Free Republic

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A group of New York taxi owners is suing the city over a plan to turn the entire fleet of cabs "green" by 2012, saying the plan compromises safety and is unconstitutional. Under the plan, promoted as an environmental model for other large cities, every new taxi must get at least 30 miles per gallon, a target now met by hybrid and clean diesel cars. The Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade, an association of taxi owners accounting for about a quarter of the city's 13,000 yellow cabs, filed a complaint in Manhattan federal court late on...

Lawyers for the Fundamentalist LDS Church are preparing for what could become a series of lawsuits against Texas authorities for the raid on the YFZ Ranch. "There is a desire and a need for compensation, so I think you will see something come," said Rod Parker, a Salt Lake attorney who is acting as a spokesman for the FLDS people. The lawsuits would likely focus on the removal of the children, the raid itself and damage to the FLDS Church's first-ever temple on the Eldorado property.

Rick Paul, owner of Rick's White Light Diner, was found in contempt of court Monday and must pay $1,000 to a charity of his choice, for again infringing on the Derby-Pie trademark. Before U.S. District Judge Joseph Hood in a Lexington courtroom, Paul was found in contempt of court for violating a 1997 permanent injunction signed by Hood, ordering Paul not to infringe on Kern's Kitchen Inc.'s trademark Derby-Pie. Paul also must pay Kern's Kitchen's attorney fees and costs. "I am disappointed with the judge's ruling and I accept it," Paul said today. "Our proof was considerably different than Derby...

The fraudulent nature of many legal cases alleging damage from exposure to asbestos, long documented in legal and other publications, was officially confirmed to the world by a savvy federal judge in Texas three years ago. However, if allegations in a new report are true, similar rip-offs are still being tried. The most disheartening thing about the report, “Trial Lawyers Inc. Asbestos,” fifth in a series from the Manhattan Institute, is that the reader can count on the fingers of one hand the number of doctors and lawyers who have been punished for abusing the system. A federal grand jury...

WINDSOR, Ontario (AP) - Mercury discharges into the Detroit River are causing cancer, amount to "child abuse" and are damaging the quality of life in this border city, American environmentalist Robert Kennedy Jr. said Sunday.

State reportedly offers $100,000 to forestall lawsuits over massacre RICHMOND, Va. - Families of those killed in the Virginia Tech massacre would receive $100,000 each under a settlement the state is proposing to prevent lawsuits, according to a victim's relative who received a copy of the proposal. Medical and counseling expenses would be provided to the families of the 32 killed and dozens of surviving victims, said the person, who asked Monday to remain anonymous because those involved were told not to discuss the settlement. Families would also have the opportunity to question the governor and university officials about the...

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080310/NEWS/80310045 rules-link only----suspended for wearing shirt with gun on it.

AUSTIN — The Texas Democratic Party warned Thursday that election night caucuses scheduled for Tuesday could be delayed or disrupted after aides to Hillary Rodham Clinton threatened to sue over the party's complicated delegate selection process. In a letter sent out late Thursday to both the Clinton and Barack Obama campaigns, Texas Democratic Party lawyer Chad Dunn warned a lawsuit could ruin the Democrats' effort to re-energize voters just as they are turning out in record numbers. Spokesmen for both campaigns said there were no plans to sue ahead of the March 4 election. "It has been brought to my...

When a train conductor was performing an inspection, he was goosed and fell down; he sues his employer on February 4, 2008.

Buddy Holly's widow in fight to stop book By Ben Martin Last Updated: 2:48am GMT 13/01/2008 The widow of Buddy Holly, the late American rock and roll pioneer, is trying to prevent the woman made famous by her husband's hit song Peggy Sue from publishing a book about the music legend. Maria Elena Holly has instructed lawyers to oppose the publication of Whatever Happened to Peggy Sue, an autobiography of Texan woman Peggy Sue Gerron, after whom the song was named. Mrs Holly, 62, claims the book is unauthorised and will harm Holly's name, her own reputation and that of...

Absolute moral authority? "A Missouri mother says she will do “whatever it takes” to stop former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee from becoming president, because he freed the man who went on to rape and murder her daughter, Carol Sue Shields (pictured). “I can’t imagine anybody wanting somebody like that running the country,” Lois Davidson of Adrian, Mo., told the Blotter on ABCNews.com. Wayne Dumond was initially sentenced to life plus 25 years for raping a 17-year-old Arkansas high school cheerleader. In 1999, a parole board voted to free Dumond, after then-Gov. Mike Huckabee announced his desire to see him released."...

Arabic-speaking passengers sue AmericanThe Associated Press DETROIT --Six men of Iraqi descent who were flying home after a stint training Marines sued American Airlines on Thursday, saying employees publicly humiliated them after a passenger expressed concerns about them to security guards. The men, who sued in U.S. District Court in Detroit alleging racial discrimination, say airline employees grounded their Aug. 28 flight from San Diego to Chicago and detained them, believing they were security risks. The men, some of whom are U.S. citizens, were returning to the Detroit area after training Marines at Camp Pendleton in California when another passenger...

Christian schools sue University of Calif. LOS ANGELES, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- A lawsuit soon to go to trial charges the University of California with discriminating against prospective students who attend Christian schools. The suit, brought by an association of Christian schools, supports the conviction of many conservative Christians that there is hostility to their faith in public schools, the Chicago Tribune reported Monday. "This is just another example of what's happening on a much larger scale," said Robert Tyler, a lawyer for the Christian schools. The outcome of the trial in U.S. District Court could affect California's estimated 800...

A Texas family is suing Gov. Rick Perry and a school district over a state-mandated moment of silence in schools, according to The Dallas Morning News. David Wallace Croft and his wife, Shannon, of Carrollton, Texas, have three children at Rosemeade Elementary and argue that the moment of silence is unconstitutional and amounts to state-sanctioned school prayer.

INDONESIAN militant Abu Dujana will sue the police, saying he was shot in the thigh by members of an elite anti-terrorist unit after surrendering, one of his lawyers said today. Dujana, who is believed to head a military wing of the South-East Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiah (JI), was captured on June 9 during a police raid in central Java. Lawyer Achmad Michdan said the country's anti-terrorism unit, Detachment 88, had violated the suspect's rights by shooting him after he had surrendered. "We will sue the Indonesian police and Detachment 88 and we will ask the court to examine the...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The House voted on Tuesday to allow the government to sue the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries for price manipulation, which the White House threatened to veto saying it could raise gasoline prices. With average U.S. pump prices at an all-time, inflation-adjusted high of $3.22 a gallon, the House voted 345-72 to approve the "No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act of 2007," or "NOPEC." The bill would revoke the sovereign immunity OPEC members currently enjoy from U.S. legal action and allow the Justice Department to sue them in U.S. courts.

Dr. Alexander Dlugi had sued student Lauren Ellis for loss of income and pain and suffering that was the result of a bike/skate collision between the two in 2003 when Ellis was only 11 years old. After closing arguments were heard, the Morris County civil jury deliberated for only 15 minutes today and ruled in favor of the teenager. The jury agreed that Ellis was not responsible or at fault for the accident that happened on Sugar Maple Row that October day. The physician -- who earned $800,000 in 2004 and got $750,000 for half the sale of his former...

Ryan Hoeft was a rookie St. Louis Park cop on Nov. 6, 2001, when his handgun went off in his squad car, the bullet hitting his head and killing him. The Hennepin County medical examiner ruled his death a suicide. But his parents allege in a lawsuit filed this week that their son did not kill himself and that his gun fired accidentally. Mary and Terry Hoeft, of Rice Lake, Wis., accuse the Hennepin County Sheriff's Department, the county medical examiner and St. Louis Park police of failing to properly investigate their son's death. The suit, filed Tuesday in Hennepin...

Two men who were asked to rap to get out of a ticket are seeking large amounts of money for what they believe was a violation of their civil rights. One of the men has filed a claim against the city of Tempe for $50,000 and the other filed a claim for half a million dollars. A claim is the first legal step toward a lawsuit against a government entity. James Baker and Robert Tarvin, who are black, were shown rapping on a segment of the police-produced cable-TV show "Tempe StreetBeat" after Tempe police Sgt. Chuck Schoville pulled them over...

NEW ORLEANS - Residents whose homes were flooded during Hurricane Katrina can sue the Army Corps of Engineers over claims the agency ignored warnings about defects in a nearby navigation channel, a federal judge ruled Friday.

JEDDAH, 28 December 2006 — A two-day conference organized by the Makkah-based Muslim World League yesterday called for a consultative commission in order to take legal action against those who abuse Islam and its Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and Islamic sanctities, at local and international courts of justice, the Saudi Press Agency said. The conference titled “In Defense of the Prophet” called upon Islamic countries and governments to stand united to defend the Islamic faith and its Prophet. It denounced the smear campaigns to tarnish the image of the Prophet and urged Muslims to make all-out efforts to...

HOUSTON - A group of illegal immigrants who worked for Wendy's International Inc. is suing the restaurant chain because the company fired them after discovering it had missed a deadline for joining a federal program that would have helped them attain legal status. The lawsuit, filed Friday in state district court in Houston, is a companion to a similar class-action suit filed last month in Dallas against Dublin, Ohio-based Wendy's, its subsidiary Cafe Express and the Houston-based business law firm Boyar & Miller. The immigrants, who worked for Cafe Express, are seeking unspecified damages. Between the two lawsuits, 40 illegal...

Talk show host threatens legal action over fan's campaign SEPTEMBER 19--"If nominated, Oprah Winfrey will serve...a cease and desist letter. Lawyers for the talk show host are threatening legal action against a retired Kansas City teacher who has mounted a one-man campaign urging the star to run for president in 2008."

BIRMINGHAM, Mich., Sept. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Three Michigan businessmen, who purchased a truckload of relief supplies for Hurricane Rita victims and drove down to Louisiana to deliver them, are suing the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Department, certain sheriff department deputies, Harrah's Entertainment (the owner and operator of a local gambling casino), and certain Harrah's employees for assault, false arrest, false imprisonment, willful misconduct, and deprivations of civil and constitutional rights under the U.S. Constitution and federal law. The Michigan businessmen have retained the Birmingham, Michigan-based law firm of Norman Yatooma & Associates, P.C. (NYA) to represent them and manage the litigation...

Family sues over deadly Comair crash By JEFFREY MCMURRAY, Associated Press Writer 25 minutes ago LEXINGTON, Ky. - The family of a woman killed when Comair Flight 5191 took off on the wrong runway and crashed in flames sued the airline Friday, blaming it for the nation's deadliest airplane disaster in five years. The lawsuit accuses Comair of negligence and says passenger Rebecca L. Adams suffered "conscious pain and suffering" when the plane went down Sunday morning and quickly burned with 49 people still inside. The only survivor was the co-pilot, who remained hospitalized Friday but was upgraded from critical...

Slain Iraq Hostages' Families Sue Syria Saturday August 26, 2006 2:01 AM By GIOVANNA DELL'ORTO Associated Press Writer ATLANTA (AP) - Survivors of two civilian contractors taken hostage and beheaded in Iraq filed a federal lawsuit Friday against Syria, which they claim supported the group who murdered him. ``This is a step they can take to deter states who sponsor terrorists,'' said John Salter, an attorney for Jack Hensley's widow, Pati Hensley, and their teenage daughter, Sara. The plaintiffs also include Francis Gates of Michigan and Holly Pettis, now living in Canada. They are the mother and sister, respectively, of...

Murtha issues statement on lawsuit Johnstown, PA - Congressman John Murtha today released the following statement about a lawsuit filed by a Marine Corps staff sergeant charged in the incident at Haditha in November 2005. An Associated Press story filed earlier this morning said that evidence collected in Haditha “supports accusations that U.S. Marines deliberately shot” 24 civilians, including unarmed women and children. “I don’t blame the staff sergeant for lashing out. When I spoke up about Haditha, my intention was to draw attention to the horrendous pressure put on our troops in Iraq and to the cover-up of the...

Ceuta, Spain, Jul 25 (EFE).- A Spaniard held for two years without charge by the United States at its prison camp in Guantanamo denounced terrorism here Tuesday, while saying he was unjustly jailed, that mistreatment harmed his eyesight and that he intends to sue President George W. Bush for millions of dollars. Hamed Abderraman Ahmed, who was absolved by the Spanish judicial system in June of allegedly having links to Al Qaeda, discussed his capture in Afghanistan and his confinement at the U.S. military prison in far eastern Cuba. Ahmed was captured in Afghanistan and transferred to U.S. Army custody...

WASHINGTON - A powerful Republican committee chairman who has led the fight against President Bush's signing statements said Monday he would have a bill ready by the end of the week allowing Congress to sue him in federal court. "We will submit legislation to the United States Senate which will...authorize the Congress to undertake judicial review of those signing statements with the view to having the president's acts declared unconstitutional," Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said on the Senate floor. Specter's announcement came the same day that an American Bar Association task force concluded that by attaching conditions to...

A lawsuit has been filed in U.S. District Court here by three migrant farmworkers from Thailand against two local growers and a Los Angeles-based labor contractor, alleging that the workers were underpaid and housed in substandard conditions. In the suit filed on Monday, some of the workers said they were forced to go into personal debt in order to get a job in the United States. They said they were promised work that didn't materialize. A number of alleged violations of state and federal law were outlined in the suit. It seeks class action status for all Thai workers brought...

Israeli diplomats plan to sue Ahmadinejad Israeli forum set to demand International Court of Justice in The Hague launch legal proceedings against Iranian president for conspiring to commit crimes against humanity, genocide Ronen Bergman A group of Israeli diplomats plans to turn to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague and demand that it launch legal proceedings against Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for conspiring to commit crimes against humanity. Following the scathing remarks made by Ahmadinejad in the past few months against Israel's right to exist and his Holocaust denial, while the Iranians are exerting increasing efforts to...

BALTIMORE - The Virginia couple arrested Saturday for trespassing after getting lost trying to find Interstate 95 have retained an attorney and plan to sue the city. “In view of what’s happened, it’s a given,” said Dale Anstine, an attorney in York, Pa., who is representing the family. “I personally know these people; they are good kids. I think the conduct of this police officer is beyond outrageous.” Llara Brook, 20, and her boyfriend, Josh Kelly, 22, traveled from Chantilly, Va., to Baltimore to see an Orioles game Saturday. The couple stopped in the 800 block of Bridgeview Drive in...

A Rockmart family is being sued for illegal music file sharing, despite the fact that they don’t even own a computer. Read more in source: http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?show=localnews&pnpID=728&NewsID=713614&CategoryID=11575&on=1

A MAN tried to sue the council after he soiled his own trousers, it emerged today. He blamed the embarrassing accident on the council's decision to close a public lavatory at a bus station, and claimed he was owed the cost of a new pair of trousers. The bizarre claim was among thousands of public liability claims which cost local government and insurance firms an estimated £250 million per year. Public sector insurer Zurich Municipal said many claimants are genuine but exaggerated and spurious claims are an increasing problem. The firm compiled a list of other ludicrous and dubious claims....

WACO, Texas — Three war protesters on Monday filed a federal lawsuit against McLennan County, claiming two new ordinances banning roadside parking and camping infringe on their right to protest near President Bush's Crawford ranch. --snip---

Christian vs Christian in pop culture smackdown: "Mel Gibson's film production company has filed a lawsuit against a Utah firm for editing his movie The Passion of the Christ. The suit targets Ray Lines and his company CleanFlicks, which edits the nudity, violence and foul language out of films. (...) "The lawsuit is not asking for compensation, KUTV reports, but rather seeks to shut down CleanFlicks for good."

Sticky Bob" Dougherty is the perfect model of a very modern American. Here's how to tell if you're one, too. Symptom 1: If you can't sue the fellow who did you wrong, you sue the nearest bystander.

Vermont may sue to stop tire burn November 6, 2005 By Darren M Allen Staff Writer MONTPELIER — If New York environmental officials choose to disregard Vermont's opposition to plans by International Paper Co. to burn up to 72 tons of shredded tires at its Ticonderoga, N.Y., paper mill for a two-week test, Vermont will likely take the matter to court. Gov. James Douglas and his administration, in cooperation with the Vermont Attorney General's Office, are prepared to exercise every legal avenue at their disposal, the governor's press secretary said last week. "Gov. Douglas has asked the Agency of Administration...

The middle-aged man in a dark suit and button-down blue shirt folded his hands and closed his eyes in silent prayer before entering a federal courtroom in Chicago on Monday, quietly taking a seat in the second row. No judge witnessed his prayer, but it went to the heart of the issue his high-profile lawyer argued Monday before the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is considering his case alleging religious discrimination by General Motors Corp. John Moranski, a 43-year-old computer engineer who works in Pontiac, Mich., sued the automaker last year after it denied his request to form...

RICHMOND, Va. - A federal appeals court on Tuesday allowed a former Army scientist to proceed with a libel lawsuit against The New York Times that claims one of the paper's columnists unfairly linked him to the 2001 anthrax killings. Steven Hatfill sued the Times for a series of columns written in 2002 by Nicholas Kristof that faulted the FBI for failing to thoroughly investigate Hatfill for anthrax mailings that left five people dead. The initial columns identified Hatfill only as "Mr. Z," but subsequent columns named him after Hatfill stepped forward to deny any role in the killings. Federal...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Twenty environmental groups sued the Bush administration over a decision to repeal Clinton-era regulations that blocked road construction, logging and industrial development on more than 90,000 square miles of the nation's last untouched forests. In the lawsuit filed Thursday, the Sierra Club, National Audubon Society, Greenpeace and other groups challenged the U.S. Forest Service decision earlier this year to reverse the 2001 "roadless rule" that protected 58.5 million acres of undeveloped national forest. "These are the last wild areas of North America, and there is overwhelming public support for their protection from development," said Kristen Boyles,...

The United States government has said that Pope Benedict should be given immunity from a civil court action in Texas, which accuses the pontiff of conspiring to cover up the sexual molestation of three boys by a seminarian. Peter Keisler, the assistant US attorney-general, said that Pope Benedict enjoys immunity as the head of a state - the Vatican. He said that allowing the case to proceed would be "incompatible with the United States' foreign policy interests", according to court documents. There was no immediate ruling from Judge Lee Rosenthal of US district court for the southern district of Texas...

The Libertarian Party announced Wednesday that it plans to file a lawsuit challenging the State Board of Elections’ decision to drop the party’s official status in North Carolina. “We’re tired of being treated like second-class citizens,” said Thomas Hill, state party chairman. Hill said North Carolina has one of the most restrictive ballot access laws in the country and said even Iraq has more parties on the ballot. “That’s just vulgar,” he added. The state board decertified the Libertarian Party on Monday because the party failed to secure at least 75,000 signatures on a petition needed to remain on the...

SAN FRANCISCO - California, New Mexico and Oregon sued the Bush administration over the government's decision to allow road building, logging and other commercial ventures on more than 90,000 square miles of the nation's remaining pristine forests. In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, attorneys general for the three states challenged the U.S. Forest Service's repeal of the Clinton administration's "roadless rule" that banned development on 58.5 million acres of national forest land, mostly in western states. "The Bush administration is putting at risk some of the last, most pristine portions of America's national forests," California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said. "Road...

CARACAS, Venezuela, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday his government would take legal action against Pat Robertson and potentially seek his extradition after the U.S. evangelist called for Washington to assassinate the South American leader. Robertson, who later apologized for the remark, said he was expressing his frustration with Chavez's constant accusations against the administration of President George W. Bush. "I announce that my government is going to take legal action in the United States ... to call for the assassination of a head of state is an act of terrorism." Chavez said in a...

Party says it will sue to get on ballot Libertarians lose place for failing to get enough votes last November JIM MORRILL Staff Writer Posted on Tue, Aug. 23, 2005 Leaders of North Carolina's Libertarian Party said they'll challenge the state's election laws in court after the state elections board decertified the party Monday. The board voted unanimously to deny the Libertarians an automatic place on state ballots after the party failed to get enough votes last November to qualify. The decision effectively erases the names of Libertarian candidates from municipal ballots this fall, including five in Mecklenburg County. Two...

SANTA CRUZ — A well-known local medical marijuana advocate is considering a lawsuit after getting caught with the drug at a Southern California airport in late July. Valerie Corral said she was at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank when security officials found about "5 or so grams" of pot in her bag. She had a Santa Cruz County medical identification card and a doctor’s recommendation, she said. That didn’t keep her from being detained for about 45 minutes, having her pot taken and getting a citation. Corral, co-founder of Santa Cruz’s Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana, said she is fighting...

Question: Can the relatives of fallen heroes sue Sheehan and her cadre for using their relative's names on those crosses withou permission?......

SACRAMENTO – California's top school official and the state's largest teachers union sued Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday to restore $3.1 billion they claim is owed to public schools. At issue is a deal that was struck during a meeting with the governor in December 2003, a month after he was sworn into office. Educators said they agreed to accept $2 billion in cuts to help the newly elected governor balance the 2004-05 state budget. To do that, lawmakers had to suspend Proposition 98, the voter-approved funding guarantee for schools. In return, the governor promised that schools would get more...

PORTLAND -- The Patriot Act is about to come under fire in Portland. Brandon Mayfield, the local Muslim mistakenly linked to the Madrid bombings, is fighting back. Friday he and his high profile attorneys go to court and the case is getting international attention. The federal court docket lists this case as Brandon Mayfield vs. John Ashcroft et al. Along with the former attorney general, he's also suing the FBI and the Department of Justice. Who knows if his case will ever go before a jury, but Friday a judge will hear arguments that could change the way the country...