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Court of Appeals weighs scope of extortion law
U.S. Court News |
2008/03/06 11:26
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pA lawyer for the state came under sharp attack from several Court of Appeals judges when he urged them to reinstate the extortion conviction of a man who sent expletive-laden letters to a former boss and his attorney, threatening to sue them unless they paid him $100,000. /ppAssistant Attorney General Brian S. Kleinbord said Scott L. Rendelman’s letters constituted extortion because the grounds for his threatened lawsuit were “baseless” and the written messages were a “threat to obtain something of value to which [he] is not otherwise entitled.” /ppA Montgomery County jury had convicted Rendelman of trying to extort money from William Elmhirst and attorney Kevin P. Fay, but the Court of Special Appeals threw out the conviction, saying that a threat to sue, unlike a threat of bodily harm, is not evidence of extortion. /ppThree of the seven judges hearing the matter on Thursday — retired Judges Alan M. Wilner, Lawrence F. Rodowsky and Dale R. Cathell — echoed that reasoning.
Click to download the Webcast of the State of Maryland v. Scott L. Rendelman /ppExtending the crime of extortion to include threats of litigation might discourage individuals and their lawyers from validly informing an opponent that they might file suit, lest they find themselves in criminal court, the judges said. /ppBy contrast, all seven were largely silent as Rendelman’s lawyer, Karen C. Daly of Washington, said prosecutors go too far when they charge with extortion a person proclaiming his or her legal right to sue – even if vulgarly expressed. /p |
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Judge Wants to Resolve Indian Lands Case
Legal Line News |
2008/03/06 09:59
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| A federal judge says he wants to resolve a 12-year lawsuit over government mismanagement of Indian lands this June.pIn a decision last month, U.S. District Judge James Robertson said government accounting for billions of dollars owed to Indian landholders has been unreasonably delayed and is ultimately impossible./ppAt the same time, Robertson said the task is not hopeless, and he asked lawyers for both sides to lay out their cases again at a status hearing on Wednesday./ppThe June trial is meant to bring this matter to a conclusion, Robertson said./ppThe suit, first filed in 1996 by Blackfeet Indian Elouise Cobell, claims the government has mismanaged more than $100 billion in royalties held in trust from Indian lands dating back to 1887./p |
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Team New Zealand take Swiss champions to court
Law Firm News |
2008/03/06 08:58
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| The New Zealand syndicate for the next America's Cup race said Thursday it is seeking tens of millions of euros in compensation from Swiss champions Alinghi over the event's postponement.pTeam New Zealand said it had filed a case with a New York court claiming damages for breach of contract arising from an agreement covering its entry for the 33rd edition of yachting's showpiece event./ppThe agreement included an understanding entered into by (Alinghi boss) Ernesto Bertarelli that the America's Cup would go ahead in 2009, it said in a statement./ppIt's now probable we might not see a normal regatta until 2011, Team New Zealand's managing director Grant Dalton said in the statement./ppThe statement did not indicate the amount of damages it was seeking. But Dalton told AFP in a telephone interview from New York that it would be tens of millions of euros./ppWe have a duty to protect the investment in the team over many years by a wide range of loyal supporters, Dalton said./ppWe also have an obligation to honour the trust shown by the hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders who have supported the team through the years./ppAlinghi retained the America's Cup by beating Team New Zealand in a hugely successful event in the Spanish port of Valencia in July./ppBut the 33rd edition of the race was indefinitely postponed because of a legal dispute between Alinghi and US syndicate Oracle over the rules./ppTeam New Zealand said it has also filed a second case in a Federal Court under US anti-trust laws./ppThat suit claims Alinghi has acted to stifle competition for the Cup and for the right that goes with it of conducting future events by accepting the Spanish syndicate Desafio as its challenger of record, thereby enabling it to impose rules for the next event that were competely one-sided./ppOracle last July filed a lawsuit in the US against Alinghi's decision to name Desafio as its official challenger of record, which gave it the right to negotiate the format of the America's Cup with the Swiss syndicate./ppIn November, a New York court ruled in favour of Oracle and said the US team should be Alinghi's challenger of record./ppBertarelli had the chance to accept a reasonable proposal from Oracle, which was also signed by the majority of the challengers, and which would have allowed the America's Cup to be held in 2009, Dalton said. He would not do so./ppAlinghi said it was disappointed by the action by Team New Zealand, given their previous public acceptance and commitment to the competition./ppThese actions are totally without merit, wildly miss the target and will be defended rigorously, Lucien Masmejan, Alinghi's legal counsel, said in a statement./ppWe share the sailing community's frustration in the delays affecting the America's Cup but Alinghi, as trustee, is duty bound to defend its position in the current legal action and to preserve the integrity of the America's Cup./ppThe format of the 33rd America's Cup challenge is still subject to an imminent ruling by the New York court, with a multihull duel between Alinghi and Oracle seen as the most likely outcome, rather than a regatta involving several teams./ppThe two teams have begun training in catamarans in Valencia in preparation for such an event./ppThe delay in staging the next America's Cup is harming every challenging syndicate as they have to stretch budgets for a two-year campaign over three or perhaps four years, Dalton said./p |
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Court Skeptical of Passenger Rights Law
Law Firm News |
2008/03/06 04:57
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| A federal appeals panel seemed impatient Wednesday with arguments supporting the first law in the nation requiring airlines to provide food, water, clean toilets and fresh air to passengers trapped in a plane delayed on the ground.pThe three judges expressed skepticism that states should be allowed to impose such a law on an industry already subject to extensive federal oversight. It was likely, they implied through their questions, that federal authority would pre-empt state laws on the issue./ppNew York's law requires relief for people who have been trapped in a plane on the ground for at least three hours. It was passed after passengers at Kennedy International Airport were stranded on planes for more than 10 hours with no food and overflowing toilets./ppThe court did not immediately rule on the constitutionality of New York's Airline Passenger Bill of Rights./ppThe judges said they were sympathetic to the needs of passengers on planes, but they seemed to agree that only the federal government can regulate airline services./ppJudge Brian M. Cogan said New York's law might lead to multiple solutions by states nationwide that would subject airlines to all kinds of requirements./ppJudge Debra Ann Livingston agreed./ppThere is a patchwork problem in that every state should be concerned about this and probably would write different regulations, she said./ppEven though the judges had not yet ruled, Judge Richard C. Wesley defended their apparent stance./ppThis is a pre-emption issue. Judges aren't heartless people in black robes. Three judges must decide whether New York stepped over the pre-emption line, Wesley said./ppThe law was challenged before the appeals court by the Air Transport Association of America, the industry trade group representing leading U.S. airlines./ppSeth Waxman, a lawyer for the trade group, told the judges that a dozen other states were considering laws similar to New York's law. He said Congress was considering its own legislation./ppIf regulation is required in this area, it must be national to avoid what otherwise is a patchwork solution, Waxman said./ppBarbara Underwood, arguing in defense of the law, said it required minimal standards and protected the public./ppShe said planes in line for takeoff might, after three hours, be forced to return to the gate to pick up more food and water and empty its restrooms or need to summon a delivery service to perform those chores./ppA recent federal report showed that about 24 percent of flights nationally arrived late in the first 10 months of last year, which was the industry's second-worst performance record since comparable data began being collected in 1995./ppKennedy airport had the third-worst on-time arrival record of any major U.S. airport through October, behind the New York area's other two major airports, LaGuardia and Newark, according to the report./ppWesley called it a health and safety issue./ppWhat it really is about is human dignity, Underwood said./ppQueens Assemblyman Michael Gianaris, a Democrat, the prime sponsor of New York's Airline Passenger Bill of Rights, said after the arguments that he was not discouraged by the questions posed by the judges. He said he would welcome a national law protecting airline customers./ppI'm hopeful the judges will preserve the law, he said./p |
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