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NY court decision bolsters anti-fracking movement
Court Watch |
2012/02/23 09:46
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A New York court decision has bolstered a movement among towns determined to prevent the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas within their borders.
A state Supreme Court justice on Tuesday upheld the town of Dryden's August 2011 zoning amendment banning gas drilling. Denver-based Anschutz Exploration Corporation, which has spent $5.1 million leasing and developing 22,000 acres in Dryden, about 40 miles southwest of Syracuse, had argued state law trumped the ban.
More than 50 New York communities have enacted gas-drilling bans. Binghamton attorney Helen Slottje, who helps draft such laws, says the ruling should embolden towns considering local bans.
"We think it's a terrific vindication of the town's right to home rule and to decide their future," Slottje said Wednesday. "It really should give the green light to communities that want to proceed down this route."
Albany attorney Tom West, who represented Anschutz, said the trial-level state court decision is likely to be appealed to the mid-level Appellate Division and, if necessary, to the state Court of Appeals.
"We remain confident in our position that municipalities cannot ban natural gas drilling in New York state," West said.
Another challenge of a municipal gas-drilling ban is pending in Otsego County, where Cooperstown Holstein Corp. sued the town of Middlefield over a ban similar to Dryden's. The lawsuit says the landowner has leased nearly 400 acres to a gas-drilling company and the ban would block the economic benefits of the arrangement.
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Strauss-Kahn has March court date in US
Court Watch |
2012/02/23 09:46
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A New York court has scheduled a hearing on a lawsuit filed by the woman who accused former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan hotel.
Prosecutors dropped criminal charges against Strauss-Kahn last year, but his accuser has demanded damages in civil court.
The March 15 hearing will deal with issues that must be resolved before a trial, which has yet to be scheduled.
Strauss-Kahn wants the lawsuit dismissed because he says he had diplomatic immunity. He isn't required to attend the March court session.
The hotel maid who says she was attacked and forcibly sodomized by Strauss-Kahn is Nafissatou Diallo (na-fee-SAH'-too dee-AH'-loh). Her lawyer, Kenneth Thompson, says she is "looking forward to her day in court and can't wait to get to trial."
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A Class Action Has Been Filed Against GNC
Headline Legal News |
2012/02/22 10:01
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Abbey Spanier Rodd & Abrams, LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against General Nutrition Centers, Inc. ("GNC"), Cellucor Sports Nutrition, Woodbolt Distribution, Ltd, Woodbolt Management LLC and Woodbolt International for, among other things, violations of the California Consumer Leal Remedies Act, the California False Advertising Law, and the California Unfair Competition Act. This action, filed in the United States District Court, Central District of California (Civil Action No. 12-1336), has been brought as a class action on behalf of all persons in the United States who purchased Cellucor's C-4 Extreme at any time during the four years prior to the filing of this lawsuit (the "Class Period").
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, Defendants engaged in an illegal and deceptive practice of promoting, marketing, distributing and/or selling C-4 Extreme as a natural dietary supplement when, in fact, C-4 Extreme contains a dangerous substance known by many names, including "1,3 Dimethylamylamine," "1,3 Dimethylhexaneamine HCl," "1,3 Dimethylhexaneamine," "Methylhexaneamine," and "Geranamine" (known as "DMAA"). Plaintiff alleges that Defendants failed to disclose that the DMAA contained in C-4 Extreme is wholly synthetic, manufactured and not derived from the geranium plant.
At the time Plaintiff and the class of consumers purchased and used C-4 Extreme, they were unaware that C-4 Extreme contained the synthetic and dangerous stimulant DMAA and that DMAA was not derived from the geranium plant or any other natural source. Plaintiff alleges that the DMAA contained in C-4 Extreme is a synthetic product that is illegal and dangerous and has dangerous side effects. The safety concerns associated with DMAA have been well-documented, including concerns that DMAA is a dangerous and addictive substance that can cause headache, nausea and stroke. Experts have noted that DMAA has a chemical structure similar to amphetamines and ephedrine and can cause increases in heart rate and blood pressure and even death.
www.abbeyspanier.com |
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Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP Files Class Action
Securities Class Action |
2012/02/22 10:01
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Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP today announced that a class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of purchasers of BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. securities during the period between February 8, 2010 and December 15, 2011.
If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from February 6, 2012. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff’s counsel, Darren Robbins of Robbins Geller at 800/449-4900 or 619/231-1058, or via e-mail at djr@rgrdlaw.com. If you are a member of this class, you can view a copy of the complaint as filed or join this class action online at http://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases/biosante/. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.
The complaint charges BioSante and its Chief Executive Officer with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. BioSante is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing products for female sexual health and oncology.
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants issued materially false and misleading statements regarding the commercial viability, effectiveness, and market potential for LibiGel, a drug designed to improve the sex drive of women suffering from female sexual dysfunction, and specifically hypoactive sexual desire disorder (“HSDD”). Defendants boasted about LibiGel’s efficacy over placebo in clinical trials, and provided supposedly concrete “data” regarding the drug’s “statistically significant” effect on increasing the “number of satisfying sexual events” for women suffering from HSDD. As a result of these false statements, BioSante’s stock traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period, reaching a high of $3.81 on July 12, 2011.
On December 14, 2011, BioSante issued a press release disclosing for the first time to investors that LibiGel failed to yield positive results in large-scale efficacy tests designed by the Company. According to the clinical trial results, women treated with LibiGel did not experience a statistically significant increase in either total satisfying sexual encounters or sexual desire. In fact, in the double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, LibiGel did not fare significantly better than the placebo. On this news, BioSante’s stock collapsed $1.64 per share to close at $0.48 per share on December 15, 2011, a one-day decline of 77% on volume of nearly 50 million shares.
According to the complaint, the true facts, which were known by the defendants but concealed from the investing public during the Class Period, were as follows: (a) LibiGel’s efficacy was well short of that required to obtain FDA approval; and (b) LibiGel failed to yield statistically superior results to placebo.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of BioSante securities during the Class Period (the “Class”). The plaintiff is represented by Robbins Geller, which has expertise in prosecuting investor class actions and extensive experience in actions involving financial fraud.
Robbins Geller, a 180-lawyer firm with offices in San Diego, San Francisco, New York, Boca Raton, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Atlanta, is active in major litigations pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States and has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded investors, consumers, and companies, as well as victims of human rights violations.
www.rgrdlaw.com |
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Court says police cannot be sued over warrant
Headline Legal News |
2012/02/22 09:54
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The Supreme Court said Wednesday that California police officers cannot be sued because they used a warrant that may have been defective to search a woman's house.
The high court threw out the lawsuit against Los Angeles County Sheriff's Detective Curt Messerschmidt and other police officials, who were being sued personally by Augusta Millender for the search on her house and confiscation of her shotgun.
Police were looking for her foster son, Jerry Ray Bowen, who had recently shot at his ex-girlfriend with a black sawed-off shotgun. She told police that he may be at his foster mother's house, so Messerschmidt got a warrant to look for any weapons on the property and gang-related material, since Bowen was supposed to be a member of the Mona Park Crips and the Dodge Park Crips. The detective had his supervisors approve the warrant before submitting to the district attorney and a judge, who also approved the warrant. |
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Investment Fraud Litigation |
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Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a practice that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information, frequently resulting in losses, in violation of the securities laws. Securities Arbitration. Generally speaking, securities fraud consists of deceptive practices in the stock and commodity markets, and occurs when investors are enticed to part with their money based on untrue statements.
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The content contained on the web site has been prepared by Securities Law News as a service to the internet community and is not intended to constitute legal advice or a substitute for consultation with a licensed legal professional in a particular case. | Affordable Law Firm Website Design by Law Promo |
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