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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday issued an order temporarily banning the “short selling” of the securities of almost 800 financial companies, in an effort to protect the stock market and boost investor confidence. Investors profit from “short selling” by 1) obtaining potentially overvalued stock on loan from an investment firm, 2) quickly selling the stock, 3) buying the stock back when the price goes down, and 4) pocketing the difference before returning the stock to the lending firm....

Jelly beans, Coke, vitaminwater. These three items all have something legal in common. A U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York ruled against a Coca-Cola company move to dismiss the case against it for misleading health claims on bottles of its vitaminwater beverages. The suit against the beverage giant was brought by public watchdog group the Center for Science in the Public Interest as well as individual consumers in part over the company’s use of the word “healthy” to describe its vitaminwater product....

In a case involving a student loan collections dispute, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in favor of a debt collector, the ABA Journal reports. This ruling, which awarded court costs to the debt collector, could potentially send a powerful message to the little guy: Don’t sue your debt collector, no matter how much they allegedly harass you. Consumers are supposedly protected under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The Act prohibits creditors and debt collectors from pursuing a debtor unfairly or using unfair tactics....

The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered a lower court to take another look at a case involving a Louisiana man who died after police stunned him with a Taser at least eight times while handcuffed. The wrongful death case, Thomas v. Nugent, was brought on behalf of the young son of the man killed in the incident, Baron Pikes. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the suit, finding it wasn’t clear that Officer Scott Nugent had violated Pikes’ constitutional rights; as The Associated Press reports, the court explained that an officer is typically granted immunity from lawsuits unless the officer violates such rights, and those rights must be clearly established at the time of the incident....

As discussed in a prior post, in December of last year, the online movie company Netflix was sued for release of private information about its customers in preparation for its second Netflix Prize contest. That contest, to see who in the known universe could write an algorithm that would better predict Netflix users’ movie choices, allegedly involved the release of supposedly “anonymous” information about customers, their backgrounds and their movie rentals....

Tracy Morgan is a bit perturbed that Walmart is blaming him for injuries he incurred in a crash with a Walmart truck. The “30 Rock” actor said that he “can’t believe Walmart is blaming me for an accident they caused,” reports CNN. This claim comes a few months after Morgan sued the retail giant for negligence. How could Walmart pin responsibility for Morgan’s injuries on him? Morgan filed his lawsuit against Walmart in July, and on Monday, the big-box company filed its answer....

Police may use deadly force when it is necessary and proportional. While on duty, officers’ lives are genuinely endangered, as last week’s shooting death of a New York officer shows. So what do those words “necessary and proportional” mean? How is an officer supposed to determine whether deadly force is justified in the heat of the moment? States all have different statutes governing the specific circumstances necessitating use of deadly force....

A Virginia sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a woman at a Costco on Thursday after reports that she was acting erratically and rushed officers with a knife. The woman, later identified as Costco employee Mhai Scott, was distributing samples. Co-workers reported that Scott began acting agitated and talking to herself, reports The Washington Post. Though Scott was seen as threatening and was brandishing a weapon, was it necessary to use deadly force to stop her?...

While pawn shop employees are known to think twice before accepting stolen goods, two stars of “Hardcore Pawn: Chicago” were arrested for re-pawning stolen goods from their own store. Cast members Jeremy Jackson and Karl Bell were arrested by Chicago police after the owners of Royal Pawn Shop became suspicious when merchandise went missing, according to TMZ. Jackson and Bell were charged with felony theft. In general, theft occurs when a person takes someone else’s property with the intent to permanently deprive the victim of the property....

The “Hot Sauce Mom” trial began this week in Anchorage, Alaska, with prosecutors showing members of the jury a video of Jessica Beagley punishing her 7-year-old adoptive son. Charged with misdemeanor child abuse in February, the mom’s unorthodox style of discipline came to light after Beagley sent a video to the Dr. Phil show of her placing drops of hot sauce on the child’s tongue and then forcing him to stand in a cold shower as he screamed....

New York City’s Port Authority Bus Terminal has its own police officers, and apparently they have arrested more than 60 people this year for alleged public lewdness in the bus station’s restroom. A sign in the men’s restroom notes that “Restrooms are patrolled by plain clothes officers,” but some of those arrested are questioning those officers’ methods. The New York Times reports that “at least a dozen” of those arrested for lewdness are now represented by the Legal Aid Society, who claim the men “were victims of aggressive and intrusive police tactics....

“Fierce” reality show winner and fashion designer Christian Siriano has been sued by his talent agency. The Project Runway star turned Payless ShoeSource designer allegedly stopped paying his agency. Siriano, known for his flair and his “hot tranny mess” catchphrase he often uttered on Runway, landed a deal with Payless in 2008 to create footwear for the company’s 4,500 stores. His agency, Designer’s Management Agency, says that they negotiated the deal and was orally promised a 20% commission....

Teen Mom star Amber Portwood’s suicide attempt has reportedly landed her in the hospital. Portwood, 21, was first flung into the spotlight as her pregnancy was featured on MTV’s reality show 16 and Pregnant. She then starred on MTV’s Teen Mom. Portwood has also recently made headlines for her relationship with ex-boyfriend and father of her daughter Gary Shirley. A violent fight between the two former lovebirds even played out on TV screens nationwide during an episode of Teen Mom....

Your first DUI was bad. And your second wasn’t any better. And now you’re facing a third DUI conviction and things are not looking good. You know you’re in for some increased penalties based on your prior DUI history, but could that include some serious jail time? Here’s a look. Jail Time State DUI laws can vary considerably, and any DUI punishment will depend on the circumstances of your case. That said, you can look at some state statutes as an indicator for how your third DUI case might go....

It’s all over, including the shouting. The feuding families of Silicon Valley, known to the rest of the world as chip makers Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), have settled a major suit, announced today. The two companies are known throughout the tech community for their contentious, litigious relationship. The AMD vs Intel battle dates back to at least the 1980’s, but who exactly wore the white or black hat, of course, depends on who you ask....

When you tell police that you threw packed suitcases of your belongings out of your burning home, after breaking the glass out of your bedroom window with a walking stick, and also tell them you have an artificial heart, they may be a little skeptical. In fact, they might ask to see some of the data from that electronic heart monitor, you know, just to check on your heart rate before, during, and after that fire....

To curb a rising tide of drugged driving, law enforcement officers are beginning to use drug swabs at DUI checkpoints to test for marijuana, cocaine, and other illicit substances. In Los Angeles, City Attorney Mike Feuer is pushing this new drug detection technique as a way of “enforcing all impaired driving laws,” reports the Los Angeles Times. LAPD officers will be using drug swabs at DUI checkpoints on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day....

1.2 million pounds of beef produced by a Nebraska processing firm is being recalled, due to possible contamination from e. Coli bacteria, federal health officials announced on Friday. A number of grocery chains – including Whole Foods Markets and Fred Meyer stores – have announced that they are pulling affected ground beef products from their shelves. The affected beef was produced between June 17 and July 8 at Nebraska Beef Ltd....

In a bid to comply with a court order requiring the state to reduce the prison population by 30,000 inmates, California prisons are embarking on a program that will release female inmates with children. More than 4,000 inmates will be able to take part in the program, which requires that they be incarcerated for non-serious, non-sexual crimes and have fewer than 2 years left of their sentences. Once out of prison, the inmates will be monitored with ankle bracelets and report to parole officers....

You knew that eventually authorities were going to come after Julian Assange, founder of the controversial website WikiLeaks, which publishes classified government communications. Now it seems that both U.S. and Australian law enforcement are investigating possible criminal charges against Assange. Chief among the possible charges: espionage. “We have an active, ongoing criminal investigation with regard to this matter,” US Attorney-General Eric Holder told a press conference on Monday, The Christian Science Monitor reports....