Damages Seeked and Speech Rights Issue

Women who sent a threatening letter to her doctor on her practice and contends to having experienced "an unlawful chilling effect" on her free speech and religious rights.
The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division sued Dillard under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. The government's lawsuit seeks a court order permanently prohibiting Dillard from contacting Means or coming within 250 feet of the doctor, her home, car or business. It also seeks damages of $5,000 for the doctor and a penalty of $15,000.
Contributor: Kunal Kohli
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43064742/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

Controversy over the Air France wreckage

Two years ago an Air France jet disappeared during high-altitude thunderstorms near the equator over the Atlantic Ocean on its way to Paris from Rio de Janeiro. Of the 228 passengers and crew on board there were only 50 bodies found. There have been considerable amount of effort put into finding the wreckage so as to find the remaining black boxes to discover what went wrong with the Flight 447. In March 2011, two years and 4 attempts later, the wreckage has been found along with some of the dead. Fortunately for recovery purposes it has been found in a flat section of the ocean not the previously believed mountainous terrain that is common of the area.

The controversy now is the process of retrieving the bodies from their watery grave. Within the past week two bodies have been recovered. One body was still attached to its seat. The controversy is over whether or not to retrieve the bodies at all. For the technical side of the issue it is a long, hard and pricey project to retrieve the unknown amounts of body from under water, but on the other hand many feel that they have a moral obligation to make the effort. For the family and friends of the victims there is another split. Some are worried about the damage that the bodies will incur when being retrieved by robots and feel that there is greater dignity in their death if they are left in the water where they died. For others, who had previously accepted the fact that their loved ones would never be found, are taking comfort in the fact that they are now able to bury their loved ones nearby.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-05-10-air-france-bodies-recovery_n.htm

Man is falsly imprisoned and is denied compensation.

Anthony Graves spent 18 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. He was accused of slayings of a grandmother and five children in 1992. "The state comptroller refused to pay Graves the $80,000 for each year of wrongful imprisonment provided by law because the order dismissing the capital murder charges did not contain the words "actual innocence," as the statute requires."
"Graves has sued the attorney general, asking for a declaration of actual innocence, but [Attorney General Greg] Abbott's office said the law does not allow the attorney general to make such a declaration."

I think this case is very big and it is appalling to see such a thing happen, I do not have experience so say if the law does or does not allow the attorney general to make such a decision, but I think a normal person would see that compensation is needed.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7544107.html
Posted by: Mohammad AlBader

American Needle Inc. v. NFL

"* American Needle Inc. v. NFL, et al.: In 2000, the National Football League formed an exclusive partnership with Reebok that made the Canton (Mass.)-based company the sole producer of official NFL uniforms and merchandise. Prior to this agreement, American Needle, a sports equipment manufacturer, had individual deals with several NFL teams, which were nullified by the Reebok deal for exclusive rights. American Needle sued, claiming the NFL violated anti-trust laws, but the NFL claimed that it could act as a single entity along with its individual teams. The decision will help make clear what constitutes a single entity and what does not. That could have major anti-trust implications not only in the sports world, but for any group of businesses claiming to act as a single entity."

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An update about what is going on in Japanese nuclear crisis

Developments in Japan's disasters, nuclear crisis

By The Associated Press – 4 hours ago

— RADIATION LIMITS FOR FISH. The government sets its first radiation safety standards for fish after contamination in nearby seawater measures at several million times the legal limit. The delay in the latest figures reaching the public comes as the beleaguered utility firm had to recheck its samples as the firm was lambasted by the government on Sunday for providing inaccurate information regarding the concentration of radiation in seawater near the plant.

— TEPCO COMPENSATION. Tokyo Electric Power Co. says it will give towns within the evacuation zone 20 million yen ($240,000) each in "apology money." That would be on top of any legally required compensation.

— INDIA BANS JAPANESE FOOD IMPORTS. India bans food imports from Japan for three months or until credible information shows the radiation hazard has subsided. It will review the situation weekly.

— STOCK DROPS TO LOWEST LEVEL. TEPCO's stock drops 80 yen to just 362 yen ($4.30), falling below its previous all-time closing low from December 1951. Since the quake, the share price has nose-dived a staggering 80 per cent.

I do not think TEPCO will survive this crisis especially with its stock falling so much and the fact that they are being reprimanded by the government for providing inaccurate information.

Lawyer, Firm File Suit Over "False Review"

I thought this was a good article regarding defamation:

Bellaire lawyer Michael W. Weston and his firm, Weston & Associates, have filed a defamation suit alleging a "false review" about the firm was posted online on Citysearch.com. They seek more than $1.25 million in damages.

Weston and his firm are suing a paralegal who formerly worked at Weston & Associates and a man who has her same last name. The plaintiffs allege in the petition — filed March 3 in Harris County's 133rd District Court — that the Nov. 22, 2010, "fraudulent posting" on Citysearch.com was accessible through a Google search. The further allege the review resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars of lost business, because it was "made public to thousands of potential clients since Nov. 22, 2010." [See the petition.]

In Weston & Associates, et al. v. Williams, et al. , Weston and his firm bring defamation, common-law fraud and conspiracy causes of action against former paralegal Amber Williams and Jon Peter Williams. The plaintiffs allege the defendants live at the same address in Houston. Weston says the Williamses are married.

A telephone number for Amber Williams and Jon Williams could not be located, and an e-mail sent to an address listed in the petition for Jon Williams received no response. They have not filed an answer, according to records on the Harris County District Clerk's website.

Weston and his firm allege in the petition that Weston hired Amber Williams as a paralegal on Oct. 11, 2010, but she was "terminated for insubordination" on Nov. 6, 2010.

The plaintiffs allege that on Nov. 22, 2010, the defendants, "posing as former clients, posted a false and derogatory review on Citysearch.com." Weston and his firm allege the review was posted under the name "jon77088," and they traced it to a Yahoo.com e-mail address and a Facebook page for Jon Williams.

As alleged in the suit, the review states:

I went to this attorney on the recommendation of a friend. He had used the father for a bankruptcy. I would be using the son to help with debt settlement. I found him to be condescending to my situation and cold in demeanor. If you are looking for a factory that turns out debt settlements then this attorney is for you. If you want someone to answer your questions and help you through a hard time in your life then find another firm!!!!!!!

The review of Weston & Associates is no longer available on the Citysearch.com site, but it can be read through a cached version. Weston & Associates — Michael Weston and his father, Pete Weston, own the firm — does bankruptcy and debt resolution work.

The plaintiffs seek $20,000 in actual damages for money they paid for "pay-per-click" advertising; $250,000 for lost profits; $1 million for damage to reputation; "multiple damages" under Texas Business & Commerce Code §17.50(b)(1); and punitive damages under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code §41.003(1).

In an interview, Michael Weston says he found the Citysearch.com review on March 3 when he typed his firm's name into the Google search engine. At his request, Citysearch.com removed the review, but Weston is concerned that he and his firm lost business over several months as clients and prospective clients looked at the review.

"I read it, of course. My stomach drops, thinking, 'What client could I have upset?' and me not knowing about it," Weston recalls. "I was obviously pretty upset that someone would go out and do that, and it sat there for three or four months. . . . As a lawyer, your reputation is everything," Weston says.

Debbie Fink is a spokeswoman for Citysearch, a local search and directory company based in Los Angeles. She writes in an e-mail that the company will remove postings "that violate our terms of use." She says moderators review the postings at the request of a business.

Weston says right now there's no way to know precisely how many clients or prospective clients saw the review online. To prevent something similar in the future, Weston says he set up Google alerts on his firm and himself, so he may learn quickly what's posted online about him or the firm.

There's one small problem with that, Weston notes: The main character in the USA television series "Burn Notice" is named Michael Westen, so most of the alerts are about that fictional character.

http://www.law.com/jsp/tx/PubArticleTX.jsp?id=1202487882931

Breach in reactor suspected at Japanese nuke plant

TOKYO – A suspected breach in the reactor at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant could mean more serious radioactive contamination, Japanese officials revealed Friday, as the prime minister called the country's ongoing fight to stabilize the plant "very grave and serious."

A somber Prime Minister Naoto Kan sounded a pessimistic note at a briefing hours after nuclear safety officials announced what could be a major setback in the urgent mission to stop the plant from leaking radiation, two weeks after a devastating earthquake and tsunami disabled it.

"The situation today at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant is still very grave and serious. We must remain vigilant," Kan said. "We are not in a position where we can be optimistic. We must treat every development with the utmost care."

The uncertain situation halted work at the nuclear complex, where dozens had been trying feverishly to stop the overheated plant from leaking dangerous radiation. The plant has leaked some low levels of radiation, but a breach could mean a much larger release of contaminants.

The government has already ordered people living 12 miles (20 kilometers) from the plant to evacuate because of radiation leaks. On Friday, government spokesman Yukio Edano reaffirmed that people farther away from that limit were safe, but that those within 20 miles (30 kilometers) of the plant should stay indoors.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_japan_earthquake