Raided pot providers sue government

Legal Business 2011/05/12 08:49   Bookmark and Share

Two medical marijuana providers have accused the U.S. government of civil rights violations in what may be the first lawsuit of its kind in response to a federal crackdown on pot operations across the nation.

The owners of Montana Caregivers Association and MCM Caregivers claim federal raids on pot businesses across Montana in March were unconstitutional, exceeded the government's authority and pre-empted the state's medical marijuana law.

Since then, federal agents have raided two Washington state dispensaries, and federal prosecutors have sent letters of warning to leaders in most of the 15 states with medical marijuana laws.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Missoula against the government, Department of Justice, Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Attorney for Montana Michael Cotter.

The plaintiffs claim the intent of the raids was to shut down the medical pot industry.

"The federal government has made clear its intent to threaten and eventually eliminate any business or enterprise related to the medical use of marijuana," Christopher Williams of the Montana Caregivers Association and Randy Leibenguth of MCM Caregivers claimed in the lawsuit.

The Department of Justice did not comment when contacted Wednesday. Cotter spokeswoman Jessica Fehr also declined comment, saying the U.S. attorney's office had not been served with the lawsuit.


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Phoenix realtor pleads guilty to mortgage fraud

Headline Legal News 2011/05/12 08:49   Bookmark and Share
A Phoenix real estate agent has pleaded guilty in a mortgage fraud scheme that costs lenders almost $10 million.

Federal prosecutors said 31-year-old Jason Thomas Williams pleaded guilty Monday to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

It was unclear Wednesday when Williams will be sentenced. Prosecutors said he could be facing up to a 30-year prison term.

Three others charged in the same case also have entered guilty pleas while the remaining defendant is scheduled for trial in July.

Prosecutors said that from September 2005 through September 2007, Williams facilitated the submission of mortgage loan applications for unqualified straw buyers that contained false information.

They said Williams and the others concealed cash kickbacks to the straw buyers from lenders.

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Ex-Georgia bank exec to be sentenced for fraud

Headline Legal News 2011/05/10 08:50   Bookmark and Share
A former Georgia bank executive who pleaded guilty to using customers and family members in a multimillion-dollar fraud conspiracy that led to his bank's downfall is scheduled to be sentenced to prison.

Randy Jones could face at least 12 years in prison on Wednesday when he is sentenced in federal court. Three others who have pleaded guilty to conspiring with Jones are also set to be sentenced.

Jones, 50, pleaded guilty in January to receiving kickbacks for real estate loans while he was an executive vice president at Community Bank & Trust, the failed Cornelia-based bank where he worked for 30 years.

The hearing started Tuesday but attorneys spent the day in court arguing over how much restitution Jones should pay and how much time he could face behind bars.

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Top U.S. class-action lawyer coming to Canada

Legal Business 2011/05/10 08:50   Bookmark and Share
Ontario’s move to allow American-style shareholder class-action lawsuits has attracted a feared and revered Wall Street plaintiffs’ lawyer to the province just as the pendulum is swinging away from similar suits in the United States.

Michael Spencer, a senior partner who sits on the executive committee at Milberg LLP – one of the original class-action firms – is preparing to practise law in Canada.

He was most recently a lead counsel in the Vivendi SA shareholder lawsuit that left the French media company facing an eye-popping $9.3-billion (U.S.) damage award for misleading investors.

The size of that award was reduced by the courts. But Mr. Spencer, who recently led a U.S. class action against a French company on behalf of American, French, British and Dutch investors, is at the epicentre of the globalization of securities class actions.

That epicentre will soon be stationed part-time in the offices of Kim Orr Barristers PC, a Toronto class-action boutique, working on Canadian and cross-border cases.

Mr. Spencer makes no bones about why, at the pinnacle of his career, he is prepared to swap the perks of a privileged life in Manhattan for Toronto. It’s because of Ontario’s Bill 198, enacted in 2005, which allows shareholders who buy stock on the open market to sue if they feel a company misrepresents its financial situation.

Ordinarily, an amendment to provincial securities law would not attract the attention of someone in Mr. Spencer’s ambit, but these are not ordinary times for U.S. class-action lawyers.

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Courts nationwide hold hearings with video

Legal Business 2011/05/09 09:13   Bookmark and Share
George Villanueva, charged with first-degree murder in the death of an NYPD officer, will not leave jail for months of pretrial hearings.

Instead, he'll be beamed into the courtroom via video as lawyers discuss his case in front of the judge.

Villanueva's case is part of a surge in court appearances done by video in New York and around the country, as cash-strapped communities look for ways to boost efficiency and cut costs. The tools are used in courts large and small, and the savings for some are staggering: $30 million in Pennsylvania so far, $600,000 in Georgia, and $50,000 per year in transportation costs in Ohio.

"We've had to trim our spending wherever we can and still provide what we think is effective constitutional justice, and we're doing that with the help of modern technology," said Pennsylvania State Supreme Court Justice Ronald D. Castille.

Advocates say the virtual hearing is easier on defendants, who don't have to get up at 4 a.m. to be shuttled with other criminal suspects to court, only to wait hours standing and handcuffed for an appearance. Judges say their cases are moving faster. And civil liberties groups say the practice raises no red flags.
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Further Class Action Lawsuits Filed for Depakote Side Effects

Court News 2011/05/09 09:12   Bookmark and Share
The Consumer Justice Foundation, a free online resource for those who are struggling with legal or personal injury issues in relation to insurance companies and/or large corporations, hereby announces that Depakote class action lawsuits have been filed by plaintiffs in St. Clair County, Illinois against the manufacturer of Depakote, Abbott Laboratories. These Depakote lawsuits, which carry the case numbers of St. Clair County Circuit Court Case No. 10-L-651 and St. Clair County Circuit Court Case No. 11-L-143, respectively, seek damages for the classes of plaintiffs that would be used to compensate them for medical expenses incurred and future costs that will be incurred in caring for those who have been harmed as a result of using Depakote.

The Depakote class action lawsuits mentioned above involve claims regarding pregnant mothers who used Depakote while pregnant. Depakote is generally used by people in order to help them treat the symptoms of seizure disorders that include migraine headaches, epilepsy and the manic episodes associated with bipolar disorder.

Unfortunately, parents around the United States have claimed that using Depakote while pregnant can lead to the possibility of children of mothers who used this medication while pregnant being born with severe birth defects. Examples of these alleged Depakote birth defects have included spina bifida, neural tube malformations, heart defects and brain defects.

The lawsuits that have been filed against Abbott Laboratories claim that the company knew of the risks of the use of one specific active ingredient, known as valproic acid and its tendency to raise the risk of birth defects developing in children of mothers who ingested this substance during the early stages of a pregnancy.

These Depakote class action lawsuits further claim that Abbott Laboratories misled doctors and the public in general by downplaying these known risks, and that this downplaying of these potential risks led to the harm suffered by the children who were born with these birth defects. Plaintiffs in these Depakote class action lawsuits are seeking compensation for medical expenses and future costs of care.

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