Court Roundup

Alabama Lawyer's art collection being auctioned by IRS BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- Nearly 250 paintings and photographs that once belonged to Birmingham attorney Russell J. "Jack" Drake will be auctioned by the Internal Revenue Service on Nov. 16 in Birmingham to settle a tax debt. The IRS said the artwork by Kerry James Marshall, Hank Willis Thomas, Raymond Pettibon and more than 40 others has been appraised at more than $500,000. It was seized for non-payment of taxes. Drake is one of Alabama's best known attorneys, specializing in large class-action lawsuits, particularly on healthcare issues. His law firm, Whatley, Drake and Kallas, was recently named to the National Law Journal's "Plaintiffs' Hot List" for 2011. Drake is also a former chairman of the State Ethics Commission and was appointed by former Gov. Don Siegelman. "The recession has had a horrible effect on me. I haven't been able to recover from it," Drake said in a phone interview Monday. The seized artwork will be exhibited at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Birmingham from 2-5 p.m. Nov. 15. The auction starts the next day at 9 a.m. The IRS said the artwork will be offered separately and in groups. Marshall, one of the artists featured in the collection, is a Birmingham native who grew up in South Central Los Angeles. He is known for paintings and sculptures that pay tribute to the civil rights struggle. The collection includes his photo titled "Black Xmas" and a drawing of a hand. Thomas, known for his photos of African-American culture, has several photos in the collection, including "It's the real thing." It was part of his collection "Unbranded: Reflections in Black by Corporate America 1968-2008" and was shown at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. New Mexico 7 women file lawsuit vs. Bernalillo County ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- Seven women in Bernalillo County's budget department have filed a federal lawsuit against the county alleging gender discrimination and demeaning behavior from male supervisors. The lawsuit filed in September claims Bernalillo County violated state and federal civil-rights laws through "systemic county-wide discriminatory treatment" of its female employees. It accuses recently retired Deputy County Manager Dan Mayfield of implying that the county could control costs by hiring women because they're cheaper and former supervisor Julian Barela of saying he wouldn't hire any more women because "they are too difficult and too emotional." Agnes Fuentevilla Padilla, an attorney representing the defendants, told the Albuquerque Journal that Barela and Mayfield deny the comments. The plaintiffs are asking for back pay, damages and an injunction prohibiting the county from engaging in discrimination. Alabama Iranian car dealer wins $7.5M in defamation suit MOBILE, Ala. (AP) -- An Alabama jury has awarded $7.5 million to an Iranian-born car dealer who sued a Florida competitor for defamation, claiming workers there portrayed him as a terrorist. A jury in Mobile awarded the judgment Monday to Shawn Esfahani in his lawsuit against Bob Tyler Toyota in Pensacola, Fla. The Iranian-born Esfahani owns Eastern Shore Toyota. The Press-Register reports that the man filed suit claiming workers at Bob Tyler Toyota told customers that Esfahani is from the Middle East and was funneling money to terrorists, calling his business "Taliban Toyota." Esfahani says the claims were very hurtful. He fled Iran in 1980 after the Islamic revolution and is now a U.S. citizen. Texas Family sues over alleged listeria death DALLAS (AP) -- A negligence lawsuit filed by the family of an 89-year-old North Texas woman says she died after eating cantaloupe allegedly tainted with listeria. The lawsuit filed in Dallas against Jensen Farms of Holly, Colo., says Marie Jones died Sept. 23 at a hospital. The Food and Drug Administration says Jensen Farms voluntarily recalled its whole cantaloupes Sept. 14. Federal health officials say 28 deaths have been linked to the listeria outbreak in a dozen states. The lawsuit filed last week on behalf of the Dallas County woman's children, Russell Jones and Terri Blackmon, also names Frontera Produce Ltd. of Edinburg. A Frontera spokesman declined comment on the lawsuit. A message left Tuesday with Jensen Farms by The Associated Press was not immediately returned. New Hampshire Corrections officer wins lawsuit against state CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- A jury has awarded $150,000 to a New Hampshire Department of Corrections officer after finding that the department interfered with his rights to free expression. Former union president Mark Jordan was suspended without pay from his job at the state prison in 2010 after a fight in the parking lot after work. Jordan lost benefits covering himself and his family because Corrections Commissioner William Wrenn asked for an external criminal investigation instead of an internal affairs review. Assistant Attorney General Lynmarie Cusack told the Concord Monitor she didn't know yet if the state would appeal. Jordan returned to work in March. He received some lost wages but his lawyer argued those wages failed to cover the true costs of a year without pay or benefits. Virginia Jury rules for Twitter in patent lawsuit NORFOLK, Va. (AP) -- A federal jury in Norfolk has ruled in favor of Twitter in a patent lawsuit. The Virginian-Pilot reports that the jury on Monday rejected northern Virginia patent attorney Dinesh Agarwal's claim that Twitter used his patented technology to develop the "browse interests' page on the social networking site. Agarwal invented his own interactive web program to track famous people or people with similar interests. He sought millions from Twitter, claming it used his patent without permission. Agarwal said he was disappointed with the jury's decision. Twitter attorney Elliot Peters called it a "just verdict." Published: Wed, Nov 2, 2011