Court Roundup

Pennsylvania Philly reaches settlement in 'stop and frisk' suit PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A court-appointed monitor will oversee the Philadelphia Police Department's use of "stop and frisk" searches as part of a lawsuit settlement. The lawsuit alleged that the crime-fighting tactic was violating the rights of blacks and Latinos. The city denies any wrongdoing in the settlement announced Tuesday. It also agrees to provide the plaintiffs with data pertaining to stops made between 2006 and 2010. By next year, it will begin entering data about such stops into a database. The city also will review police training and implement policies to make sure the stops aren't made on the basis of race or ethnic origin. The ACLU sued on behalf of eight men it says were subjected to illegal searches. The city started using "stop and frisk" after Mayor Michael Nutter took office in 2008. Massachusetts Family's 9/11 lawsuit questions airport security BOSTON (AP) -- The family of a Massachusetts man killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks says in newly released court documents that security problems at Boston's airport the day of the attacks are to blame for the death. The documents allege that private security screeners at Logan International Airport were not made aware of the terrorist threat from al-Qaida, did not know what chemical Mace was, and had trouble communicating in English. The suit against the airlines and the security company was brought by the family of Mark Bavis, who died when his flight from Boston was flown into the World Trade Center's south tower. Bavis' twin brother, Mike, tells the Boston Herald that it is "shocking" that it took longer than nine years for the details to come out. California Environmentalists sue feds over levee tree removal SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Three California environmental groups are suing the Army Corps of Engineers over a federal policy that could require removal of millions of trees from San Joaquin Valley levees. The Army Corps of Engineers, which sets national standards for levee safety, unveiled a revised maintenance policy in 2007 that bars trees and shrubs on levees. The policy hasn't been enforced so far in California. The federal court suit filed Monday in Sacramento by Friends of the River, Defenders of Wildlife and the Center for Biological Diversity claims the policy violates the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. The Sacramento Bee says levee vegetation in California composes much of the remaining 5 percent of the Central Valley's historic riparian forest, providing crucial shade and habitat for migrating endangered fish and birds. West Virginia Judge won't dismiss Martinsburg gun lawsuit MARTINSBURG, W.VA. (AP) -- A federal judge says a lawsuit challenging Martinsburg's gun-control laws can proceed. The Journal reports that U.S. District Judge John Preston refused to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the West Virginia Citizens Defense League in a ruling issued last week. Preston rejected the city's argument that the group doesn't have standing to bring the lawsuit. The lawsuit claims Martinsburg's laws are unconstitutional because they are vague and prohibit people from bringing firearms onto city property. Preston's ruling says the group has standing to sue because of the threat of prosecution if a member tries to enter a city building with a firearm. The group is also challenging gun-control laws in Charleston, South Charleston, Dunbar and Wheeling. Those cases are pending. New Hampshire Exeter Hospital settles lawsuit, denies wrongdoing EXETER, N.H. (AP) -- Exeter Hospital has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by a former nurse who said she was fired after claiming medical procedures were not being properly followed in the hospital's endoscopy unit. Hospital officials earlier this year denied any wrongdoing in the termination of longtime gastroenterology nurse Susan Smith of North Hampton. Details of the settlement were sealed and both sides refused to talk about it when contacted by the Portsmouth Herald. Smith claimed in her suit filed in October 2009 that she came under scrutiny after expressing concerns about a registered nurse being sent to another area of the hospital, which the nurse was not familiar with, to administer sedation. She also claimed to have found unsterile syringes in the unit. Her complaints brought warnings from her superiors. California Tattoo artist settles over design in 'Hangover II' BURBANK, Calif. (AP) -- The tattoo artist who sued over Ed Helms' tattoo in "The Hangover Part II" has settled his lawsuit over the design, which resembles the facial ink the artist created for Mike Tyson. Warner Bros. spokesman Paul McGuire said Monday that the movie studio and S. Victor Whitmill amicably resolved their dispute. McGuire declined to discuss the case further. In the movie, Helms' character, Stu, wakes up in a Bangkok bathtub with a facial tattoo. Whitmill claimed the filmmakers ripped off the design that he tattooed on Tyson in 2003 in Las Vegas. Whitmill now lives near Waynesville in south-central Missouri. The lawsuit filed in federal court in St. Louis tried to block the film's release, but a judge ruled just two days before the film's May 26 debut that it could open as scheduled. Tyson, the former world heavyweight boxing champion, had a small role in the first "Hangover" film in 2009 and also appears in the sequel. New Jersey State reaches settlement on chromium contamination TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- New Jersey's environmental commissioner says the state has reached a settlement with three chemical companies to reimburse the state for cleanup of numerous chromium-contaminated sites in Hudson County. The settlement agreement announced Monday calls for Honeywell International, Occidental Chemical and PPG Industries each to pay $5 million to the state. It also requires the companies to accept responsibility for 42 so-called "orphan sites" for which no company previously accepted responsibility. The state filed a lawsuit against the three companies in 2005. The settlement is subject to approval by a state Superior Court judge in Hudson County. Hudson County was for much of the 20th century the center of chromium chemical production in the United States. The process produced toxic waste that has been linked to a variety of health problems. Published: Wed, Jun 22, 2011