Tuesday, March 13, 2012

'Holland's Next Top Model' wins agency lawsuit

A former winner of the television show "Holland's Next Top Model" has won a lawsuit against Elite Model Management after she was dropped for having hips the agency considered too large.

The Amsterdam District Court ruled Wednesday that Ananda Marchildon, now 25, was entitled to the main prize she won in the 2008 production of the show, a three-year contract worth $98,500.

Marchildon argued she was dismissed after only $13,000 worth of work because she didn't lose enough weight to please the agency.

According to the written ruling, though Marchildon had gained weight since getting the contract, she had a hip measurement of 92 centimeters (about 36.2 inches) when she won, and Elite could not demand that she go down to 90 centimeters — about 35.4 inches. That is far smaller than the average woman's hips but not unusual in the modeling world.

Mo. court denies tax break for convenience stores

Missouri's highest court says convenience stores cannot claim a tax break on the electricity used to prepare food.

The Supreme Court's decision Tuesday hinged on whether the act of warming or cooking food qualified as "processing" a product. If so, then the electricity used for food preparation could qualify for a state sales tax exemption.

In a 5-2 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that food preparation was not "processing" and the tax break could not be claimed.

Casey's General Stores had sought the tax break for one month of electricity used at stores in Grain Valley and Greenwood.

The Missouri Department of Revenue said it did not have a specific figure for what might have been owed to Casey's, or to other companies that might have made similar claims.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Riley Bennett & Egloff, LLP - Construction Law Firm

As part of our experience representing owners, contractors and design professionals throughout the industry, we have written and negotiated contracts based on industry standard forms (such as the AIA forms) and have also developed custom contract documents for specific clients and projects. Based upon our experience drafting and negotiating contract documents, as well as our advice and representation of clients in construction disputes, we know what works in a contract and what does not.

* We know contracts: We routinely draft and negotiate design and construction contracts for large, complex projects.
* We know construction: We know the industry, the terminology, the technology and procedures, the economics and accounting, as well as the law and the potential pitfalls for disputes.
* We know contractors: Having represented contractors of all sizes and specialties for decades, we know how they work; we know how they plan, estimate and schedule jobs; we know their management, accounting and claims procedures; and we know what is important to them and what is not in contract negotiations and in the resolution of claims and disputes.

Riley Bennett & Egloff Law has expertise in all areas of construction law and their construction attorneys are dedicated to finding the best solution their construction industry clients. With much experience working with small, family-owned contractors, to some of the biggest general contractors in the Indianapolis area, Riley Bennett & Egloff Law knows what works. 

Indianapolis Construction Law Firm 

Glancy Binkow & Goldberg LLP Announces Class Action

Glancy Binkow & Goldberg LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, on behalf of purchasers of CNOOC Limited American Depositary Shares between January 27, 2011 and September 16, 2011, inclusive, seeking to pursue remedies under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. CNOOC, through its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, production and sale of crude oil, natural gas and other petroleum products. The Company owns oil and natural gas properties in Asia, Oceania, Africa, the Americas and offshore China – including the Penglai 19-3 (“PL19-3”) oilfield situated in northern China’s Bohai Bay. 

The Complaint alleges that defendants misrepresented or failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business and financial results, including that: (i) the Company was not in compliance with environmental laws and regulations; (ii) the Company concealed the extent and severity of oil spills that occurred at the PL19-3 oilfield in June 2011; (iii) as news of the oil spills emerged, the Company downplayed its responsibility to effect the cleanup of the oil spills, portrayed itself as being the “non-operator” of the oilfield and, moreover, hindered the cleanup by requiring the operator of the oilfield to use a CNOOC-affiliated company for the cleanup; (iv) the Company improperly accounted for its contingent liabilities in violation of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”); and (v), based on the foregoing, defendants lacked a reasonable basis for their positive statements about the Company’s operations and its expected oil production. 

No class has yet been certified in the above action. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. If you purchased the ADSs of CNOOC between January 27, 2011 and September 16, 2011, you have certain rights, and have until April 29, 2012 to move for lead plaintiff status. To be a member of the class you need not take any action at this time; you may retain counsel of your choice or take no action and remain an absent class member.

US Court rules against Helm in suit over ad

A New York court says Levon Helm long ago signed away rights that let an advertising agency use the song "The Weight" in a cellphone commercial.

The Band's former drummer and singer sued ad agency BBDO Worldwide Inc. in 2004. An appeals court ruled against him Thursday.

Helm sued after the 1968 classic cropped up in an ad for what was then Cingular Wireless. He said he didn't approve that use.

But the appeals court says the recording contract surrounding the song gave a record label permission to license it to the agency.

Helm lawyer John O'Neill says the contract only gave the label permission to promote the music itself. BBDO's lawyer didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.

Bankruptcy threat to iPad trademark challenger

A major creditor of Proview Electronics, which is challenging Apple Inc.'s use of the iPad trademark, has moved to have the ailing computer monitor maker liquidated, reports said Monday.

Taiwan-based Fubon Insurance is seeking $8.68 million in debts and has filed an application to have Proview declared bankrupt, the reports by the Xinhua News Agency and other mainland media said.

Proview's mainland Chinese subsidiary is based in the southern export zone of Shenzhen, where an official at the city's Intermediate Court said he expected an announcement regarding the case soon.

"It's a sensitive case in a sensitive period of time, so we won't comment or release information while we will have an announcement in the near future," said the official who gave only his surname, Zhu.

Proview lawyer Ma Dongxiao said the company believes its financial problems won't affect the handling of a court case in which Apple is appealing a ruling against its claim to the iPad trademark in China.

Supreme Court: Inmate cannot change court-appointed lawyer

The Supreme Court says a death row inmate can't change his court-appointed appeals lawyer because he didn't like the lawyer's defense tactics.

The justices on Monday turned away the appeal from Kenneth Clair, who was sentenced to death in California in 1987 for burglary and murder.

Clair wanted to change his federal public defender in 2005 because he says they were trying to stop his execution instead of trying to prove his innocence. A federal judge denied his request but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that decision.

The justices ruled unanimously that the appeals court's decision was incorrect

Justice Elena Kagan wrote that Clair's request came just as a judge was about to make a final ruling so any change would have been too late.