Fund Manager Settles Four of Eighteen Underage Sex Suits
A New York billionaire jailed for soliciting underage prostitutes in Florida has settled four out of 18 abuse lawsuits by young women. Jeffrey Epstein’s most recent settlement was approved Sunday by a U.S. District Court judge. It involved a woman who said she was 14 when Epstein paid her for sexual favors. The 55-year-old money [...]
Legal Aid Group Sues Texas over Food Stamp Backlog
The state of Texas has been sued by a legal aid group over its backlog of food stamp applications. The lawsuit filed Thursday in Austin names the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. The lawsuit says the backlog is “denying individual Plaintiffs and tens of thousands of other Texans access to food, the most basic [...]
Assets Seized from Florida Lawyer
The South Florida lawyer suspected of running a huge fraud scheme has had a number of assets seized, according to a court filing on Monday. Proceeds from the seizures will be given to investors who said they were duped by Scott Rothstein, a collection of whom filed a lawsuit to the tune of $100 million [...]
Arizona Lawmakers Slam Cities on Budget Lawsuit
Jan Brewer, the governor of Arizona, as well as top Republican legislators lambasted several Arizona municipalities for challenging the constitutionality of some parts of budget law. The municipalities’ criticisms were targeted at provisions that deny government services and benefits to illegal immigrants. Senator Russell Pearce, a Republican, said that the lawsuit amounts to “siding with [...]
NJ Inmate Wins Prison Preaching Appeal
A New Jersey prisoner has won a settlement in an appeal case, allowing him to preach at services provided inside his prison. Howard Thompson Jr. is currently an inmate at the New Jersey State Prison, and is also an ordained Pentecostal minister. He had been conducting weekly worship services until officials for the prison issued [...]
Court Refuses to Revive Student Speech Case
The Supreme Court has refused to revive a case in which a high school student’s speech was halted because it contained religious themes. The high court refused to hear an appeal from Erica Corder on Monday. Erica was punished in 2006 for her speech at the Lewis-Palmer High School graduation ceremony. Her speech was screened [...]
Judge Hears House Sticker Law Arguments
A lawyer for students of the University of Rhode Island has asked a judge to take out a law that allows police to put stickers on the homes of those that host loud parties. The stickers are used to deter students who live off-campus from holding raucous gatherings. Students argue that the stickers create unfair [...]
Teen Barred from Abortion Protest Sues School
A high school student from New Jersey has filed a federal lawsuit in which she claims administrators violated her religious and free speech rights by barring her from a silent abortion protest. The girl, who was identified as C.H. in court papers, says that she asked her high school’s principal for permission to join the [...]
Judge Tosses $1.26B Ruling vs. PepsiCo
A judge has thrown out a decision that would have cost PepsiCo $1.26 billion after the soft drink maker failed to respond to a lawsuit claiming it stole an idea for bottled water. The decision, made Friday by a court in Wisconsin, means that PepsiCo will get a chance to represent itself in court. A [...]
Feds Settle Nuclear Waste Cleanup Suit
The United States government has settled in a suit brought forward by New York State over the allocation of costs for cleaning up an abandoned nuclear waste processing facility near Buffalo. A consent decree filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York stated that the federal government has agreed [...]