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Court upholds $311K award against debt collector
Industry News |
2011/04/19 08:50
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div class=entrydiv class=articlepA North Dakota law firm accused of trying to collect a $3,800 debt after the statute of limitations expired is now the one that owes a lot of money./ppAn appellate court has upheld a $311,000 jury award to a Montana man who sued the firm in 2007 over a violation of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act./ppJohnson, Rodenburg amp; Lauinger appealed the April 2009 summary judgment and damages awarded to Timothy McCollough of Laurel. The case was heard in July by a special panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Billings, including retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor./ppThe panel issued a decision Friday upholding the damages. They include $1,000 statutory maximum for violating the debt collection law, $60,000 in punitive damages and $250,000 for emotional distress./ppI'm just so giddy it's all over. We're finally able to take a deep breath, McCullough told The Billings Gazette on Friday. We knew we had a good case, but it just went on forever./ppMcCullough said he hoped the case showed debt collectors that people are going to know they don't have to take the garbage. They can fight back./pp
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High court takes no action on Va. health care case
Industry News |
2011/04/19 08:48
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The Supreme Court has taken no action on Virginia's call for speedy review of the health care law.
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is asking the court to resolve questions about the law quickly, without the usual consideration by federal appellate judges and over the objection of the Obama administration.
The case was among those that were scheduled to be discussed in the justices' private conference on Friday, but there was no announcement about the case when the court convened on Monday.
The silence could mean, among other things, that one justice asked for more time to think about the case or to write a short opinion that would accompany an order.
The justices meet again on Friday to discuss pending cases. |
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Abuse cases against Santa Rosa diocese withdrawn
Industry News |
2011/03/31 08:52
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div class=entrydiv class=articlepA lawyer for four men who claim they were molested by a priest at their Northern California parish says he has temporarily withdrawn his clients' lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa. /pp
Attorney Joseph George said Wednesday that he is working with a Minnesota lawyer with an international clergy abuse practice to expand the scope of the suits involving former priest Patrick Joseph McCabe. /ppMcCabe is awaiting extradition to his native Ireland to face charges that he sexually abused young boys there in the 1970s and early '80s. /ppGeorge says the Minnesota lawyer, Jeff Anderson, is traveling to Ireland this weekend to try to gather information showing that church officials in Dublin knew McCabe was a pedophile when they allowed him to transfer to St. Bernard's Parish in Eureka. /ppMcCabe served in the parish from 1983 to 1985. He has denied abusing any children.
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Human trafficking suspect due in court in Michigan
Industry News |
2011/02/25 09:26
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pA former fugitive is due in federal court in Detroit to face charges he was a member of a violent ring that lured Eastern European women to the United States and forced them to become strippers./ppThe U.S. attorney's office says Veniamin Gonikman, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Ukraine, was due in court Friday afternoon. He consented to the transfer from New York last month./ppCourt papers claim Gonikman was using a fake Russian passport while living in Ukraine. Officials there arrested him on Jan. 26 and ordered his deportation./ppThe Associated Press reported on the case involving Gonikman last year in a lengthy investigation of the exploitation of a U.S. cultural exchange program that provides foreign college students temporary visas to live and work in the United States./p |
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