California

Lawyer Who Harassed Another Not a ‘Vexatious Litigant’

A California appeals court has ruled that a lawyer who harassed another for 32 years is not a vexatious litigant. An injunction against Walter Wagner is sufficient to address the problem of his behavior, California’s 6th District Court of Appeal ruled yesterday. But the facts don’t support a finding that…

Nov 9, 2007 2:57 PM CST

CA Firm Offers Lawyers Cushy Perks

A California law firm is offering its 80 lawyers free breakfasts, on-site massages and manicures, health club memberships and errand runs. Lawyer Stuart Liner came up with the idea after a conversation about work-life balance with a fellow partner last summer, the Recorder reports. Liner is founder of the Westwood…

Nov 9, 2007 1:57 PM CST

Consumer Group Plans iPhone Lawsuit

A Greenpeace report that contends Apple’s iPhone contains toxic chemicals has spurred a consumer group to initiate legal proceedings. The Center for Environmental Health has filed a notice of an intent to file a lawsuit that contends the chemicals violate California laws, Associated Content reports. The group says in a…

Nov 9, 2007 1:36 PM CST

California Sues EPA Over Global Warming

California has sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in its effort to require automakers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The state applied two years ago for a waiver that would allow it to force a 30 percent cut in emissions by 2016, the Recorder reports. The suit (PDF posted by…

Nov 9, 2007 12:51 PM CST

Apple Gives New GC $25M in Stock

Apple has granted its new general counsel Daniel Cooperman 133,000 shares of restricted stock valued at about $25 million. Cooperman was general counsel of Oracle before moving to Apple on Sept. 28. To lure Cooperman to Apple, the company not only offered him the sweet stock deal, it also recruited…

Nov 6, 2007 3:16 PM CST

CA Jury Gives 6 Banana Workers $3.3M

A California jury has awarded $3.3 million to six Central American laborers who say they suffered health problems as a result of a pesticide used by the American company in the 1970s on the banana plantation on which they worked. However, another six laborers among the plaintiffs in the groundbreaking…

Nov 6, 2007 12:30 AM CST

Bratz Maker Splits With O’Melveny, Investigates Fees

The maker of the popular Bratz doll—sort of a Barbie alternative with attitude—has hired a new law firm to represent it in an upcoming trial after a dispute with O’Melveny & Myers. The underlying case involves claims by Barbie maker Mattel that the designer of the Bratz doll did his…

Nov 2, 2007 2:53 PM CDT

Lawsuit Targets Alleged CA ‘Legal Aid’ Scam

The phrase “legal aid” is used in a Northern California business name. But contrary to what that phrase suggests, the company isn’t a nonprofit legal aid clinic. Instead, the Legal Center for Legal Aid is a sham business that misrepresents itself in order to scam would-be clients out of their…

Nov 2, 2007 2:00 AM CDT

CA Judge: New Execution Regs Invalid

An effort to enact a new execution protocol in California that would put an end to a death penalty moratorium declared last year by a federal judge has suffered a setback. The protocol is invalid, a state judge has decided, because it was not created in compliance with the required…

Nov 2, 2007 12:39 AM CDT

Halloween Means Murder—and Justice—to Victim’s Family

For nearly 25 years, there’s been no trick-or-treating at the California home of the Hoynes family Halloween in 1984 was the day when the family found out that one of their four girls, 21-year-old Robin, had been murdered at her job as a manager of a fast-food restaurant in nearby…

Oct 31, 2007 5:24 PM CDT

Boy Admits to Playing With Matches, Starting Wildfire

A boy has admitted he started one of the California wildfires after playing with matches, according to Los Angeles County sheriff’s police. The blaze, one of 15 major wildfires, destroyed 21 homes. It is not clear if the youth has been arrested or if his parents will be held financially…

Oct 31, 2007 2:28 PM CDT

Court: CA Judge Complaints Confidential

If a police officer acts improperly during an arrest, a defendant in a California criminal case has a right to obtain in camera judicial review of that officer’s personnel file to see if it contains relevant material about the issue that should be produced in discovery and potentially introduced as…

Oct 30, 2007 6:27 PM CDT

Lerach Guilty Plea Allows Him to Keep Millions

Securities class action lawyer William Lerach formally entered a guilty plea yesterday that acknowledges he paid kickbacks to lead plaintiffs. Lerach faces up to two years in jail and has agreed to pay nearly $8 million in fines and penalties. But the settlement allows him to keep tens of millions…

Oct 30, 2007 2:36 PM CDT

Suits Target Chemical Used in Medical Tests

Plaintiffs lawyers are filing lawsuits against companies involved in the manufacture of a contrast dye used to help capture images for medical tests. The suits claims the heavy metal, gadolinium, can cause a disease called nephrogenic system fibrosis that hardens the skin, the Recorder reports. The Food and Drug Administration…

Oct 30, 2007 10:30 AM CDT

Fire Fear for Illegal Residents: Deportation

As residents throughout many areas of Southern California worry about potential damage from the wildfires that have been burning for the past week, illegal immigrants have had a particular cause for concern. Although authorities say they are not using emergency shelters as an opportunity to check the residency status of…

Oct 29, 2007 3:50 PM CDT