Torture victims' appeal vs. Chevron rejected by court
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court has turned away an appeal by Nigerians seeking to hold Chevron accountable for deaths in the Niger Delta under a U.S. law aimed at helping torture victims.
The court's action Monday follows a unanimous decision last week that the Torture Victim Protection Act allows lawsuits only against individuals.
The federal appeals court in San Francisco already had thrown out the suit by the Nigerians claiming that the company hired soldiers who shot and killed protesters at an offshore oil platform in the Niger Delta in 1998. The company claims the protesters were armed youths who were shot after they demanded money and took more than 200 workers hostage.
The case is Bowoto v. Chevron, 10-1536.
Appeal in
Enron-related case turned down
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court has turned away an appeal from a former Merrill Lynch executive who was convicted on perjury and obstruction charges that stemmed from a bogus 1999 deal involving Enron.
The justices did not comment Monday in leaving in place a federal appeals court ruling that upheld the conviction of James A. Brown. He argued that federal prosecutors improperly withheld favorable evidence in his case.
The charges centered on Enron Corp.'s sham 1999 sale to Merrill Lynch of three power barges moored off the Nigerian coast. Brown was a managing director at Merrill Lynch and head of its strategic asset and lease finance group at the time.
The case is Brown v. U.S., 11-783.
Justices won't hear appeal over NYC rent control
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal that seeks to end rent stabilization laws in New York City.
The high court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from James and Jeanne Harmon, who have lost earlier court attempts to get rent stabilization laws thrown out.
The Harmons inherited a building with three rent-controlled apartments near Central Park on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The Harmons say rent stabilization laws forces them to rent the apartments at rents 59 percent below market rate. They argue that by giving the tenants lifetime tenure with succession rights, the government has illegally taken their property.
A federal judge and the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City threw out their lawsuit. The high court refused to review that decision.
Published: Wed, Apr 25, 2012
