Ohio: Patent dispute spins around Cedar Fair’s new ride
SANDUSKY, Ohio (AP) — Amusement park operator Cedar Fair says a legal dispute won’t ground a new high-flying ride planned for several of its parks.
A Dutch company will make the WindSeeker, which will spin riders 300 feet above the ground at speeds reaching 30 mph. Cedar Fair, based in Sandusky in northern Ohio, plans to introduce the WindSeeker next year at Ohio parks Cedar Point and Kings Island, as well as Canada’s Wonderland near Toronto and Knott’s Berry Farm outside Los Angeles.
A ride-maker in Australia complains the idea for the ride was copied from a concept it showed off to Cedar Fair officials.
Cedar Fair director of investor relations Stacy Frole says executives have been told by the Dutch firm’s U.S. patent attorney that the other company’s claim has no merit.
Virginia: Judge recommends settlement in salmonella case
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A federal judge is recommending approval of a $12 million settlement for those sickened or killed in last year’s salmonella outbreak tied to a Virginia-based peanut processor.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Urbanski issued his recommendation late Wednesday for the payments for the more than 120 personal injury claims related to the outbreak. The settlement must now be approved by a bankruptcy court judge.
The outbreak traced to Lynchburg-based Peanut Corp. of America’s plants in Georgia and Texas was linked to the illnesses of about 700 people and the deaths of at least nine.
Peanut Corp. filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy to dissolve amid fallout from the outbreak.
The money provided by the company’s insurers will be distributed based on the extent of victims’ illnesses.
Texas: San Antonio man gets 8 years in child porn case
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A 63-year-old San Antonio businessman and former research executive must serve eight years in federal prison in a child pornography case.
Nigel F. Gale in February pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography in an investigation that prosecutors say turned up more than 300,000 images. Defense attorney Louis Correa says Gale has been in therapy for two years to treat his addiction to child porn.
Gale on Wednesday apologized during sentencing by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez.
Gale is a former Southwest Research Institute vice president who joined the organization in 1987 and held several engineering patents. He resigned in 2008, a year after his work laptop computer was found with hundreds of child porn-related images. His home computer had more images.
California: Settlement in suit alleging condom found in soup
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A California man who says he ordered French onion soup and bit into a condom instead of melted cheese has settled his lawsuit against the Claim Jumper restaurant chain.
The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Both sides say in a statement the deal indicates no admission of liability by either party.
Zdenek Philip Hodousek of Mission Viejo sued in Superior Court last summer seeking unspecified damages.
He says he was eating Easter brunch with his family when he bit into the condom.
The company says it found no evidence of a foreign object in the soup or that there was any employee involvement or wrongdoing.
According to the chain’s website, there are 46 Claim Jumper restaurants in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin.
Utah: Man who performed baptisms sues LDS church
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Las Vegas man injured while performing submersion baptisms in the name of the dead has sued The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for medical expenses.
The civil suit filed Wednesday in Salt Lake City’s 3rd District Court claims Daniel Dastrup suffered severe back injuries after performing about 200 baptisms at the LDS temple in Raleigh, N.C., on Aug. 25, 2007. Dastrup now lives in Las Vegas.
The then 25-year-old claims some of the young men and women weighed up to 250 pounds.
The suit says Dastrup complained about his injuries but a LDS temple officiator ordered him to continue.
Dastrup later learned of the herniated disk and had to undergo two back surgeries.
Church spokesman Scott Trotter says he doesn’t have case details and can’t comment.
Connecticut: Lawyer charged with casino cheating
MASHANTUCKET, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut lawyer whose father was portrayed by Tom Cruise in “A Few Good Men” has been arrested on allegations he cheated while gambling at the MGM Grand Casino.
State police say Walter Bansley IV of New Haven took his bet off the craps table in violation of casino rules Wednesday night, then refused to show his identification and to leave the gambling floor when confronted by authorities. State police say he also urinated on the floor outside his holding cell while detained.
Bansley posted $500 bail and is to be arraigned on larceny and other charges Sept. 17 in New London Superior Court. He didn’t immediately return a phone message Thursday morning.
His law firm’s website says his father, Walter Bansley III, was the military lawyer played by Cruise in the movie.
Montana: Sect leader waives extradition in UT rape case
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The co-leader of a religious sect that settled in Montana has agreed to be returned to Utah to face a rape charge.
Geody Harman appeared Wednesday in District Court in Red Lodge and waived extradition proceedings. Harman was arrested last week in Fromberg. He will be held in the Yellowstone County jail on $250,000 bond until Utah authorities arrive.
Harman and Terrill Dalton are charged with raping a 15-year-old girl in 2005 or 2006. The victim said both men told her that God wanted them to have sex. Dalton was arrested in Thermopolis, Wyo., and has waived extradition.
The men are leaders of the Church of the Firstborn and the General Assembly of Heaven, which originated in Utah but moved to Idaho after a federal raid last spring. The group moved to Fromberg last fall.
