lawsuit

8 Alabama Inmates Ask for Execution by Nitrogen Gas

A lawsuit challenging Alabama’s lethal injection process has taken an unexpected turn after eight inmate plaintiffs asked to be put to death by the state’s new execution method: inhaling nitrogen gas. The Alabama attorney general’s office and lawyers for inmates submitted a joint motion Tuesday to dismiss the litigation. Lawyers said the inmates’ claims are moot, “because their executions will…

Contract To Sell Georgia Washington Middle School Expires

A lawsuit by the Alabama Education Association (AEA) challenging the sale of Georgia Washington Middle School to the Town of Pike Road has not yet been given a final ruling from a judge. However, Pike Road’s attorney says the sale has already been called off. Attorney Doyle Fuller, says the sale of the school has been terminated after the contract…

Harper Lee Estate Sues Over ‘Mockingbird’ Broadway Version

The estate of “To Kill a Mockingbird” author Harper Lee has filed suit over an upcoming Broadway adaptation of the novel. The federal lawsuit filed this week in Alabama argues that screenwriter Aaron Sorkin’s script wrongly alters Atticus Finch and other characters from the book. It asks a judge to enforce part of the contract for the play. The suit…

Lawsuit Filed on Behalf of Limestone County in Response to Opioid Epidemic

Beasley Allen has filed its fourth lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors on behalf of an Alabama city or county government. The complaint, filed on behalf of Limestone County, Alabama, alleges the marketing of these drugs contributed to the creation of the opioid epidemic, a public health and safety crisis. In December, Beasley Allen filed two similar lawsuits on behalf…

Lead Academy Charter School Sued By AEA

A lawsuit is standing in the way of what could be Montgomery’s First Charter School. Lead Academy is supposed to open its doors Fall 2018, but the Alabama Education Association  is challenging the decision by the Alabama Public Charter School Commission to authorize the school. The lawsuit alleges several flaws with the charter, including a claim that the school’s plan does…

SPLC Settles Federal Lawsuit in Gardendale

Settlement Agreement Resolves Claims Against City, Judge For Violating Rights Of Defendants Unable To Pay Court Debt

The city of Gardendale and its municipal court have cut ties with a private probation company that ran an illegal, profit-driven, private probation scheme in Gardendale by exploiting low-income defendants and violating their federal constitutional and state rights. The separation is part of the settlement of a federal, class-action lawsuit brought by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) that also required new…

Oxygen Media Defends Series about Missing Teen Natalee Holloway

Natalee Holloway of Mountain Brook disappeared while on a graduation trip with classmates to Aruba in 2005.Oxygen Media is defending itself against a $35 million lawsuit filed by the mother of an American teenager who disappeared in Aruba in 2005. A company representative says in a statement that Beth Holloway’s lawsuit gives an “inaccurate depiction” of the 2017 series “The…

Trump Sued for Blocking Some of His Critics on Twitter

First Amendment advocates are suing President Donald Trump, saying some of his critics have been unconstitutionally blocked from following him on Twitter. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. The lawsuit says Twitter has become an important public forum for the president and he frequently makes public announcements there….

Takata Pleads Guilty to Fraud in Air Bag Case

Japanese auto parts maker Takata Corp. has pleaded guilty to a criminal charge and agreed to pay $1 billion for a scheme to conceal a deadly defect in millions of its air bag inflators. Takata admits to hiding problems that can cause inflators to explode with too much force, hurling shrapnel into drivers and passengers. U.S. prosecutors still are seeking…

Landfill Owner Drops Defamation Lawsuit Against Uniontown Residents

The owner of a landfill in a small Alabama city has dropped a defamation lawsuit filed against residents who used social media to voice their opposition to the disposing of coal ash at the site. The American Civil Liberties Union, which defended the landfill opponents in Uniontown, announced Tuesday that a settlement had been reached in U.S. District Court. Georgia-based…