Bryan A. Lowe & Associates - Las Vegas Bankruptcy

(Legal News) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:22:57 -0800

The firm was founded on a philosophy of service that not only emphasizes quality representation in terms of experience and expertise - but places a high value on initiating appropriate actions to meet the client's legal needs and objectives. Particular stress is also placed on providing individualized service and achieving results.

Elder Law

Estate Planning

Corporate and Tax Law

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http://www.bryanalowe.com/

WaMu shareholders get their voice in bankruptcy

(Legal News) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 18:23:00 -0800

Shareholders of Washington Mutual Inc will have a voice in the company's bankruptcy after a judge refused on Thursday to disband their committee, which Washington Mutual said would complicate the case.

The U.S. Trustee, who plays an oversight role in bankruptcy, appointed the committee earlier this month after being petitioned by 3,500 shareholders. The company immediately asked the court to disband it.

The committee will be able to speak with a unified voice and hire professionals, who would be paid by the company.

Washington Mutual has said since it filed for bankruptcy in 2008 that it is hopelessly insolvent, and therefore there is no need for an official committees of shareholders.

Samsung to pay Rambus $700 million in settlement

(Legal News) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:01:42 -0800

Samsung Electronics will pay Rambus Inc. $700 million over five years, and invest another $200 million in the chip design company as part of a settlement ending their legal disputes, the two companies said Tuesday.

Samsung will make an upfront payment of $200 million, and a quarterly payment of about $25 million for the next five years as part of the agreement, the companies said. Samsung also will invest $200 million in Rambus stock.

Under the agreement, Samsung also will license Rambus' patent portfolio "covering all Samsung semiconductor products, including a perpetual fully-paid license to certain DRAM products," the companies said in a release.

Woman with .708 blood-alcohol level pleads guilty

(Legal News) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:01:04 -0800

A South Dakota woman who prosecutors say had a blood-alcohol level almost nine times the legal driving limit has pleaded guilty to two drunken driving charges. Authorities said 45-year-old Marguerite Engle was arrested Dec. 1 when she was found passed out behind the wheel of a stolen delivery van along Interstate 90, with a blood alcohol level at 0.708. The legal limit in South Dakota is 0.08. Officials have said Engle's blood alcohol level likely is a record for the state.

She was arrested again in late December, with a blood alcohol level more than 3 1/2 times the legal limit.

Engle faces up to two years in jail when she is sentenced on Feb. 23. In exchange for her guilty pleas, prosecutors have agreed not to pursue other charges, including receiving stolen property and drug possession.

Former FTC Chairwoman Named Top P&G Legal Officer

(Legal News) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:58:00 -0800

A former Federal Trade Commission chairwoman will become the chief legal officer at Procter & Gamble Co.

The consumer products maker says Deborah Platt Majoras, who joined P&G two years ago, will succeed Steven Jemison on Feb. 1.

P&G says the 58-year-old Jemison will retire Sept. 30 after 29 years at the company.

The 46-year-old Majoras has been with the Cincinnati company for two years and moves up from senior vice president and general counsel.

During Majoras' 2004-2008 tenure at the FTC, the agency approved P&G's $57 billion 2005 acquisition of Gillette provided the companies sold some overlapping products.

P&G's chief legal officer handles litigation including patent and trade issues, regulatory compliance, and labor law.

NM Supreme Court orders arrest records expunged

(Legal News) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:46:31 -0800

The New Mexico Supreme Court has unanimously ordered arrest records expunged for 32 people who were jailed overnight because a state judge said they were screaming during a hearing for a convicted rapist.

Chief Justice Edward Chavez said Tuesday that the court will publish a formal opinion on the case of state District Judge Sam Sanchez, stressing that judges should know it's important to distinguish between crowd control and contempt proceedings.

Sanchez, a judge of 11 years, had ordered the Nov. 19 mass jailing after he said the court gallery became unruly when he refused to reconsider a convicted rapist's 12-year prison sentence. The spectators were in support of a reduced sentence.

Those found in contempt of court spent a night behind bars before the state Supreme Court granted an emergency writ to release them pending a Nov. 23 hearing. Sanchez dismissed the charges at that hearing.

Sanchez apologized to the justices but said he had to control people in the gallery that he claimed were "yelling and screaming" at him and the rape victim.

Appellate court overturns Kickapoo conviction

(Legal News) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:46:00 -0800

A federal appellate court has overturned the conviction of a former tribal casino manager and his family for allegedly stealing from a tribal casino near the Texas-Mexico border.

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans overturned the embezzlement convictions of Isidro Garza Jr., his wife and one of his sons. The trio had been among so-called the "Kickapoo Seven" — a group of tribal and casino employees from the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas accused of stealing from the tribe's small casino near Eagle Pass.

The appellate court overturned the convictions because it said that U.S. District Judge Alia Ludlum erred in transferring the case to Waco, about 300 miles from where the defendants, attorneys and witnesses lived.

UW Madison's patenting arm wins lawsuit

(Legal News) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:47:00 -0800

The University of Wisconsin-Madison's patenting arm has won an appeal in federal court against Canadian drug company Xenon.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday in favor of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

The lawsuit dealt with how Xenon handled patent rights to an enzyme that can lower cholesterol levels in the human body.

The appeals court said a lower court correctly ruled in favor of WARF on its claim that Xenon broke its contract for a licensing agreement.

WARF licensed the technology to Xenon in 2001, which then entered into a partnership with Novartis to further develop the discoveries made by the university researchers.

The appeals court says Xenon breached its contract with WARF by not paying its share of sublicense fees.

NYC victim's mom: EMTs were 'inhuman' not to help

(Legal News) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 20:50:38 -0800

Two emergency medical technicians accused of refusing to help a dying pregnant woman are "inhuman," her mother said Tuesday as a lawyer for the EMTs argued his clients are being vilified in a rush to judgment.

Cynthia Rennix, the mother of 25-year-old Eutisha Revee Rennix, told The Associated Press that the EMTs shouldn't have taken the jobs if they weren't willing to get involved.

"These are people who are supposed to take a minute to be concerned," she said.

But lawyer Douglas Rosenthal said the facts will show that Jason Green and Melissa Jackson acted "appropriately" at the Au Bon Pain outlet in Brooklyn on Dec. 9.

The two were at the eatery when Eutisha Rennix, an employee, collapsed. Witnesses have said the EMTs told workers to call 911, then left when they were asked to help the 25-year-old woman.

Hedge fund operator Rajaratnam pleads not guilty

(Legal News) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 20:50:13 -0800

Wealthy hedge fund operator Raj Rajaratnam and a codefendant pleaded not guilty Monday to charges they were major players in a scheme that used inside information to make stock trades that generated millions of dollars in profits.

Prosecutors, who have described the case as a "wake up call for Wall Street," promised to hand over to defense attorneys 100 hours of intercepted phone calls made over eight months that they say implicate the defendants.

Rajaratnam and Danielle Chiesi entered their pleas before U.S. District Judge Richard Holwell in Manhattan to an indictment returned last week in a $52 million insider trading case that has resulted in charges against 21 people.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Klein asked Holwell to set a trial date in June or July but defense lawyers balked, saying it would take months to review the audio tapes of telephone conversations between the defendants.

Holwell declined to set a trial date but said he may eventually agree with prosecutors and schedule a summer trial. Klein also said evidence against the defendants includes post-arrest statements.