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Utah-to-Boston passenger denies child porn charge
Law News |
2011/11/28 09:42
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A University of Utah professor has pleaded not guilty to viewing child pornography on his laptop during a flight from Salt Lake City to Boston.
Grant Smith, of Cottonwood Heights, Utah, was ordered held on $75,000 bail Monday and told to have no unsupervised contact with children.
Massachusetts State Police say the 47-year-old Smith was sitting in first class Saturday afternoon when another passenger saw pornographic images, alerted a flight attendant and emailed a relative who contacted law enforcement.
Smith was arrested after landing on a charge of possession of child pornography. His lawyer says he has no criminal record.
Smith is a professor in the materials science and engineering department at Utah. He has been placed on administrative leave. |
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High court to review fine for mercury storage
Law News |
2011/11/28 09:42
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The Supreme Court will consider throwing out an $18 million penalty against Texas-based Southern Union Co. for illegally storing mercury at a rundown building in Rhode Island.
The justices said Monday they will hear the natural gas company's appeal of the criminal penalty that was imposed by a federal judge and upheld by an appeals court.
What makes the case unusual is that the company is challenging the size of the penalty under a line of Supreme Court cases concerning prison sentences.
Southern Union had used the building in Pawtucket to store outdated mercury-sealed gas regulators that it removed from customers' homes. The mercury was initially removed and shipped to a recycling center. But when that work stopped, the regulators and loose mercury were left to accumulate inside the building. |
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Texas AG blasts court's redistricting maps
Law News |
2011/11/21 09:31
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Texas' attorney general sharply criticized a federal court Friday over its proposed maps for state House and Senate districts in the 2012 election, saying the judges overstepped their bounds.
The San Antonio-based federal court released the proposed redistricting maps late Thursday and gave those involved in the case until noon Friday to comment. Minority groups have filed a legal challenge to the Republican-drawn maps, saying they are discriminatory. The court's maps are intended to be an interim solution until the case is resolved after the 2012 elections.
Maps for the House and Senate released Thursday restore many of the minority districts — where Democrats hold the seats — to their previous shapes. Republican lawmakers have denied their maps were intended to minimize minority representation, and say they merely reflect the GOP majority in Texas. |
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Russia court rejects $16 billion claim against BP
Law News |
2011/11/14 11:26
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A Russian court on Friday rejected a $16 billion claim against BP PLC filed by an obscure minority shareholder in BP's Russian venture, TNK-BP.
The court victory may have softened the blow that BP sustained when Rosneft dropped it as a partner in developing Russia's untapped Arctic oil and gas riches. The multibillion dollar deal broke down after TNK-BP's Russian billionaire shareholders blocked it, claiming that BP should be pursuing it through TNK-BP.
The Arbitration Court in the Tyumen region in Siberia on Friday dismissed two motions filed by a group of minority shareholders led by Andrei Prokhorov, who owns 0.0000106 percent in TNK-BP. The lawsuits are a $13 billion claim against BP and a $2.8 billion suit against two BP-nominated directors on TNK-BP's board.
Prokhorov and other shareholders claimed that BP and its representatives damaged TNK-BP's interests by failing to include the Russian venture in the Arctic deal with Rosneft.
BP's Russian partners in TNK-BP have denied any connection to the minority shareholder's suit. The claim was the reason why Russian police raided BP's office in August, which happened just days after Rosneft teamed up with ExxonMobil to develop the Arctic. |
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Scott+Scott LLP Announces Securities Class Action Lawsuit
Law News |
2011/11/14 11:25
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Scott+Scott LLP filed a class action complaint against Human Genome Sciences, Inc., certain of the Company's senior officers and directors and GlaxoSmithKline plc in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. The action for violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is brought on behalf of those purchasing the common stock of HGSI between July 20, 2009 and November 11, 2010, inclusive (the Class Period), including all persons who acquired the common stock of HGSI in the Company's July 28, 2009 public offering at $14 per share and in its December 2, 2009 public offering of common stock at $26.75.
If you purchased the common stock of HGSI during the Class Period and wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in the action, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from today. Any member of the investor class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of its choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. If you wish to discuss this action or have questions concerning this notice or your rights, please contact Scott+Scott (scottlaw@scott-scott.com), (800) 404-7770, (860) 537-5537 or visit the Scott+Scott HGSI Pharmaceutical website for more information: www.scott-scott.com/cases/hgs.html. There is no cost or fee to you.
The complaint filed in the action alleges that, during the Class Period, HGSI issued false and misleading statements concerning Benlysta(R) (belimumab) (Benlysta), the Company's potential new drug for the treatment of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, a chronic, life-threatening autoimmune disease. Specifically, the complaint alleges that defendants failed to disclose that Benlysta was associated with suicide in clinical drug trials conducted by the Company.
The complaint alleges that when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration posted its analysis of Benlysta on the Internet on November 12, 2010, investors learned for the first time of the association between Benlysta and suicide in clinical trials of the drug, causing HGSI's common stock price to decline precipitously. Meanwhile, the complaint alleges, during the Class Period, HGSI sold to investors more than 44 million shares of its common stock in public offerings at artificially inflated prices, receiving $850 million in net proceeds.
Scott+Scott has significant experience in prosecuting major securities, antitrust and employee retirement plan actions throughout the United States. The firm represents pension funds, foundations, individuals and other entities worldwide. |
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