prestigious Law Firm Of Piracy
Court Watch |
2007/12/11 04:25
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A Philadelphia law practice recently ranked among the nation's top 200 firms has been accused by a software industry group of stealing business applications made by Adobe, Symantec, and other vendors, InformationWeek has learned.
In a lawsuit filed last week on behalf of the vendors by the Software Information Industry Association, the firm of Fox Rothschild is alleged to have "engaged in the unauthorized reproduction and use" of software made by Adobe, Corel, Sonic Solutions, and Symantec. The vendors claim that Fox Rothschild's alleged "copyright infringement" is causing them "repeated and irreparable injury." The suit, filed in federal court in Northern California, does not specify which specific software products the firm is alleged to be using without authorization, or their estimated value. Fox Rothschild chief information officer Brook Lee did not immediately return a message left on his voice mail seeking comment. Adobe, Symantec, Corel, and Sonic are asking the court to prohibit the firm from continuing to use their software, and are seeking unspecified damages. They're also asking the court for an order that would prohibit Fox Rothschild from erasing the software from its networks or destroying any electronic documentation related to its use or installation. SIIA litigation counsel Scott Bain said Fox Rothschild's alleged software misappropriation came to the group's attention through a whistleblower program it operates. Talks aimed at settling the matter out of court went nowhere, Bain said. "They took a particularly aggressive stance toward us so we decided to sue," said Bain. "We were disappointed. You'd think that a law firm would know better." Fox Rothschild appeared last year on American Lawyer magazine's list of the nation's top 200 firms. |
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Bank Robber Blames Gambling and Loan Sharks
Court Watch |
2007/12/07 10:13
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Self-described gambling addict Scott A. Hasenjaeger was hedging his bets when he robbed a Marseilles bank in January -- he said in court this week he was partly hoping to get caught and partly hoping to get away.
Either way, a federal judge called in his marker Tuesday.
The 34-year-old Hasenjaeger was sentenced to one year and one day in prison. However, the former insurance agent and part-time post office letter carrier from Minooka will be able to spend the holidays with his wife and three small children -- he doesn't have to report to prison until January.
Wearing a ski mask, Hasenjaeger entered Twin Oaks Savings Bank in Marseilles Jan. 24 and pointed at tellers a BB handgun that resembled a semi-automatic pistol. He made off with about $35,277, some of which he dropped as he left the bank. State police arrested Hasenjaeger about 45 minutes later in Minooka with a portion of the loot. As part of his deal to plead guilty, he agreed to pay back the rest of the money.
In seeking mercy, Hasenjaeger told the judge he grew up the son of an "emotionally-detached alcoholic father," catching the betting bug around age 8, when he blew $100 on a cruise ship slot machine.
Picking up his story in college, Hasenjaeger said he was the leading scorer for the 1993-1994 Central Connecticut State University basketball squad. The night before the "biggest game of the season," Hasenjaeger said he used $3,000 in credit card money to gamble at a casino, which he built into $12,000, before losing it all. With empty pockets, he duped a cab driver into taking him back to campus, promising to pay the fare once there. However, after he was dropped off, he fled without paying and was arrested by campus police. He played miserably the next night and was booted from the team the next year.
After his failed college career, he was hired and rose to become a district manager with American General Finance in Minooka, but continued to lose thousands of dollars through gambling.
At the time of the bank robbery, Hasenjaeger said loan sharks were circling him, he was on the verge of losing his job, and his house -- mortgaged twice to get money to pay gambling debts -- was in foreclosure. He said he partly wanted to get caught, because then he figured he would be forced to quit gambling.
After his arrest, he declared bankruptcy and his family now is about to be evicted.
Hasenjaeger joined Gamblers Anonymous, and in 1995 and 2000 was hospitalized at Proctor Hospital in Peoria for what doctors termed a "severe gambling disorder." For brief periods after each hospitalization, Hasenjaeger said he refrained from wagering.
Hasenjaeger's court-appointed attorney, Robert G. Clarke, wrote of his client:
"Virtually all of his family, many of whom he has hurt quite severely, and some of his friends, some of whom have been betrayed by earlier promises of reformation, attest to his good will and his persuasive efforts to reform since his arrest."
In 1995, Hasenjaeger was convicted of criminal damage to property.
Until he reports to prison, Hasenjaeger is under electronic monitoring and has to remain home from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily. He also is prohibited from gambling. |
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Bengal's Founder's Kids Lose 4 Year Battle
Court Watch |
2007/12/06 10:18
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Two children of one of the founders of the Cincinnati Bengals have lost their four-year court battle over his estate, which includes about 30 percent of the shares in a team that Forbes estimated is worth $912 million this year.
A Hamilton County Probate Court jury on Tuesday rejected their claims that Austin E. "Dutch" Knowlton's will was a forgery. They sued after Knowlton died in 2003, at age 93, and they discovered they were left out of his will, which was dated February 1996 and left the bulk of his estate to the Austin E. Knowlton Foundation.
Knowlton, who owned a construction company, founded the Bengals in 1967 with Paul Brown and other investors. Two of his three children, Peter Knowlton and P. Valerie Knowlton, challenged the will.
Peter Knowlton has since died, but his claim remains. |
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Supreme Court Rules for Railroads in GA Case
Court Watch |
2007/12/04 09:10
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| The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that railroads may challenge state methods for determining the value of their property, a decision that could lower some railroad tax bills. The court sided with CSX Transportation Inc. in a case from Georgia in which the railroad argued that the state improperly instituted a new way of calculating its property tax that resulted in a nearly 50 percent increase in its tax bill from one year to the next. The court reversed a ruling from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that prohibited the railroad, a subsidiary of CSX Corp., from challenging the method the state used to determine the value of the railroad's property. A federal law bars states from discriminating against railroads by taxing their property more heavily than other commercial property. Chief Justice John Roberts said the law allows a railroad to go to court to try to show that the state's way of calculating market value is unfair. |
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Court clears way for casino groundbreaking
Court Watch |
2007/12/04 04:13
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SugarHouse Casino is planning to break ground on its Philadelphia project in a matter of weeks, aided by a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision on Monday. The court ordered the city of Philadelphia to process permits needed to begin construction on the $550 million slots casino on the site of the former Jack Frost sugar refinery. The lack of permits has held up the project. SugarHouse's parent company, HSP Gaming LP, sued the city last month in an effort to move the project along. The casino, to be located on Delaware Avenue, north of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, is one of two casinos awarded slots gaming licenses in the city by state regulators last December. Foxwoods Casino, which has also not been able to get its project under way, plans to construct a $560 million casino on a 16-acre parcel on South Columbus Boulevard near Reed Street. "We are gratified by this decision and excited about the opportunities ahead," SugarHouse President Bob Sheldon said. "We remain committed to working with our neighbors to reach agreement on a community benefits agreement and look forward to creating thousands of new jobs and generating millions of dollars in new tax revenues for the city and commonwealth." |
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Court to Hear Case Over Marcos-Era Funds
Court Watch |
2007/12/03 09:14
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| The Supreme Court on Monday stepped into a dispute over who owns money misappropriated by Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos, a case in which the United States supports the government of the Philippines. The Republic of the Philippines claims ownership of the $35 million at issue and asked the justices to take the case after two U.S. courts awarded the stolen funds to 10,000 victims of the Marcos regime. The lawsuit stems from an account set up with a $2 million deposit by Marcos in 1972 at Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. in New York. Merrill Lynch went to court in 2000 to determine who the money belonged to. The Philippines government asserted sovereign immunity and said the case could not proceed in U.S. courts. The willingness of lower U.S. courts to nonetheless get involved "raises significant concerns," the U.S. solicitor general said in a filing with the Supreme Court. The ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco prejudices cases in the Philippines on the same issue, the solicitor general said in court papers. |
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Accused Sniper Set to Plead Guilty
Court Watch |
2007/12/03 04:58
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A teenager accused of killing one man and wounding another in a series of highway sniper shootings is expected to plead guilty to two felonies as part of a plea agreement, his lawyer said.
Zachariah Blanton, 18, is expected to appear in Jackson Circuit Court today, where Judge William Vance could approve the plea agreement.
Blanton, Gaston, was scheduled to stand trial Dec. 11 on charges of murder, attempted murder and criminal recklessness. His defense attorney, Bruce MacTavish, said his client will plead guilty to two amended felony charges, voluntary manslaughter with a deadly weapon and criminal recklessness.
A plea document was filed in Jackson Circuit Court on Friday, MacTavish said, but the agreement would not be final unless it is accepted by a judge.
Blanton is accused of firing his hunting rifle into I-65 traffic from an overpass on a Jackson County road near Seymour about 60 miles south of Indianapolis on July 23, 2006. One of those shots went through a pickup truck's windshield and killed a passenger, Jerry L. Ross, 40, New Albany. An Iowa man traveling in another pickup truck also was injured.
Blanton, who was 17 at the time, was arrested at his home two days later.
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