Lawsuits

New Lawsuit Again Accuses FLDS Marshals of Bias

Two Short Creek area residents arrested last year in a dispute over access to what was once a city zoo filed a federal lawsuit in Arizona this week, claiming their “illegal” arrests constituted yet another example of alleged discrimination by Colorado City marshals against residents who aren’t members of the community’s dominant polygamous church. Andrew Guy Chatwin, 48, of Hildale and Patrick Leroy Pipkin, 33, of Colorado City claim the marshals, Colorado City and its municipal attorney Kenneth Brendel, the city of Hildale and the corporate charter of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints conspired to prevent the men from using property they were legally entitled to amid a dispute with a “squatter” who …


ACLU Files Lawsuit Over Traffic Stop With 2 Black Men

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against the City of Colorado Springs and two of its police officers over a traffic stop involving two black men. The ACLU filed the lawsuit on behalf of brothers Ryan and Benjamin Brown, claiming that they were targeted by police because they are young African-American men. (credit: ACLU) A video taken by Ryan …



Families File Lawsuit for ‘Mismanaged’ Labor and Delivery

Tatyana Phillips never imagined she would have to talk about her baby boy’s death. “I have nightmares regularly so I don’t get any sleep, sometimes I stay awake for days at a time,” said the young woman through tears. On Friday, Phillips sat in the office of her attorney, and recounted that how last fall, her baby boy lived for just minutes after being born.



Black FDNY Civilian Employees File EEOC Complaint, Announce Lawsuit

Black civilian employees of the Fire Department of New York are still dealing with discrimination. This week, at a City Hall news conference, FDNY’s civilian employees announced that they had filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. They also announced that a $150 million anti-discrimination class-action lawsuit will be filed against the FDNY and the City of New York …


New Lawsuit Claims More Discrimination by Colorado City Police

Utah seized control of the trust in 2005, but church loyalists have mostly refused to comply with court orders concerning land-use issues. According to the lawsuit, Pipkin and Cooke secured a lease from the court-appointed trust managers for commercial development on the zoo property and had legal rights to access the grounds. But in October 2015, Pipkin and Chatwin found the zoo had been …


Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed in Allentown Girls’ Four-Story Fall

The death of a 3-year-old Allentown girl who fell from a fourth-story window along with her 5-year-old sister last year has prompted a wrongful death lawsuit. Jessica Tatum, the mother of Tamara and Tiana Arnette, is suing the owners of the apartment building at 702 Turner St., which houses once-homeless families pursuing educational or vocational training. Tamara died shortly after …


Justice Department and Pittsfield Charter Township Resolve Lawsuit Over Denial of Zoning Approval for Islamic School

The Justice Department today announced a settlement with Pittsfield Charter Township, Michigan, resolving allegations that the township violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA) in denying zoning approval to allow the Michigan Islamic Academy (MIA) to build a school on a vacant parcel of land. The settlement, which must still be approved by the U.S. …