Report

N.J. Churches Will Get Public Funding, Despite Lawsuit, Report Says

The Morris County freeholders have started doling out historic trust fund grants to religious institutions, despite a lawsuit to stop the awards, a report says. The governing body last week approved grants for 12 applicants, including four religious groups, The Record reported. A total of 32 organizations will get a share of this funding cycle’s $2.7 million in grants, the report …


St. Jude Medical Pacemakers Prone to Cyberattack, Class-Action Suit Claims

Concerns raised by the release of a report last week highlighting supposed security vulnerabilities affecting pacemakers, defibrillators and other medical devices have prompted attorneys to pursue a class-action lawsuit against their manufacturer, St. Jude Medical. Lawyers for defibrillator patient Clinton W. Ross Jr. filed the class-action complaint Friday in Los Angeles federal court, one day …


Lawsuit Accuses Anchorage School District of Mishandling Teacher Investigation

The lawsuit accuses the district of waiting about a month after receiving the first report to investigate a Begich Middle School teacher’s aide, Julianti Clarke. During those weeks, the district did not alert the police or forbid contact between Clarke and the student, says the civil complaint filed Wednesday in Anchorage Superior Court. In a statement Friday, the Anchorage School District said …


Joplin Pays $100K in Lawsuit After Police Used Taser, Detained Man

After three years in federal court, a lawsuit accusing Joplin police officers of illegal imprisonment and excessive force has cost the city of Joplin $100,000, said the city’s attorney. The lawsuit stems from an incident on June 5, 2012. According to a lawsuit, Joplin police barged into a man’s hotel room …


Lawsuit Challenges Holding Back Students Over Tests

Fourteen parents whose children were retained in third grade after they “opted out” of Florida’s standardized tests filed a lawsuit this week, saying their rights were violated by confusing standards that rely too much on a single exam. The lawsuit says Education Commissioner Pam Stewart, the state Department of Education, the state Board of Education and several local …


Lawsuit Filed Over TV Report of Marijuana Bust

A Westmoreland County man is suing WTAE-TV and its parent company, Hearst Stations Inc., as well as reporter Marcie Cipriani, claiming his reputation was damaged by a news story concerning a marijuana arrest. The suit, filed in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court in June but removed to federal court last week, claims that a video report and a subsequent online version of it have damaged the …


Refugee Hopes UK’s Iraq War Inquiry Revives Her Lawsuit Against Bush Administration

An Iraqi refugee who filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against former President George W. Bush over the Iraq War has filed an appeal containing new evidence released by the United Kingdom’s Iraq Inquiry Committee. Iraqi refugee Sundus Skaker Saleh, who fled her home country due to war, and her attorney, Inder Comar, the legal director of San Francisco-based Comar Law, …


St Jude in $39.25 Million Shareholder Settlement Over Heart Devices

St. Jude Medical Inc has reached a $39.25 million class action settlement with shareholders to resolve claims it downplayed the possible dangers associated with a product used to connect implantable defibrillators to patients’ hearts. The preliminary settlement, disclosed Thursday with the U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, requires a judge’s approval. It resolves claims that St. Jude inflated …


Texas Gets $50 Million in Massive Volkswagen Settlement

Volkswagen has agreed to pay Texas $50 million in connection with the German automaker’s admitted peddling of diesel vehicles rigged to surpass emissions limits, Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday. The partial settlement is part of a larger, multi-billion dollar agreement unveiled Tuesday that awards hundreds of millions of dollars to dozens of states and includes a $10 billion buy- …


Farmington to Settle Wrongful Arrest Lawsuit

A Colorado man has settled his false arrest lawsuit against the Farmington Police Department. Farmington City Attorney Jennifer Breakell said today the city has agreed to pay $30,000 to settle Christopher Winterhawk’s federal lawsuit. She said the settlement will be finalized next week.