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LimeWire settles out of court with major record labels
Law Center |
2011/05/13 09:30
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File-sharing software company LimeWire, which shut down last year after being barred from allowing people to share copyright-protected files online, reached a $105 million out-of-court settlement with the major record labels Thursday, the labels said.
In a statement, Recording Industry Association of America Chairman Mitch Bainwol said his group, which represents the labels, is pleased with the settlement.
“The resolution of this case is another milestone in the continuing evolution of online music to a legitimate marketplace that appropriately rewards creators,” he later added.
LimeWire, which had enabled people to share songs and other files over the Internet, had been fighting the RIAA for several years.
The RIAA argued LimeWire’s software encouraged illegal sharing of copyrighted music. Last May LimeWire was found liable of copyright infringement, with a trial to follow early this year. That trial started last week.
In October, LimeWire received a federal injunction forcing it to disable key functions of its software. At that time, the company said it would continue developing a new service that would include a desktop player, mobile apps and a catalog of music from which people could legally stream and download songs. |
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Disabled lawyer cranks out lawsuits
Law Center |
2011/05/07 09:02
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Scott Johnson calls himself a crusader for the disabled. The hundreds of small businesses he routinely sues call him a legal extortionist.
Welcome to the rough and tumble world of providing access to the disabled. At the heart of the matter is the American with Disabilities Act, the controversial federal law requiring a minimum level of access in all public places.
Disabled advocates say since no government agency enforces the law, that task has fallen to private attorneys who file lawsuits to compel the noncompliant to provide equal access to all. Because of a quirk in California law, the state stands out as a magnet for disabled-access lawsuits and several lawyers have made a name for themselves as frequent filers.
Few, though, are as prolific as Johnson.
Since 2004, Johnson has filed more than 1,000 boiler plate lawsuits in Sacramento federal court, slightly tweaking the documents to fit the target: a restaurant's service counter is too high or an apartment complex doesn't have enough disabled parking. Just last week, the Carmichael lawyer filed more than two dozen lawsuits, mostly aimed at apartment complexes. |
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4 guilty in $5.2M Medicare fraud scheme in Houston
Law Center |
2011/05/05 09:19
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Four people have been convicted in Houston of conspiring to defraud the Medicare program out of $5.2 million over a three-year period.
A Justice Department statement identifies the four convicted Wednesday as 46-year-old Ezinne Ubani, 45-year-old Caroline Njoku and 47-year-old Terrie Porter, all of Houston, and 55-year-old Mary Ellis of Missouri City.
The federal jury in Houston acquitted 62-year-old Estella Joseph of Houston, all after a 15-day trial before U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 20-21. Ubani and Ellis could receive up to 20 years in prison, Njoku could get up to 15 years in prison, while Porter could get up to 10 years in prison. |
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Ohio man pleads guilty in abortion-gunpoint case
Law Center |
2011/04/28 09:06
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A man charged under an Ohio fetal homicide law with trying to force his pregnant girlfriend at gunpoint to get an abortion pleaded guilty Thursday to attempted murder, weapons and abduction counts.
Dominic Holt-Reid pulled a gun Oct. 6 on girlfriend Yolanda Burgess, who was three months pregnant, and forced her to drive to an abortion clinic, police said. Burgess, who was 26 at the time, did not go through with the procedure but instead passed a note to a clinic employee, who called police.
Prosecutors had brought their case against Holt-Reid using the state's 1996 law that says a person can be found guilty of murder for causing the unlawful termination of a pregnancy.
Holt-Reid, 28, faces up to 20 years in prison and a $40,000 fine. A presentencing investigation was ordered, and the next hearing was scheduled for June 9.
Holt-Reid had previously pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder, kidnapping, improper handling of a firearm and carrying a concealed weapon. His guilty pleas in Franklin County Common Pleas Court came a day after Prosecutor Ron O'Brien told The Associated Press in a statement that a plea deal was in the works. |
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Iowa court reverses child endangerment conviction
Law Center |
2011/04/28 09:05
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The Iowa Court of Appeals on Wednesday overturned the conviction of a mother who has been imprisoned for nearly four years after being found guilty of injuring her young son, basing its decision on the boy's newfound ability to speak and claim he was hurt after sticking his arm into a washing machine.
Tammy Smith was found guilty of hurting her then-4-year-old son in 2006, after his arm was broken in four places and his shoulder dislocated. Prosecutors could not prove how the injury happened, but doctors testified it could only have been caused by a lot of force or leverage being applied to the child's arm. Smith was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The boy was described as developmentally delayed and could only make grunting sounds and other noises at the time of Smith's trial. He has since been in school and met with counselors and has been able to talk about what happened, telling people he hurt his arm when he put it in a front-load washing machine that was on spin cycle. |
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Court denies Va. inmate's lawsuit over beard
Law Center |
2011/04/23 09:27
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A federal court has denied a Muslim inmate's lawsuit claiming the Virginia prison system violated his religious rights by refusing to allow him to grow a 1/8-inch beard.
William Couch challenged the Department of Corrections' grooming policy that bans long hair or beards.
A federal court in Harrisonburg sided with the department Thursday.
Couch's attorney, Jeffrey Fogel, filed an appeal Monday. He argues the beard is too short to allow Couch to easily change his appearance or hide weapons, which is the department's reason for the policy.
A federal appellate court ruled against a group of inmates who sued the department after the grooming policy was instituted in 1999. Several lived in segregation for more than a decade until the department developed a separate living space for them last year. |
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