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Judge denies jury strikes motion in abortion case
Court Watch |
2009/12/23 04:59
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| A judge says a motion to prohibit the use of pre-emptory jury strikes in the trial of a man accused of killing a Kansas abortion provider is premature. Sedgwick County District Judge Warren Wilbert on Tuesday denied a defense motion to prohibit the strikes but said he would deal with such issues on a person-by-person basis during trial. Fifty-one-year-old Scott Roeder is charged with shooting Dr. George Tiller on May 31 at the abortion doctor's Wichita church. Roeder has confessed to shooting Tiller, which he says was necessary to save unborn children. Earlier Tuesday, Wilbert denied a defense motion for a change of venue for the trial. |
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Ky. League of Cities audit goes to law enforcement
Topics |
2009/12/19 05:01
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| A financial review that turned up "excessive and questionable spending" at the Kentucky League of Cities has been turned over to state and federal law enforcement agencies. State Auditor Crit Luallen said Thursday she forwarded the report to law enforcement "because of the nature and complexity of the exam's findings." Those findings included high pay for executives of the quasi-governmental organization that is primarily funded by public money, conflicts of interest in spending, undocumented credit card expenses and gifts from vendors, including admission to a Las Vegas strip club for three League staff members. The audit team of state financial experts found 19 positions in the organization paid more than $100,000 — some far more, thanks to raises over the past seven years. Auditors noted that the executive director's salary had risen since 2002 from $170,000 to $331,000, and that the deputy executive director's pay rose over the same period from $141,00 to $255,000. They also noted a raise that took the chief insurance services officer salary from $124,000 to nearly $239,000. |
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Lyondell settles lawsuit brought by unsecured creditors
Legal Network |
2009/12/07 19:16
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Lyondell Chemical Co. settled a lawsuit brought by its unsecured creditors against bank lenders to help the chemical company reorganize in bankruptcy. The creditors don't support the agreement.
The settlement, which still needs court approval, resolves a lawsuit brought by the creditors on behalf of Lyondell against the company's bank lenders related a 2007 buyout, Lyondell spokesman David Harpole said in a phone interview.
Creditors' lawyer Steven Pohl said while his clients don't support the deal, under bankruptcy law Lyondell owns the creditors' claims and has the right to settle.
“Its especially unusual on the eve of a trial for the debtor to come in and settle when the parties have spent four months getting ready for trial,” said Pohl in a phone interview.
The proposed settlement would give the creditors a cash payment of $300 million when Lyondell exits bankruptcy, and establish a litigation trust to fund lawsuits against third parties. The accord was reached after a mediator, whose appointment was announced Nov. 9, failed to resolve the dispute, Harpole said.
“This clears the path for us to move forward with filing an amended disclosure statement and exiting bankruptcy,” Harpole said.
Lyondell's creditors and lenders accepted the appointment of mediator Myron Trepper “for the purpose of facilitating settlement discussions,” U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber said in court papers filed Nov. 9. The lawsuit, filed July 22, sought a trial to determine damages.
The lawsuit claimed Lyondell's 2007 buyout, financed with $22 billion in borrowings, left the company with too much debt and caused it to fail a year later. The suit names Lyondell's parent, Netherlands-based LyondellBasell Industries AF, and banks including ABN Amro Bank NV, Citibank NA, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co. and UBS AG. |  | | Page rank | | |
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La Salle settles injured player's lawsuit
Court Watch |
2009/11/30 16:44
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La Salle University will pay $7.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought on behalf of a football player who was cleared to play after sustaining a concussion at practice and later suffered a severe brain injury in a game, the attorney for the player's family said Monday.
Preston Plevretes, who was 19 at the time, was rendered severely brain damaged in 2005 because an initial concussion had not fully resolved, thereby worsening the injury from the second impact.
Plevretes, a linebacker, was covering a punt during a 56-14 loss to Duquesne in November 2005 when he sustained a hit that prompted emergency surgery at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh to relieve pressure on his brain. The injury halted the game with 2:24 left in the fourth quarter.
Following surgery, Plevretes was limited to movement of his eyes and some movement of his hands and fingers.
In its lawsuit, Plevretes' family claimed that substandard testing and medical attention by La Salle personnel were responsible for allowing Plevretes to play despite his earlier concussion.
A trial was to have begun Monday in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court. The settlement was announced in a statement released by attorney Shannin Specter. | | | Page rank | | |
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