Visa and Mastercard have finally settled an antitrust class action lawsuit brought by merchants that has been in the judicial court system since 2005. The case consolidated about 40 class action lawsuits last year, bringing the caseload paperwork to a whopping 65 million pages. The proposed $6.2 billion settlement deal would be the largest class action settlement in an antitrust case. Needless to say, this is big news on many fronts....
When you think “Friday the 13th,” you think of Jason Vorhees, stalking victims with a butcher knife from behind a hockey mask. But true fans remember that Jason wasn’t the featured mass killer in the film that begat the franchise, and in fact barely appeared in it at all. Those fans may also remember that the film premiered almost 40 years ago. Both of those facts, though, carry a lot of significance for Victor Miller, who wrote the screenplay in 1979....
Okay, so maybe we don’t want them to be just like us. But in some ways, they are. On a recent episode of Teen Mom 2, Leah decides that it’s time to get a divorce. Corey, her baby daddy and husband of 6 months, just doesn’t want to make it work. There was a little too much cheating going on. But once it’s decided, how do you find a lawyer? In perhaps one of the smartest decisions she has ever made, Leah went online....
It seems that Apple has found itself in a little game of hot potato. The company is the subject of yet another class action lawsuit, this time filed in Oakland, California in federal court. The lawsuit claims that the iPad quickly overheats under common weather conditions, and even overheats indoors. The suit states that the iPad “does not live up to the reasonable consumer’s expectations created by Apple.” Apple is the world’s most valuable technology company, but has recently been under a swarm of lawsuits over its devices and company practices....
Just because some states are decriminalizing and legalizing marijuana for medicinal and recreational use doesn’t necessarily mean you can legally possess pot. And even in states where some marijuana possession is allowed, there are still rules and regulations that buyers and sellers must follow. If you’ve been arrested or charged with marijuana possession, your first thought is necessarily how you will defend yourself. And, lucky for you, you have legal options....
New York hip hop personality DJ Megatron, 106 & Park’s host, was shot to death in Staten Island while on an early-morning marijuana run, the New York Post reports. DJ Megatron, real name Corey McGriff, was out buying marijuana and a cigar early Sunday, reports the Post. The BET host was reportedly was speaking on his cell phone to a friend when he was shot in the chest. There were no eyewitnesses, and McGriff was pronounced dead on the scene shortly after 2 a....
In 2010, a large-scale burner and distributor of counterfeited music and movies fled the country after pleading guilty to conspiring to infringe copyright laws with a dozen others. Now he’s finally been extradited and sentenced. Upon his extradition and return from Morocco, where he spent 9 months in “horrendous” conditions, he was given the maximum sentence of five years as an added punishment for fleeing. The group of counterfeiters were found to have illegal copied and sold music and movies including Kung Fu Panda, Hancock, Dark Knight, and Lil Wayne, Kanye West, and Usher....
A criminal complaint against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, the surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, has been filed in federal court. In charging Tsarnaev with using a “weapon of mass destruction,” he would not be tried before a military tribunal as an “enemy combatant.” If convicted, Tsarnaev could face the death penalty, a Justice Department news statement said. The complaint said he had his initial court appearance Monday from his hospital room, where he is currently being treated for wounds sustained before his capture on Friday....
Being falsely accused of any crime, let alone a sex crime, can have serious ramifications for the accused. Because of the internet, a person’s arrest for a sex crime could follow them for the rest of their life, even if they are never convicted of the crime. While the social stigma of sex crime charges is nearly impossible to prevent, below, you’ll find the top 5 legal tips on how to fight false accusations....
Georgia inmate Andrew DeYoung’s execution was different than most executions: it was videotaped. The execution itself was carried out last Thursday using lethal injection. In 1993, DeYoung killed both his parents and his 14-year-old sister. A younger brother was at the house at the time of the murders, and he managed to run to a neighbor’s house after hearing the noise. The motive for the killings was believed to be an inheritance of about $480,000 that DeYoung wanted so that he could start his own business....
Ever since former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault Newman began making headlines for audio recordings and allegations detailed in tell-all book about the Trump administration, the non-disclosure agreements supposedly signed by all staffers have come to light. Porn actor Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal also purportedly signed NDAs regarding their relationships with the president in exchange for hush money. But are these agreements enforceable? A New York judge recently ruled that some of the provisions of nondisclosure agreements signed by Trump staffers – those compelling arbitration rather than lawsuits – are not, at least when it comes to claims of harassment and sexual discrimination....
Camille Grammer is set to receive $30 million in her divorce from actor Kelsey Grammer, as the couple finalizes their divorce settlement. It’s never bad news to receive $30 million, but the former star of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” had been hoping to receive much more – as much as $50 million, reports The Christian Post. Kelsey Grammer had reportedly offered Camille Grammer a similar $30 million divorce settlement amount last December, which Camille had turned down....
Today a federal judge refused to jail accused Ponzi scheme artist Bernard “Bernie” Madoff pending his trial. The court denied prosecutors’ request to jail Madoff after he allegedly mailed off assets including jewelry valued over $1 million in violation of an agreement he made with prosecutors. The judge allowed Madoff to remain in house arrest, but added conditions to his bail to forbid the transfer of valuables and to require that Madoff make an inventory of the valuables in his Manhattan penthouse....
There’s a national DUI crackdown looming in the very short distance, beginning Friday (August 16) and running through Labor Day (September 2). So before you decide to celebrate the unofficial end of summer by tossing back a cold one, be smart. Remember that if you plan to drive at all after drinking, you risk losing a lot. From a DUI arrest to fines, jail time, and a tarnished rap sheet, the bottom line is that it’s just not worth it....
Oregon medical marijuana users were treated to a mixed ruling earlier this week when the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that federal law does not allow local law enforcement to deny patients a concealed weapons permit under state law. Though an important conclusion for those who champion legalization, the court’s ruling also reminded the plaintiff Sheriffs that, if they so wish, they could skip the permitting, choose to enforce federal law, and just outright deny users of medical marijuana guns....
America’s former favorite TV dad’s fall from grace has been a harrowing and conflicting experience for longtime fans. In the wake of rape allegations, Cosby’s attorney issued numerous statements denying the allegations. One statement, issued in letter form to a news organization, became the basis of a defamation lawsuit against Cosby brought by one of his rape accusers. Last week, this defamation suit was dismissed by a federal court because the judge ruled that the letter, which formed the basis of the claim, was drafted in such a way to immunize the writer from defamation liability....
Federal sex trafficking laws are usually reserved for forced prostitution cases. But British actress Kadian Noble has cleared her first hurdle in the unorthodox use of the claim in a civil suit against Harvey Weinstein. At issue is a series of events in which Weinstein used force and fraudulent promises of future acting jobs in order to lure her into sexual assault. The sex trafficking law Noble asserts Weinstein violated requires Noble to prove Weinstein used force, threats, fraud or coercion to recruit or entice Noble to engage in a commercial sex act....
The NYPD has gained notoriety over the past decade due to its use of the policing tactic known as SQF or Stop, Question, and Frisk (more commonly known as stop and frisk). The stop and frisk tactic allows police officers to stop anyone on the street or in public who they have a reasonable suspicion might have committed – or is about to commit – a crime. While the NYPD has drastically scaled back its use of the tactic, the statistics are staggering and show that it yields a net negative outcome when community perceptions are factored in....
Tobey Maguire, poker player extraordinaire, is reportedly being sued in an attempt to recover money he won during a series of “high stakes, clandestine poker games” hosted by jailed hedge fund manager and Ponzi schemer Brad Ruderman. The games, which also reportedly involved heterosexual life partners Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, netted Maguire millions. $311,000 of which Ruderman allegedly embezzled from his clients. Prior to being convicted of wire fraud and investment fraud in 2010, Brad Ruderman reportedly hosted a series of illegal celebrity poker games in the posh hotels of Beverly Hills....
Obamacare is the law of the land, and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2012 affirmed its constitutionality. But the High Court isn’t the only court where the new health care law has been (and is being) challenged. Obamacare has been in the federal courts ever since President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law. How have these cases turned out? Here’s a look back at the Top 5 court battles involving Obamacare:...
