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Wyoming Supreme Court rules for bar owners
Law Firm News |
2011/08/30 09:34
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The Wyoming Supreme Court has ruled that state law protects bar owners from lawsuits arising from the actions of their intoxicated patrons.
In a split decision Friday, the court upheld a lower court ruling against relatives of a Ten Sleep couple who died in a head-on crash in 2008. The couple's relatives had sued the owners of two Big Horn County saloons claiming they continued to serve the driver who plowed into the couple after he was drunk.
The court majority ruled state law from the 1980s holds bar owners can't be held liable for their patrons' actions.
Chief Justice Marilyn S. Kite and Justice William Hill filed a dissenting opinion saying they would allow lawsuits against bar owners if they violated local ordinances against serving alcohol to intoxicated persons. |
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Court rules firing of NJ casino dealer unlawful
Law Firm News |
2011/08/08 09:29
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A federal appeals court has sided with an Atlantic City casino dealer who says he was targeted because he was involved in union organizing.
Bally's Park Place fired Jose Justiniano in 2007. The casino claimed he misused family medical leave time by attending a pro-union rally on a day he took time off to care for his daughter.
Justiniano had been active in casino unionizing efforts.
A judge upheld the firing, but the National Labor Relations Board disagreed and said it was unlawful.
Friday's ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., agreed with the NLRB. It noted that Justiniano attended the rally for 20 minutes. It also said Bally's policy on family leave didn't justify the firing.
A message was left seeking comment from an attorney representing Bally's. |
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Oklahoma Supreme Court sets hearing in bribery case
Law Firm News |
2011/08/01 06:05
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The Oklahoma Supreme Court has agreed to hear a former state senator's request to dismiss a bribery charge against her and scheduled oral arguments for September.
Former Sen. Debbe Leftwich, D-Oklahoma City, faces bribery charges along with Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore. Prosecutors say Terrill offered Leftwich an $80,000-a-year job at the state Medical Examiner's Office in exchange for Leftwich not running for re-election and clearing the way for Republican Rep. Mike Christian of Oklahoma City to run. Christian has not been charged a crime and is expected to be a witness.
Leftwich's attorney, Robert McCampbell, filed a motion to dismiss the charge that maintains Leftwich is exempt from prosecution for alleged wrongdoing in the performance of her professional duties under the speech and debate clause of the Oklahoma Constitution.
The court scheduled oral arguments from her defense, Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater and attorneys for the Oklahoma Senate for Sept. 13, according to an entry posted Thursday on the Supreme Court's website. The entry also says Leftwich's case is on hold until the court makes a decision.
The Senate's attorneys also will have a chance to express lawmakers' concerns about language in a recent Court of Criminal Appeals decision denying Leftwich's motion to dismiss, the entry said. |
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Paralegal accused of stealing from law firm
Law Firm News |
2011/07/20 09:22
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Authorities say a South Florida paralegal stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from her Fort Lauderdale law firm.
Miami-Dade officials on Tuesday charged 53-year-old Brenda Wilcott-Kelly with more than 80 felonies, including grand theft and forging documents. Records show she's also took money from a lawyer who was on his deathbed.
Employees of Hermelee amp; Geffin were in court Tuesday as Judge Dennis Murphy set Wilcott-Kelly's bond at $116,000.
Defense attorney Morgan Cronin said his client is innocent.
According to the arrest affidavit, Wilcott-Kelly took $82,472 from the firm to pay off her husband's credit cards. She is also accused of stealing $31,050 from lawyer Steven A. Schultz, while he was in the hospital. Schultz leased space from the firm. |
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