A federal appeals court on Thursday struck down a novel and controversial California law that allowed descendants of 1.5 million Armenians who perished in Turkey nearly a century ago to file claims against life insurance companies accused of reneging on policies.

The move came when a specially convened 11-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously tossed out a class action lawsuit filed against Munich Re after two of its subsidiaries refused to pay claims.

The ruling, written by Judge Susan Graber, said the California law trampled on U.S. foreign policy — the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government.

The California Legislature labeled the Armenian deaths as genocide, a term the Turkish government vehemently argued was wrongly applied during a time of civil unrest in the country.

The court noted the issue is so fraught with politics that President Obama studiously avoided using the word genocide during a commemorative speech in April 2010 noting the Armenian deaths.

The tortured legal saga began in 2000 when the California Legislature passed a law enabling Armenian heirs to file claims with insurance companies for policies sold around the turn of the 20th century. It gave the heirs until 2010 to file lawsuits over unpaid insurance benefits.

The Mississippi Supreme Court said Wednesday it will take up the legal challenge to the pardons ex-Gov. Haley Barbour gave out in his last days in office.

State Attorney General Jim Hood, a Democrat, wants to invalidate dozens of the 198 pardons that Barbour, a Republican, handed out before his second four-year term ended Jan. 10. Ten of the people were still incarcerated when they received reprieves.

Only about two dozen of the people pardoned followed the Mississippi Constitution's requirement to publish a notice about their reprieves in their local newspapers for 30 days, said Hood, who wants the others invalidated. Barbour has said the pardons are valid and that he gave them because he's a Christian and believes in second chances.

Most of the people who could lose their pardons already served their sentences and have been out of prison for years. Some of them were convicted of comparatively minor crimes as far back as the 1960s and 1970s and have never been in trouble again.

Five of the pardoned are being held on a temporary restraining order issued by Hinds County Circuit Judge Tomie Green. The Supreme Court extended that order until it can rule on the matter. It set a hearing for Feb. 9 and said it would try to rule quickly.

An Ohio investment group's lawsuit seeking to collect $100 million on three-decade-old Venezuelan promissory notes is headed back to a federal judge for further deliberations.

The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear the case was a setback for Venezuela, which argued that federal law protects it from U.S. lawsuits because it is a foreign state.

The high court declined on Monday to accept Venezuela's appeal of a 2010 federal appeals court decision that said the suit filed by Skye Ventures of Columbus could go forward in the U.S.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also said a lower court must determine whether the case should be tried in Venezuela, which will be the next step.

Skye seeks payment on the notes from a defunct government-sponsored bank.

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The Law Office of James C. Kelly announces that it is investigating potential claims against the board of directors of Inhibitex, Inc. concerning possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law related to the Company's entry into an agreement to be acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company in a transaction with an approximate value of $2.5 billion.

Under the proposed agreement, Bristol-Myers will commence a tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Inhibitex's common stock at a price of $26.00 per share in cash. The investigation concerns whether Inhibitex's board of directors adequately shopped the Company to obtain the best price possible for the Company's shareholders before entering into the agreement with Bristol-Myers.

If you are a holder of Inhibitex common stock and want to discuss your legal rights, you may e-mail or call The Law Office of James C. Kelly who will, without obligation or cost to you, attempt to answer your questions.  Please contact James C. Kelly, Esq., of The Law Office of James C. Kelly, 477 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10022, by toll free telephone at (888) 643-7517

For more information about the firm, please visit its website at http://www.jckellylaw.com.

The Vermont Supreme Court says information used by towns to calculate adjustments to residents' property taxes should remain private.

In an entry order published Friday, the court reversed a Bennington County Superior Court ruling that said the town of Manchester should provide the tax information to someone who requested it.

The issue involves the amount Vermont property tax payers may have deducted from their bills based on their income, school property tax burden and if they to use a portion of their tax refund to reduce property taxes.

The state Department of Taxes calculates that amount and sends it to towns to reduce a property owner's taxes.

The Supreme Court says the law governing the deductions is covered by the state's privacy laws. Property tax bills are, however, public.

The court decision is posted on the town website, http://www.manchester-vt.gov/