Daily Lawsuit News

Scientology Civil Lawsuit Blocked By Florida Court

Rosalie Fair works at a Starbucks in Clearwater, Florida and was incorrectly linked to a group of Scientology protesters named in a civil suit by the Church of Scientology. The lawsuit seeks to keep all members of an internet protest group, Anonymous, 500 feet away from any of the many Scientology buildings in the Clearwater area.

The church claims they have been facing worldwide harassment by members of the group and they are taking the threats seriously.

“The problem we have is that people are hiding behind Anonymous,” Harney said. “We have thousands of people here we have to protect.”

Fair, however, claims that since most of her patrons are members of the Church of Scientology, she wanted nothing to do with the protests and is not a member of the internet group named in the lawsuit.

The court system in Florida, however, failed to find any ties between the 26 people named in the civil lawsuit and the group Anonymous, and in striking down the suit, pointed out that while the court is mindful of the threat of violence against Scientologists, there must be a connection between the threat and imminent danger.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/civil/article416511.ec

Source:  St. Petersburg Times

Posted in Civil Lawsuits | 1 Comment »

Family Of Officer Files Civil Lawsuit In Wrongful Death

Shad Nicks was riding his motorcycle on Nebraska US Highway 6 in April when things went terribly wrong. An opposite bound car crossed over the median and hit Nicks, killing him. Now, his family is filing an 8.5MM USD civil lawsuit against the State of Nebraska.

Initial civil findings in court allowed for the legal filing process to continue after finding that the area where Nicks was killed was, indeed, dangerous and not addressed despite several complaints. The construction area where Nicks was hit was not secured properly.

“It’s not something that I think is wrong, or that his spouse thinks is wrong,” Blakeman said. “It’s something that a national expert thinks is wrong.”

The case is currently under investigation and suggestion for a settlement is expected within six months or the case can continue into the court system for trial. The other party in the accident, Heather Henning, carries a total of insurance for $25,000. Without a legal settlement, the family of Nicks would be without any source of income and his surviving three children without any hope of future earnings or savings from a father.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10331989

Source: Omaha World-Herald

Posted in Civil Lawsuits | No Comments »

Gasoline Groundwater Contamination Lawsuit Settles For 400 Million

A large-scale civil lawsuit was settled against several of the large, American oil companies stemming from groundwater contamination.

MTBE, or Methyl-Tertiary Butyl Ether, was supposed to be a safe additive to gasoline products to raise the octane levels of gasoline by oxygenating the gas product. However, what was not known was the level of contamination in groundwater it could cause if it seeped into the ground. Over the past several years, several areas’ groundwater supplies have been tainted and polluted by MTBE. Recent EPA studies have found that MTBE causes cancer at high levels in lab animals.

What was originally singular lawsuits across 17 different states was combined into one single Federal case and with the assistance of Weitz & Luxenberg attorneys was brought to light. The settlement includes a 30 year cleanup plan for contaminated groundwater wells and share amongst those involved with the lawsuit.

“We look forward to trying the case against Exxon Mobil,” said Gordon. “It is not right that the most profitable corporation in the history of the world can contaminate our drinking water knowingly, and then expect the taxpayers to clean up their mess.”

Excluded from this lawsuit was the Exxon-Mobil company and five smaller firms, which have pending civil and class action lawsuits against them from the same firm.

http://www.centredaily.com/business/story/581039.html

Source: Centre Daily Times

Posted in Civil Lawsuits, Environmental Law, Product Liability | No Comments »

Oil Well Burn Victim Files Civil Lawsuit

In Tennessee, an unlikely place for an oil well, a man was ignited in March while driving by a drill site as it exploded. Now, it appears Jonathan Vann is filing a 4.5MM USD Civil Suit against Dan Potts, owner of the well.

The owner, Potts, was already cited for drilling too deeply, safety violations and other sundry issues involving his speculating area. Now, it appears that his very life’s savings is at stake in this Lawsuit. Vann is claiming permanent and seriously debilitating burns on his body as the root of the Civil action.

The cause of the explosion and subsequent fire is cited as leaking oil from the well.

http://www.wsmv.com/news/16226688/detail.html

Source: Channel 4, Tennessee

Posted in Civil Lawsuits | No Comments »

Donor’s Death Prompts Civil Lawsuit Against Surgeon

In California, courts ruled that a Civil Lawsuit could, indeed, be filed against the surgeon who is accused of hastening an organ donor’s death so that their organs could be harvested and subsequently implanted into waiting recipients.

In the suit, Dr. Hootan Roozrokh is accused of administering a fatal dose of morphine to a patient who was in a coma to bring his death to fruition quicker. Dr. Roozrokh was an employee of Kaiser Permanente and was on-site to handle the organ transfer once the patient had expired.

In the fact finding of this civil case, it was observed that Dr. Roozrokh ordered three doses of morphine injected into his patient’s IV within 15 minutes; despite the fact that the patient was already in a coma and not in any obvious pain. The patient, Ruben Navarro was not brain dead yet faced a definite poor prognosis for recovery.

The question that remains, and that this case will hinge on, is whether there was any level of criminal negligence on the part of Dr. Roozrokh and whether that negligence would be grounds for a civil lawsuit penalty. Since his arrest in February, the Doctor has been mounting a rigorous defense

http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/05/12/prca0512.htm

Source: AMNews

Posted in Civil Lawsuits, Medical Malpractice | 1 Comment »

Herley Industries Settles Civil Lawsuit With 9.5MM Payout

After months of legal wrangling, the defense contracting company Herley pled guilty to two counts of financial impropriety and agreed to pay the Federal Government 9.5 million USD to settle a civil lawsuit.

Once the company agreed to pay 6MM in penalties and 3.5MM in fine, the government not only dropped over 30 other counts against the company but also withdrew its lawsuit against them.

Herley was accused of making false and fraudulent statements that misled government industries into overpaying for their defense contractor services. News of the settlement drew sharp criticism from those in the industry, but the stock market applauded and sent Herley stock soaring up 20% on Monday.

http://www.centralpennbusiness.com/article.asp?aID=66005

Source: Central Penn Business Journal

Posted in Civil Lawsuits, Financial Fraud | No Comments »

Choice Hotels Denies Liability in Forced Labor Lawsuit

South Dakota Comfort Inn owners Robert and Angelina Farrell were convicted of 22 mixed counts of forced labor and peonage, or forced working in an unfair labor market. Now, it appears that Choice Hotels, the owners of Comfort Inn’s franchise, may be also at fault for not having more stringent guidelines and managing their hotel owners more closely.

Four Filipino workers have filed a civil lawsuit against Choice Hotels and the Farrells personally claiming unspecified damages for their suffering at the hands of the Comfort Inn owners. Choice Hotels denies any wrongdoing or liability involved in this case. As good franchisees, however, the Farrells have requested that the civil lawsuit against the parent company be dropped and only they be named as defendants.

In addition to these legal labor issues, the Farrells also were convicted of visa fraud and false statements. Settlement may be imminent, but the fact that a labor lawsuit of this magnitude occurs in this day and age is shameful, at best.

http://wkbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=8269089

Source: WKBT, LaCrosse

Posted in Civil Lawsuits, Immigration Fraud | 3 Comments »