Montana

Montana Judge Rules After 24 Years in Forgotten Case

A retired Montana judge issued a ruling this week in a case apparently put on hold in 1985 when he was diagnosed with cancer. On Monday, former District Judge Ronald McPhillips of Toole County ruled against the plaintiff, who had contended his partner swindled him out of his share of…

Jul 2, 2009 4:06 PM CDT

Mont. Town Rescinds Rule Requiring Job Seekers to Reveal Social Web Passwords

Rescinding a controversial hiring policy that one commissioner called “a gross invasion of privacy,” the governing body of Bozeman, Mont., voted yesterday that its human resources department would no longer require job applicants to reveal their personal passwords to social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace. The 2008 policy…

Jun 23, 2009 9:01 PM CDT

Town Requires Job Seekers to Reveal Social Media Passwords

Editor’s Note: On June 22, Bozeman, Mont., authorities rescinded the controversial hiring policy. See the latest coverage here. A human resources requirement by the city of Bozeman, Mont., that job applicants provide a host of personal information, including passwords to social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, is creating a…

Jun 19, 2009 11:21 AM CDT

Jury Acquits W.R. Grace and Former Execs in Landmark Criminal Asbestos Case

In the latest blow to federal prosecutors trying a high-profile criminal case, a jury in Missoula, Mont., has acquitted chemical products company W.R. Grace & Co. and three former executives on all charges in a landmark criminal environmental case. All had been accused of knowingly contaminating a small Missouri mining…

May 8, 2009 9:31 PM CDT

After Blasting Prosecutors, Judge Allows Asbestos Trial to Proceed

A federal judge who blasted federal prosecutors for failing to turn over evidence about a star witness in a Montana asbestos case is allowing the trial to continue. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy of Missoula refused to dismiss criminal charges against W.R. Grace, accused of exposing residents of a small…

Apr 30, 2009 4:48 PM CDT

Judge Blasts Federal Prosecutors in Asbestos Prosecution

A federal judge chastised prosecutors yesterday in a hearing on misconduct allegations in the two-month trial of W.R. Grace and five of its former executives. The company is accused of exposing residents of a Montana mining town to asbestos, resulting in hundreds of deaths. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kris McLean bore…

Apr 28, 2009 12:32 PM CDT

Company Claims Prosecutor Misconduct in Asbestos Prosecution

W.R. Grace and five of its former executives are claiming prosecutor misconduct in a case that alleges the chemical company poisoned the residents of a mining town through asbestos exposure. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy of Missoula has scheduled a hearing today on the defense claim, the New York Times…

Apr 27, 2009 3:44 PM CDT

W.R. Grace, 5 Ex-Execs on Trial in Landmark Asbestos Prosecution

Five former executives and the company that employed them, W.R. Grace & Co., went on trial today in federal court in Missoula, Mont., in what observers say is the most significant criminal case ever pursued over corporate pollution. “There’s never been a prosecution in the United States where so many…

Feb 24, 2009 1:36 AM CST

Grace Sets $3B Aside to Settle Asbestos Suits

After years of posturing, a bankruptcy and recently heated negotiation, W.R. Grace & Co. has announced it will settle all 112,000 lawsuits filed on behalf of individuals sickened or killed because of exposure to asbestos in the company’s vermiculite mine in Libby, Mont. Grace plans to create an irrevocable trust…

Apr 8, 2008 6:16 PM CDT

Under Unusual Montana Marriage Law, Some Couples Say ‘I Do’ a Lot

Montana may be the only state in the country that allows couples to get married without actually being present. As a result, the thrill is gone for the proxies who get married again and again, on behalf of others. Nonetheless, these absentee marriages serve an important purpose for some faraway…

Mar 11, 2008 11:17 PM CDT

Some States Seek to Limit Judicial Power to Regulate Lawyers

Legislators in a handful of states are trying to limit the traditional power of their states’ supreme courts to regulate the legal profession. In South Carolina, for instance, a Republican legislator and physician, Dr. Kristopher “Kris” Crawford, is proposing legislation that would eliminate the state supreme court’s power to regulate…

Feb 5, 2008 5:02 PM CST

Lawyer Installs Shark Tank in Office

A Montana lawyer said his decision to put a shark tank in his office started out as a joke. “I said, ‘What would it take to put a shark in a lawyer’s office?’ and it just kind of took off from there,” lawyer Christopher Gillette told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.…

Jan 3, 2008 2:00 PM CST

Lawyer Cruises From Main Drag to UN

President Bush has chosen a lawyer from Southfield, Mich., to be an alternate delegate to the United Nations General Assembly. Rodger Young resigned from his firm, Young & Susser, to take the position, but will return as managing partner in early 2008, Crain’s Detroit Business reports. Young, a native of…

Sep 14, 2007 3:23 PM CDT