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FTC Appeals D.C. Circuit Order In Rambus Case
Topics |
2008/06/09 09:11
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The Federal Trade Commission claims the D.C. Circuit misunderstood patent law in finding Rambus Corp. a lawful monopolist, though the memory chip-maker abused its power as a member of a standards-setting organization to acquire that monopoly.
The FTC seeks a rehearing en banc of the court's April 22 order setting aside the FTC's final order that Rambus cease and desist.
The proceeding involved an issue of exceptional importance, in that the panel's failure to recognize the competitive harm that anticompetitive deception causes in the context of industry standard-setting organizations constitutes a significant error that has grave implications for beneficial industry standard-setting, the FTC says.
It claims the federal court panel's decision is inconsistent with the causation standard for monopolization articulated by this Court's en banc decision in United States v. Microsoft Corp., 253 F.3rd 34 (D.C. Cir. 2001).
And the FTC claims, The panel decision improperly extends the Supreme Court's holding in holding in NYNEX v. Discon, Inc., 525 U.S. 128 (1998), to protect a firm's use of deception to achieve monopoly power. |
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Black Public Defenders Sue Atlanta
Headline Court News |
2008/06/05 07:51
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In pursuit of greater diversity, the City of Atlanta laid off five black female public defenders who were better qualified and had more experience than the white men it retained, the women claim in Federal Court.
The women claim, the decision makers regarding the reduction in force laid off plaintiffs as part of an effort to achieve what they perceived as greater diversity in a department that had previously had primarily African American and female employees.
The woman want reinstatement, back pay, damages and costs, alleging racial and sexual discrimination. |
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Class Claims 'QuickPick' Bets Didn't List Last Horse
Headline Topics |
2008/06/03 07:54
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Scientific Games' machines excluded the last horse from every race in its QuickPick program for more than 6 months, a class action claims in Superior Court.
The complaint states in Paragraph 11 that the QuickPick program excluded the last horse in every race from the betting slips.
Two paragraphs later, it states, The glitch was finally admitted when a Bay Meadows bettor played 1,300 quick picks and noticed that not one included the number 20 horse.
The complaint does not elucidate specifically whether the last horse was excluded in races with fewer than 20 horses, though Paragraph 11 indicates that was the case.
The named plaintiff claims that Although Defendants were aware of the problem as of Nov. 1, 2007, the Defendants failed to notify the betting public. Instead, the Defendants kept the problem to itself [sic] and attempted to correct 'for' the problem with 'new software.' The glitch was finally admitted when a Bay Meadows bettor played 1,300 quick picks and noticed that not one included the number 20 horse. The public was not alerted to the problem until after May 19, 2008 - months after the Defendants knew of the problem and week after the Bay Meadows better complained to the State Board. As a result of the 'glitch,' thousands of Class members paid for 'QuickPick' bets without any chance of a 'QuickPick' payment.
Named plaintiff Angel Romero says he bought QuickPick tickets for races at Fairplex Race Track, Santa Anita, Hollywood park and Pacific Coast Quarter Horse, all in Southern California.
He is represented by William Audet of San Francisco and Thomas Ferlauto with King amp; Ferlauto of Los Angeles. |
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Hungarian Gypsies Lose Bid For Asylum In U.S.
Topics |
2008/06/02 08:16
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The 8th Circuit denied asylum to two Hungarian citizens who claimed they were attacked by skinheads in their native country because they are Roma, or gypsies.
Istvan Beck and Hilda Beckne Aranyi claimed they often ran into trouble in Hungary due to their Roma ethnicity. They were allegedly teased in school, denied employment opportunities and attacked by skinheads.
However, Judge Loken ruled that the plaintiffs did not show a clear probability of future persecution. The Hungarian government did not direct or condone the crimes, and the police had tried to find their alleged attackers.
Loken also cited a report by the State Department stating that the situation in Hungary is improving. The government has been fining companies that discriminate against Roma, and it is even considering an affirmative action program.
Beck and Aranyi have overstayed their U.S. visas by two years. |
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Louisville Slugger Crippled Little Leaguer
Headline Topics |
2008/05/30 14:03
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Higher bat speed, and the resulting ball speed off an aluminum bat gave a Little Leaguer insufficient time to react, and the boy suffered cardiac arrest when hit by a batted ball during a game, the boy's family claims in lawsuits against Hillerich amp; Bradsby dba Louisville Slugger, and the Little League.
Aluminum bats have been controversial for precisely this reason, and because some baseball purists say the lighter bats give batters an unfair edge. In this case, the Domalewski family claims Steven, 12, was injured and hospitalized during a June 6, 2006 game in Wayne, N.J., from a ball bit by a Louisville Slugger TPX Platinum bat. The 31-inch bat weighs 19 ozs., the complaint states. Traditional wooden bats generally weight 30 ozs. or more.
As a result of the blow to his chest, Steven went into cardiac arrest ... was resuscitated and transported to St. Joseph's Medical Center in Paterson, according to the claim in Passaic County Court. It claims Steven suffered from anoxic encephalopathy secondary to comotio cordis and is multiple handicapped.
The Domalewskis accuse the defendants, among other things, with consumer fraud: minimizing the dangers of aluminum bats, though knowing of them. They demand punitive damages. |
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Harry Potter The Librarian's Lawsuit
Topics |
2008/05/28 08:24
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The Poplar Bluff Public Library constructively fired an assistant because her religious beliefs prohibited her from working on Harry Potter Night, Deborah Smith claims in Federal Court.
Smith says her Southern Baptist Church prohibits promotion of the worship of the occult. She considers Harry Potter part of the occult.
Smith says she told her supervisor she could not take part in the library's Harry Potter Night on July 20, 2007 to promote the release of the latest book in the series. But, she says, library director Jacqueline Thomas told her she would have to work behind the scenes, out of sight of other church members, and questioned Smith's sincerity, the suit states.
When Smith refused, Thomas suspended her without pay for 10 days. Upon Smith's return, her hours were cut and she was demoted to shelving, a more physically demanding job, she says.
Smith says she had to resign due to the physical demands. She claims the City of Poplar Bluff and Thomas caused her to lose income, suffer physical and emotional distress and humiliation and violated her constitutional rights to freedom of religion. Smith seeks punitive damages and is represented by Anthony Rothert of St. Louis. Poplar Bluff is 150 miles south of St. Louis. |
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Democrats Sue Georgia Over Photo Voter Law
Headline Topics |
2008/05/27 13:53
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The Georgia Democratic Party claims enforcement of the state's photo ID requirement violates the Georgia Constitution by discriminating against hundreds of thousands of registered voters, black voters particularly, who do not have driver's licenses, passports or other state-issued ID.
Unlike the civil rights claims of the 1960s, which appealed to the federal government to override racist Southern laws, this complaint asserts no claims that arise under the Constitution, laws or treaties of the United States.
Plaintiffs claim the state's 2006 Photo ID Act - SB 84 - violates the Georgia Constitution because it imposes an unauthorized additional condition on the fundamental right to vote.
They claim the bill discriminates against African-American voters in particular.
And they claim that it is an illegal retroactive law because it applies to citizens of Georgia who were lawfully registered to vote before the effective date of the law. |
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