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Court rejects changes to state workers' pensions
Court Issues |
2013/08/19 20:51
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The Michigan appeals court has struck down a 2011 law that required state workers choosing to stay in a pension plan to contribute 4 percent of their compensation toward the system.
In a 3-0 ruling released Wednesday, judges said that change and others are unconstitutional because only the state Civil Service Commission can change state employees' compensation — not lawmakers.
The decision affirms an Ingham County judge's ruling from 2012.
State workers hired before April 1997 qualify for a defined benefit pension plan. Those hired since then are in a 401(k)-style plan.
In 2011, Republican Gov. Rick Snyder and GOP lawmakers changed the law to make pension-eligible employees contribute 4 percent or switch to the 401(k) system.
State employee unions representing roughly 34,000 employees sued. |
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Court challenge fails to stop Calif. gay marriages
Court Issues |
2013/08/15 16:30
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The California Supreme Court refused Wednesday to halt gay marriages in the state, leaving opponents of same-sex weddings few if any legal options to stop the unions.
The brief, unanimous ruling tossed out a legal challenge by ban supporters without addressing their legal arguments in support of Proposition 8, a ballot measure passed by voter in 2008 that banned gay marriage.
Austin R. Nimocks, an attorney for Alliance Defending Freedom, a group that wants to end gay marriage, said the ruling does not end the debate in California. He called on lawmakers to ban gay marriage but declined to say whether a legal challenge will be filed.
"Though the current California officials are unwilling to enforce the state constitution, we remain hopeful that one day Californians will elect officials who will" he said.
Supporters of gay marriage were girding for a continued fight.
"By now, I suppose we know better than to predict that Prop 8 proponents will actually give up their fight," San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said. "But it's certainly fair to say that their remaining legal options are increasingly absurd."
The state high court ruling came about two months after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider the issue, leaving in place a lower-court ruling that struck down the ballot measure as unconstitutional. |
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NY man pleads guilty in Paula Deen extortion case
Court Issues |
2013/08/12 19:51
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A New York man pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to trying to extort $200,000 from Paula Deen by threatening to reveal damaging information about the embattled celebrity cook if she didn't pay him to stay quiet.
"I had, I guess, some bad judgment," 62-year-old Thomas George Paculis told a U.S. District Court judge in Savannah.
"I do take responsibility for what I have done."Paculis, of Newfield, acknowledged sending emails to Deen's attorney offering to trade his silence for cash in June. It came a few days after documents became public that revealed the former Food Network star had said under oath that she used racial slurs in the past.
As Deen's culinary empire began to crumble, Paculis claimed he could reveal things that would bring her "financial hardship and even ruin," according to one email that invited Deen's lawyer to "make me an offer I can't refuse."
Neither Paculis nor federal authorities have revealed what sort of dirt the defendant claimed he could dish up regarding Deen or if he truly had any at all. He owned a restaurant in Savannah in the 1990s, but Deen told the FBI she didn't recognize his name or his face.
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SC high court overturns $11M defamation verdicts
Court Issues |
2013/07/06 15:28
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South Carolina's high court has overturned $11 million in verdicts against a Charleston attorney accused of defaming a businessman by comparing him to television mobster Tony Soprano.
The state Supreme Court this week sent a civil case against Paul Hulsey back to Circuit Court, according to a report from The Post and Courier of Charleston.
Hulsey was sued several years ago by Charleston businessmen Lawton Limehouse Sr.
The attorney had previously sued Limehouse's company on behalf of day laborers, claiming staffing agency L&L Services made fake green cards and Social Security cards, exploited workers and failed to pay overtime.
"This is a blatant case of indentured servitude," Hulsey told the newspaper in 2004. "L&L Services took advantage of the complexity of the system. They have created a perfect racketeering system, just like Tony Soprano."
Authorities looked into Hulsey's allegations but didn't bring charges. The lawsuit was ultimately settled for $20,000, according to the high court's ruling. |
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