Monday, September 8, 2014
OFFICIALS HUNT FOR SILICON VALLEY ATTACK LION
Original Story: USAToday.com
An intense search resumes Monday in the mountains by Silicon Valley for a wild cougar that attacked and injured a 6-year-old boy who was hiking on a nature trail with family and friends.
The California state wildlife officer leading the investigation vowed Sunday night to continue searching with bloodhounds at daybreak and said if captured, the mountain lion will be killed. While the search ended at dusk Sunday, officers remained in the area of the attack overnight. A Warren dog bite lawyer has experience in animal attack cases.
"On occasion the lion will return to the attack scene,'' said Lt. Patrick Foy of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's law enforcement division.
The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department said the child was recovering from what were described as moderate injuries after being attacked on a trail in an open space preserve in the Santa Cruz mountains.
The location was about two miles from a winery and near the city of Cupertino, in the heart of the Silicon Valley high-tech industry and home to billionaires.
Foy said the lion attacked while the boy was hiking as part of a group of two families. He was at the front of the group, about 10 feet ahead of the others, and they were able to pull the child away from the cougar. A Grosse Pointe dog bite lawyer represents victims of dog bites and animal attacks.
"It was an ambush type of attack,'' Foy said. "They said it came out of nowhere.''
The attack was consistent with the behavior of a mountain lion attacking prey such as deer, Foy said.
The injuries were not life threatening and described as moderate, sheriff's department Sgt. Kurtis Stenderup said.
About 20 deputies and state wildlife officers searched for the animal until dark and closed hiking trails in the area. People were urged to stay away.
Clothing the boy was wearing was sent to a laboratory for DNA testing, Foy said.
Investigators hope to isolate DNA from any of the big cat's saliva that may have been left on clothing. That and other forensic evidence could be used to confirm whether any mountain lion they track is the one who attacked the child, Foy said.
He said if they find and confirm they have the attacker, it will be killed in the interest of public safety as well as to test for rabies and search for forensic evidence. A Mt. Clemens dog bite lawyer has experience in animal attack cases.
While attacks are rare, mountain lions are known to be present in much of California's wilderness and are sometimes seen in areas where homes and commercial development adjoin wildlands. The state's extreme drought has put pressure on all wildlife in search of food and water.
There have been 13 confirmed mountain lion attacks in California since 1986 prior to this one, according to state wildlife records. Three of those were fatal attacks.
The last attack was in 2012, in Nevada County, Calif., when the victim, a 63-year-old man, survived. Foy was part of that search that lasted six days before it was abandoned without capture. He said this search would be just as intense if not more so.
The area of the attack is known to be a mountain lion habitat, Stenderup said.
"We know mountain lions are up there, but attacks are very rare,'' he said.
TEXAS GOVERNOR’S LAWYERS SEEK DISMISSAL OF ABUSE-OF-POWER CASE
Original Story: NYTimes.com
AUSTIN, Tex. — Defense lawyers for Gov. Rick Perry of Texas on Monday sought to throw out a felony abuse-of-power case against him, calling it an unconstitutional prosecution that would set a dangerous precedent for future governors.
The motion was the first legal filing in what has largely been a public relations offensive waged by Mr. Perry and his defense team to cast the two-count indictment as an outrageous political assault.
The indictment, returned by a grand jury in Travis County just over a week ago, stems from Mr. Perry’s efforts to force the resignation of the county’s district attorney, Rosemary Lehmberg, after she was arrested on drunken-driving charges in April 2013. Mr. Perry is charged with threatening to veto funding to the office’s anticorruption unit unless she quit, a threat that he ultimately carried out with a veto that blocked $7.5 million in state money. A Westchester County criminal defense lawyer is experienced in legal issues that arise in criminal accusations.
In their motion, Mr. Perry’s lawyers asked Judge Bert Richardson, a Republican, to “bar the prosecution” by dismissing what they called a “fatally defective” indictment. The filing was 60 pages long, including attachments, and was signed by David L. Botsford of Austin, one of Mr. Perry’s five lawyers.
The lawyers said that the indictment seeks to criminalize a governor’s veto power, which they called a “key limitation on legislative power” and “an integral component” in the checks and balances between the branches of government.
“Subjecting any sitting governor to a criminal prosecution and injecting the judiciary into a political dispute would be an unprecedented assault on this cherished separation of powers and would impose an intolerable and incalculable chilling effect on the free exercise of legitimate constitutional powers by future governors,” the lawyers declared.
The special prosecutor, Michael McCrum, is expected to file a response to the motion before a Friday deadline. Mr. McCrum, a San Antonio lawyer, told reporters that he would review the defense motion and prepare a written response, and that “if the court calls for a hearing, I will appear in court and argue on behalf of the people of the State of Texas.”
AUSTIN, Tex. — Defense lawyers for Gov. Rick Perry of Texas on Monday sought to throw out a felony abuse-of-power case against him, calling it an unconstitutional prosecution that would set a dangerous precedent for future governors.
The motion was the first legal filing in what has largely been a public relations offensive waged by Mr. Perry and his defense team to cast the two-count indictment as an outrageous political assault.
The indictment, returned by a grand jury in Travis County just over a week ago, stems from Mr. Perry’s efforts to force the resignation of the county’s district attorney, Rosemary Lehmberg, after she was arrested on drunken-driving charges in April 2013. Mr. Perry is charged with threatening to veto funding to the office’s anticorruption unit unless she quit, a threat that he ultimately carried out with a veto that blocked $7.5 million in state money. A Westchester County criminal defense lawyer is experienced in legal issues that arise in criminal accusations.
In their motion, Mr. Perry’s lawyers asked Judge Bert Richardson, a Republican, to “bar the prosecution” by dismissing what they called a “fatally defective” indictment. The filing was 60 pages long, including attachments, and was signed by David L. Botsford of Austin, one of Mr. Perry’s five lawyers.
The lawyers said that the indictment seeks to criminalize a governor’s veto power, which they called a “key limitation on legislative power” and “an integral component” in the checks and balances between the branches of government.
“Subjecting any sitting governor to a criminal prosecution and injecting the judiciary into a political dispute would be an unprecedented assault on this cherished separation of powers and would impose an intolerable and incalculable chilling effect on the free exercise of legitimate constitutional powers by future governors,” the lawyers declared.
The special prosecutor, Michael McCrum, is expected to file a response to the motion before a Friday deadline. Mr. McCrum, a San Antonio lawyer, told reporters that he would review the defense motion and prepare a written response, and that “if the court calls for a hearing, I will appear in court and argue on behalf of the people of the State of Texas.”
GAY MARRIAGE: WHICH CASE WILL THE SUPREME COURT CHOOSE?
Original Story: USAToday.com
WASHINGTON — It's getting so you can't tell the potential Supreme Court cases on same-sex marriage without a scorecard.
When the justices sit down for their first fall conference Sept. 29, they will consider the initial requests from states to review decisions striking down gay-marriage bans. Unless they quickly agree to hear one or more cases, those petitions won't be the last.
Lawyers on both sides predict the justices will act soon to decide the issue by next June. That makes it likely they will choose from among the three cases pending. Some of the nation's premier Supreme Court advocates, sensing history in the making, have signed on to represent gay couples or state officials.
"The issue is moving so fast," says John Bursch, a former Michigan solicitor general defending Utah's gay-marriage ban. "People want an answer soon, and I think the court is going to want to give it to them."
Here's the betting line:
UTAH: As the first case decided by a federal district judge and an appeals court panel after the Supreme Court's rulings in June 2013 in favor of gay marriage, Herbert v. Kitchen is the front-runner.
Arguments for: State officials back the ban, guaranteeing a vigorous defense. Former acting U.S. solicitor general Neal Katyal, who has argued 21 cases before the court, has joined the gay couples' legal team, along with Mary Bonauto, who won the nation's first same-sex marriage lawsuit in Massachusetts in 2003.
More than 1,000 couples got married before the district court decision was stayed by the Supreme Court in January, leaving them in a marital limbo that the justices might feel compelled to resolve, having created it themselves.
Among the plaintiffs are couples who want to marry; who were married before the district court ruling was blocked; and who want their Iowa marriage recognized in Utah. That covers all the bases. "This court's resolution of the question presented can mark the end of marriage litigation in all respects," the state's brief says.
Arguments against: There are few, leading most prognosticators to predict Utah's will be one of the cases chosen, if not the only one. "We're not trying to bump out anyone else," Katyal says.
OKLAHOMA: The state has played second fiddle to Utah since January. District and appeals court rulings against the state's gay-marriage ban came a month later; the Supreme Court petition was filed a day later.
Arguments for: The state's gay-marriage ban is particularly stringent; it's a crime to issue a marriage license, and no one has tied the knot. The case, Smith v. Bishop, is being pursued by the court clerk for Tulsa County — someone who actually issues marriage licenses. Stanford Law School professor Jeffrey Fisher, a veteran of 23 high court cases, is arguing for same-sex marriage rights.
Arguments against: The case has had procedural problems on its way to the Supreme Court and is left with only one couple as plaintiffs; the issue of recognizing marriages performed in other states isn't included. It dates back to 2004, a 10-year history the high court might want to avoid. And it comes from the same 10th Circuit as Utah, which could work against Oklahoma if the justices choose more than one case.
VIRGINIA: Same-sex marriage cases in the Old Dominion are unique, giving the justices clear reasons to prefer or reject them.
Arguments for: This is the state of Loving v. Virginia, the 1967 case that struck down state bans on interracial marriage. Its gay-marriage ban is one of the toughest, prohibiting civil unions and blocking the state from recognizing marriages performed elsewhere.
Former U.S. solicitor general Theodore Olson and David Boies, the conservative-liberal tag team that represented California's same-sex couples at the Supreme Court last year, are back for another try. Olson has argued 60 cases at the high court.
The case decided by district and appeals courts, Rainey v. Bostic, includes the lesbian parents of a teenager, which presents the issue of how gay couples' children are treated. The case has been joined with a separate class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of all Virginia's gay couples.
"It would be the kind of case that would resolve a number of outstanding legal issues," state Attorney General Mark Herring says.
Arguments against: Herring, a Democrat elected last November, refused to defend the ban and has argued against it. That's what California officials did in last year's Supreme Court case on Proposition 8; the justices ultimately ruled that those defending the gay-marriage ban lacked standing. In Virginia, it leaves the task to two court clerks represented by private lawyers, including the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom.
"I don't think you want constitutional law being made by default," says John Eastman, a law professor at Chapman University and chairman of the National Organization for Marriage.
OTHER STATES: Six cases from Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee were consolidated at the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals this month, and a ruling could come before the Supreme Court convenes this fall. Cases from Indiana and Wisconsin were heard at the 7th Circuit on Tuesday. Appeals from Idaho and Nevada are scheduled before the 9th Circuit early next month. Still more cases are in the pipeline, including from Texas; the 5th Circuit would be most likely to rule against gay marriage and create a split among appeals courts.
Arguments for: The justices might want to hear and benefit from additional appeals courts. That could include important opinions by Judges Jeffrey Sutton in the 6th Circuit and Richard Posner in the 7th, where a three-judge panel appears headed toward the first unanimous judgment against state bans.
Arguments against: Even if the justices don't wait for more rulings before scheduling a case, they are certain to get the benefit of them before they rule. Waiting to choose a case for Supreme Court review would leave states and same-sex couples in limbo — possibly until the 2015 term.
MULTIPLE CASES: When an issue is of paramount importance, the court frequently grants more than one case. The leading example: Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which combined cases from Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware and the District of Columbia. This year, the court heard two cases on the new health care law's "contraception mandate" and two on cellphone privacy.
Arguments for: More cases offer more plaintiffs to consider, more arguments to present and more advocates at the lectern. "Given all of these permutations, this may be a situation in which a belt-and-suspenders approach – that is, granting multiple cases – is the most prudent course," says the Oklahoma couple's brief seeking Supreme Court review.
Arguments against: Simplicity. The court doesn't always believe more is better. Faced with multiple choices challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act, it chose Edie Windsor's case in New York and no other — then issued a landmark decision that forced the government to recognize same-sex marriages.
NONE OF THE ABOVE: If the federal circuit courts continue to rule in favor of same-sex marriage, the justices could just sit on their hands and let groups of states go that way gradually.
Arguments for: Why impose a verdict from on high? All states in the 1st and 2nd Circuits already allow gay marriage. Lifting the stays in the 4th and 10th Circuits would continue the trend.
Arguments against: It could take years before all 11 circuits have acted, and they might not go the same way. The country would be divided, leaving some gay couples without the rights and benefits enjoyed by others. And the issue of same-sex marriage would lack the imprimatur of the Supreme Court — whichever way it rules.
WASHINGTON — It's getting so you can't tell the potential Supreme Court cases on same-sex marriage without a scorecard.
When the justices sit down for their first fall conference Sept. 29, they will consider the initial requests from states to review decisions striking down gay-marriage bans. Unless they quickly agree to hear one or more cases, those petitions won't be the last.
Lawyers on both sides predict the justices will act soon to decide the issue by next June. That makes it likely they will choose from among the three cases pending. Some of the nation's premier Supreme Court advocates, sensing history in the making, have signed on to represent gay couples or state officials.
"The issue is moving so fast," says John Bursch, a former Michigan solicitor general defending Utah's gay-marriage ban. "People want an answer soon, and I think the court is going to want to give it to them."
Here's the betting line:
UTAH: As the first case decided by a federal district judge and an appeals court panel after the Supreme Court's rulings in June 2013 in favor of gay marriage, Herbert v. Kitchen is the front-runner.
Arguments for: State officials back the ban, guaranteeing a vigorous defense. Former acting U.S. solicitor general Neal Katyal, who has argued 21 cases before the court, has joined the gay couples' legal team, along with Mary Bonauto, who won the nation's first same-sex marriage lawsuit in Massachusetts in 2003.
More than 1,000 couples got married before the district court decision was stayed by the Supreme Court in January, leaving them in a marital limbo that the justices might feel compelled to resolve, having created it themselves.
Among the plaintiffs are couples who want to marry; who were married before the district court ruling was blocked; and who want their Iowa marriage recognized in Utah. That covers all the bases. "This court's resolution of the question presented can mark the end of marriage litigation in all respects," the state's brief says.
Arguments against: There are few, leading most prognosticators to predict Utah's will be one of the cases chosen, if not the only one. "We're not trying to bump out anyone else," Katyal says.
OKLAHOMA: The state has played second fiddle to Utah since January. District and appeals court rulings against the state's gay-marriage ban came a month later; the Supreme Court petition was filed a day later.
Arguments for: The state's gay-marriage ban is particularly stringent; it's a crime to issue a marriage license, and no one has tied the knot. The case, Smith v. Bishop, is being pursued by the court clerk for Tulsa County — someone who actually issues marriage licenses. Stanford Law School professor Jeffrey Fisher, a veteran of 23 high court cases, is arguing for same-sex marriage rights.
Arguments against: The case has had procedural problems on its way to the Supreme Court and is left with only one couple as plaintiffs; the issue of recognizing marriages performed in other states isn't included. It dates back to 2004, a 10-year history the high court might want to avoid. And it comes from the same 10th Circuit as Utah, which could work against Oklahoma if the justices choose more than one case.
VIRGINIA: Same-sex marriage cases in the Old Dominion are unique, giving the justices clear reasons to prefer or reject them.
Arguments for: This is the state of Loving v. Virginia, the 1967 case that struck down state bans on interracial marriage. Its gay-marriage ban is one of the toughest, prohibiting civil unions and blocking the state from recognizing marriages performed elsewhere.
Former U.S. solicitor general Theodore Olson and David Boies, the conservative-liberal tag team that represented California's same-sex couples at the Supreme Court last year, are back for another try. Olson has argued 60 cases at the high court.
The case decided by district and appeals courts, Rainey v. Bostic, includes the lesbian parents of a teenager, which presents the issue of how gay couples' children are treated. The case has been joined with a separate class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of all Virginia's gay couples.
"It would be the kind of case that would resolve a number of outstanding legal issues," state Attorney General Mark Herring says.
Arguments against: Herring, a Democrat elected last November, refused to defend the ban and has argued against it. That's what California officials did in last year's Supreme Court case on Proposition 8; the justices ultimately ruled that those defending the gay-marriage ban lacked standing. In Virginia, it leaves the task to two court clerks represented by private lawyers, including the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom.
"I don't think you want constitutional law being made by default," says John Eastman, a law professor at Chapman University and chairman of the National Organization for Marriage.
OTHER STATES: Six cases from Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee were consolidated at the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals this month, and a ruling could come before the Supreme Court convenes this fall. Cases from Indiana and Wisconsin were heard at the 7th Circuit on Tuesday. Appeals from Idaho and Nevada are scheduled before the 9th Circuit early next month. Still more cases are in the pipeline, including from Texas; the 5th Circuit would be most likely to rule against gay marriage and create a split among appeals courts.
Arguments for: The justices might want to hear and benefit from additional appeals courts. That could include important opinions by Judges Jeffrey Sutton in the 6th Circuit and Richard Posner in the 7th, where a three-judge panel appears headed toward the first unanimous judgment against state bans.
Arguments against: Even if the justices don't wait for more rulings before scheduling a case, they are certain to get the benefit of them before they rule. Waiting to choose a case for Supreme Court review would leave states and same-sex couples in limbo — possibly until the 2015 term.
MULTIPLE CASES: When an issue is of paramount importance, the court frequently grants more than one case. The leading example: Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which combined cases from Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware and the District of Columbia. This year, the court heard two cases on the new health care law's "contraception mandate" and two on cellphone privacy.
Arguments for: More cases offer more plaintiffs to consider, more arguments to present and more advocates at the lectern. "Given all of these permutations, this may be a situation in which a belt-and-suspenders approach – that is, granting multiple cases – is the most prudent course," says the Oklahoma couple's brief seeking Supreme Court review.
Arguments against: Simplicity. The court doesn't always believe more is better. Faced with multiple choices challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act, it chose Edie Windsor's case in New York and no other — then issued a landmark decision that forced the government to recognize same-sex marriages.
NONE OF THE ABOVE: If the federal circuit courts continue to rule in favor of same-sex marriage, the justices could just sit on their hands and let groups of states go that way gradually.
Arguments for: Why impose a verdict from on high? All states in the 1st and 2nd Circuits already allow gay marriage. Lifting the stays in the 4th and 10th Circuits would continue the trend.
Arguments against: It could take years before all 11 circuits have acted, and they might not go the same way. The country would be divided, leaving some gay couples without the rights and benefits enjoyed by others. And the issue of same-sex marriage would lack the imprimatur of the Supreme Court — whichever way it rules.
PROSECUTORS FINISH CLOSING ARGUMENTS IN MCDONNELL TRIAL
Original Story: USAToday.com
RICHMOND, Va. -- The prosecution finished its closing argument Friday in the public corruption trial of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen. The McDonnells are accused of accepting more than $165,000 in gifts and loans from former Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams in exchange for promoting his company's product, Anatabloc.
Federal prosecutor David Harbach spent two and a half hours questioning the motives of the couple. He told the jury that this investigation did not happen just because Bob McDonnell was governor. Harbach said it happened because what McDonnell did was wrong. A racketeering and corruption lawyer in Atlanta, GA is experienced in handling RICO disputes.
"They spent a lot of time talking about his 38 years of public service, wrapped in the Commonwealth flag, making you forget he stomped on it by selling out his office," Harbach said in his closing arguments.
Harbach told a story of bribery, lies and cover-ups, walking the jury through the timeline of the alleged corruption.
"Why did he (Williams) give them, why did they (McDonnells) take them?" Harbach asked, referring to gifts and loans in exchange for official acts, the alleged quid pro quo.
The story, as told by Harbach, begins with an April 2011 shopping spree in New York for Maureen McDonnell and ends with the former first lady of Virginia trying to allegedly obstruct justice after an interview with state police.
Bob McDonnell knew exactly what Jonnie Williams wanted and he used his official capacity as governor to deliver, Harbach said.
"He was on the Jonnie Williams gravy train," Harbach said.
Bob McDonnell hid gifts and loans from Jonnie Williams from his staff because "he knew his deal with Jonnie was dirty," Harbach said.
"The defense is trying to divert the blame and distract the jury from a 'mountain of evidence,'" Harbach told the jury.
Harbach walked the jury through the 14 counts in the indictment. Bob and Maureen McDonnell are both charged on counts 1 through 11 for public corruption. The former governor is charged on count 12 for making false statements to a bank. The couple is charged on count 13 for making false statements to a bank. Maureen McDonnell is charged on count 14 for obstruction.
"Don't let him sit there and stand on the coat tails of Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry. This is bribery. This is corruption. Don't let that stand," Harbach finished his closing argument.
Going into court at 9:30 a.m. Friday, Bob McDonnell said, "I feel good. I've just kept my eyes on the Lord and my thoughts on the facts, and that's all I can do one day at a time."
When a reporter noted that his whole family was at court, including his son, McDonnell stated, "He just got back from Vanderbilt. The whole family is here. My greatest strength and enjoyment is my five children and they're all here."
Asked whether this was the "most important campaign of your life", McDonnell replied, "It's not a campaign. It's a search for the truth. That's what the system is all about."
Defense attorneys for Maureen McDonnell and then Bob McDonnell will deliver their closing arguments next, followed by the prosecution's rebuttal.
RICHMOND, Va. -- The prosecution finished its closing argument Friday in the public corruption trial of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen. The McDonnells are accused of accepting more than $165,000 in gifts and loans from former Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams in exchange for promoting his company's product, Anatabloc.
Federal prosecutor David Harbach spent two and a half hours questioning the motives of the couple. He told the jury that this investigation did not happen just because Bob McDonnell was governor. Harbach said it happened because what McDonnell did was wrong. A racketeering and corruption lawyer in Atlanta, GA is experienced in handling RICO disputes.
"They spent a lot of time talking about his 38 years of public service, wrapped in the Commonwealth flag, making you forget he stomped on it by selling out his office," Harbach said in his closing arguments.
Harbach told a story of bribery, lies and cover-ups, walking the jury through the timeline of the alleged corruption.
"Why did he (Williams) give them, why did they (McDonnells) take them?" Harbach asked, referring to gifts and loans in exchange for official acts, the alleged quid pro quo.
The story, as told by Harbach, begins with an April 2011 shopping spree in New York for Maureen McDonnell and ends with the former first lady of Virginia trying to allegedly obstruct justice after an interview with state police.
Bob McDonnell knew exactly what Jonnie Williams wanted and he used his official capacity as governor to deliver, Harbach said.
"He was on the Jonnie Williams gravy train," Harbach said.
Bob McDonnell hid gifts and loans from Jonnie Williams from his staff because "he knew his deal with Jonnie was dirty," Harbach said.
"The defense is trying to divert the blame and distract the jury from a 'mountain of evidence,'" Harbach told the jury.
Harbach walked the jury through the 14 counts in the indictment. Bob and Maureen McDonnell are both charged on counts 1 through 11 for public corruption. The former governor is charged on count 12 for making false statements to a bank. The couple is charged on count 13 for making false statements to a bank. Maureen McDonnell is charged on count 14 for obstruction.
"Don't let him sit there and stand on the coat tails of Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry. This is bribery. This is corruption. Don't let that stand," Harbach finished his closing argument.
Going into court at 9:30 a.m. Friday, Bob McDonnell said, "I feel good. I've just kept my eyes on the Lord and my thoughts on the facts, and that's all I can do one day at a time."
When a reporter noted that his whole family was at court, including his son, McDonnell stated, "He just got back from Vanderbilt. The whole family is here. My greatest strength and enjoyment is my five children and they're all here."
Asked whether this was the "most important campaign of your life", McDonnell replied, "It's not a campaign. It's a search for the truth. That's what the system is all about."
Defense attorneys for Maureen McDonnell and then Bob McDonnell will deliver their closing arguments next, followed by the prosecution's rebuttal.
WITNESSES TO FATAL ATTACK ON JOGGER DESCRIBE DOGS AS 'HANGING FROM HIM'
Original Story: Detroitnews.com
Lapeer— The first person who tried to help a Livonia man during a fatal mauling testified Friday the two large dogs were “hanging from him” before being chased off with gunfire.
Edward Elmer said he was on a riding lawnmower cutting his lawn along Thomas Road in Metamora Township and waved to jogger Craig Sytsma just minutes before the July 23 attack by the Cane Corsos.
When Elmer heard Sytsma screaming he tried to go to the man’s aid but backpedaled when one of the animals looked at him menacingly. He then yelled to his girlfriend, Helen Barwig, “to get a gun,” he testified during the second day of a preliminary hearing for the dogs’ owners. A Warren dog bite lawyer is reviewing the details of this case.
Elmer said he fired one shot in the air from the .44 Magnum handgun and one dog released its grip on Sytsma and just stood and looked at him as if it was going to attack Elmer. Elmer fired a second shot and heard one animal “yelp” and the two dogs ran off.
Sebastiano Quagliata, and Valbona Lucaj, 44, are both charged with second-degree murder and harboring a dangerous animal in the bleeding death of Sytsma, 46. Lapeer District Judge Laura Barnard will decide if there is enough evidence for them to stand trial on the charges, which carry up to life in prison.
After the dogs ran off, Barwig tried to stop Sytsma’s bleeding with a roll of paper towels.
“It (blood) was pouring out, gushing out,” testified Barwig, who said Sytsma appeared to have suffered deep wounds to his right and left sides. A Mt. Clemens dog bite lawyer has experience representing animal attack victims.
“At one point he said they got an artery and he was going to die,” she said, her voice breaking.
As they waited for an ambulance to arrive, Barwig, who is an emergency medical technician, said she could not get a pulse from Sytsma, who went limp.
She tried CPR for several minutes but was unable to revive him.
During the rescue efforts, one of the dogs returned and Elmer said he fired again at the animal and it turned away.
Two other people testified Friday they had had been attacked by Quagliata and Lucaj’s dogs.
April Smith, 25, said she and a sister were walking their leashed dogs on Thomas in May 2012 when they were attacked by one of the Cane Corsos, which bit Smith three times in the back of the leg. A Grosse Pointe dog bite lawyer is reviewing the details of this case.
Jim Salego said he was walking on the street in November 2013 when he was surrounded by three growling Cane Corsos he kept at bay briefly with a walking stick before one of them bit him in the leg and the animals were called off by Quagliata.
“He (Quagliata) came out yelling ‘Don’t call cops. I will pay. I will take you to the hospital,’ ” said Salego, who said his leg was bleeding and he did call the police.
Salego said the bite required stitches and when he later asked police “what happened to the dogs” he said he was told the matter would be handled by the county animal control division.
Salego and Smith have since sued Quagliata and Lucaj for damages.
In testimony last week, veterinarian Dr. Sherry Wallace said Quagliata and Lucaj were warned weeks before the fatal attack their dogs were dangerous and should be seen by an animal behaviorist.
Wallace testified the two dogs tried to bite her and co-workers during routine examinations to be weighed and had to be restrained by Lucaj and the couple’s teenage children. She warned the couple the dogs were aggressive and dangerous.
The two Cane Corsos and another adult dog that had been involved in a previous attack have all since been destroyed. Seven puppies kept in the home have been turned over to an animal rescue group in Texas, authorities said.
The couple remain jailed in lieu of $500,000 bond each, pending resumption of the exam 1:30 p.m. Sept. 12.
Lapeer— The first person who tried to help a Livonia man during a fatal mauling testified Friday the two large dogs were “hanging from him” before being chased off with gunfire.
Edward Elmer said he was on a riding lawnmower cutting his lawn along Thomas Road in Metamora Township and waved to jogger Craig Sytsma just minutes before the July 23 attack by the Cane Corsos.
When Elmer heard Sytsma screaming he tried to go to the man’s aid but backpedaled when one of the animals looked at him menacingly. He then yelled to his girlfriend, Helen Barwig, “to get a gun,” he testified during the second day of a preliminary hearing for the dogs’ owners. A Warren dog bite lawyer is reviewing the details of this case.
Elmer said he fired one shot in the air from the .44 Magnum handgun and one dog released its grip on Sytsma and just stood and looked at him as if it was going to attack Elmer. Elmer fired a second shot and heard one animal “yelp” and the two dogs ran off.
Sebastiano Quagliata, and Valbona Lucaj, 44, are both charged with second-degree murder and harboring a dangerous animal in the bleeding death of Sytsma, 46. Lapeer District Judge Laura Barnard will decide if there is enough evidence for them to stand trial on the charges, which carry up to life in prison.
After the dogs ran off, Barwig tried to stop Sytsma’s bleeding with a roll of paper towels.
“It (blood) was pouring out, gushing out,” testified Barwig, who said Sytsma appeared to have suffered deep wounds to his right and left sides. A Mt. Clemens dog bite lawyer has experience representing animal attack victims.
“At one point he said they got an artery and he was going to die,” she said, her voice breaking.
As they waited for an ambulance to arrive, Barwig, who is an emergency medical technician, said she could not get a pulse from Sytsma, who went limp.
She tried CPR for several minutes but was unable to revive him.
During the rescue efforts, one of the dogs returned and Elmer said he fired again at the animal and it turned away.
Two other people testified Friday they had had been attacked by Quagliata and Lucaj’s dogs.
April Smith, 25, said she and a sister were walking their leashed dogs on Thomas in May 2012 when they were attacked by one of the Cane Corsos, which bit Smith three times in the back of the leg. A Grosse Pointe dog bite lawyer is reviewing the details of this case.
Jim Salego said he was walking on the street in November 2013 when he was surrounded by three growling Cane Corsos he kept at bay briefly with a walking stick before one of them bit him in the leg and the animals were called off by Quagliata.
“He (Quagliata) came out yelling ‘Don’t call cops. I will pay. I will take you to the hospital,’ ” said Salego, who said his leg was bleeding and he did call the police.
Salego said the bite required stitches and when he later asked police “what happened to the dogs” he said he was told the matter would be handled by the county animal control division.
Salego and Smith have since sued Quagliata and Lucaj for damages.
In testimony last week, veterinarian Dr. Sherry Wallace said Quagliata and Lucaj were warned weeks before the fatal attack their dogs were dangerous and should be seen by an animal behaviorist.
Wallace testified the two dogs tried to bite her and co-workers during routine examinations to be weighed and had to be restrained by Lucaj and the couple’s teenage children. She warned the couple the dogs were aggressive and dangerous.
The two Cane Corsos and another adult dog that had been involved in a previous attack have all since been destroyed. Seven puppies kept in the home have been turned over to an animal rescue group in Texas, authorities said.
The couple remain jailed in lieu of $500,000 bond each, pending resumption of the exam 1:30 p.m. Sept. 12.
BRAZIL'S ECONOMY SLIPS INTO A RECESSION
Original Story: USAToday.com
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil's formerly high-flying economy, once the darling of emerging markets, has fallen into recession, according to government data released Friday, as a legion of newly minted middle-class citizens tightened their belts and halted a credit-driven spending spree.
The government's statistics bureau reported that gross domestic product dropped 0.6% in the second quarter, in large part because of soft consumer spending. First-quarter results also were revised downward from 0.2% growth to a 0.2% drop, showing a two-quarter slide that most economists use to define a recession. A Barcelona Intellectual Property Lawyer is reviewing the details of this case.
Analysts said the economy also suffered because investors are holding off, waiting to see how the October presidential election changes the economic winds.
Even the World Cup may have played a part because workers took many days off, contributing to limp industrial output.
But the heart of the problem may be a crisis for the government's model of consumption-led growth.
"Of course I'm spending a lot less!" said Maria Sousa, a 25-year-old doing some window shopping but no buying at a mall in Rio de Janeiro. "I'm feeling less confident about my financial situation and I'm thinking more about trying to save than spend."
London-based Capital Economics wrote in a research note Friday that "it is consumption that has been the key driver of growth since the 2009 global financial crisis. But consumers are now struggling, in part because household balance sheets have become stretched following a decade-long credit boom."
After blistering 7.5% growth in 2010, Brazil's economy has just limped along. The long, slow slide means there aren't any regional shocks expected from the official drop into recession, but it still darkens the horizon for Brazil's neighbors, many of whom send a large percentage of their exports into the nation. A Barcelona Real Estate Lawyer is reviewing the details of this case.
Argentina, whose economy is in recession and where citizens face inflation of 40%, may be hurt the most. About one-fifth of Argentina's exports flow into Brazil, but the amount Brazilians buy is forecast to shrink.
"It's another headwind for Argentina, at exactly the wrong time," said Neil Shearing, chief emerging markets economist at Capital Economics.
Brazil itself has been hurt by falling demand for its cars and big-ticket household items like refrigerators and washers in Argentina, one of the reasons Brazilian industrial output fell for the fourth consecutive quarter.
Analysts said that to return to its days of fast growth, Brazil must undertake long-pending reforms to its tax system, labor laws and bureaucracy.
Brazil remains a grindingly difficult place to do business. It ranked 116th on the World Bank's most recent "Ease of Doing Business index," despite being the world's seventh-largest economy.
Brazil's taxation regime was billed as the globe's most complicated and burdensome, according to this year's comparison of tax systems in 189 nations carried out by accounting company PwC, along with the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation.
That adds to bottlenecks at every turn when Brazil tries to capitalize on its potential, analysts say.
The economic indicators are also the last thing President Dilma Rousseff's struggling re-election campaign needed.
The slump gives more ammunition to Rousseff's rivals ahead of an Oct. 5 presidential election vote, particularly for environmentalist Marina Silva, who is now leading polls and tapping into the widespread frustrations of many Brazilians, angst that fueled last year's massive anti-government protests.
The race is certain to go into a second-round runoff on Oct. 26, as no candidate has the support win an outright majority of ballots to avoid that.
"For Rousseff, who has watched her lead in opinion polls evaporate in recent weeks, this is the worst possible news; it's the last thing she wanted," said Shearing. "There is not much that can be done for the economy ahead of the election. It's like turning around the proverbial tanker; it's going to take a long time."
Still, Rousseff, a trained economist, and her team argued that Brazil's souring economic scenario isn't their fault — and even question whether the country is in recession.
They blame the slowdown on continuing global doldrums that have dampened appetite for Brazil's exports and a severe drought that has sent energy prices soaring for industry and consumers alike, as most of the country is powered by hydroelectricity.
"The international scenario didn't help," Finance Minister Guido Mantega told reporters in Sao Paulo. "There's a lack of market (in developed economies) and that's resulted in a trend of deceleration for emerging economies."
Asked if Brazil is in a recession, Mantega said, "You can't really say that." He emphasized that unemployment remains at historic lows and inflation is within the upper limits of the government's tolerance band.
"There are not universally accepted criteria for defining a recession. You can't talk about a recession in Brazil because, for me, a recession is when you have a prolonged stall, of many, many months. And a recession is when you have unemployment."
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil's formerly high-flying economy, once the darling of emerging markets, has fallen into recession, according to government data released Friday, as a legion of newly minted middle-class citizens tightened their belts and halted a credit-driven spending spree.
The government's statistics bureau reported that gross domestic product dropped 0.6% in the second quarter, in large part because of soft consumer spending. First-quarter results also were revised downward from 0.2% growth to a 0.2% drop, showing a two-quarter slide that most economists use to define a recession. A Barcelona Intellectual Property Lawyer is reviewing the details of this case.
Analysts said the economy also suffered because investors are holding off, waiting to see how the October presidential election changes the economic winds.
Even the World Cup may have played a part because workers took many days off, contributing to limp industrial output.
But the heart of the problem may be a crisis for the government's model of consumption-led growth.
"Of course I'm spending a lot less!" said Maria Sousa, a 25-year-old doing some window shopping but no buying at a mall in Rio de Janeiro. "I'm feeling less confident about my financial situation and I'm thinking more about trying to save than spend."
London-based Capital Economics wrote in a research note Friday that "it is consumption that has been the key driver of growth since the 2009 global financial crisis. But consumers are now struggling, in part because household balance sheets have become stretched following a decade-long credit boom."
After blistering 7.5% growth in 2010, Brazil's economy has just limped along. The long, slow slide means there aren't any regional shocks expected from the official drop into recession, but it still darkens the horizon for Brazil's neighbors, many of whom send a large percentage of their exports into the nation. A Barcelona Real Estate Lawyer is reviewing the details of this case.
Argentina, whose economy is in recession and where citizens face inflation of 40%, may be hurt the most. About one-fifth of Argentina's exports flow into Brazil, but the amount Brazilians buy is forecast to shrink.
"It's another headwind for Argentina, at exactly the wrong time," said Neil Shearing, chief emerging markets economist at Capital Economics.
Brazil itself has been hurt by falling demand for its cars and big-ticket household items like refrigerators and washers in Argentina, one of the reasons Brazilian industrial output fell for the fourth consecutive quarter.
Analysts said that to return to its days of fast growth, Brazil must undertake long-pending reforms to its tax system, labor laws and bureaucracy.
Brazil remains a grindingly difficult place to do business. It ranked 116th on the World Bank's most recent "Ease of Doing Business index," despite being the world's seventh-largest economy.
Brazil's taxation regime was billed as the globe's most complicated and burdensome, according to this year's comparison of tax systems in 189 nations carried out by accounting company PwC, along with the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation.
That adds to bottlenecks at every turn when Brazil tries to capitalize on its potential, analysts say.
The economic indicators are also the last thing President Dilma Rousseff's struggling re-election campaign needed.
The slump gives more ammunition to Rousseff's rivals ahead of an Oct. 5 presidential election vote, particularly for environmentalist Marina Silva, who is now leading polls and tapping into the widespread frustrations of many Brazilians, angst that fueled last year's massive anti-government protests.
The race is certain to go into a second-round runoff on Oct. 26, as no candidate has the support win an outright majority of ballots to avoid that.
"For Rousseff, who has watched her lead in opinion polls evaporate in recent weeks, this is the worst possible news; it's the last thing she wanted," said Shearing. "There is not much that can be done for the economy ahead of the election. It's like turning around the proverbial tanker; it's going to take a long time."
Still, Rousseff, a trained economist, and her team argued that Brazil's souring economic scenario isn't their fault — and even question whether the country is in recession.
They blame the slowdown on continuing global doldrums that have dampened appetite for Brazil's exports and a severe drought that has sent energy prices soaring for industry and consumers alike, as most of the country is powered by hydroelectricity.
"The international scenario didn't help," Finance Minister Guido Mantega told reporters in Sao Paulo. "There's a lack of market (in developed economies) and that's resulted in a trend of deceleration for emerging economies."
Asked if Brazil is in a recession, Mantega said, "You can't really say that." He emphasized that unemployment remains at historic lows and inflation is within the upper limits of the government's tolerance band.
"There are not universally accepted criteria for defining a recession. You can't talk about a recession in Brazil because, for me, a recession is when you have a prolonged stall, of many, many months. And a recession is when you have unemployment."
Sunday, September 7, 2014
MAN LOSES MOST OF HAND IN MACOMB COUNTY FIREWORKS BLAST
Original Story: Freep.com
A 37-year-old man lost most of his left hand in a fireworks accident over the weekend in New Haven, according to the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office. A Mt. Clemens injury lawyer is reviewing this case.
Deputies said a fireworks mortar blew up in the man’s hand Saturday night at a home on First Street, leaving only the index finger and thumb remaining. The man was initially transported by ambulance to a hospital in Mt Clemens and subsequently flown to University of Michigan Hospitals in Ann Arbor for further treatment, the sheriff’s office said in a news release Monday.
A witness told police the man, whose name was not released, was on a patio behind the home and holding a mortar in his hand when it went off sending debris several hundred feet into the air.
Drinking was a factor in the incident, deputies said.
A 37-year-old man lost most of his left hand in a fireworks accident over the weekend in New Haven, according to the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office. A Mt. Clemens injury lawyer is reviewing this case.
Deputies said a fireworks mortar blew up in the man’s hand Saturday night at a home on First Street, leaving only the index finger and thumb remaining. The man was initially transported by ambulance to a hospital in Mt Clemens and subsequently flown to University of Michigan Hospitals in Ann Arbor for further treatment, the sheriff’s office said in a news release Monday.
A witness told police the man, whose name was not released, was on a patio behind the home and holding a mortar in his hand when it went off sending debris several hundred feet into the air.
Drinking was a factor in the incident, deputies said.
Friday, September 5, 2014
FRACKING BOOM PROMPTS $5B DOMINION GAS PIPELINE
Original Story: USAToday.com
Spurred by the nation's fracking boom, Dominion proposed Tuesday its largest natural gas pipeline — a nearly $5 billion project to move vast supplies produced in the mid-Atlantic to the Southeast.
Dominion and Duke Energy, along with two other partners, are seeking federal approval for a 550-mile pipeline — called the Atlantic Coast Pipeline — that would stretch from Harrison County, W.Va., through Virginia and North Carolina to Robeson County, near the South Carolina border. A Corpus Christi Oil & Gas Lawyer is reviewing this case.
"This will be one of the largest pipelines to take advantage of the abundant supply of natural gas in the Marcellus and Utica shale fields in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania," says Dominion spokesman Jim Norvelle.
The combined use of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing or fracking, which can extract oil and gas from underground rock, are a major reason why these two shale formations now generate more than a quarter of the nation's natural gas. A San Antonio Oil & Gas Lawyer is experienced in handling oil and gas negotiations and disputes.
"This new technology of getting natural gas out of the ground is a game changer," says Norvelle, noting manufacturers are using this energy to power factories. He says Duke Energy is looking to close a number of coal-fired power plants and use natural gas plants instead.
The fracking boom is prompting a flurry of pipeline projects that alter how natural gas flows nationwide. Last month, for example, the 1,700-mile Rockies Express requested federal permission to move gas westward from eastern Ohio instead of eastward from Colorado. A Tulsa Energy Lawyer has experience managing a variety of energy cases.
"There's a re-plumbing of the system to reflect a shift in supply and demand," says Donald Santa, president and CEO of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, an industry group. Previously, the Southeast got most of its gas from Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma.
A Goldman Sachs report in June said that while 85% of the growth in U.S. natural gas production in the next four years will come from Appalachia, 60% of the growth in demand for it will come from the Gulf Coast. As a result, it expects $21 billion in pipeline investment to move natural gas from the Marcellus Shale, $16 billion of which will involve reversing the flow of existing infrastructure.
Santa says such investments are occurring, because natural gas is not only replacing coal in some areas but also reviving the petrochemical industry and raising prospects for U.S. liquefied natural gas exports. Among the more than a dozen pending projects, he says Dominion's is "significant," because it's a long, large-diameter new pipeline. A Pittsburgh Energy Lawyer is reviewing the details of this case.
The Atlantic Coast Pipeline would be the first for Dominion, which already has 8,000 miles of transmission pipelines, to be as wide as 42 inches. It would reach that width in the West Virginia and Virginia stretches but fall to 36 inches in the North Carolina portion.
"We're expecting approval to take two years," Norvelle says, noting Dominion plans a formal application next year to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and aims to have the pipeline operational in late 2018. The pipeline partners include Piedmont Natural Gas and AGL Resources.
The pipeline, slated to cost between $4.5 billion and $5.0 billion, would carry 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day. That's a small but notable share of the 71 billion cubic feet of gas that the Energy Department says was consumed nationwide per day last year.
Santa says he doesn't expect the pipeline to engender the same controversy that has held up approval of the northern leg of the Keystone pipeline, which would carry tar sands oil from Canada to the upper Midwest.
"It's a different situation," he says, noting the Dominion-led project does not cross a national border so it does not need an environmental review and permit from the U.S. State Department. He says FERC has a good track record of authorizing gas pipelines, and there's public demand for natural gas deliveries. A Washington DC Energy Lawyer is experienced in managing a variety of energy cases.
As natural gas prices have fallen and the federal government has proposed limits on heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, more utilities are preparing to move away from coal.
Natural gas burns much cleaner than coal, but its pipeline leaks can emit pollutants that contribute to climate change. Fracking has also raised concerns about potential water contamination and its copious use of water in places with limited supply.
The pipeline's customers will include six utilities, including Duke Energy subsidiaries, Piedmont Natural Gas, Dominion's Virginia Power and PSNC Energy, which will use the gas to produce electricity for industrial and residential customers.
Spurred by the nation's fracking boom, Dominion proposed Tuesday its largest natural gas pipeline — a nearly $5 billion project to move vast supplies produced in the mid-Atlantic to the Southeast.
Dominion and Duke Energy, along with two other partners, are seeking federal approval for a 550-mile pipeline — called the Atlantic Coast Pipeline — that would stretch from Harrison County, W.Va., through Virginia and North Carolina to Robeson County, near the South Carolina border. A Corpus Christi Oil & Gas Lawyer is reviewing this case.
"This will be one of the largest pipelines to take advantage of the abundant supply of natural gas in the Marcellus and Utica shale fields in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania," says Dominion spokesman Jim Norvelle.
The combined use of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing or fracking, which can extract oil and gas from underground rock, are a major reason why these two shale formations now generate more than a quarter of the nation's natural gas. A San Antonio Oil & Gas Lawyer is experienced in handling oil and gas negotiations and disputes.
"This new technology of getting natural gas out of the ground is a game changer," says Norvelle, noting manufacturers are using this energy to power factories. He says Duke Energy is looking to close a number of coal-fired power plants and use natural gas plants instead.
The fracking boom is prompting a flurry of pipeline projects that alter how natural gas flows nationwide. Last month, for example, the 1,700-mile Rockies Express requested federal permission to move gas westward from eastern Ohio instead of eastward from Colorado. A Tulsa Energy Lawyer has experience managing a variety of energy cases.
"There's a re-plumbing of the system to reflect a shift in supply and demand," says Donald Santa, president and CEO of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, an industry group. Previously, the Southeast got most of its gas from Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma.
A Goldman Sachs report in June said that while 85% of the growth in U.S. natural gas production in the next four years will come from Appalachia, 60% of the growth in demand for it will come from the Gulf Coast. As a result, it expects $21 billion in pipeline investment to move natural gas from the Marcellus Shale, $16 billion of which will involve reversing the flow of existing infrastructure.
Santa says such investments are occurring, because natural gas is not only replacing coal in some areas but also reviving the petrochemical industry and raising prospects for U.S. liquefied natural gas exports. Among the more than a dozen pending projects, he says Dominion's is "significant," because it's a long, large-diameter new pipeline. A Pittsburgh Energy Lawyer is reviewing the details of this case.
The Atlantic Coast Pipeline would be the first for Dominion, which already has 8,000 miles of transmission pipelines, to be as wide as 42 inches. It would reach that width in the West Virginia and Virginia stretches but fall to 36 inches in the North Carolina portion.
"We're expecting approval to take two years," Norvelle says, noting Dominion plans a formal application next year to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and aims to have the pipeline operational in late 2018. The pipeline partners include Piedmont Natural Gas and AGL Resources.
The pipeline, slated to cost between $4.5 billion and $5.0 billion, would carry 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day. That's a small but notable share of the 71 billion cubic feet of gas that the Energy Department says was consumed nationwide per day last year.
Santa says he doesn't expect the pipeline to engender the same controversy that has held up approval of the northern leg of the Keystone pipeline, which would carry tar sands oil from Canada to the upper Midwest.
"It's a different situation," he says, noting the Dominion-led project does not cross a national border so it does not need an environmental review and permit from the U.S. State Department. He says FERC has a good track record of authorizing gas pipelines, and there's public demand for natural gas deliveries. A Washington DC Energy Lawyer is experienced in managing a variety of energy cases.
As natural gas prices have fallen and the federal government has proposed limits on heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, more utilities are preparing to move away from coal.
Natural gas burns much cleaner than coal, but its pipeline leaks can emit pollutants that contribute to climate change. Fracking has also raised concerns about potential water contamination and its copious use of water in places with limited supply.
The pipeline's customers will include six utilities, including Duke Energy subsidiaries, Piedmont Natural Gas, Dominion's Virginia Power and PSNC Energy, which will use the gas to produce electricity for industrial and residential customers.
ATTORNEY FIEGER TO SUE OVER DEATH OF MENARDS SHOPPER STRUCK BY TILES
Original Story: Freep.com
Attorney Geoffrey Fieger says he will file two lawsuits Thursday against Menards on behalf of the family of a Clinton Township man killed by a pallet of tiles that fell on him from a shelf at the retailer’s Chesterfield Township store.
Fieger said today that he plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit and another complaint alleging infliction of emotional distress on the wife of Richard Colletti, 38, who died after he was struck in the head by the tiles while shopping at the Menards store on Saturday.
Colletti’s wife, Cindy, was with her husband when he was hit and “witnessed her husband’s injury and death,” Fieger said. She was not injured, Chesterfield Township police said.
■ Related: No charges expected in accidental death at Chesterfield Twp. Menards
■ Related: Menards shopper dies after pallet of ceramic tiles falls, hits him on head
The lawsuits are expected to be filed in Macomb County Circuit Court. A filing was made today in Macomb County Probate Court regarding the matter.
When asked how much the lawsuits are to seek in damages, Fieger told a Free Press reporter, “There’s not enough zeros on your typewriter.”
Fieger said he heard about the incident while vacationing with his family in Montana. He said he is not waiting to file the lawsuits because he doesn’t want evidence, such as surveillance tapes, to disappear or be taped over.
Police on Tuesday said no criminal charges are expected to be filed in the death of Colletti, who has a 5-year-old son. Sgt. Deron Myers said police presented their case today to the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office for review.
Colletti was with his wife when he apparently took a direct hit to his head from what was believed to be ceramic 12-by-12 tiles, Lt. Bradley Kersten said Tuesday. He said there were 10 to 15 boxes along with other material to tile floors, weighing a total of 400 to 500 pounds, that fell 12 to 15 feet.
The couple was walking down the aisle when the incident happened.
Kersten said that about 15 to 20 minutes earlier, employees were placing pallets of materials and goods up on the storage racks using a forklift. That part of the aisle was open to the public when Colletti and his wife came through, Kersten said, and employees had moved to another area.
Messages were left Tuesday and today with Menards’ corporate office. Kersten said store employees and management have cooperated with police.
The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration is not investigating the death because Colletti was a customer, and MIOSHA regulations apply to employer/employee relationships in a workplace, not to customers who are injured in a workplace, spokeswoman Andrea Miller had said.
The funeral for Colletti, who would have turned 39 on Friday, is 10 a.m. Friday at Kaul Funeral Home, 35201 Garfield, Clinton Township. Visitation is 2-8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home.
Attorney Geoffrey Fieger says he will file two lawsuits Thursday against Menards on behalf of the family of a Clinton Township man killed by a pallet of tiles that fell on him from a shelf at the retailer’s Chesterfield Township store.
Fieger said today that he plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit and another complaint alleging infliction of emotional distress on the wife of Richard Colletti, 38, who died after he was struck in the head by the tiles while shopping at the Menards store on Saturday.
Colletti’s wife, Cindy, was with her husband when he was hit and “witnessed her husband’s injury and death,” Fieger said. She was not injured, Chesterfield Township police said.
■ Related: No charges expected in accidental death at Chesterfield Twp. Menards
■ Related: Menards shopper dies after pallet of ceramic tiles falls, hits him on head
The lawsuits are expected to be filed in Macomb County Circuit Court. A filing was made today in Macomb County Probate Court regarding the matter.
When asked how much the lawsuits are to seek in damages, Fieger told a Free Press reporter, “There’s not enough zeros on your typewriter.”
Fieger said he heard about the incident while vacationing with his family in Montana. He said he is not waiting to file the lawsuits because he doesn’t want evidence, such as surveillance tapes, to disappear or be taped over.
Police on Tuesday said no criminal charges are expected to be filed in the death of Colletti, who has a 5-year-old son. Sgt. Deron Myers said police presented their case today to the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office for review.
Colletti was with his wife when he apparently took a direct hit to his head from what was believed to be ceramic 12-by-12 tiles, Lt. Bradley Kersten said Tuesday. He said there were 10 to 15 boxes along with other material to tile floors, weighing a total of 400 to 500 pounds, that fell 12 to 15 feet.
The couple was walking down the aisle when the incident happened.
Kersten said that about 15 to 20 minutes earlier, employees were placing pallets of materials and goods up on the storage racks using a forklift. That part of the aisle was open to the public when Colletti and his wife came through, Kersten said, and employees had moved to another area.
Messages were left Tuesday and today with Menards’ corporate office. Kersten said store employees and management have cooperated with police.
The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration is not investigating the death because Colletti was a customer, and MIOSHA regulations apply to employer/employee relationships in a workplace, not to customers who are injured in a workplace, spokeswoman Andrea Miller had said.
The funeral for Colletti, who would have turned 39 on Friday, is 10 a.m. Friday at Kaul Funeral Home, 35201 Garfield, Clinton Township. Visitation is 2-8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Man who impregnated Plymouth Township teen will serve at least 20 years
Original Story: Freep.com
A Salem Township man faces 20 or more years in prison over his relationship with an underage Plymouth Township girl who ran away with him for two days last October. An Allegan County Sex Crime Lawyer is looking the case over.
Robert L. Messer, 38, pleaded guilty Friday in Wayne County Circuit Court to one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of accosting a child for immoral purposes. Four charges were dismissed: three charges of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and one of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a person under age 13.
The plea agreement also calls for a prison sentence of 20-40 years, said Maria Miller, spokeswoman for Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.
“We are satisfied that justice has been done in this case,” Miller said. Messer will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release, will have lifetime electronic monitoring after prison and is barred from having contact with the victim and her family, Miller said. The Sex Offender Registry can be the often be the worst consequence of a sex crime conviction.
Defense attorney Jonathan Jones said all sides had agreed to the deal. Messer’s plea came nearly four months after a trial on six charges ended with a hung jury and a mistrial. A retrial had been scheduled to start Monday.
“The Wayne County prosecutor’s office, particularly (assistant prosecutor) Aimee Fowler, handled this justly and professionally,” Jones said Tuesday. “We’re very grateful to the people involved and I think everybody is grateful this has come to closure.”
Messer, who remains in the Wayne County Jail, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday, Aug. 22, by Judge Qiana D. Lillard. A Wayne County Parental Rights Lawyer may need to be involved if Messer wants to see his children.
Messer had been a friend of the victim’s family and had attended the same church. It was reportedly not unusual for Messer and the girl to go on outings together.
The victim was 15 when she and Messer ran off together last Oct. 27; they left notes declaring their love for each other, authorities say. They were found two days later in Washtenaw County after a witness recognized Messer’s truck from media reports and called police.
The victim has since given birth to a boy fathered by Messer.
A Salem Township man faces 20 or more years in prison over his relationship with an underage Plymouth Township girl who ran away with him for two days last October. An Allegan County Sex Crime Lawyer is looking the case over.
Robert L. Messer, 38, pleaded guilty Friday in Wayne County Circuit Court to one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of accosting a child for immoral purposes. Four charges were dismissed: three charges of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and one of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a person under age 13.
The plea agreement also calls for a prison sentence of 20-40 years, said Maria Miller, spokeswoman for Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.
“We are satisfied that justice has been done in this case,” Miller said. Messer will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release, will have lifetime electronic monitoring after prison and is barred from having contact with the victim and her family, Miller said. The Sex Offender Registry can be the often be the worst consequence of a sex crime conviction.
Defense attorney Jonathan Jones said all sides had agreed to the deal. Messer’s plea came nearly four months after a trial on six charges ended with a hung jury and a mistrial. A retrial had been scheduled to start Monday.
“The Wayne County prosecutor’s office, particularly (assistant prosecutor) Aimee Fowler, handled this justly and professionally,” Jones said Tuesday. “We’re very grateful to the people involved and I think everybody is grateful this has come to closure.”
Messer, who remains in the Wayne County Jail, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday, Aug. 22, by Judge Qiana D. Lillard. A Wayne County Parental Rights Lawyer may need to be involved if Messer wants to see his children.
Messer had been a friend of the victim’s family and had attended the same church. It was reportedly not unusual for Messer and the girl to go on outings together.
The victim was 15 when she and Messer ran off together last Oct. 27; they left notes declaring their love for each other, authorities say. They were found two days later in Washtenaw County after a witness recognized Messer’s truck from media reports and called police.
The victim has since given birth to a boy fathered by Messer.
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