TACOMA, Wash. -- A Washington state agency is paying about $800,000 to settle a sexual harassment claim by three women.
The case was brought by three women in the Tacoma office of the Department of Labor and Industries. They claim they were repeatedly harassed and intimidated by a co-worker, Phillip Scott, and Carter Mitchell, a supervisor. They also say one woman was racially harassed and that a manager, Gail Hughes, refused to deal with the problems.
Two plaintiffs, Linda Bang and Janis Fleming, still work in the office. A lawyer for the three, Darrell Cochran, says the third, Mercy Fernandez-Figueroa, left the job because of the stress of the harassment and the lawsuit. They were seeking $1.1 million.
State Assistant Attorney General Mark Anderson says the settlement was reached Jan. 16 in mediation.
Article
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
59 Cars Collided on Boston Highway
As the chartered bus rumbled up the snowy highway yesterday morning en route to a women's ice hockey game in Rutland, Vt., 21-year-old Katelyn Corsino dozed off while listening to country music on her iPod. But an hour into the journey, the player from the University of Massachusetts at Boston awoke abruptly as she was tossed in the air, hitting the seat in front of her.
The bus had hit a car involved in an accident in front of it, but the collision was just beginning to unfold. A tractor-trailer behind the bus jackknifed and came barreling toward it. It missed the bus but struck another car, while seven to 10 other vehicles hit the bus from seemingly every direction.
In all, 46 cars, three buses, eight lightweight trucks, and two tractor trailer trucks collided at about 8:30 a.m. on Interstate 93 in Derry, N.H., less than 10 miles north of the Massachusetts state line. Witnesses described a scene of bloodied people and mangled vehicles, with a car wedged un der the bus. Rescuers spent nearly an hour freeing a man from a pickup truck that was trapped under a tractor trailer.
Yet only he and 14 others of the more than 100 people involved were taken by ambulance to area hospitals - all with non-life threatening injuries.
Among those believed to have been caught in the pileup was a Boy Scout troop from Massachusetts.
"I was petrified," Corsino recalled yesterday afternoon in the lobby of the UMass athletic center, after she and her teammates returned to Boston in a different bus without playing their game. "You would never think you would wake up in the morning and find yourself in a 59-car pileup."
Derry fire battalion Chief David Hoffman said, "It was pretty much a miracle we didn't have more or worse injuries . . . There were cars under other large vehicles. They stopped inches short of being major injuries and possible fatalities."
The cause of the chain-reaction pileup remained under investigation by New Hampshire State Police. But witnesses said snow was piling up on the highway, reducing traffic to only one lane. A few witnesses said authorities told them a car might have spun out while trying to avoid another vehicle on the side of the road, forcing other vehicles to swerve.
Read Entire Article: Boston.com
The bus had hit a car involved in an accident in front of it, but the collision was just beginning to unfold. A tractor-trailer behind the bus jackknifed and came barreling toward it. It missed the bus but struck another car, while seven to 10 other vehicles hit the bus from seemingly every direction.
In all, 46 cars, three buses, eight lightweight trucks, and two tractor trailer trucks collided at about 8:30 a.m. on Interstate 93 in Derry, N.H., less than 10 miles north of the Massachusetts state line. Witnesses described a scene of bloodied people and mangled vehicles, with a car wedged un der the bus. Rescuers spent nearly an hour freeing a man from a pickup truck that was trapped under a tractor trailer.
Yet only he and 14 others of the more than 100 people involved were taken by ambulance to area hospitals - all with non-life threatening injuries.
Among those believed to have been caught in the pileup was a Boy Scout troop from Massachusetts.
"I was petrified," Corsino recalled yesterday afternoon in the lobby of the UMass athletic center, after she and her teammates returned to Boston in a different bus without playing their game. "You would never think you would wake up in the morning and find yourself in a 59-car pileup."
Derry fire battalion Chief David Hoffman said, "It was pretty much a miracle we didn't have more or worse injuries . . . There were cars under other large vehicles. They stopped inches short of being major injuries and possible fatalities."
The cause of the chain-reaction pileup remained under investigation by New Hampshire State Police. But witnesses said snow was piling up on the highway, reducing traffic to only one lane. A few witnesses said authorities told them a car might have spun out while trying to avoid another vehicle on the side of the road, forcing other vehicles to swerve.
Read Entire Article: Boston.com
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Suspect in Firefighters' Death Goes on Trial
Associated Press - Los Angeles
Some 10,000 mourners turned out for the funeral of five firefighters who died trying to save a home from a raging wildfire, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger eulogized them for bravery.
The man charged with murder for setting the fire goes on trial today, and the search for an impartial jury may be difficult.
Prosecutor Michael Hestrin said it could be at least two weeks before any testimony is heard in the trial of Raymond Lee Oyler, who is charged with setting some two dozen fires, including the deadly Esperanza fire in 2006 that killed the five well-known firefighters.
Defense attorney Mark McDonald tried to get the trial moved from Riverside County, saying that intense pretrial publicity and a lynch mob atmosphere in the community would make it impossible to choose jurors who have no opinions about the case. Superior Court Judge W. Charles Morgan turned down the motion in November, saying the passage of time might have cooled emotions.
Read Entire Article: San Francisco Chronicle
Some 10,000 mourners turned out for the funeral of five firefighters who died trying to save a home from a raging wildfire, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger eulogized them for bravery.
The man charged with murder for setting the fire goes on trial today, and the search for an impartial jury may be difficult.
Prosecutor Michael Hestrin said it could be at least two weeks before any testimony is heard in the trial of Raymond Lee Oyler, who is charged with setting some two dozen fires, including the deadly Esperanza fire in 2006 that killed the five well-known firefighters.
Defense attorney Mark McDonald tried to get the trial moved from Riverside County, saying that intense pretrial publicity and a lynch mob atmosphere in the community would make it impossible to choose jurors who have no opinions about the case. Superior Court Judge W. Charles Morgan turned down the motion in November, saying the passage of time might have cooled emotions.
Read Entire Article: San Francisco Chronicle
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Are San Francisco Spy Camera Helping Crime?
A long-awaited study of San Francisco's installation of surveillance cameras in high-crime areas shows that the effort fails in its primary goal of reducing homicide and other violent crime, but succeeds in reducing such offenses as burglary, pickpocketing and purse-snatching.
The study found that the program, started by Mayor Gavin Newsom in 2005, is hampered by a lack of training and oversight, a failure to integrate footage with other police tactics, inadequate technology, and what may be fundamental weaknesses of cameras as devices to stop violent crime.
The 184-page study, which was called for by the Board of Supervisors in 2006, was conducted by the UC Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society. It represents one of the most thorough reports on public surveillance, a trend that has swept the nation in recent years.
San Francisco's camera program is different from other cities' because, in a nod to privacy concerns, police in San Francisco are not allowed to monitor cameras in real time; investigators must instead order footage after a crime is reported.
Researchers examined everything from camera locations and police requests for images to the number of times the images were used to bring charges.
"We find no evidence of an impact of (the cameras) on violent crime," the report stated. "Violent incidents do not decline in areas near the cameras relative to areas further away (and) we observe no decline in violent crimes occurring in public places."
Read entire Ariticle: San Francisco Chronicles
The study found that the program, started by Mayor Gavin Newsom in 2005, is hampered by a lack of training and oversight, a failure to integrate footage with other police tactics, inadequate technology, and what may be fundamental weaknesses of cameras as devices to stop violent crime.
The 184-page study, which was called for by the Board of Supervisors in 2006, was conducted by the UC Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society. It represents one of the most thorough reports on public surveillance, a trend that has swept the nation in recent years.
San Francisco's camera program is different from other cities' because, in a nod to privacy concerns, police in San Francisco are not allowed to monitor cameras in real time; investigators must instead order footage after a crime is reported.
Researchers examined everything from camera locations and police requests for images to the number of times the images were used to bring charges.
"We find no evidence of an impact of (the cameras) on violent crime," the report stated. "Violent incidents do not decline in areas near the cameras relative to areas further away (and) we observe no decline in violent crimes occurring in public places."
Read entire Ariticle: San Francisco Chronicles
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Push on Immigration Crimes Is Said to Shift Focus
By SOLOMON MOORE
Published: January 11, 2009
LAREDO, Tex. — Inside a courthouse just north of the Rio Grande, federal judges mete out prison sentences to throngs of 40 to 60 illegal immigrants at a time. The accused, mostly from Central America, Brazil and Mexico, wear rough travel clothes that speak of arduous journeys: flannel shirts, sweat suits, jeans and running shoes or work boots.
Barbara LaWall, a county prosecutor in Arizona, said she did not know how much longer she would be able to take on federal cases.
The prosecutors make quick work of the immigrants. Under a Justice Department program that relies on plea deals, most are charged with misdemeanors like improper entry.
Federal prosecutions of immigration crimes nearly doubled in the last fiscal year, reaching more than 70,000 immigration cases in the 2008 fiscal year, according to federal data compiled by a Syracuse University research group. The emphasis, many federal judges and prosecutors say, has siphoned resources from other crimes, eroded morale among federal lawyers and overloaded the federal court system. Many of those other crimes, including gun trafficking, organized crime and the increasingly violent drug trade, are now routinely referred to state and county officials, who say they often lack the finances or authority to prosecute them effectively.
Bush administration officials say the government’s focus on immigration crimes is an outgrowth of its counterterrorism strategy and vigorous pursuit of immigrants with criminal records.
Read Entire Article: New York Times
Published: January 11, 2009
LAREDO, Tex. — Inside a courthouse just north of the Rio Grande, federal judges mete out prison sentences to throngs of 40 to 60 illegal immigrants at a time. The accused, mostly from Central America, Brazil and Mexico, wear rough travel clothes that speak of arduous journeys: flannel shirts, sweat suits, jeans and running shoes or work boots.
Barbara LaWall, a county prosecutor in Arizona, said she did not know how much longer she would be able to take on federal cases.
The prosecutors make quick work of the immigrants. Under a Justice Department program that relies on plea deals, most are charged with misdemeanors like improper entry.
Federal prosecutions of immigration crimes nearly doubled in the last fiscal year, reaching more than 70,000 immigration cases in the 2008 fiscal year, according to federal data compiled by a Syracuse University research group. The emphasis, many federal judges and prosecutors say, has siphoned resources from other crimes, eroded morale among federal lawyers and overloaded the federal court system. Many of those other crimes, including gun trafficking, organized crime and the increasingly violent drug trade, are now routinely referred to state and county officials, who say they often lack the finances or authority to prosecute them effectively.
Bush administration officials say the government’s focus on immigration crimes is an outgrowth of its counterterrorism strategy and vigorous pursuit of immigrants with criminal records.
Read Entire Article: New York Times
Monday, January 12, 2009
Billion-Dollar U.S. Verdicts Vanish
By Margaret Cronin Fisk
The billion-dollar jury verdict has disappeared from U.S. courtrooms.
For the second time in the past three years, juries in 2008 issued no awards above that amount, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News. In 2007, there was one such verdict, for $1.5 billion. In the previous 14 years there was at least one billion-dollar verdict a year and a total of 26. Six cases produced awards of more than $5 billion each.
One reason for the drop: Because of changes in legal rulings, punitive-damage verdicts can be thrown out if they far exceed actual damages. Some lawyers don’t seek amounts that clearly violate the rules. Phoenix attorney Grant Woods said when he asked for punitive damages in a contract trial in September, he urged jurors to award “not too little, not too much.”
“There’s no need to ask for huge punitives that far outstrip the compensatory damages,” Woods said. “I asked the jury, ‘Don’t come back with some crazy number, like a billion dollars.’”
The lower threat of high punitive damages has helped corporate defendants by taking away an incentive to settle out of court, said attorney Marquette Wolf of Mesquite, Texas, who won an $84 million jury verdict against U-Haul International in 2008.
“When the threat of punitives was there, the courthouse was a level playing field,” he said. “Now the threat of consequence isn’t there for billion-dollar corporations.”
Wolf’s victory, which included $63 million in punitives, was later cut to $45.7 million, half in punitive damages. It is on appeal.
Read Entire Article: Bloomberg.com
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Microsoft sues spamming ring
In conjunction with New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's office, the software giant filed several lawsuits against a New York-based spamming ring allegedly responsible for sending billions of illegal and deceptive e-mail messages.
"We appreciate the attorney general's leadership on what is arguably the biggest technology menace consumers are facing," Brad Smith, Microsoft general counsel, said in a statement. "Together, we are stepping up efforts to help consumers take control of their in-boxes again."
Synergy6, an e-mail marketing company based in New York, and Scott Richter, president of OptInRealBig.com, are among the defendants named in the six suits. Richter has been named one of the world's largest spammers by ROKSO, the Register of Known Spam Operations, which is listed on Spamhaus, an antispam and consumer advocacy organization.
Authorities allege that Richter and accomplices in Washington, Texas and New York are responsible for seven illegal spam campaigns, each in violation of consumer protection statutes in New York and Washington.
They claim that these campaigns used common spam techniques such as forged sender names, false subject lines, fake server names, inaccurate and misrepresented sender addresses or obscured transmission paths.
Microsoft has filed an additional five lawsuits against other spammers who allegedly used the same transmission path in New York that originally led investigators to Richter and the spam network.
Read Entire Article
"We appreciate the attorney general's leadership on what is arguably the biggest technology menace consumers are facing," Brad Smith, Microsoft general counsel, said in a statement. "Together, we are stepping up efforts to help consumers take control of their in-boxes again."
Synergy6, an e-mail marketing company based in New York, and Scott Richter, president of OptInRealBig.com, are among the defendants named in the six suits. Richter has been named one of the world's largest spammers by ROKSO, the Register of Known Spam Operations, which is listed on Spamhaus, an antispam and consumer advocacy organization.
Authorities allege that Richter and accomplices in Washington, Texas and New York are responsible for seven illegal spam campaigns, each in violation of consumer protection statutes in New York and Washington.
They claim that these campaigns used common spam techniques such as forged sender names, false subject lines, fake server names, inaccurate and misrepresented sender addresses or obscured transmission paths.
Microsoft has filed an additional five lawsuits against other spammers who allegedly used the same transmission path in New York that originally led investigators to Richter and the spam network.
Read Entire Article
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Lawsuit blames Cigna's liver transplant refusal for teen's death
The family of a 17-year-old leukemia patient has sued health insurance giant Cigna Corp. for her death last year after the company initially refused to pay for a liver transplant.The lawsuit filed last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court by the family's attorney, Mark Geragos, alleges breach of contract, unfair business practices and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The suit accuses Cigna of delaying and rejecting valid claims, which resulted in the wrongful death of Nataline Sarkisyan.
The Philadelphia insurer eventually approved the transplant after Sarkisyan's family held a rally outside Cigna's suburban Los Angeles office. Nataline, however, died hours after the approval was secured.Chris Curran, a spokesman for Cigna, said the company empathized with the family but believed that the lawsuit was without merit. Curran said Cigna volunteered to pay for the procedure."This decision was made despite the fact that Cigna had no obligation to do so and despite concluding, based on the information available, that the treatment would be unproven and ineffective and therefore experimental and not covered by the employer's benefit plan," Curran said, reading from a statement.
But Charles Idelson, a spokesman for the California Nurses Assn., said insurance companies were "in business to provide profits for shareholders, not to provide care.""Nataline Sarkisyan's case serves as a tragic poster child for everything that's wrong with our insurance-based healthcare system," he said. "Why did it take public humiliation for Cigna Corp. to approve a transplant?"Nataline was diagnosed with leukemia at 14 and received a bone marrow transplant from her brother the day before Thanksgiving 2007. A complication, however, caused the teen's liver to fail.
The family had asked Cigna to pay for a liver transplant, but the insurer refused.
READ Entire Article: Associated Press
The Philadelphia insurer eventually approved the transplant after Sarkisyan's family held a rally outside Cigna's suburban Los Angeles office. Nataline, however, died hours after the approval was secured.Chris Curran, a spokesman for Cigna, said the company empathized with the family but believed that the lawsuit was without merit. Curran said Cigna volunteered to pay for the procedure."This decision was made despite the fact that Cigna had no obligation to do so and despite concluding, based on the information available, that the treatment would be unproven and ineffective and therefore experimental and not covered by the employer's benefit plan," Curran said, reading from a statement.
But Charles Idelson, a spokesman for the California Nurses Assn., said insurance companies were "in business to provide profits for shareholders, not to provide care.""Nataline Sarkisyan's case serves as a tragic poster child for everything that's wrong with our insurance-based healthcare system," he said. "Why did it take public humiliation for Cigna Corp. to approve a transplant?"Nataline was diagnosed with leukemia at 14 and received a bone marrow transplant from her brother the day before Thanksgiving 2007. A complication, however, caused the teen's liver to fail.
The family had asked Cigna to pay for a liver transplant, but the insurer refused.
READ Entire Article: Associated Press
Monday, January 5, 2009
Layoffs spark rise in wrongful termination lawsuits
Lured away from her job in Houston to take an executive position at Dell Inc., Jan Chapman persuaded her husband to quit his job, move with her to Austin, Texas, and buy a house at the height of the real estate bubble.Seven months later, the computer maker laid off Chapman, whose 25-year career in human resources had been filled with flattering performance evaluations.Chapman, 59, and three other top female managers have filed a class-action lawsuit against Dell, alleging age and sex discrimination in the company's termination of 8,000 employees over the last year.The suit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, is one of only a few so far emanating from the mass layoffs sweeping the country.
But labor and employment lawyers warn that a tidal wave of wrongful-termination suits is expected in the coming months as the jobless burn through their savings, run up debt and find few work prospects in the worst economic downturn in decades.Attorneys specializing in labor law say they haven't been this busy since the late 1980s, as strapped corporate clients seek their counsel on how to reduce staff without inviting litigation.
Read Entire Article
But labor and employment lawyers warn that a tidal wave of wrongful-termination suits is expected in the coming months as the jobless burn through their savings, run up debt and find few work prospects in the worst economic downturn in decades.Attorneys specializing in labor law say they haven't been this busy since the late 1980s, as strapped corporate clients seek their counsel on how to reduce staff without inviting litigation.
Read Entire Article
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Wal-Mart settle Class Action Lawsuit
Wal-Mart settles dozens of worker class-action lawsuits
The retail giant will pay as much as $640 million to settle dozens of wage-and-hour class-action suits across the U.S. The agreement excludes a California case under appeal.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Tuesday that it would pay as much as $640 million to settle dozens of wage-and-hour class-action lawsuits across the nation that accused the world's largest retailer of cheating hourly workers and forcing them to work through breaks and off the clock. Wal-Mart has faced numerous accusations in recent years that it has engaged in illegal wage practices such as shortchanging workers on overtime pay and not allowing them to take lunch breaks. "Many of these lawsuits were filed years ago, and the allegations are not representative of the company we are today," Tom Mars, Wal-Mart's executive vice president, said in a statement.The cases being settled, 63 in all, involve thousands of current and former Wal-Mart employees and were brought by various groups of lawyers. A similar case in California, in which Wal-Mart was ordered to pay $172 million, was not included in the settlements and is under appeal.Lawyers for the plaintiffs could not be reached Tuesday, but some released statements saying they believed the settlements set a standard for other companies.
"We are equally pleased that Wal-Mart has made tremendous strides in wage-and-hour compliance and that it has implemented and agreed to continue to follow state-of-the-art compliance programs," said Frank Azar, co-lead counsel in 14 states. "We are pleased with this settlement and believe it is fair and reasonable for our clients."Industry experts said Wal-Mart probably agreed to settle as a good-faith effort, especially as it ushers in new Chief Executive Mike Duke on Feb. 1.
Read Entire Article: LA Times
The retail giant will pay as much as $640 million to settle dozens of wage-and-hour class-action suits across the U.S. The agreement excludes a California case under appeal.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Tuesday that it would pay as much as $640 million to settle dozens of wage-and-hour class-action lawsuits across the nation that accused the world's largest retailer of cheating hourly workers and forcing them to work through breaks and off the clock. Wal-Mart has faced numerous accusations in recent years that it has engaged in illegal wage practices such as shortchanging workers on overtime pay and not allowing them to take lunch breaks. "Many of these lawsuits were filed years ago, and the allegations are not representative of the company we are today," Tom Mars, Wal-Mart's executive vice president, said in a statement.The cases being settled, 63 in all, involve thousands of current and former Wal-Mart employees and were brought by various groups of lawyers. A similar case in California, in which Wal-Mart was ordered to pay $172 million, was not included in the settlements and is under appeal.Lawyers for the plaintiffs could not be reached Tuesday, but some released statements saying they believed the settlements set a standard for other companies.
"We are equally pleased that Wal-Mart has made tremendous strides in wage-and-hour compliance and that it has implemented and agreed to continue to follow state-of-the-art compliance programs," said Frank Azar, co-lead counsel in 14 states. "We are pleased with this settlement and believe it is fair and reasonable for our clients."Industry experts said Wal-Mart probably agreed to settle as a good-faith effort, especially as it ushers in new Chief Executive Mike Duke on Feb. 1.
Read Entire Article: LA Times
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