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Court rules for investors in Volkswagen diesel suit
Law Firm News |
2018/10/24 15:29
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A court in Germany has ruled that Volkswagen's parent company must pay 47 million euros ($54 million) in damages to investors for not making a timely disclosure of its scandal over cars rigged to cheat on diesel emissions tests.
The dpa news agency reported that the Stuttgart court announced the verdict Wednesday against Porsche SE, which holds 52 percent of the voting rights in Volkswagen.
The company said it would appeal and called the claims "without merit."
News of the scandal broke in September 2015 but the plaintiffs argued that Volkswagen's top management knew about the troubles earlier. Former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn exercised his legal right not to testify.
The case comes in addition to investor suits against Porsche SE and Volkswagen before a court in Braunschweig, Germany. Porsche said it was "convinced that the rulings will not be sustained in a second-instance ruling."
Porsche said higher courts had ruled that the Stuttgart court should have decided the case by its full chamber, not by a single judge. It cited what it said were existing rulings by other courts that proceedings should be stayed while a so-called model case is pending before the Braunschweig court to prevent conflicting decisions on the same issues. Porsche said that the actions "are without merit and the claims raised do not exist."
German securities law requires companies to disclose information that could significantly affect the stock price so that investors can decide whether or not to sell their holdings.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a notice of violation on Sept. 18, 2015, saying Volkswagen had installed software that turned emissions controls on during testing and off during every day driving. Volkswagen has pleaded guilty to criminal charges in the United States and incurred more than 28 billion euros ($32 billion) in fines and penalties. Winterkorn and several other Volkswagen executives serving at the time face criminal charges in the U.S. but cannot be extradited; two Volkswagen executives were sent to prison.
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Supreme Court: Ross can't be questioned in census suit
Attorney Interview |
2018/10/22 15:31
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The Supreme Court is siding with the Trump administration to block the questioning of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross about his decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
The unsigned order Monday overrides lower federal courts in New York that would have allowed the questioning of Ross to proceed in lawsuits challenging the addition of a citizenship question on the decennial census for the first time since 1950.
The suits by a dozen states and big cities, among others, say the citizenship question will discourage immigrants from participating, diluting political representation and federal dollars for states that tend to vote Democratic.
But the court is allowing the deposition of acting assistant attorney general John Gore to go forward, over the dissent of Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas.
A trial is scheduled to begin in New York on Nov. 5, although Gorsuch suggested in a four-page opinion that U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman could delay the proceedings. Gorsuch said he "sees no reason to distinguish between Secretary Ross' deposition and those of other senior executive officials."
Furman based his ruling requiring Ross' deposition on concerns about Ross' truthfulness in relating how the decision to add the citizenship question came about. The judge noted that Ross claimed in March, when the decision to add the citizenship question was announced, that he considered adding it after a request to do so last December from the Justice Department. |
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Supreme Court hopeful had DWI charge in 2009
Law Firm Press Release |
2018/10/21 11:39
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A candidate for the North Carolina Supreme Court pleaded guilty more than nine years ago to trespassing and driving while impaired.
The Charlotte Observer reports Republican Chris Anglin was stopped by police in Greensboro in January 2009 and charged after he registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.14, nearly twice the legal limit. The following September, he pleaded guilty.
That December, Anglin was charged with attempted breaking and entering and pleaded guilty to second-degree trespassing. On Wednesday, he attributed both cases to struggles with alcohol in his 20s.
Both incidents happened while Anglin was a student at Elon University School of Law. He said that in 2010, he sought help for his drinking problem with a lawyer-assistance program. He said he's since gotten sober.
Anglin criticized N.C. Republican Party Executive Director Dallas Woodhouse for emailing Anglin's arrest records to a listserv the GOP maintains. Anglin has feuded with the GOP since he switched party affiliation and entered the Supreme Court race.
Woodhouse has previously said Anglin "will be treated like the enemy he is," and Anglin said the GOP is acting desperate "by sending something out that occurred almost a decade ago."
Republicans have described Anglin as a Democratic plant in the race and Woodhouse said as much Wednesday, writing that "Democrats had one of their own with a very questionable background pretend to be a Republican, so they could try and fool the voters."
Republican legislators responded earlier this summer to Anglin's campaign by passing a law, which was later overturned as unconstitutional, that would have banned Anglin from listing his Republican Party on the ballot even though his opponents could list their parties.
Anglin is one of three candidates seeking a place on the court. The other candidates are Barbara Jackson, a Republican who's seeking re-election, and Anita Earls, a Democrat and longtime civil rights lawyer. |
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Court to hear case over ID of Texas execution drug supplier
Law Firm News |
2018/10/20 14:38
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The Texas Supreme Court has reversed itself and granted the state's request to review a case dealing with the disclosure of an execution drug supplier that officials have fought for years to keep secret.
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday approved the state's appeal asking that it review a lower court's order that the state's prison agency must identify its execution drug supplier.
In June, the court had denied the state's request to review the ruling by Texas' 3rd Court of Appeals.
The case stems from a lawsuit seeking to identify the supplier Texas used in two 2014 executions. A measure was signed into law the next year allowing the state to keep future supplier records secret. Oral arguments in the case have been set for Jan. 23.
Maldives court overturns prison term for ex-president
A high court in the Maldives on Thursday overturned a prison sentence for the country's former strongman, who had been jailed for not cooperating with a police investigation into allegations he was trying to overthrow the government.
The court set aside the jail term of one year, seven months and six days imposed by the Criminal Court on ex-President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
Maumoon was jailed in June for not handing over his cellphone to investigators after being accused of being part of a plan to overthrow his half-brother, outgoing President Yameen Abdul Gayoom. Maumoon was among dozens of political opponents and officials jailed by Yameen during his five-year rule after trials criticized for alleged lack of due process.
Yameen lost last month's presidential election to joint opposition candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. The court ruled Thursday that the lower court did not follow correct trial procedures. |
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