Daily Archives: February 19, 2013 - 5 results

The federal government is safe from most lawsuits under the concept of immunity. But it may not be safe from itself: Its own lawyers decided an indigent prisoner who claims prison guards sexually assaulted him just might be right that he should be allowed to sue the federal government. The U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 19 heard oral arguments in Millbrook v. United States, a remarkable case originally brought by Kim Millbrook, a prisoner without a lawyer who reportedly hand-wrote …

The United States Supreme Court heard arguments today in a case that will determine if patents on genetically modified seeds also extend to the future generations of seeds that they produce. The justices appeared likely to affirm lower court findings that agriculture patents do protect multiple generations of GMO seeds, according to the Associated Press. The high court is hearing the appeal of Indiana farmer Vernon Bowman, who started buying GMO soy seeds from agriculture giant Monsanto in 1999. Monsanto’s …

A shopper knocked over by a stocking cart has won a $5 million jury verdict against grocery chain Food Lion. 64-year-old Ella Cousins had just started her grocery shopping and was pushing an empty cart down the main aisle of her local Food Lion in Virginia when a 200-pound cart piled high with beauty items collided with her cart. Cousins was knocked backwards and hit her head on the ceramic floor. She sued Food Lion claiming she suffered a traumatic …

PNC settled a lawsuit this month over its refusal of a mortgage loan to a Connecticut couple because the wife was on maternity leave. As part of the settlement, the bank must review the last two years’ worth of mortgage applications in eight states.   Unfair Choice The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) alleged that the bank violated the Fair Housing Act by requiring the wife, a Navy veteran, to go back to work before it would approve …

The Mississippi House of Representatives passed a bill last week that would allow the state to privatize its child support enforcement functions. If the bill becomes law, the state could become the first to fully privatize enforcement. Mississippi’s Department of Human Services, which currently handles collections, is notoriously understaffed and underfunded, and in total, about $1.1 billion in child support is owed by non-custodial parents in the state. However, some lawmakers are skeptical, suggesting that the privatization measure is intended …