| Actress' mom testifies in Spector trial
LOS ANGELES—The night before she died at Phil Spector's mansion, actress Lana Clarkson went shopping with her mother and bought seven new pairs of shoes, according to testimony prosecutors used to counter defense claims that Clarkson was depressed about her future and suicidal. Clarkson's mother, Donna, was called to the witness stand Monday by defense lawyers to identify letters found in her daughter's home. But she surprised the courtroom when she revealed the shopping trip when cross-examined by prosecutors—and turned the tables on the defense. On Tuesday, the trial was to resume with testimony from defense expert and famed forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden. Spector, 67, a legendary music producer whose "Wall of Sound" technique revolutionized rock music, is charged with murdering Lana Clarkson, who was working as a hostess at the House of Blues nightclub the night they met.
LA judge rules no dismissal on kickback charges against law firm
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A federal judge denied motions to dismiss charges against a New York-based law firm, 1 of its partners and two others accused of keeping a pool of people at the ready to take part in class-action lawsuits and paying them millions of dollars in kickbacks. U.S. District Judge John F. Walter rejected the defendants' arguments yesterday that the fraud and conspiracy charges should be dropped because the payments made to some plaintiffs weren't illegal. The law firm, now known as Milberg Weiss, was indicted in May 2006 by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles. Prosecutors accuse the firm of secretly paying more than $11 million in kickbacks to get people to take part in shareholder lawsuits, allowing its lawyers to be among the first to file such suits on behalf of shareholders and secure the lucrative position as lead plaintiffs' counsel.
Firms sued for too much info on receipts
Some businesses could be facing potentially costly lessons when it comes to information they disclose on customers' credit-card and debit-card receipts. Some 200 lawsuits have been filed around the country, including at least seven in South Florida, alleging retailers, restaurants and other businesses are violating federal law by issuing receipts showing too many digits of a card's account number and its expiration date. ''The concern is that the receipt has personal information and substantial parts of a credit-card number that can be used to steal your identity or commit credit-card fraud,'' says Matthew S. Sarelson, a Miami Beach lawyer who has filed lawsuits against five companies. The suits have companies worried. Consumers can pursue damages of $100 to $1,000 for each instance where a business failed to comply with the law -- even if they weren't the victim of fraud or identity theft.
Phil Spector jurors visit crime scene
Jurors visited Phil Spector's mansion Thursday to see the place where actress Lana Clarkson died, some of them sitting in a chair mimicking the position in which her body was found. Jurors, lawyers and Spector himself arrived at the home, 15 miles northeast of Los Angeles, in several vans shortly before 10:30 a.m. Jurors stayed about a half-hour. After jurors had taken a first run-through of the house, they gathered outside and formulated a list of things that they wanted to see and do, which they presented to Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler. One of those things they were allowed to do was to sit in a chair that was a copy of the one police found Clarkson in on Feb. 3, 2003, dead of a bullet wound through the mouth. Several of them tried to duplicate the death scene, assuming the position her body was found in, slumped with legs extended.
Lawyers to stay in jail 'til trial
Three lawyers accused of bilking 440 clients out of $64 million in a settlement over the use of the diet drug combination known as fen-phen remain in the Boone County Jail. Melbourne Mills, 76, of Versailles, and William Gallion, 56, and Shirley Cunningham Jr., 52, both of Lexington, were jailed Friday when U.S. District Judge William O. Bertelsman revoked their bonds. The lawyers will remain in jail until their trial on Jan. 7 unless the judge reinstates their bonds. Bertelsman revoked the bonds after attorneys for the three lawyers contended at a hearing Friday that the trio's trial, scheduled to begin in October, should be delayed several months so more evidence can be reviewed. But the judge said it was a simple case and warned the attorneys that if he had to delay the trial he would revoke the bonds that had been keeping the lawyers out of jail until trial.
Few want to run against Aguirre
The mere mention of San Diego City Attorney Michael Aguirre's name can provoke an argument among the most laid-back residents of this sun-drenched city. His tenure has been so controversial that his campaign for re-election in November 2008 promises to be one of the most closely watched local races in decades. .
Judge: 3 Ecuadorans Off Chevron Case
A federal judge expelled three Ecuadorean plaintiffs from a lawsuit against Chevron Corp. after concluding they lied when they claimed they or their relatives suffered from cancer caused by the oil giant's operations in the South American country. .
Two fen-phen lawyers appeal judge's revocation of bond
Two central Kentucky lawyers appealed a judge's decision to jail them while they await trial with another attorney on charges of bilking clients in a diet drug settlement. William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham Jr. filed notices of appeal Monday, three days after U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman, during a hearing in Covington, revoked their bonds and delayed their trial. Attorney David Davidson confirmed that Cunningham is appealing the bond revocation but declined to say what issue will be raised before the Cincinnati-based U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Gallion's attorney, O. Hale Almand, filed a notice of appeal but did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Bertelsman also sent attorney Melbourne Mills Jr. to jail. Mills had not filed a notice of appeal as of Monday afternoon and his attorney, Jim Shuffett, did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
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