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Texas high court agrees to rehear Exxon case
Court Watch |
2009/11/23 05:01
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The Texas Supreme Court on Friday said it will again hear arguments in the nearly 15-year legal battle over accusations that Exxon Mobil Corp. loaded abandoned wells with junk, sludge and even explosives to keep other companies from drilling there. A small drilling company that tried to enter the wells near Corpus Christi, and the land owners, accused the world's largest publicly traded oil company of intentionally wrecking the wells. The plaintiffs won at trial in 1999, but the Texas Supreme Court reversed the finding in March. That ruling from the state's highest civil court sparked a campaign to rehear the case led by the Texas land commissioner and state comptroller. "At least I think that the Supreme Court recognized that they probably didn't rule the way they should've," said Glenn Lynch, former Emerald Oil & Gas president who says his company has lost millions fighting Exxon. "What I'd like to see them do is make it right. That's all we really ever asked them." |
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Suit over search-engine keywords tries new angle
Court Watch |
2009/11/20 08:46
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A lawsuit in Wisconsin is bringing a fresh challenge to the practice of paying for keywords on Google and other search engines to boost one company's link over a rival's. The practice has occasionally prompted a rival to file legal challenges alleging trademark infringement. Now a Wisconsin law firm is trying a new angle — accusing its competitor of violating privacy laws. Habush Habush & Rottier is one of Wisconsin's largest law firms, specializing in personal-injury cases. But search for iterations of "Habush" and "Rottier" and a sponsored link for Cannon & Dunphy attorneys often shows up, just above the link for the Habush site. Habush alleges that Cannon paid for the keywords "Habush" and "Rottier," in effect hijacking the names and reputation of Habush attorneys. Cannon acknowledged paying for the keywords but denied wrongdoing, saying it was following a clearly legal business strategy. The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Milwaukee, where Habush is headquartered. Cannon is based in nearby Brookfield. |
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NY ex-lawyer surrenders to serve prison term
Court Watch |
2009/11/20 05:44
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Promising "you haven't seen the last of me," a 70-year-old disbarred lawyer convicted in a terrorism case surrendered to U.S. marshals Thursday to begin serving her prison term after a New York appeals court upheld her conviction. A smiling Lynne Stewart walked with several dozen supporters to a collection of cameras on her way into U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Thursday, shaking a fist in the air to chants of "Free Lynne Stewart." "It's very hard to feel downhearted today," she said. "I can take whatever they dish out. I am not going to back off ever." Stewart said she would become a jailhouse lawyer to the extent her disbarment will allow, helping other inmates with their legal fights. Stewart was ordered a day earlier to begin serving her two-year, four-month sentence. She was convicted in 2005 of charges that she let a Muslim extremist client convicted in a plot to blow up New York City landmarks communicate with followers. She was sentenced in 2006. The 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan on Tuesday upheld the conviction and rejected a request just minutes before she entered the courthouse Thursday to further delay her incarceration. She had been free on bail pending appeal. As soon as she heard her last chance to stay free was taken away, she announced to the crowd: "OK. We're going to prison folks." The appeals court had also directed Stewart's sentencing judge to consider whether she should receive a harsher sentence after determining whether she lied to the jury during her trial. |
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Giuliani against trying Mohammed in civilian court
Court Watch |
2009/11/19 05:23
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Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is opposing the Obama administration's decision to try alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a federal civilian court. Giuliani was mayor on Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists flew two hijacked planes into the World Trade Center, another hit the Pentagon and a third crashed in western Pennsylvania. He told NBC's "Today" program Thursday that a conventional criminal trial is "not necessary." Giuliani said "there's no reason to put New York through this." He also said that if President Barack Obama concluded that military tribunals were impermissible, "I would have been in favor of it." He said the decision to try Mohammed and four others in New York sets a bad precedent.
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Court says ex-HealthSouth exec should go to prison
Court Watch |
2009/11/17 05:35
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A federal appeals court says a former HealthSouth executive should go to prison for his role in a huge accounting fraud at the Birmingham-based rehabilitation chain. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that probation isn't enough punishment for Ken Livesay, who pleaded guilty to inflating earnings at HealthSouth. Federal judges have sentenced Livesay to probation three times for his role in the HealthSouth fraud. Prosecutors appealed each time, claiming the sentences were too lenient. The 11th Circuit agreed with the government's arguments a third time and went a step further, saying no amount of probation is enough for Livesay. The case now goes back to a district court judge. |
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Hot line for those who fled Ohio bodies suspect
Court Watch |
2009/11/16 08:29
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The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center is launching a special hot line in hopes of hearing from those who survived encounters at the house where remains of 11 women were found. Police say the women were lured to the home of registered sex offender Anthony Sowell with the promise of alcohol or getting high. Authorities say Sowell then strangled them and left their bodies in his house or buried in the backyard. Sowell remains in jail on $6 million bond on five preliminary charges of aggravated murder. The hot line, opening Monday, will be staffed 24 hours a day by a licensed therapist. Sowell pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges in an alleged attack on a woman at his home in September. That case led to the discovery of the bodies. |
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Calif. doc pleads not guilty to molesting patients
Court Watch |
2009/11/12 05:23
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A California plastic surgeon accused of molesting dozens of patients, many while unconscious, has pleaded not guilty to 64 felony sex charges. Forty-seven-year-old Peter Chi (CHEE) of Tracy entered the plea Monday in San Joaquin County Superior Court. Authorities say Chi inappropriately touched more than 30 female patients, including a 15-year-old girl, while working at his business, Beauty Renewed. A grand jury indicted Chi in June on charges that included sexual battery by fraud and sexual penetration by foreign object while unconscious. The former doctor also faces civil lawsuits from some 40 women. Chi's insurance company also is suing him in federal court, accusing him of failing to disclose his criminal troubles when he renewed his policy. |
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