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Conn. teeth-whitening rules challenged in court
U.S. Court News |
2011/11/17 09:49
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Connecticut's rules that only a dentist can provide certain teeth-whitening services are being challenged in court.
The Institute for Justice filed the lawsuit in federal court in Hartford on Wednesday. The Arlington, Va.-based law firm says the state Dental Commission's regulations promote a monopoly for dentists by banning certain teeth whitening at salons and shopping malls.
A spokesman for the state Department of Public Health says officials haven't read the lawsuit and won't comment.
Regulations imposed in June cite inherent risks in teeth whitening and say whitening involves the practice of dentistry for diagnosing causes of discoloration, customizing treatment and other work.
The Institute for Justice, which takes on libertarian causes, says the regulations have put several practitioners out of business. |
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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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Court: Fla. must weigh arbitration in Madoff case
U.S. Court News |
2011/11/07 12:30
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The Supreme Court says the Florida courts should reconsider whether arbitration is required for claims against an auditing firm that worked on a fund that invested with Bernie Madoff.
The high court on Monday reversed a decision by a Florida appeals court. KPMG was sued by investors in the Rye Funds, which lost millions of dollars to Madoff's Ponzi scheme. KPMG was the auditor for the Rye Funds, and the investors said the company did not use proper auditing standards.
KPMG says its contract requires arbitration but the state courts would not allow it.
The Supreme Court ruled that the Florida courts only looked at part of the claims being brought against KPMG. The high court ordered the lower courts to investigate all of the claims before making a decision. |
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High court avoids dispute over highway crosses
U.S. Court News |
2011/11/01 08:39
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The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal of a ruling that 12-foot-high crosses along Utah highways in honor of dead state troopers violate the Constitution.
The justices voted 8-1 Monday to reject an appeal from Utah and a state troopers' group that wanted the court to throw out the ruling and take a more permissive view of religious symbols on public land.
Since 1998, the private Utah Highway Patrol Association has paid for and erected more than a dozen memorial crosses, most of them on state land. Texas-based American Atheists Inc. and three of its Utah members sued the state in 2005.
The federal appeals court in Denver said the crosses were an unconstitutional endorsement of Christianity by the Utah state government.
Justice Clarence Thomas issued a 19-page opinion dissenting from Monday's order. Thomas said the case offered the court the opportunity to clear up confusion over its approach to disputes over the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, the prohibition against governmental endorsement of religion. |
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