Law Firm Bulletin - National Legal News
ND seeks dismissal of lawsuit over Sioux nickname
Monday, 23 November 2009 18:56   
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Law Firm Bulletin - National Legal News
MINOT, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota's top prosecutor said the state will seek to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Spirit Lake Sioux tribal members who want the University of North Dakota to keep its Fighting Sioux nickname.

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem met with state Board of Higher Education members behind closed doors Thursday to update them on the state's response, which is expected to be filed by next week. A judge has barred the board from taking any action on the nickname issue until after a Dec. 9 hearing.

Stenehjem said the tribal members will have a hard time with that order, issued last week by Northeast District Judge Michael Sturdevant.

"They have to be able to show the judge they're going to win the lawsuit,'' he said. ``I think that's a difficult standard.''

The board has said it will retire the nickname unless the state's Sioux tribes sign 30-year agreements to support it. The board originally set an Oct. 1 deadline, but extended it to Nov. 30 because of tribal elections on the Standing Rock reservation.

Pat Morley, an attorney for the tribal members, said the Spirit Lake and Standing Rock Sioux tribes should have until Nov. 30, 2010, to decide whether to support the nickname and logo.

The tribal members who filed the lawsuit ``are sincere in their belief,'' Stenehjem said, noting that he respects that.

"But I also understand that more important than all of that is the constitutional principles that are at stake,'' Stenehjem said. ``The board has the responsibility for making these kinds of decisions.''
 
2nd Lawsuit Announced in Sweat Lodge Tragedy
Monday, 26 October 2009 16:39   
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Law Firm Bulletin - National Legal News

PATAGONIA, Ariz. - A 59-year-old southern Arizona woman who survived two hours in a deadly Sedona sweat lodge on Oct. 8 is suing self-help guru James Arthur Ray. Her attorney is calling the sweat lodge a "death trap."

Sidney Spencer said she paid $9,000 to attend the 5-day "Spiritual Warrior" retreat. Spencer was one of 21 people who fell ill while sitting in a 120-degree makeshift sweat lodge that was supposed to cleanse the body and take people to another spiritual level. Three people died.

Spencer, of Patagonia, Ariz., says James Arthur Ray coerced and intimidated people to stay inside the tent -- to conquer their discomfort. That was despite reports that people were screaming for water, vomiting and passing out.

Spencer was taken by helicopter to Flagstaff Medical Center -- and she says she nearly died from kidney and liver failure.

"When she came to, she was spitting up blood, she had double vision, she was in intensive care for four and a half days," says Spencer's attorney, Ted Schmidt.

"There were numerous times when people attempted to leave. He did not physically restrain them, but he told the group, 'You stick it out, you have to stick it out, break through your barrier,'" says Schmidt.

In an interview with AP earlier this week, a 43-year-old survivor from Texas, Beverly Bunn, says that Ray was dismissive of participants' cries for help. Bunn recalls hearing someone cry from within the tent, "I can't get her to move, I can't get her to wake up!" to which Ray apparently responded, "Leave her alone, she'll be dealt with in the next round."

Bunn says the 5-day retreat began with days of physically-demanding exercises and stringent fasting, all culminating in the sweat lodge ceremony.

 
Dell settles lawsuit filed by AG Cuomo
Monday, 28 September 2009 17:04   
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Law Firm Bulletin - National Legal News

Dell Inc. has agreed to pay $4 million to settle a deceptive business practices lawsuit filed by the New York Attorney General’s office.

The settlement agreement was reached between the state of New York, Round Rock-based Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) and Dell Financial Services, according to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

The two Dell defendants agreed to pay $4 million in restitution, penalties and costs to settle charges of fraudulent and deceptive business practices when doing business with New York consumers. The company, which is the No. 2 computer maker in the world, is also required to change its advertising, sales and financing practices.

Dell posted $61.1 billion in revenue during fiscal 2009.

Dell was charged with consumer deception regarding finance terms, warranties and rebates. The New York Attorney General accused the computer company of engaging in “fraud, false advertising, deceptive business practices and abusive debt collection practices.”

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Isilon Systems settles shareholder lawsuit
Monday, 21 September 2009 18:13   
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Law Firm Bulletin - National Legal News

SEATTLE -- Digital-storage company Isilon Systems Inc. said Monday it has settled a shareholder class action lawsuit filed in 2007 related to the company's initial public offering and several restatements.

The litigation is pending in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington and concerns Isilon's initial public offering and previously announced restatements for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31 and the first two quarters of fiscal 2007.

The lawsuit was filed against Isilon, certain officers and directors and the underwriters of Isilon's IPO in 2006.

The parties involved will sign and submit a formal settlement in coming weeks.

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Documents Show Jackson Was Riddled With Drugs
Tuesday, 25 August 2009 16:51   
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Law Firm Bulletin - National Legal News

Court documents indicate a drug-riddled Michael Jackson died of an overdose of Propofol, and could spell trouble for his doctor, Conrad Murray. The documents say Dr. Murray gave the pop singer Propofol, Lidocaine, Valium, Versed and Ativan on the night he died.

Officials released an affidavit from Los Angeles Police Officer Orlando Martinez, who interviewed Dr. Murray after Jackson died, and a Houston police officer's affidavit requesting a search warrant for Murray's office and a storage unit there. The affidavit in Harris County, Houston, states that "according to DEA records, Dr. Conrad Murray never ordered, purchased nor received any Propofol."

But Martinez, in his affidavit in Los Angeles, "stated that on June 25, 2009, he went to the location of [redacted] North Carolwood Drive in Los Angeles and observed approximately eight bottles of Propofol in the house along with numerous other vials and pills. The bottles of Propofol each had a lot number affixed to the container."

The Harris County affidavit describes Propofol, aka Diprivan, as "a short-acting, intravenous, nonbarbiturate sedative agent used for the induction of general anesthesia for adults and children, maintenance of general anesthesia, and sedation in medical contexts, such as intensive care unit sedation for intubated, mechanically ventilated adults, and in procedures such as colonoscopy and endoscopy, as well as in dental surgery."

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