Rhode Island: Judge grants class-action status to lawsuit
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A judge has granted class-action status to plaintiffs suing the Beacon Mutual Insurance Co. for inequitably distributing $101 million in dividends among policy holders.
Judge Michael Silverstein said in his ruling that Beacon Mutual “engaged in a systematic scheme to divert over $101 million to a small percent of its policy holders.”
The suit dates to 2002.
Beacon is the state’s dominant workers’ compensation issuer, with about 11,000 policy holders. There are six named plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Mississippi: Death row inmate is re-sentenced after finding
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Tate County judge has been ordered to re-sentence a death row inmate found to be mentally disabled.
The Mississippi Supreme Court issued the order Thursday for William Ray Hughes.
The Supreme Court says the trial court will re-sentence Hughes to life without parole.
Hughes was convicted of capital murder in 1997 in the murder and kidnapping of a Senatobia High School student.
Court records show 16-year-old Ashley Galloway was raped and killed in 1996. Her car had broken down and she was last seen getting into a pickup truck.
Pennsylvania: High court nixes tobacco product sale rules in Philly
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Pennsylvania’s highest court has thrown out an ordinance intended to stop Philadelphia businesses from selling tobacco products that would be used to smoke marijuana or other illegal drugs.
In a 4-3 ruling announced Thursday, the state Supreme Court tossed out a 4-year-old ordinance barred businesses from selling blunt cigars, rolling papers and other products when the seller knows or should reasonably know they would be used illegally.
The ordinance was immediately challenged by tobacco distributors, who won a preliminary injunction after it was approved.
The city had sought to limit sales of so-called “loosies,” individual cigars or cigarettes, and rolling papers among other products.
Kansas: Murder suspect challenges Kan. death penalty
GREAT BEND, Kan. (AP) — The man accused of killing a teenager whose charred body was found at the Great Bend asphalt plant has challenged the constitutionality of the Kansas death penalty.
Attorneys for Adam Joseph Longoria of Great Bend filed a motion last week asking Barton County Judge Hannelore Kitts to declare the death penalty unconstitutional.
Longoria faces capital murder and criminal sodomy charges in the August killing of 14-year-old Alicia DeBolt.
Prosecutors said last year they would seek the death penalty.
Longoria’s attorneys argue that so-called relaxed evidentiary standards allow the government to produce any evidence of aggravating factors without regard to its accuracy.
The defense notes the death penalty has been upheld by the Kansas Supreme Court and acknowledges it is filing the request to preserve the issue for future appeals.
Indiana: Lawsuits claim school district ignored abuse
VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) — A northern Indiana school district is facing two lawsuits alleging that administrators knew three boys were terrorizing female students on a school bus route but failed to take steps to address the problem.
The lawsuits filed by two women who were 15 and 16 during the 2008-09 school years seek unspecified damages for the sexual harassment and threats they endured. The Times of Munster reports that the suits accuse Portage Township Schools of negligence and of violating federal laws for not responding to the boys’ actions and for hiring a bus driver who ignored the abuse.
All three boys were convicted on criminal charges stemming from the abuse, while the bus driver was acquitted of felony child neglect.
Colorado: Ski train lawsuit scheduled for June trial
DENVER (AP) — A lawsuit over thwarted plans to revive the ski train between Denver and the Winter Park ski area is scheduled to go to trial in June.
Iowa Pacific Holdings LLC was negotiating with Amtrak for crews to bring back ski train service in 2009 after the former Ski Train’s cars were sold. Iowa Pacific blames last-minute demands by Amtrak for more insurance coverage for derailing those efforts.
Amtrak has said various safety issues and Amtrak’s liability and operating requirements had to be met before the train could run.
Oklahoma: Groups ask judge to join abortion law challenge
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Anti-abortion proponents want an Oklahoma County judge to let them intervene in a lawsuit that challenges a state law to require women seeking abortions to have an ultrasound and listen to a detailed description of the fetus.
Oral arguments were scheduled for Friday in the motion filed by Operation Outcry and American Victims of Abortion. Three Oklahoma women who have had or considered having an abortion also are asking to intervene.
The lawsuit was filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights in New York on behalf of Nova Health Systems, operator of Reproductive Services of Tulsa, and Dr. Larry Burns of Norman. It says the law, passed by lawmakers last year, forces women to hear information against their will and is unconstitutional.
A judge has blocked enforcement of the law.
Florida: Fired nurse is suing hospital for defamation
OCOEE, Fla. (AP) — A nurse is suing an Orlando-area hospital for defamation after being fired for looking at the medical records of golfer Tiger Woods in the days after his November 2009 car crash.
David M. Rothenberg sued Health Central for $400,000 in damages, reinstatement, and is asking for a letter from hospital officials explaining to the staff that he was fired based on circumstantial evidence.
Officials said they fired Rothenberg, a registered nurse, in December 2009 for using his computer to look at Woods’ records three times over a 10-minute period. Rothenberg faces losing his nursing license because of the allegations.
In the lawsuit, he denied looking at the records.
