Category Archives: Legal News

Blog, Divorce, Legal News

Amber Heard Drops Lawsuit Against Johnny Depp’s Comedian Pal Doug Stanhope

Amber Heard is cutting all legal ties to Johnny Depp, including his friend.

Less than a month since settling her divorce from her ex for $7 million in charity donations, the actress has dropped her lawsuit against Depp’s stand-up comedian pal, Doug Stanhope.

According to documents obtained by E! News, Heard’s legal team filed a stipulation for dismissal of the case and for each party to handle their own attorney fees. According to Heard’s lawyer, the dismissal of the case is the result of her larger settlement with Depp.

“I can tell you that Ms. Heard and Mr. Stanhope did NOT reach any agreement to settle the case,” Heard’s attorney said in a statement to E! News. “No money changed hands between them, and there is no confidentiality agreement between them. In fact, I have been unable to reach Doug for some time and given his lifestyle, where he lives and where he travels, I’d be surprised if he even knows anything about the conclusion of the case. Instead, the dismissal of the case against Mr. Stanhope was negotiated as part of a larger deal between Ms. Heard and her ex-husband, Johnny Depp.  Doug Stanhope is one of Johnny Depp’s closest friends, and it appears that Johnny was able to convince Amber to drop the lawsuit against Doug as part of a global resolution of their divorce.”

In the statement, Heard’s attorney also noted that the dismissal was done “without prejudice,” meaning she could re-file the lawsuit within one year of the date Stanhope published his article about Heard. “As far as we know, Ms. Heard has no plans to re-file the case against Mr. Stanhope, but that option remains available to her,” the statement concluded.

Sourced From – http://www.eonline.com/news/792556/amber-heard-drops-lawsuit-against-johnny-depp-s-comedian-pal-doug-stanhope

Blog, Criminal, Immigration, Legal News

More federal defendants could avoid prison under new program

  • By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press
  • Updated

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — More people charged with federal crimes in Utah could get treatment instead of prison under a new program designed to prevent repeat offenses by addressing the reasons why they commit crimes.

The program is aimed at defendants without long criminal histories or those struggling with substance abuse. People would have to plead guilty to charges before they enter the program. Participation is voluntary, and getting into the program is expected to be competitive.

If they complete the requirements successfully, defendants could see charges dismissed, or they could be put on probation rather than be sent to prison. People who fail will be sentenced under terms they agreed to before entering the program.

The program was designed by a team that included federal prosecutors, defense attorneys, probation agents and judges. It was approved this summer, and officials are expected to meet this month to select the first eight to 12 participants.

“I’m not talking about giving a break to the kingpins,” said U.S. Attorney for Utah John Huber. “I’m talking about people on the fringe who … have a heroin addiction, have a meth addiction, and they’re just trying to get to their next fix.”

Defendants who are picked will be separated into two groups, one for people with little to no criminal history accused of crimes like credit card fraud or minor narcotics offenses.

The second group will be people whose behavior appears to be motivated by drug and alcohol problems facing allegations like mail theft or bank robberies not involving a gun. Some of them will likely have criminal histories.

The program will be overseen by U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby. The defendants will be closely supervised and have to make regular appearances before the team of court authorities as well as being required to complete treatment for things like substance abuse, mental illness or education.

Their participation will last one to two years.

Huber said repeat offenders are costly for the court system and the community.

“If I don’t have to, I don’t want to prosecute someone two and three times over. That’s really a big investment of taxpayer resources on a problem that’s kind of a revolving door,” he said.

While Utah state courts have had a similar system for years, it’s a relatively concept in the federal system.

“The federal system has always been seen as very harsh,” said Greg Petersen, the probation officer in the fledgling program. “This is an opportunity for those people who are charged with federal crimes to get a little bit of a second chance.”

When it came to naming the program, Huber wanted something that would be a positive message in acronym form, so they came up with Utah Alternatives to Conviction Track or U-ACT.

As the court team put together the framework, they studied a similar program in federal court in California.

Some defendants won’t be eligible for the program, including those facing child pornography charges, people deeply involved with major fraud or narcotics distribution, those who could be deported or people accused of specific violent acts.

Sourced From – http://www.dailyprogress.com/more-federal-defendants-could-avoid-prison-under-new-program/article_69f7868f-eabe-5c5a-8b67-ff065ac784d3.html

Blog, Business Law, Drug Companies, Legal News, Personal Injury

Has Charitable Giving Become A Profitable Form Of Investing For Pharmaceutical Companies?

Martin Shkreli, the notorious ex-CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, made waves last summer when he purchased the rights to Daraprim and raised its price more than 5,000 percent. Physicians use the drug to treat toxoplasmosis, a life-threatening condition that affects those with weakened immune systems (due to HIV/AIDS, etc.).

Days after Shkreli’s purchase, he contacted Patient Services Inc., a charity committed to making medical care more affordable. Shkreli wanted to create a fund for – you guessed it – patients who suffer from toxoplasmosis.

Patient Services Inc., or PSI, jumped at the opportunity, suggesting an initial donation of $22 million, including $1.6 million of its operational costs. Shkreli countered with an offer of $1 million and $80,000 of the company’s costs. This was a paltry offer, considering that Daraprim now costs $60,000 to $90,000 for six-week treatment in light of Shkreli’s price hike.

And that isn’t the worst of it.

Finding A Loophole

prescription-drug-price-hikes-paying-for-it-summit-behavioral-health

PSI is a copay charity, one of seven large ones in the U.S. health care system. It exists to offer payment assistance to the 40 million Americans who qualify for Medicare, helping them to a smaller copay and smaller up-front costs. Even with the help of copay charities, Medicare recipients were still paying around $3,000 for their Daraprim prescriptions.

American taxpayers shoulder the difference. This is where the controversy of “charitable giving” comes into play. By donating a paltry $1 million to a copay charity, Shkreli was able to collect millions more from Medicare, thanks to his own drug price hike. “Big pharma” benefits, while taxpayers and patients suffer.

The Great Charitable Giving Illusion

Many pharmaceutical companies give the illusion that they participate in charity copay for altruistic reasons. Congress recently released an internal case study of Turing Pharmaceuticals, suggesting that its patient payment programs should be “repeatedly referenced” to promote public relations. Experts explain that giving millions to these copay charities makes pharmaceutical companies look altruistic, when the opposite is actually true.

The real intent of these donations is often to deflect criticism when they hike drug prices, leaving the health care system to pick up the broken pieces.

A History Of Deceit

1-1-billion-donated-to-copay-charities-summit-behavioral-health

Daraprim may be the most high-profile example of this charitable funding phenomenon, but it’s certainly not the first. Retrophin, another drug company run by the now-infamous Shkreli, hiked the price on Thiola, a drug intended to treat recurring kidney stones, nearly 2,000 percent. At the same time, his company gave a donation to PSI for kidney stone patient copays.

Read Full Article – https://www.summitbehavioralhealth.com/blog/charitable-giving-profitable-investing-pharmaceutical-companies/

Blog, Family, Legal News, Personal Injury

10 Year Old’s Death Shows Need for Water Park Oversight

Posted by Thomas Dennis
August 10, 2016 2:51 PM

Orlando is known as the theme park capital of the world.   It’s home to Disney and Universal Studios, along with many other theme parks such as SeaWorld,  Wet’n’Wild and FunSpot.  Many theme parks in Orlando have begun to incorporate water parks as additional attractions for families to enjoy.  These include SeaWorld’s Acquatica, Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach along with Universal’s Volcano Bay that is slated to open in 2017.

While most patrons will enjoy the rides and return home safely, we are beginning to see more and more water park ride injuries occurring. Sadly, one that is making news right now is from a water park in Kansas City, Kansas.

On Sunday, June 7, 2016, ten-year-old Caleb Thomas Schwab plunged to his death on the Verrückt waterslide in the Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, Kansas.  The son of State Representative Scott Schwab was attending the park as part of its “elected officials’ day.”  (source: People)

This death highlights the need for better oversight of water parks.  The Verrückt, which mean “insane” in German, is the tallest water slide in the world, topping out at over 168 feet.  Surprisingly to many, this waterside was never inspected by the Federal Government as there is no Federal oversight for such structures.  The State of Kansas, who handle such oversight, had not inspected the slide since 2012, before the slide was even open.  In Florida, many injuries at theme parks and water parks get under-reported, due to voluntary reporting and the circumstances and injuries that need to occur to generate a report.

According to witnesses, “The slide itself made a noise that didn’t sound right,” and the Velcro straps that were meant to secure riders, “[weren’t] that secure being strapped in.”  One rider, Paul Oberhauser, noted that, “As soon as I hit the bottom of the first curve the shoulder strap just, kind of busted loose.”  When he mentioned this to ride workers, he claims they responded, “They kind of said ‘Oh no, really’ or something ‘Yes, that’s no good,’ and so it sounded like, you know, they were going to do something about it.”

In a statement, Schlitterbahn said safety in their “top priority” and the rides are inspected daily.  The theme park has been closed since Sunday’s incident but expects to reopen tomorrow.  It is unclear how long Verrückt will remain closed.

Unfortunately, it requires a tragedy such as what has occurred on the Verrückt, that may finally give rise to a call for better inspection, maintenance, safety, and reporting procedures to be implemented at all water parks across the country.

Sourced From   – http://orlando.legalexaminer.com/defective-dangerous-products/10-year-olds-death-shows-need-for-water-park-oversight/#comment-1243

Blog, Business Law, Civil Rights, Divorce, Family, Legal News, Supreme Court

Appellate Court Rules Mel Gibson’s Ex-Wife Violated Confidentiality Agreement

by | 5:58 pm, August 12th, 2016

On Tuesday, California’s 2nd Appellate District ruled (PDF) on a celebrity case that had been out of the public eye for a while:Mel Gibson’s disputes with his ex-wife, Oksana Grigorieva. The case is technically titled ““M.G. v. O.G.,” but the numerous details in the order make it perfectly clear who’s involved. The court affirmed a previous ruling in Gibson’s favor to the effect that that Grigorieva violated the terms of an out of court settlement between the two by addressing her domestic abuse allegations against Gibson.

TBT TAPES

++++++ WHOA

You may recall that in 2010, Grigorieva recorded her phone conversations with a disturbingly unhinged Gibson, including one (embedded above) where he threatened to kill her, saying “I’ll put you in a f—ing rose garden you c–t! You understand that? Because I’m capable of it. You understand that?” If he had much of a career left, that changed. Grigorieva sued Gibson in separate cases (one for paternity of their child, one for battery and defamation), and according to the appellate ruling, here’s how those were resolved:

At the same time, the parties entered into a separate settlement agreement to resolve O.G.’s civil claims, pursuant to which M.G. agreed to pay O.G. a total of $750,000 in three equal installments spread over the course of five years. As part of the settlement agreement, O.G. agreed to keep confidential “any and all information and facts related to the asserted claims and events underlying this Agreement.” The agreement specified that a breach of the confidentiality obligation would result in O.G.’s forfeiture of all outstanding installments of the $750,000 settlement payment.

From there, nothing really happened until Grigorieva appeared on The Howard Stern Show on May 21, 2013:


Howard Stern – Oksana Grigorieva – 5/21/13 by MrBenjyBronk

++++ WHOA

While Grigorieva never outright said in the interview that Gibson physically abused her, in the context of the interview, it’s clear that she’s giving credence to Stern’s statements about Gibson hitting her. That’s where Gibson objected, and that’s why the appellate court agreed with Gibson. From the ruling:

Full Article – http://lawnewz.com/high-profile/appellate-court-rules-mel-gibsons-ex-wife-violated-confidentiality-agreement/