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Chile court orders halt to Anglo American sale
U.S. Court News |
2011/11/16 09:49
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A Chilean court on Tuesday ordered British-based mining company Anglo American to halt further sales of shares in a Chilean subsidiary.
The appeals court based in the capital of Santiago granted an injunction sought by Chile's state mining company, Codelco, which argues that it has first right of refusal on shares in Anglo American Sur, which has three operations in the country.
Anglo American PLC announced last week it had sold 24.5 percent of the subsidiary to Mitsubishi of Japan for $5.39 billion. Codelco has acknowledged that it cannot now overturn that sale, but its attorneys say they may ask for a review of its legality.
Codelco said in October that it planned to exercise its option to purchase 49 percent of the shares in Anglo American Sur for $6.57 billion. It said that option is open every third January under a contract signed in 1978 and modified in 2002.
Anglo American has announced it will fight the attempt to block its sale of the subsidiary. Its press office in Chile had no immediate comment on the court ruling.
Anglo American Sur operates the Los Bronces and El Soldado mines which produce about 261,000 tons of copper, as well as the Chagres smelter. |
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Company pleads guilty to dumping wastewater in Harvey Canal
Legal Line News |
2011/11/15 11:33
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A Louisiana company has pleaded guilty to a charge it illegally discharged more than 1 million gallons of oily wastewater into the Harvey Canal.
Oakmont Environmental Inc. of Harvey faces a $500,000 fine following its guilty plea Wednesday to violating the Clean Water Act.
Clifton Carr, a 62-year-old Amite resident who was the operator of the company's waste treatment facility, also pleaded guilty Wednesday to a related charge.
Federal prosecutors say Oakmont had a permit to discharge wastewater into a Jefferson Parish sewerage treatment plant after it had been pretreated.
But the company allegedly discharged the wastewater directly into the canal without separating the oil from the water.
Prosecutors said 1.2 million gallons of oily wastewater was discharged into the canal between September 2007 and March 2008. |
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Justices unlikely to have last word on health care
Legal Line News |
2011/11/15 09:00
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President Barack Obama's historic health care overhaul divided the nation from the day he signed it into law, and that seems unlikely to change no matter how the Supreme Court rules on its constitutionality.
Some legal disputes, like the 2008 presidential election, the court can settle. Others rage on, such as abortion. It may take another decade to find the balance between private and public responsibility for health care in America, a nation disdainful of big government yet historically unable to guarantee affordable basic coverage to its citizens.
Either way it rules, the Supreme Court decision will not end the debate on health care, said former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, an influential Democratic adviser. It is, and will largely remain, a debate on the role of government.
The Supreme Court's announcement on Monday that it will take up the constitutional challenge to what Republicans deride as Obamacare, sets the stage for a decision next summer in the heat of the presidential election campaign. |
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Russia court rejects $16 billion claim against BP
Court News |
2011/11/14 11:33
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A Russian court on Friday rejected a $16 billion claim against BP PLC filed by an obscure minority shareholder in BP's Russian venture, TNK-BP.
The court victory may have softened the blow that BP sustained when Rosneft dropped it as a partner in developing Russia's untapped Arctic oil and gas riches. The multibillion dollar deal broke down after TNK-BP's Russian billionaire shareholders blocked it, claiming that BP should be pursuing it through TNK-BP.
The Arbitration Court in the Tyumen region in Siberia on Friday dismissed two motions filed by a group of minority shareholders led by Andrei Prokhorov, who owns 0.0000106 percent in TNK-BP. The lawsuits are a $13 billion claim against BP and a $2.8 billion suit against two BP-nominated directors on TNK-BP's board.
Prokhorov and other shareholders claimed that BP and its representatives damaged TNK-BP's interests by failing to include the Russian venture in the Arctic deal with Rosneft.
BP's Russian partners in TNK-BP have denied any connection to the minority shareholder's suit. The claim was the reason why Russian police raided BP's office in August, which happened just days after Rosneft teamed up with ExxonMobil to develop the Arctic. |
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