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W.Va. woman admits stealing from law firm
Court Press News |
2011/03/30 08:52
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div class=entrydiv class=articlepA Morgantown woman has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $140,000 from the law firm where she worked./ppForty-year-old Lisa Buttermore pleaded to three counts Wednesday in Monongalia County Circuit Court./ppEach embezzlement charge carries a possible sentence of one to 10 years./ppAssistant Prosecutor Stephen Fitz says he'll recommend five years of probation instead./ppThe Dominion Post reports that Buttermore also must make monthly restitution payments and forfeit money in her retirement account./ppButtermore didn't tell the court why she stole the money from Gianola, Barnum, Wigal amp; London between 2008 and 2010. She declined comment after the proceeding./p/div
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Court hears argument in Wal-Mart sex bias claim
Court Press News |
2011/03/29 08:53
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div class=entrydiv class=articlepThe Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned a massive sex discrimination lawsuit on behalf of at least 500,000 women claiming that Wal-Mart favors men over women in pay and promotions./ppThe justices suggested that they are troubled by lower court decisions allowing the class-action lawsuit to proceed against the world's largest retailer./ppJustice Anthony Kennedy, often a key vote on the high court, said he is unsure what the unlawful policy is that Wal-Mart engaged in to deprive women of pay increases and promotions comparable to men./ppBillions of dollars are at stake in the case. Class actions create pressure on businesses to settle claims and create the potential for large judgments./ppWal-Mart denies it discriminates against its female employees./ppBut Joseph Sellers, the lawyer for the women, said that lower courts were persuaded by statistical and other evidence put forth so far in the 10-year-old lawsuit./ppSellers said a strong corporate culture at Wal-Mart's Bentonville, Ark., headquarters that stereotyped women as less aggressive than men translated into individual pay and promotions decisions at the more than 3,400 Wal-Mart and Sam's Clubs stores across the country.
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Vivendi To Cut US Class Action Provision
Court Press News |
2011/02/24 09:27
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pVivendi SA said Wednesday it will significantly reduce the EUR550 million provision it had made to cover potential damages for a U.S. class action case after a U.S. judge narrowed the size of the class. /ppThe Paris-based company's potential liabilities have been slashed by 80% in light of the court victory, which will free up more cash as the group prepares to buy out Vodafone PLC's minority stake in telecoms operator SFR. /ppVivendi made the provision in its 2009 accounts to cover any eventual payout after a jury in January last year found the company liable for 57 misstatements about its financial condition in the two years leading up to its near bankruptcy in 2002. /ppThe damages arising from the ruling in January 2010, which was based on a class involving shareholders outside the U.S., could have totaled more than $9 billion, according to lawyers for the shareholders, although Vivendi's lawyer Herve Pisani rejected the sum as unfounded. /ppThe ruling Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Richard Holwell that shareholders who bought Vivendi shares outside the U.S. are barred from bringing fraud claims against the company in the U.S., considerably narrowed the overall size of the potential class.
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Horizon Lines to plead guilty to fixing prices
Court Press News |
2011/02/24 09:27
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pU.S. authorities say the shipping company Horizon Lines LLC has agreed to plead guilty to fixing prices and to pay a $45 million fine./ppA Justice Department statement Thursday says the company was accused of conspiring to fix rates and surcharges for freight transportation between the United States and Puerto Rico from May 2002 until April 2008./ppFive former executives have been sentenced after pleading guilty in 2008 to charges related to the shipping conspiracy./ppThe Charlotte, North Carolina-based company has a fleet of 20 U.S.-flagged cargo ships that carry items including heavy equipment, medicines and consumer goods./ppIn June 2009, the company agreed to pay $20 million to settle a class action price-fixing lawsuit.
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Wis. justices to argue over expenses
Court Press News |
2011/02/01 10:22
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| pThe state Supreme Court's conservative and liberal factions are set to clash over travel reimbursements and court finances./ppThe court's seven justices are set to meet on Monday morning. On the agenda is Justice Pat Roggensack's request for state reimbursement for traveling around the state for a personal project and questions about why Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson hired two executive assistants when the court's budget calls for one./ppRoggensack says her project on racial disparities in sentencing falls is both personal and court related. Abrahamson contends the two assistants split their time./ppTensions have run high on the court since conservative-leaning justices gained a majority in 2008, leaving liberal-leaning Abrahamson and another justice in the minority./p |
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