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Wednesday, May 13 2020 |
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A Connecticut town is suing its own board of appeals and a local cancer charity over brick pavers.
According to news reports, John Ellis, a former Major League Baseball player, created the nonprofit Connecticut Cancer Foundation to provide economic assistance and financial aid to cancer patients and their families. As part of the construction of the facility, a local landscaping company donated $35,000 in materials and labor to install a baseball diamond-shaped patio that features bricks engraved with names of those battling cancer.
In the original plans, the diamond was supposed to be grass. The foundation asked for, but was denied, a special exception because the pavers did not meet the zoning commission's regulations.
"They do not consider it landscaping, that’s part of the problem. So, grass is landscaping, pavers are not," said Jane Ellis, the foundation’s executive director.
The foundation appealed the zoning commission’s decision to the Zoning Board of Appeals and a special exception was granted. Yet, the city claims the board did not have the authority to give the approval.
"Now the town, the zoning commission, is suing their own board of appeals and a charity for pavers," Ellis said. She said the commission is telling them to dig the bricks up and remove them.
"I am not afraid of a little fight, and this is minor to me compared to the families that I see all the time and the children battling cancer. This is ridiculous, and I feel sorry for these people who voted no. I really do… And I was really hopeful that the five people sitting on that commission…if they had ever experienced cancer, or knows someone who has gone through this battle, that I didn’t understand how they could not vote to approve. I really was so disheartened when they decided 4-1 to deny," Ellis added.
—Source: wtnh.com |
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Wednesday, May 06 2020 |
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A South Florida family had to resort to the court system to get a condo association to allow a healthcare aide into the building.
According to news reports, 73-year-old Eva Markman suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and has had an aide working with her regularly for four years to help her get dressed, cook, bathe and use the restroom. Since early April, Markman’s condo association has denied the healthcare aide access to the building because its COVID-19 rules precluded people from entering the building who did not live there.
The Markman family sued, which caught the attention of news media, and the City of Sunny Isles Beach reopened its investigation in the matter, ultimately causing the condo association to walk back its order.
“I rest easily and go about my daily life knowing that my mom is taken care of on a daily basis, which is a huge relief," said Eugene Markman.
“It just seemed ridiculous that it had to get this far,” said the family's attorney, Matthew Dietz.
Markman and her family want the condo association to undergo disability training.
—Source: WSVN.com |
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Wednesday, April 29 2020 |
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The star of the popular Netflix documentary series "Tiger King" is suing the federal government, claiming he was set up and his imprisonment is wrong.
Known as "Joe Exotic," Joseph Maldonado-Passage is seeking $94 million in restitution for what he says is false imprisonment, false arrest, discrimination, perjury and entrapment. Maldonado-Passage is suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the assistant U.S. attorney who handled the prosecution, several witnesses, and his “former partner,” Jeffrey Lowe.
The big cat breeder was arrested and is serving time for allegedly hiring someone to kill Carol Baskin – his nemesis who runs a big cat rescue in South Florida – along with, among other charges, and violations of the Endangered Species Act.
—Source: trofire.com |
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Wednesday, April 22 2020 |
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The state of Missouri is suing the Chinese government for its mishandling of COVID-19.
According to news reports, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has filed a federal lawsuit in a U.S. court, seeking to hold China accountable for the COVID-19 pandemic. Missouri claims China did little to stop the spread of the virus and “lied to the world about the danger and contagious nature of COVID-19.”
Missouri is demanding economic compensation from China on the grounds that Missouri residents may have suffered tens of billions of dollars in economic damages.
At press time, the state of Mississippi is considering a similar lawsuit.
Legal experts predict the lawsuits face uphill battles as China is protected by sovereign immunity.
—Source: CNN.com |
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Wednesday, April 15 2020 |
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At least two of the nation's more than 5,300 colleges are being sued by their students after spring semester classes have moved online to adhere to social-distancing requirements.
Lawsuits seeking class action status have been filed against Drexel University and the University of Miami, alleging that the schools are failing to give them the experiences they have paid for: in-person instruction. With classes moved online, students are seeking refunds of tuition, room and board and fees.
“The students are going to have an uphill battle unless a school has actually shut down and they’re not getting credit,” said James Keller, co-chair of the higher-education practice at Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP in Philadelphia, where Drexel is. “The basic contractual agreement is, I pay tuition, and if I satisfy academic requirements, you give me credit. That’s still happening.”
According to news reports, Roy Willey, a lawyer at the Anastopoulo Law Firm in South Carolina, the firm that filed the cases against the University of Miami and Drexel, said the schools weren’t providing students with the experience they were promised.
“The on-campus learning experience is very different than it is online; these student’s didn’t sign up to online colleges,” said Mr. Willey, who filed the cases.
—Source: wsj.com |
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