Federal

Navajo Nation Wants Mormon Church Lawsuit in Tribal Court

The Navajo Nation wants a lawsuit against the Mormon Church over the alleged sexual abuse of four Navajo children heard in tribal court. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the tribe’s attorneys filed a motion Friday asking a federal judge in Salt Lake City to dismiss the suit until after it goes through tribal proceedings. According to the motion, the attorneys argue that …


Lawsuit Involving Downtown Ice Rink Becomes “hot Potato” at Federal Court

Rosanne DiPizio filed a federal lawsuit in July 2015, accusing state development officials of racketeering. She claimed that state officials illegally terminated her construction company’s $19.8 million contract to build the ice rink at Canalside and then arranged to have the contract turned over to a politically-connected Rochester company. So far, federal judges have handled the case like a …


Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against Miami Cops Who Killed Mentally Ill Man

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit on Friday against two Miami police officers who shot and killed a mentally ill black man last year. The lawsuit, filed by the family of 25-year-old Lavall Hall, contended that the officers needlessly resorted to gunfire when they attempted to subdue Hall, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. The suit accused the officers of wrongful death and violating …


Company Managing NM Welfare Program Told Employees to Commit Fraud

A month after five state of New Mexico employees testified in federal court that they were instructed to falsify emergency food aid applications, another lawsuit filed in Las Cruces district court made strikingly similar allegations. But instead of directing her allegations toward state government, Lorraine McCullough directed her allegations toward SL Start and Associates, a private, …


Judges Rule Maryland Redistricting Lawsuit Can Move Forward

A lawsuit targeting Maryland’s use of gerrymandering can go forward, a three-judge federal panel ruled Wednesday. ADVERTISEMENT Steve Shapiro, the American University law student who filed the lawsuit, argues the map violates the rights of 6th District Republican voters to political expression and association. The suit asks the map not be used in future elections, but the lawsuit won’t affect …


45,000 Legal Claims Pending Against Federal Government

The Canadian government has as many as 45,000 legal claims — big and small — pending against it, representing a potential liability that stretches into the “hundreds of billions of dollars,” CBC News has learned. The breadth and potential depth of the litigation quagmire was the driving force behind the Trudeau government’s recent decision to establish a full cabinet committee to track the …


Uber Wins Halt to N.Y. Price-Fixing Lawsuit During Appeal

A federal judge on Friday granted a request by Uber Technologies Inc and its chief executive officer to put a passenger’s price-fixing lawsuit against them on hold, while they appeal his refusal to let them arbitrate the dispute. Calling his decision a “close call,” U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan said the defendants had not made a “strong …


Residents Want Federal Judge to Throw Out Saint-Gobain Motion to Dismiss Class Action Suit

Residents who filed a class action lawsuit over PFOA contamination want a federal court in Vermont to throw out a company’s motion to dismiss the case. Attorneys for Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics had previously argued the case should be dismissed or stayed because the company challenged the state’s drinking water standard for PFOA, a man-made chemical that has been found …


EpiPen Makers Sued for Selling Pens in Packs of 2

As the makers of EpiPen battle a firestorm surrounding price increases, a new federal lawsuit seeking class-action status argues that the company is engaging in price gouging by forcing consumers to buy the pens in packs of two. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in the Eastern District of Michigan on behalf of …


U.S. Appeals Court Strikes Down Ernst & Young Class Action Waiver

Ernst & Young LLP [ERNY.UL] cannot require its employees to give up their rights to pursue work-related claims together, a federal appeals court ruled on Monday, giving a major boost to the U.S. National Labor Relations Board’s campaign against so-called class action waivers. Companies have increasingly included provisions in employment contracts forcing workers to arbitrate …