Court Roundup

North Carolina Advocates for disabled residents sue state RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Advocates for people with disabilities in North Carolina have filed a federal class-action lawsuit to block cuts to in-home care services to 4,000 low-income people. The News & Observer in Raleigh reported Wednesday the cuts target in-home assistants who help disabled people with bathing, dressing, and eating. Secretary of Health and Human Services Lanier Cansler says the move saves $40 million in state Medicaid expenditures. Advocates for individuals with disabilities say the cuts going into effect Wednesday will force people into adult care homes where they can receive the services, which could cost taxpayers even more through Medicaid and Medicare payouts. The Americans With Disabilities Act says long-term care must be provided in the least restrictive setting appropriate to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities. Tennessee Reporter sues site, says nude photos aren't her MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- A Memphis television reporter is suing an Arizona man, demanding that he remove from his website pornographic pictures that she says are false and defamatory. The federal lawsuit filed by 29-year-old Fox 13 reporter Lauren Lee Gauck says the nude photos posted on the Internet site are not her, according to The Commercial Appeal. The suit says pictures of the real Gauck were juxtaposed with nude images of an unknown woman on the site. The suit asks for $50 million in damages and seeks to bar the defendants from using Gauck's name, image or likeness. Defendants include Hooman Karamian -- a.k.a. Nik Richie of Scottsdale, Ariz. -- and Dirty World LLC in Phoenix. David Gingras, an attorney who represents the defendants, said federal communications law protects his client's website. Texas Judge: no prayer at high school graduation SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- A federal judge in South Texas has banned public prayer at a high school graduation ceremony after the agnostic parents of a senior went to court. The ruling from Chief U.S. District Judge Fred Biery in San Antonio came as Medina Valley High School in Castroville prepares for Saturday's graduation. Biery's order, released Tuesday, was in response to a lawsuit filed by Christa and Danny Schultz on behalf of their son, Corwin, to block use of prayer. The judge says speakers cannot call on audience members to bow their heads, join in prayer or say "amen." Assistant Superintendent Chris Martinez says school officials will follow the order against public prayer, but they do not believe the district has done anything wrong. Mississippi Widow sues over ship accident GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) -- The widow of Thomas L. Moore, who drowned when a fishing boat and ship collided in the Mississippi Sound, has filed a federal lawsuit against the owners of both vessels. The Sun Herald reports Beverly Ann Moore is suing Omega Protein Inc., owner of the fishing boat Sandy Point, and Eurus London LLC and Great White Fleet Ltd., owner and/or operators of the Eurus London container ship. She claims all three companies were negligent in operating the vessels, and that the Sandy Point was "unseaworthy." The lawsuit was filed less than one week after the May 18 accident south of Gulfport. The Coast Guard is investigating the accident. Thomas Moore was one of three crew members trapped aboard the Sandy Point. The defendants have not yet responded to the lawsuit. Texas Man sues over stolen $1 million lottery ticket AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- A North Texas man is suing the Texas Lottery Commission and others for $1 million in winnings from a lottery ticket prosecutors say was stolen from him in 2009. Travis County prosecutors say a convenience store clerk in the Dallas suburb of Grand Prairie cheated Willis Willis out of the ticket, redeemed it himself and fled to his native Nepal. Prosecutors recovered $395,000 from the clerk's bank accounts and obtained a court ruling that Willis is the ticket's rightful owner. But the lawsuit says the clerk received $750,000 in prize money after taxes -- money Willis says he has coming to him. The clerk remains a fugitive. The Texas attorney general's office contends the lottery ticket is a "bearer instrument" redeemable by whoever holds it. Montana Mom files lawsuit in Indian child suicide outbreak HELENA, Mont. (AP) -- The mother of a teenager who killed himself last year during a rash of child suicides on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation has filed a lawsuit against the school district and Montana. Roxanne Gourneau, a judge in Fort Peck's tribal family court, claims school officials were negligent and are responsible for the death of her 17-year-old son Dalton. Dalton Gourneau's death in Wolf Point in November followed the suicides of five middle school students and 20 suicide attempts on the reservation. Tribal officials declared an emergency on the reservation and federal health officials were sent in to provide counseling. In her lawsuit filed last month in state court, Roxanne Gourneau says the school district and the state were negligent and did not properly train school staff to handle crisis situations. California Teen convicted of killing in escalator dispute SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A San Francisco teenager has been convicted for the shooting death of a youth in a dispute over clogging an escalator at a downtown shopping center. A jury decided on Tuesday that Christopher Canon, who was 15 at the time of the 2007 killing, is guilty of second-degree murder for the death of 18-year-old Michael Price of Oakland. Canon was tried as an adult and he faces 40 years to life in prison when he's sentenced up July 8. The San Francisco Chronicle says Canon shot Price four times after the two argued over whether Price was moving too slowly on an escalator at the Metreon shopping complex. Published: Thu, Jun 2, 2011