USLegal Reporter

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Denny Chin gave Bernard Madoff the maximum sentence of 150 years for 11 counts of securities fraud. Madoff has pled guilty to the charges involving a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme. In court, Madoff made a statement apologizing to his victims.

Chin issued a restraining order on more than $100 million in Madoff’s assets in April to prevent them from going into bankruptcy. A federal bankruptcy judge was also appointed as an interim trustee to managr Madoff’s assets ahead of legal action by victimized investors. In February, Madoff agreed to a partial judgment with the SEC. The SEC had brought civil charges to get a preliminary injunction and asset freeze against him.

Source: http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2009/06/madoff-sentenced-to-150-years-for-fraud.php

U.S. District Court Judge Paul A. Crotty ruled that New York City’s attempts to force taxicab owners to buy fuel-efficient hybrid taxicabs were preempted by federal law. While the judge praised the city’s efforts, he cautioned against interfering with the exclusive jurisdiction of Congress to legislate mileage and emissions standards.

Last October, regulations requiring taxicabs to be fuel-efficient by 2012 were also invalidated due to being pre-empted by federal jurisdiction. The latest attempt by the city would have allowed cab companies to charge higher rental rates to drivers of hybrid cars, while rental rates would decrease over two years for companies with gas-guzzling taxis.

Source: http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/category/Breaking%20Legal%20News

Vacating a temporary stay that was ordered, the U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for the sale of Chrysler’s prime assets to Italian automaker Fiat. The sale had been challenged by consumer, pension fund, and construction fund groups. The pension and construction fund groups claimed that the use of (Troubled Asset Relief Program) TARP funds to finance the bankruptcy was unconstitutional. The consumer groups challenged the sale on the basis that it would impair the right of consumers to pursue product liability claims.

The Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York has also allowed Chrysler to sever contracts with 789 dealerships. This will mean that those dealerships will no longer be able to promote themselves as being a Chrysler authorized dealer for purposes of providing repair services.

Source: http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2009_06_10_indexarch.php#3922430819694760783

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg issued a temporary stay of Chrysler’s assets to Italian automaker Fiat, throwing a roadblock in the quick bankruptcy process that was hoped for. The sale of assets would have included Chrysler’s most valuable assets, such as plants, dealerships and contracts.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit had approved the sale, but it was challenged by emergency requests filed by groups representing unions, lenders, stockholders, and others. The stay will give the Court additional time to consider the matter. No timeline has been given for when the Court will issue a decision.

Source: http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2009/06/chrysler-sale-delayed-temporarily-by.php

After an abortion doctor was killed, the Department of Justice announced it will be increasing security measures to protect the safety of abortion seekers and providers. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said that he will enlist the aid of the U.S. Marshal Service to provide increased protection for at-risk people and facilities.

The action comes after the recent murder of abortion doctor George Tiller. Dr. Tiller’s clinic was bombed in 1985 and he was shot twice in 1993. The Marshals Service last provided protection to Dr. Tiller in 2001.

Source: http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2009/06/doj-increases-federal-protection-at.php

The Washington Court of Appeals held that a cable company can’t force all residents of a multi-unit apartment building to use its services if it wires the building. The decision upheld a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decision that such exclusive provider agreements are anticompetitive.

Banning exclusive agreements could help promote competition and reduce cable rates for an estimated 100 million consumers, FCC members said in interviews. About a quarter of the U.S. population lives in apartments, and industry experts estimate that 5 to 10 percent of those buildings have exclusive contracts. Many contracts last 5 to 10 years, while a few can last indefinitely.

The move will open the door for telephone giants Verizon and AT&T, which now offer video services, and smaller cable competitors such as RCN. Those companies have argued that long-term cable contracts lock them out of key markets.

Source:
http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/entry/Court-says-no-exclusive-cable-rights-in-apartments

Legislation called the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives, after being approved by the Senate. It will become law once it is signed by President Obama. The bill allocates $165 million over the next two years for increased enforcement activities against fraud related to mortgages, securities and commodities, financial institutions, and federal assistance and relief programs. The funding will be shared among the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice, and U.S. Attorneys Office.

The legislation would also create a “financial crisis inquiry commission,” consisting of ten members with subpoena power to investigate the cause of the current financial and economic crisis, as well as the collapse of major financial institutions. Commission members would be appointed by both the majority and minority leaders of the Senate and House.

Source: http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2009/05/house-approves-financial-fraud.php

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has found Yahoo not responsible for nude photos posted on its website by outside parties. An Oregon woman brought a lawsuit in 2005, suing Yahoo for allowing her ex-boyfriend to create a profile for her with nude photos included, and posing as her in an online chat room to solicit sex without her knowledge or permission.

The court said Yahoo was protected under a 1996 federal law that gives broad immunity to service providers to encourage the open exchange of material on the Internet by its users. The court’s ruling left open the possibility that Yahoo may be liable for promising to remove the offending materials and information. The plaintiff claimed that a Yahoo official promised to immediately remove the photos when a local TV station was preparing a report, but failed to carry out the promise.

Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/05/11/financial/f131829D98.DTL

Carrying out one of his campaign promises, President Obama has announced plans for reforms to the U.S. tax code, which are targeted at the tax incentives given to companies who create jobs overseas and overseas tax havens. The new reforms are estimated to add $210 billion in revenue currently lost from taxes currently being avoided under the current practices.

Obama’s plan also includes 800 additional federal agents to enforce the tax code. The president’s proposal would eliminate some tax deductions for companies that earn profits in countries with low tax rates, as well as making it a vioaltion of U.S tax laws for U.S. citizens to use tax havens in the Bahamas or Cayman Islands.

Business leaders have been highly critical of the new plans and claim they will hurt the U.S. economy. The Netherland, Ireland, and Bermuda have been named as tax haven countries. The U.S. government is currently negotiating to revise its tax treaty with Switzerland, another country criticized as a tax haven.

Source: http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2009/05/obama-administration-announces-plans-to.php

The Supreme Court has ruled that the Federal Communications Commissison (FCC) may punish broadcast networks for even a single curse word uttered on live television. In its 5-4 decision, the Court said it did not find the FCC’s policy on so-called fleeting expletives either “arbitrary or capricious.”

The case was decided on procedural issues. The broadcasters had argued that the FCC failed to give enough notice of or properly explain the reasons for penalizing fleeting expletives after declining to issue penalties for them in decades past.  They claimed the FCC’s policy is unfair, since punishments have been imposed in some cases and not others. The broader constitutional question of the FCC’s right to police the airwaves was sent back to a federal appeals court for another review.

Source: http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/entry/Supreme-Court-OKs-regulation-of-language-on-TV