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Court dismisses lawsuits in power plant deaths
Headline News |
2013/05/14 07:06
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The Colorado Court of Appeals has dismissed lawsuits against three companies in the deaths of five workers at a power plant in 2007.
The appeals court agreed Thursday with a judge that there was no evidence that the companies violated duties or failed to provide adequate warnings of a fire hazard.
The workers died after a fire broke out inside a pipeline at Xcel Energy's Cabin Creek hydroelectric plant near Georgetown, about 40 miles west of Denver. The men were inside the pipeline resealing it at the time.
The workers were trapped in the tunnel when a flammable solvent they were using to clean an epoxy paint sprayer ignited on Oct. 2, 2007.
Families of the men and four injured employees sued KTA-Tator Inc., Structural Integrity Associates Inc. and Graco, Inc., claiming the companies were negligent.
The court, however, noted that the sprayer used by the workers carried a warning that "flammable fumes, such as solvent and paint fumes, in (a) work area can ignite or explode" and offered safety options.
The workers communicated by radio for 45 minutes with colleagues and rescue crews. But reaching them would have involved using ropes or ladders to go down a 20-foot vertical section of tunnel then along a 1,000-foot section at a 55-degree slope, to reach the horizontal section where they were located. |
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NY top court OKs tax on online sellers like Amazon
Headline News |
2013/04/02 20:05
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New York's highest court ruled Thursday the state can collect sales tax from out-of-state retailers, rejecting claims by Amazon.com and Overstock.com that the tax law violates the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause.
The Court of Appeals said in a 4-1 ruling that the 2008 amendment meets the U.S. Supreme Court test that the sellers have "a substantial nexus" with the taxing state. Taxes apply when the online retailers generate at least $10,000 in annual sales to New Yorkers from in-state websites that earn commissions by bringing in potential customers through links to the big retailers.
Amazon.com, with corporate offices in Washington state, has an "Associates Program" where others put such links on their websites. Overstock.com, based in Utah, suspended its similar "Affiliates" program in New York after the state statute was enacted.
New York's sales tax is 4 percent and all its counties and New York City add an additional tax ranging from 3 percent to near 5 percent. Both apply to applicable Internet sales, according to the state Department of Taxation and Finance. |
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Lawyers from LGBT group to join Supreme Court bar
Headline News |
2013/01/17 06:05
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An organization of gay and lesbian lawyers says 30 of its members will be sworn into the Supreme Court bar in a courtroom ceremony next week.
The National LGBT Bar Association says it's the first time it will take part in the mass swearing-in that occurs on most days the court is in session.
Association executive director D'Arcy Kemnitz said many members already will be in Washington for President Barack Obama's inauguration on Monday. They'll be sworn in Tuesday.
By custom, a Supreme Court lawyer vouches for prospective members, and Chief Justice John Roberts welcomes them before they swear to support the Constitution.
Openly gay lawyers already practice before the Supreme Court, but Tuesday will mark the first time lawyers will be identified at the ceremony as LGBT Bar members. |
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Lawyer in Ohio corruption probe to plead guilty
Headline News |
2012/12/27 09:24
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A lawyer charged with racketeering and bribery in a lengthy investigation of county government corruption in Cleveland is preparing to plead guilty.
An indictment filed in June against Anthony Calabrese III alleges he paid a county worker to influence commissioners' choice of a new administration building.
The indictment also accused Calabrese of trying to hinder the corruption investigation.
Calabrese previously was accused of paying public officials in exchange for business for his law firm and legal clients and had pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.
A federal court filing Wednesday says Akron federal judge Sara Lioi has scheduled a Jan. 15 hearing where Calabrese plans to plead guilty. |
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Another blow for state's anti-eavesdropping law
Headline News |
2012/12/21 08:13
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The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday delivered another blow to a 50-year-old anti-eavesdropping law in Illinois, choosing to let stand a lower court finding that key parts of the hotly debated law run counter to constitutional protections of free speech.
In that critical lower-court ruling in May, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the law — one of the toughest of its kind in the country — violates the First Amendment when used against those who record police officers doing their jobs in public.
Civil libertarians say the ability to record helps guard against police abuse. The law's proponents, however, say it protects the privacy rights of officers and civilians, as well as ensures that those wielding recording devices don't interfere with urgent police work.
The Illinois Eavesdropping Act, enacted in 1961, makes it a felony for someone to produce an audio recording of a conversation unless all the parties involved agree. It sets a maximum punishment of 15 years in prison if a law enforcement officer is recorded.
As it drew the ire of civil liberties groups, state legislators endeavored to soften the law earlier this year, but those efforts stalled. The high-court's decision could prompt a renewed push to overhaul it.
But state Rep. Elaine Nekritz, a vocal opponent of the law, said court decisions hitting at its constitutionality could effectively nullify the most contentious aspects of the law and make further legislative action unnecessary. |
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Canada rules on wearing religious veil in court
Headline News |
2012/12/20 22:08
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The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled in a split decision that a witness can wear a religious veil that covers the face while testifying in court in certain circumstances. The landmark case pitted religious freedom against an accused person's right to a fair trial.
Thursday's decision involved a Muslim woman who sought to wear a veil known as a niqab while testifying against two men she claims sexually assaulted her when she was a child.
The woman said her religious beliefs dictate that she wears the veil in public or in the presence of men who aren't "direct" members of her family.
The two accused claimed that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms allowed them to confront their accuser and observe her facial expressions as she testifies. |
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Court denies rehearing on cigarette warnings
Headline News |
2012/12/10 22:56
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An appeals court on Wednesday denied the federal government's request to reconsider a decision blocking a requirement that tobacco companies put large graphic health warnings on cigarette packages to show that smoking can disfigure and even kill people.
In its filings, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., did not provide any reason denying the request for the full court or a panel to rehear the case.
In August, a three-judge panel affirmed a lower court ruling blocking the Food and Drug Administration mandate, saying it ran afoul of the First Amendment's free speech protections.
A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment. The government has 90 days to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Some of the nation's largest tobacco companies, including R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., sued to block the mandate to include warnings to show the dangers of smoking and encouraging smokers to quit lighting up. They argued that the proposed warnings went beyond factual information into anti-smoking advocacy. The government argued the photos of dead and diseased smokers are factual. |
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