Chris Rizo News
High court urged to hear False Claims Act case
Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, D.C. WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline)�A leading conservative public interest law firm has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower court decision that allows trial lawyers to use the federal False Claims Act as a tool for regulating the marketing activities of pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers.
Trial bar seeks to expand liability, end arbitration clauses
Tarricone WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline)�The national trial lawyers group outlined its 2010 legislative agenda Monday, announcing that the group plans to take aim at mandatory arbitration clauses and push to expand civil liability, among other initiatives.
Texas AG outlines objections to Senate health care bill
Abbott AUSTIN (Legal Newsline)-Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott on Wednesday challenged a provision of the health care overhaul bill recently approved by the U.S. Senate.
Democrat blasts AG Abbott over stance on Senate health care bill
Radnofsky (D) AUSTIN (Legal Newsline)-Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is wrong to consider possible legal action over a deal that got Senate Democrats their final 60th vote on a federal health care overhaul, his Democratic challenger says.
Bowl Championship Series could face multistate action
Shurtleff (R) SALT LAKE CITY (Legal Newsline)-Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is still planning to take legal action against a college football playoff system that he says disadvantages his and other states.
U.S. Supreme Court to hear text privacy case
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline)-The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a case that will decide whether employees' text messages sent by devices owned by their employer are private.
Senate health care deal draws Republican AGs' ire
Abbott (R) WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline)-A group of Republican state attorneys general say they are considering possible legal action over a deal that got Senate Democrats their final 60th vote on a federal health care overhaul.
Democratic AGs call for end to home lending incentives
Richard Cordray (D) WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline)-A group of 15 Democratic state attorneys general are asking the Federal Reserve to prohibit home loan officers and mortgage brokers from receiving incentives for steering borrowers into expensive loans.
Senate rejects Obama's NLRB nominee
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline)-The U.S. Senate has rejected one of President Barack Obama's nominees to the National Labor Relations Board.
U.S. trial bar still searching for its next leader
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline)-The nation's trial lawyer group is still looking for a new leader, or so an Internet posting by a leading executive recruitment firm indicates.
CBO stands by estimate tort reform will save taxpayers billions
Douglas Elmendorf WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline)--The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says it stands by its analysis that medial malpractice limits would save American taxpayers billions of dollars.
House passes bill that would curb state AG powers
Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline)-State attorneys general powers are limited in a bill that narrowly passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday.
Poll: Americans divided over which party would fix health care
U.S. Capitol WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline)-Americans are divided on whether the trust Democrats or Republicans to overhaul the nation's health care system, which critics say is fraught with waste and lawsuit abuse, a national poll indicates.
ASARCO sets aside millions for environmental cleanup
Abbott AUSTIN(Legal Newsline)- ASARCO LLC has placed $52 million into a custodial trust fund to help bankroll environmental cleanup at the company's now-closed smelter in El Paso, the state attorney general's office said Thursday.
Report: States use little tobacco settlement funds for related programs
Myers WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline)�Although states are raking in billions of dollars in revenue this year from the 1998 tobacco multistate settlement, officials are spending a paltry amount on antismoking efforts, a national report says.
Banks could face round of lawsuits over lending practices
Terry Goddard (D-Ariz.) PHOENIX, Ariz. (Legal Newsline)�The U.S. financial industry could face another round of multistate lawsuits over their home lending practices, attorneys general told Legal Newsline.
AG: Angola Prison Rodeo must seek competitive bids
Caldwell BATON ROUGE (Legal Newsline)-The Louisiana State Penitentiary must seek competitive bids to award a contract for livestock and other services for the annual Angola Prison Rodeo, the state attorney general's office said.
Texas AG sues price-comparison Web sites
AUSTIN (Legal Newsline)-Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said Monday that he has sued seven price-comparison Web sites he says are misleading online consumers.
Radnofsky to file for Texas attorney general
Radnosfsky AUSTIN (Legal Newsline)-Democrat Barbara Ann Radnofsky said Monday will officially file papers to run for Texas attorney general this week.
AG Abbott nixes payments to teachers
Abbott AUSTIN (Legal Newsline)-Thousands of retired educators in Texas won't get a one-time $500 bonus check next month because a snafu at the state Capitol.