States

Possible Motive in Law Office Shooting

A retired municipal worker who shot five people in an Alexandria, La., law office yesterday may have been motivated by a divorce settlement dispute, authorities say. However, an investigation is continuing and further details of what may have driven John Ashley, 63, to shoot three attorneys, a legal secretary and…

Oct 5, 2007 11:47 PM CDT

MA Sues Lender, Seeks Foreclosure Role

In a legal action that takes an aggressive and perhaps unprecedented approach to the nationwide mortgage foreclosure crisis, the Massachusetts attorney general is blaming a California-based subprime lender as a “significant” cause of the debacle and seeking damages and an oversight role over all of its foreclosures. Martha Coakley filed…

Oct 5, 2007 10:06 PM CDT

$6.1 M Award in McDonald’s Strip Search

A Kentucky jury has awarded $6.1 million to a young McDonald’s employee who was pressured by a supervisor into cooperating with a strip search and bizarre requests made over the telephone by a male caller pretending to be a police officer investigating a theft. Louise Ogborn, who was 18 at…

Oct 5, 2007 7:55 PM CDT

Mortgage Enforcement Targets Lawyers

No lawyers apparently were among the 11 borrowers, sellers and real estate industry professionals arrested today in three separate alleged mortgage fraud schemes in South Florida. But attorneys are likely to find themselves on the wrong side of such cases in the future, authorities say. ”In the coming months, you…

Oct 5, 2007 6:42 PM CDT

Paintball Suit Seeks Warnings

A man whose wife was killed in a paintball accident says a successor manufacturer has not lived up to a promise to publicize the dangers of older equipment. Mark Contois plans to file a complaint today in a California court seeking to force KEE Action Sports to do more to…

Oct 5, 2007 4:30 PM CDT

NY Admits Strip Searches Violated Settlement

New York’s Department of Corrections has agreed to settle a lawsuit that contended as many as 150,000 inmates at Rikers Island were improperly strip-searched in violation of a 2002 settlement. The inmates were nonviolent and had been charged with misdemeanors, the New York Times reports. The city will stop the…

Oct 5, 2007 3:47 PM CDT

Nuns Evicted, Gagged in Pedophile Priest Settlement

The Catholic Church has obtained a gag order to prevent disgruntled nuns in California from talking about their evictions. The church is ousting nuns from five convents so it can sell the buildings to help fund a $660 million pedophile priest settlement, the Washington Post reports. One of those who…

Oct 5, 2007 3:15 PM CDT

Law Firm Sues for Bridge Collapse Documents

A law firm that represents victims of the Minneapolis interstate bridge collapse has filed a freedom of information lawsuit seeking access to engineering documents. Minneapolis law firm Schwebel, Goetz & Sieben wants access to records, studies and inspections related to the bridge collapse, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. It…

Oct 5, 2007 2:57 PM CDT

Judge Goes Easy on Insider-Trading Lawyer Couple

A lawyer couple who pleaded guilty to insider trading will not have to spend any time in prison. U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero of New York noted that defendant Christopher Collotta, 34, suffers from heart problems caused by a battle with cancer, the New York Law Journal reports. Collotta was…

Oct 5, 2007 1:01 PM CDT

Heller Ehrman Axes 65 Support Staffers

Heller Ehrman has cut 65 administrative staffers—but no attorneys—in its offices throughout the United States. The aim was to cut costs, firmwide managing partner Robert Hubbell told the Recorder. He said the expanding law firm needed to consolidate work that was initially done in each of its offices. The move…

Oct 5, 2007 12:37 PM CDT

Attys Ask for One More Year of Trial Prep

Attorneys representing triple murderer Joseph Duncan in Idaho have asked for a one-year delay to prepare for his federal death penalty trial. The case already has been moved from July to January. But attorneys for Duncan say they need much more time because a lead attorney stepped down and investigators…

Oct 5, 2007 11:50 AM CDT

Man Accused of Shooting Divorce Judge Gets New Venue

After three days of unsuccessful jury selection, a judge in Nevada has ordered a venue change in the case of a man accused of killing his estranged wife and shooting the judge handling their divorce. Judge Douglas Herndon cited a list of special factors that led to the decision to…

Oct 5, 2007 10:27 AM CDT

Record Labels Win Anti-Piracy Verdict

In a huge win for the recording industry, a federal jury in Minnesota decided that a woman who illegally downloaded music owes a whopping $222,000 for copyright infringement. The Los Angeles Times reports that Thursday’s victory could embolden the industry to target consumers in its four-year battle against rampant Internet…

Oct 5, 2007 9:52 AM CDT

Six Shot at Louisiana Law Firm

Updated: Five people were shot Thursday at a law firm in downtown Alexandria, La., by a retired city employee who was reportedly killed by police shortly after midnight Friday. One victim of the shooting at the Giordano & Giordano law firm is Joey Giordano, reports the Town Talk, a local…

Oct 5, 2007 4:39 AM CDT

CO Lawyer Charged in Child-Witness Case

A longtime Denver criminal defense attorney has been charged with 11 felony counts in a case concerning the alleged intimidation of a child witness against his client in a prostitution case. Charles “Chuck” Leidner, 64, was released on $6,000 bail after being arrested at his home yesterday and charged with…

Oct 4, 2007 7:48 PM CDT