National Roundup

Georgia
Legal woes piling up for state Dem Party chairman
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Legal woes are piling up for the leader of Georgia’s Democratic Party.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that a lawsuit filed in Gwinnett County last week accuses Mike Berlon of failing to distribute nearly $1 million from a trust he created for a friend and his son.
Berlon told the newspaper the lawsuit resulted from a miscommunication after he put the funds in long-term investments. He says he hopes to reach a settlement in the case by next week.
Earlier this week, the Georgia Supreme Court accepted Berlon’s petition for voluntary discipline for violating legal ethics rules in a child support case.
Berlon has headed the state Democratic Party since 2011 and has two years left in his term.

Virginia
Judge sets trial date in nutrition supplement case
SOUTH HILL, Va. (AP) — A politically connected nutritional supplement maker’s lawsuit against the state is moving forward after being stalled for more than a year.
A judge in Mecklenburg County set a December trial over Star Scientific’s dispute of a state tax bill, attorneys appointed to represent the state in the matter told media outlets last week.
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli recused his office after it became public that he was defending the state even though he owned stock in Star Scientific and had accepted lake house vacations and private plane rides from its chief executive.
Federal authorities also are looking into the relationship between Star Scientific chief executive Jonnie Williams and Gov. Bob McDonnell. Williams paid $15,000 for the catering at McDonnell’s daughter’s 2011 wedding. That gift and others were revealed by former Executive Mansion chef Todd Schneider, who is facing embezzlement charges for allegedly stealing from the mansion kitchen. He has alleged in court documents other wrongdoing by the governor’s family.
Star Scientific filed the lawsuit in July 2011, though the company has disputed the $700,000 tax bill in 2002. The company, which is under a federal securities investigation, told investors it would owe the state $1.7 million in taxes and penalties if it loses the case.
There were no court filings or other action in the lawsuit for more than a year. Cuccinelli has said he had no personal involvement with the suit and that it was being handled as a routine matter by staff attorneys in his office.
Former Virginia Attorney General Steve Rosenthal and William Hurd were assigned to the case. They said a judge will hear the matter on Dec. 13 and Dec. 14, a rare Saturday court date that signifies the importance of the case and the desire to get it completed before the end of the year.
A Star Scientific spokeswoman had no comment.
At issue is the proper assessment of tobacco curing barns owned by Star Scientific, which was a tobacco company before turning its attention solely to nutritional supplements this year.

North Carolina
Attorney charged with taking over $100K from trust
HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A Hendersonville attorney has been accused of embezzling more than $100,000 from a trust in his care.
The Times-News of Hendersonville reports that 60-year-old Alexander Veazey III was in court Thursday on charges he took the money between 2011 and this year.
The State Bar says an investigation showed Veazey mishandled client funds that had been deposited into his trust account. The bar put Veazey on disability inactive status in January after a Henderson County judge found him to be “mentally ill and a danger to himself and others.”
Officials say Veazey was involuntarily committed to the psychiatric unit of Pardee Memorial Hospital.
Veazey is next expected in court June 14. He was being held Friday at the Henderson County jail.

New Mexico
Navajo case vs. Urban Outfitters placed on hold
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The Navajo Nation’s case against Urban Outfitters is on hold while the parties work toward a settlement.
U.S. District Judge Lorenzo Garcia in New Mexico has thrown out all deadlines for discovery and responses to motions while settlement discussions take place. The two sides are to agree on a mediator by July 29 and then let the court know within 10 days of a settlement conference whether they are successful.
Garcia says he’ll issue a scheduling order if an agreement isn’t reached.
The tribe sued Urban Outfitters last year, alleging it violated trademarks on the Navajo name.
Urban Outfitters says “Navajo” is a generic term for a style or design and has asserted counter claims. It is seeking a declaration of non-infringement and cancellation of the tribe’s federal trademark registrations.

Hawaii
Woman sues Salvation Army, claims sex abuse
HONOLULU (AP) — A woman’s lawsuit against the Salvation Army claims she was molested by a minister as a child in the late 1950s and that when the organization found out, he was simply moved from Oahu to Maui.
Nancy Spencer’s lawsuit filed on Maui last week claims she was about 11 years old when Maj. Richard Taba molested her several times in his Salvation Army office. Her family was receiving religious counseling from the Salvation Army on Oahu at the time.
She believed he had been fired after her mother went to the police.
But she was reading the newspaper last year when she came across a painfully familiar name on an obituary. The photograph was of a man, who was smaller and grayer than she remembered.
“I’ll never forget those eyes,” she said. “I just knew it was him.”
News of his death brought back memories, but the most painful detail was that he continued to serve as the Salvation Army’s chaplain on Maui for the past 40 years.
She called her mother and then contacted an attorney.
The lawsuit is possible because of a 2012 state law that suspends the statute of limitations for sex abuse cases until April 2014.
The lawsuit claims Salvation Army “engaged in a pattern and practice of shuttling perpetrators ... to distant and sometimes remote locations.” Taba’s estate is listed as a defendant.
Even though many of the people who were around back then have likely died, “we’ll do our best to investigate,” said Kathy Lovin, manager of public affairs and communications for the Salvation Army’s territorial headquarters in Long Beach, Calif. “We don’t tolerate this kind of stuff.”