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Defendant in 4 Calif. killings now wants lawyer
Court Watch |
2011/07/06 09:56
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The man charged with killing four Northern California women with matching first and last initials has asked for a court-appointed attorney to help him defend himself.
Seventy-seven-year-old Joseph Naso is currently acting as his own attorney. But he told a judge Wednesday his incarceration at the Marin County Jail has limited his ability to conduct legal research and has scared away attorneys who could help him.
He asked Judge Andrew Sweet to appoint an attorney to his case. Sweet is expected to continue hearing arguments about the request Thursday.
District Attorney Ed Berberian says Naso has enough money to hire his own attorney and doesn't need one appointed by the court.
Naso is accused of murdering four prostitutes in the 1970s and 1990s throughout Northern California. He has pleaded not guilty. |
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Bill revision could mean money for NJ drug company
Topics in Legal News |
2011/07/05 09:25
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A billion-dollar "technical revision" added to a patent bill passed by the House last week could provide huge financial benefits to one pharmaceutical company and a law firm.
On the surface, the barely noticed amendment simply clarifies a process by which the Food and Drug Administration approves a patent for a brand-name drug, and gives the manufacturer 60 days to apply for an extension with the U.S. Patent and Trade Office.
In reality, the measure could give a New Jersey drugmaker, The Medicines Co., 2½ more years of patent protection for its lucrative blood thinner Angiomax. It would also save the law firm WilmerHale $214 million it would owe the drug company under a malpractice lawsuit if a generic alternative is sold in the United States before June 15, 2015.
The amendment barely won House approval and it is not a part of the Senate version of the patent system overhaul bill, so it is questionable whether it will ever become law. The amendment would write into law a court decision in favor of the drug company and would pre-empt any appeal.
It shows how, hidden behind the lines of obtuse legislative language, huge fortunes can be at stake, sometimes for specific companies. |
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Borrowers sue over apparent loan mod mishaps
Legal Business |
2011/07/05 09:24
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It seemed Maria Campusano's financial problems were behind her when the mortgage on her Victorian home in a Massachusetts mill town was chopped by hundreds of dollars a month.
She soon learned that her troubles had just begun.
Weeks after making her first payment under the new rate, the school district staffer began receiving past-due notices, documents showing wildly inaccurate loan balances and letters threatening foreclosure. She now fears she'll lose her home.
"How can they take away what I have worked so hard for?" Campusano said.
Campusano is one of two named plaintiffs in a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging breach of contract by Bank of America NA and subsidiary BAC Home Loans Servicing LP.
The suit, which was filed in Los Angeles federal court because BAC is located in nearby Calabasas, is among a growing number of legal complaints accusing banks of disregarding what should be binding agreements to reduce the monthly mortgage payments of troubled borrowers.
The suits involve permanent modifications through the U.S. Treasury-administered Home Affordable Modification Program, which offers incentives to loan servicers who extend modifications, as well as so-called proprietary modifications, which banks offer independently of the government guidelines.
They represent a new wave of complaints against banks that have already weathered years of criticism for their reluctance to modify loans and for foreclosing on borrowers after offering them trial modifications. |
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Mich. man sues, wants Chevron stock at '04 price
Topics in Legal News |
2011/07/04 00:02
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A former lawyer intrigued by the global demand for energy says he chose to invest $100,000 in oil giant Chevron Corp. back in 2004, a smart stock bet that now would have doubled seven years later.
But Perry Christy has a big problem: He says Chevron's stock agent never deducted money from his bank account. As a result, he has no records to show he actually owns a certain number of shares.
So Christy, 69, is suing Chevron and Mellon Investor Services and seeking an extraordinary remedy. He wants a federal judge to declare that he should be credited with buying the stock at a June 2004 price, plus any additional shares that would have piled up by reinvesting dividends. Then he'll pay $100,000.
Based on the terrific rise in San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron's stock, it would be like winning the lottery—and then buying a ticket.
"There was some kind of mix-up on the day I placed the order," Christy insisted in an interview at his home in the Detroit suburb of Northville. "Whether mechanical or electronic, I don't think we'll ever know. But it's their screw-up. When you deal with any large bureaucracy, people are focused on their own narrow niche."
After more than a year in court, Chevron and Mellon smell a scam and want the case dismissed, even suggesting that Christy's story of a genuine yet botched investment simply is a lie. |
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Former Wyoming governor joins law firm
Headline Legal News |
2011/07/04 00:02
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Former Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal has joined the international law firm of Crowell & Moring as senior counsel.
Freudenthal says in a telephone interview with The Associated Press that the firm will open an office in Cheyenne, where he will be based. He will work for the firm's Environment and Natural Resources Group.
He says he will advise clients on issues that he handled during his two terms as governor, including minerals, natural resources development and environmental permitting.
Freudenthal says he will continue to teach at the University of Wyoming College of Law and serve on the Arch Coal Inc. board of directors.
Crowell & Moring has nearly 500 lawyers with offices in Washington, New York, Los Angeles, London, Brussels and elsewhere. |
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