Legal Newswire Blog

The National Enquirer is reporting that John Edwards is about to be indicted by a federal grand jury. Edwards has been under investigation by the Grand Jury for alleged misuse of campaign finances since April 2009.

Edwards, who has been in the media for his sexual scandal involving his mistress Rielle Hunter, is said to have illegally paid Hunter using campaign funds. Read Full Story

BURBANK, CA – With the latest shakeup at NBC over Jay Leno being restored to his old time slot at 11:35 pm, Conan O’Brien is refusing to perform The Tonight Show at 12:05 am. This begs the question as to what the legal ramifications will be.

Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien

It looks like NBC will get a boost in ratings with Jay back in his old time slot, but what about Conan? The blog, THR, Esq. has provided a viewpoint for each side – read the case for Conan O’Brien, and read the case for NBC. Even Reuters has an online analysis of the Jay Leno – Conan O’Brien – NBC case so it looks like there is no shortage of legal opinions on the topic.

The case for Conan has an argument that a jury would interpret his contract in light of his expectation that The Tonight Show would stay at 11:35 – which is entirely reasonable – especially in light of the fact that Conan agreed to wait five years in addition to giving up a huge payday from another network just to wait for the NBC 11:35 time slot to open up.

On the other hand, the case for NBC is counting on its contract language – which means “If the deal doesn’t say ‘The Tonight Show must air at 11:35′, then NBC is free to put the show wherever it darn well pleases.”

The problem with Conan O’Brien’s contract with NBC is that it doesn’t specify a time slot for The Tonight Show. Conan should be upset with his lawyers for that. In David Letterman’s case on his legendary move to CBS, his contract did specify a time slot, which is a big difference in the current situation.

What is your opinion?

LOS ANGELES, CA – Musician, Sammie Lee Smith filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court against Coldplay claiming that the British pop group turned songs he wrote into massive hits. Smith calls himself a “well-talented” yet “unknown” songwriter.

British pop group, Coldplay

In the lawsuit, Smith claims that he has recorded “approximately 100 tapes” each containing approximately 40 songs since 1976. He is suing the band for an undisclosed sum. The lawsuit alleges that he wrote the songs “Yellow,” “Clocks” and “Trouble” which the band then went on to turn into major hits.

Read the story at TMZ.com.

SEATTLE, WA – Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna filed suit against California Corporation, DirecTV over the company’s ‘unconscionable business practices.’ The AG’s office recieved hundreds of complaints this year alone. In fact, the number of complaints were ‘off the chart’ – 355 complaints so far this year.

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Customers respond to an ad saying that they can get 150 channels for 29.99 per month for 12 months. But in order to get this price customers must mail in a rebate form right away (within 60 days). If they don’t, then they will be charged a higher price. The contract with DirecTV is for 2 years. If customers cancel before 24 month period they get slapped with a $480 cancellation fee.

McKenna says that the terms and conditions are in the ads but you’d need a magnifying glass to read them because they are buried in the fine print at the bottom of the page.

Assistant Attorney General Paula Selis has been preparing this case for more than a year. She says you only get that $29.99 price if you mail in for a rebate, and only if you do it right away. But when customers miss the 60-day deadline she says that people lose the right to do that at all. If they don’t do it in 60 days then they don’t get the rebate price plus they they get the higher price for the full 24 months of their contract.

McKenna says that this is what they call unconscionable business practices, where you’re not treating your customers fairly, adding that “The contract is so one-sided that it shouldn’t be permitted under the law.”

The Attorney General wants to hear from DirecTV customers who are unaware that they could file a claim with the AG’s office. Customers can learn more about filing a complaint from their website: http://www.atg.wa.gov/FileAComplaint.aspx

Readers can view the court documents from this link: download the PDF

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PERUGIA, Italy – American student Amanda Knox, 22, was found guilty by an Italian court on Friday of murdering her British roommate and was sentenced 26 years in prison.

Knox’s Italian ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, 25, also was convicted of the murder charges. He was sentenced to 25 years. Read full story

GENEVA – Roman Polanski’s bail of $4.5 M was approved by the Swiss Government Thursday. In turn Polanski will be placed under house arrest at his $1.6 million chalet in the Alps located in the exclusive resort of Gstaad.  In a recent statement, the Justice Ministry confirmed that Polanski will be transferred as soon as he posts bail.

Roman Polanski wins bail in Switzerland; remains under house arrest

Polanski’s chalet, named the “Milky Way”, is a beautiful chalet with a spectacular view of the surrounding Alps, including the pictureque Ruebli peak.

The court said Polanski would be subjected to “constant electronic surveillance” at his chalet and an alarm would be activated if he leaves the premises or takes off the bracelet.

“Polanski will be released from custody as soon as bail has been transferred, ID and travel documents have been lodged, and the electronic monitoring system has been installed and tested,” the statement said.

The bail does not affect the Justice Ministry’s pending decision on whether to extradite Polanski, 76, to the United States for having sex in Los Angeles in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl.

The bail decision was a major win for the Oscar winning director after a series of failed legal attempts to free him following his arrest on Sept. 26 when he arrived in Zurich to receive a lifetime achievement award.

Before Wednesday’s decision, Polanski offered a bank guarantee that would cause him to sacrifice his family’s home in Paris if he flees justice again.

“I am very happy and relieved,” Mathilde Seigner, Polanski’s sister-in-law told Le Parisien daily, adding that the director’s imprisonment had “enormous consequences on a psychological level” for his children. After Polanski’s release, “we’re going to drink a nice glass of Champagne and toast together,” she said.

According to the court, Polanski is still considered a high flight risk.

Reuters and AP contributed to this story.

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Robert Halderman’s lawyer, Gerald Shargel, in an interview on CBS “The Early Show” yesterday, said David Letterman was offered a $2 million deal for first rights to a “screenplay” by his client, Robert Halderman. Shargel said it was a business transaction, the way Hollywood works, not extortion.

Gerald Shargel, attorney for Robert Joe Halderman. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano)

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Documents filed by Halderman’s lawyer claim David Letterman was having an affair with his former personal assistant, Stephanie Birkitt, much more recently than Letterman’s rep said.

The legal papers filed by the defense state that Robert Halderman confronted Stephanie Birkitt in December 2008 with evidence of the affair and she promised to end it. But Gerald Shargel, Halderman’s lawyer, claims the relationship continued “unabated” into this past summer.

Letterman’s rep has said the affair ended before Letterman’s marriage in March. Letterman came forward with the alleged extortion plot in early September.

Letterman’s attorney refused to say when the talk show host broke off his affair with Birkitt. Halderman’s lawyer did not elaborate about the sexual relationship and said he was looking forward to cross examining Letterman.

Shargel asked the judge to dismiss the extortion case, on grounds authorities were swept up in “the sensationalism surrounding the indictment” and the grand jury didn’t have enough evidence to target Halderman.

The lawyer claims the $2 million demand was “a pure commercial transaction” over a screenplay.

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Miami, FL – Retired NY Giants linebacker, Lawrence Taylor, was charged Sunday with leaving the scene of an accident with property damage, a second-degree misdemeanor, according to Miami-Dade County jail records. Police believe Taylor hit another car and then a guard rail and then drove away from the scene. We’re told no one was injured.

Lawrence Taylor, former New Yor Giants linebacker, arrested

Police report that Taylor was very cooperative when he was arrested and he was eventually released later that night on $500 bond. It was not known at the time if Taylor hired a lawyer.

Taylor has a history of substance abuse, but Miami police told TMZ that the NFL star looked completely sober when he was arrested late last night.

Police told TMZ that when they found Taylor, he was standing outside of his car which was missing a front tire. The tire was found at the scene of the crash which means Taylor may have driven several miles on just the axle.

Taylor, who has been arrested twice on drug-related charges in the past, was so coherent when he was arrested for hit-and-run last night, that officers didn’t feel the need to perform a sobriety test.

Taylor, recently competed and was eliminated before the finals on last season’s “Dancing with the Stars.”

Taylor is  also a spokesman for Nutrisystem.

Studio City resident, Steven Krell, a 61 year old ex-accountant and Los Angeles lawyer, who pleaded no contest to state grand theft charges in 2008, was sentenced on Monday to probation and house arrest. Krell was sentenced for filing federal false tax returns after embezzling nearly $1.5 million from two of his clients, including an elderly woman with dementia.

Krell, a former partner in the Los Angeles firm of Green, Hasson and Janks, pleaded guilty in June. He told U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson he used the stolen money for his own use and lied to the government.

Krell admitted in his plea agreement that he embezzled $1,476,900 from the elderly woman, her trust and a physician starting in 1997 and continuing through 2003, says Michael Moriarty of the Internal Revenue Service.

The Daily News Wire reports that to accomplish his scheme, Krell had signature authority over bank accounts belonging to the trust and the woman, facilitating withdrawals, according to court papers. In the second case, Krell falsely told the doctor he was investing his funds.

Anderson sentenced Krell on Monday in downtown Los Angeles to three years of probation, including 30 hours of community service per month and eight months of house arrest, Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Rochmes said.

Krell’s attorney, Michael Proctor, told the court his client had already paid about $500,000 in restitution.

In February 2008, Krell was sentenced in Los Angeles Superior Court to seven years and four months behind bars for the same underlying conduct – grand theft.

The judge stayed the prison term on the condition that Krell comply with the terms of his probation and continue long-term psychiatric treatment after he made “significant” restitution payments, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Krell also served less than a year in county jail and was placed on supervised release for seven years.

In the state case, Krell, who was also once a licensed attorney, admitted helping himself to nearly $1 million from the trust of a 90-year-old woman, who was mentally incapacitated, and looting about $400,000 from the physician’s account he was managing.

As part of his plea, Krell agreed to file amended tax returns, reflecting $514,125 in illegally obtained proceeds, Moriarty said. In addition to the tax due, Krell is liable for the fraud penalty, which amounts to 75 percent of the tax due on the proceeds he embezzled.

The thefts were discovered in 2003 after a business manager became suspicious when he learned Krell was staying in expensive suites in Las Vegas and gambling at high-roller tables.

Rochmes said Monday’s sentence would have no effect on Krell’s stayed sentence for grand theft since those crimes were addressed in 2008, and the current federal case involves a separate issue.

The Daily News Wire contributed to ths story.

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HOUSTON, TX – John O’Quinn, a prominent Houston truck accident attorney,  was killed Thurday morning around 8:00 am, Oct 29, 2009 when his Chevy Suburban SUV struck a tree along the Allen Parkway in Houston, TX. There was also a second person in the SUV at the time who was also killed. It is not clear whether O’Quinn was the driver or not.

Houston truck accident attorney, John O'Quinn, killed in SUV crash on Allen Parkway

The SUV  was apparently travelling westbound in the 2000 block of the Allen Parkway when it skidded out of control and crashed. The Chevy  Suburban jumped two curbs before crashing head-on into a tree on the service road to the westbound Allen Parkway.

An Eyewitness  reported , “I was one of the people this suburban cut off… I was going about 50 and the suburban passed me like I was sitting still. He had to have been doing 80 minimum.  Wet roads going 80+ on the curviest part of allen parkway.  I saw him hit the curb because he couldn’t recover from his triple lane change.  I was amazed there was no oncoming traffic.”

Read full story at TruckAccidents360