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Court rules against HealthSouth in auditor dispute
Law Firm News |
2014/06/16 15:34
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The Alabama Supreme Court ruled against Birmingham-based HealthSouth Corp. on Friday in a legal dispute linked to the accounting fraud that rocked the rehabilitation company more than a decade ago.
The justices rejected an appeal filed by HealthSouth in a legal fight involving its one-time auditing company, Ernst & Young.
Shareholders filed a complaint on behalf of HealthSouth blaming Ernst & Young for failing to detect the $2.6 billion accounting scam that occurred under former CEO Richard Scrushy, who was acquitted of criminal charges in 2005. A civil court later held him responsible for the swindle.
An arbitration panel ruled against HealthSouth in a complaint aimed at making Ernst & Young share responsibility for the fraud, and HealthSouth appealed to Jefferson County Circuit Court. That court sided with the auditor, and HealthSouth appealed again.
The Supreme Court, in a decision written by Justice James Main, upheld the ruling against HealthSouth. The justices said there was no evidence the arbitration decision against HealthSouth was fundamentally unfair or that the panel engaged in any misconduct.
Evidence showed HealthSouth inflated its earnings by some $2.6 billion from the late 1990s through the early 2000s, when the scheme was uncovered. Fifteen HealthSouth employees pleaded guilty and jurors convicted one other.
Scrushy blamed everything on underlings but later served time in federal prison after being convicted in a bribery scheme involving former Gov. Don Siegelman, who remains in prison in Oakdale, La.
Scrushy, who maintains his innocence to all charges, now lives in Texas and sometimes lectures about corporate fraud.
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Court: No blanket exemption for police dashcams
Law Firm Press |
2014/06/13 12:13
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The state Supreme Court has ruled that state dashboard cameras can't be withheld from public disclosure unless they relate to pending litigation.
Five of the high court's members said Thursday that the Seattle Police Department wrongly used a state statute as a blanket exemption to the state's public records act when it denied providing dashboard camera videos to a reporter with KOMO-TV. Their ruling overturns a 2012 King County Superior Court judge's ruling that said the department could withhold the videos for three years.
The majority awarded KOMO attorney fees and sent the case back to the lower court.
Four justices argued that the statute was clear that that the recordings should not be released to the public until completion of any criminal or civil litigation. |
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Law Offices of Robert W. Jackson - Cardiff & Fallbrook Personal Injury Lawyers
Court News |
2014/06/13 12:13
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Located in Cardiff and Fallbrook, California, the Law Offices of Robert W. Jackson, APC, will help you if you or a loved one has been injured due to another's negligence. Personal injury due to negligence should not determine your future. You deserve to have justice served on your behalf and our experienced attorneys can help. We will answer all concerns and questions regarding your specific case to determine whether you are qualified to file for a personal injury lawsuit. We are dedicated to our clients and we welcome any challenges to your case. Our aim is to resolve claims and fight for compensation rights. We handle all types of personal injury cases:
Car Accidents
Motorcycle Accidents
Truck Accidents
Defective Products
Bicycle/Pedestrian Accidents
Wrongful Death
Slip & Fall Injuries
Premises Liability
Traumatic Brain Injury
Dog Bites
Personal Injury
Spinal Cord Injuries / Paralysis
Products Liability
Insurance Bad Faith
Mass Tort / Actos® Litigation
At the Law Offices of Robert W. Jackson, we are advocates of justice and we fill fight for you. If you're in need of a Cardiff Personal Injury Lawyer, contact us today. |
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Billionaire pleads guilty to sexual assault charge
Legal Line News |
2014/06/10 12:35
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A Wisconsin billionaire has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of having sexual contact with a teenage girl.
Fifty-nine-year-old Samuel "Curt" Johnson III of Racine was originally charged with a felony count of child sexual assault. But prosecutors sought to downgrade the charge after they say the victim and her mother refused to cooperate.
Before sentencing Friday, Johnson apologized to the victim and her mother for "the tremendous hurt I have caused."
Judge Eugene Gasiorkiewicz allowed the downgrade of charges. Then he sentenced Johnson to four months in jail, short of the one-year maximum. Johnson was also fined $6,000.
Johnson's family has run home-products giant SC Johnson for five generations. Johnson worked for the company decades ago but has had no formal relationship with the company in years.
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