Judge affirms most of $91.5M damage award
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A Kanawha County judge has affirmed most of a $91.5 million damage award against a Charleston nursing home.
Media outlets report that Circuit Judge Paul Zakaib Jr. cut about $400,000 from the jury’s award in a lawsuit against Heartland of Charleston.
In August, jurors found that the nursing home failed to feed and care for 87-year-old Dorothy Douglas. She died of dehydration complications after she left the facility.
Zakaib ruled recently that 20 percent of about $5 million in non-economic damages awarded by the jury was subject to West Virginia’s $500,000 cap on such damages in medical malpractice cases.
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Secret Service, IRS investigate megachurch
LITHONIA, Ga. (AP) — Federal officials say they’re investigating issues surrounding investment seminars hosted by a metro Atlanta megachurch after some former members say they lost their retirement savings.
U.S. Secret Service spokesman Mark Ritchie says agents have seized laptops from employees at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia.
WSB-TV first reported details of the federal probe.
Ritchie says the IRS is the primary federal agency involved and the Secret Service is assisting the IRS and DeKalb County police.
Ten former church members are suing New Birth and Bishop Eddie Long, saying they conspired with others to defraud them through “wealth-building” seminars and sermons.
A church spokesman declined to comment.
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Philip Morris, RJR win round in lawsuits
MIAMI (AP) — A jury in Miami has ruled for Philip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds in another of the thousands of lawsuits brought by Florida smokers.
It marked Philip Morris’s 9th win in its last 13 Florida verdicts.
Jurors decided last week that smoker Annie Ingraham was not addicted to cigarettes. Her daughter sued after she died of emphysema.
Tobacco companies contend they should not be held liable for smoking-related diseases because people are aware of the risks. Smokers’ lawsuits contend the companies sold dangerous products and hid risks for years.
Smoker lawsuits are being tried across Florida following a 2006 decision by the state Supreme Court tossing out a $145 billion class action verdict. The court ordered each lawsuit tried individually.
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Lawmakers pass bill letting victims sue
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The state Assembly has approved a bill that would allow crime victims to sue public officials who harass them.
Republicans introduced the measure in hopes of discouraging prosecutors and police from taking advantage of vulnerable victims.
Former Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz resigned last year after The Associated Press reported he tried to strike up an affair with a woman while he prosecuted her ex-boyfriend for domestic abuse.
The bill calls for public officials to treat crime victims fairly and respect their privacy. The measure gives victims the ability to bring lawsuits if they feel those rights were violated.
The measure now goes to the state Senate.
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