Probe sought into bank closing Arabs’ accounts
SOUTHFIELD (AP) — A Muslim civil rights organization has asked the U.S. Treasury Department to investigate JPMorgan Chase & Co. for closing bank accounts of U.S. Arabs and Muslims.
The Southfield-based Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Michigan chapter recently sent a letter to the Treasury Department’s Office of the Currency. The letter says CAIR and others have received “a series of complaints” about closed accounts.
Treasury Office of the Currency spokesman Bryan Hubbard says the department will look into the allegations.
Civil rights advocates sent a letter in March to the Justice Department alleging similar actions by several banks.
CAIR says it’s concerned the accounts are considered risky because of the holders’ religion or ethnicity.
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Grandparents lose appeal in bid to see kids
SAGINAW (AP) — The state Court of Appeals has made a key ruling in a case involving the rights of grandparents to see grandchildren.
The court says Robert and Judith Porter have no standing to seek time with two grandchildren. That’s because the kids’ father had his parental rights terminated.
In a 2-1 decision, the court says the Porters may be biological grandparents but they’re no longer considered legal grandparents. The case originated in Saginaw County.
Saginaw County Judge James Borchard had reluctantly ruled against the Porters in 2011, saying they’re “fine people.” He had hoped the appeals court would reverse his decision, but the court said Borchard correctly interpreted Michigan law.
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Lawsuit over noise in forest dropped
LANSING (AP) — A lawsuit that called for banning snowmobiling and hunting with guns in parts of the Huron-Manistee National Forest has been dismissed.
Plymouth attorney Kurt Meister filed a lawsuit contending that a management plan developed by the U.S. Forest Service in 2006 favored hunters and snowmobilers over hikers, birders and people who enjoy the quiet of the outdoors.
A federal appeals court ordered the agency to reconsider the plan in 2010.
Huron-Manistee spokesman Ken Arbogast says Meister recently informed the government he was dropping his suit.
Arbogast says some sections are quieter than others. But he says more than 90 percent of the forest is within a half-mile of a road, so it’s not realistic to expect the kind of solitude that would be found in a wilderness area.
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Couple wins defamation suit over bogus bodies
HOUSTON (AP) — A judge has awarded nearly $7 million to a Texas couple who sued a self-described psychic over her bogus 2011 tip of mass graves on their land.
The Houston Chronicle reports that a judge ruled against Presley “Rhonda” Gridley. She failed to show up to respond to the defamation suit filed by Joe Bankston and Gena Charlton of Liberty County.
A judge ruled Gridley gave false information to the Liberty County law officers claiming dozens of bodies were buried at a home. Nothing was found in an extensive search.
An attorney for the couple says the next step will be pursuing whether the $6.8 million verdict will be collectible.
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