After the quake: Shock and confusion as Turkey seizes survivors’ homes
CEYDA CAGLAYAN and BURCU KARAKAS, of Reuters, report…
In the US, New York Catholic diocese facing flood of lawsuits files for bankruptcy
Albany, New York, US AP The embattled Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany became the latest diocese in New York to seek bankruptcy protection Wednesday as it faces hundreds of lawsuits alleging sexual abuse. Bishop Edward Scharfenberger announced the Chapter 11 filing after months of negotiations between the upstate New York diocese and lawyers representing plaintiffs […]
In the US, 31 United Methodist churches in North Carolina demand immediate exit from denomination, threaten lawsuit
Updated: 11:45pm, 20th August, 2022 (AEST)United StatesRNS Thirty-one United Methodist churches in western North Carolina in the US are demanding they be allowed to leave the United Methodist Church and have hired a Florida legal firm to push their claim forward. The National Center for Life and Liberty sent a letter to Bishop Ken Carter, […]
More than $US90 million missing from AME pension funds, claim class-action lawsuits
RNS Retired African Methodist Episcopal Church pastors have filed at least three federal class-action lawsuits alleging the church mishandled tens of millions of dollars in pension funds. Last month, AME leaders stopped making payments to retirees after discovering alleged financial irregularities in the church’s pension fund. The African Methodist Episcopal Church’s annuity investment department location […]
Ukraine rejects Russia’s genocide claim, asks UN court to halt invasion
Amsterdam, The NetherlandsReuters Ukraine has filed a suit against Russia at the UN’s highest court, rejecting Moscow’s claim it invaded its neighbour to prevent genocide and asking judges to order an immediate halt to Russian military operations. Russian President Vladimir Putin has asserted that Ukraine committed genocide in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine and […]
Essay: Why $US73 million Sandy Hook settlement is unlikely to unleash a flood of lawsuits against gun-makers
In an article first published on The Conversation, TIMOTHY D LYTTON, a US law professor, looks at the broader ramifications of an historic $US73 million settlement for families of the victims of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012…
Lawsuit: Defrocked US Cardinal McCarrick abused man in 1980s
AP Three sex abuse lawsuits filed against a New Jersey diocese and announced Thursday include claims that defrocked US Cardinal Theodore McCarrick abused a young man in the 1980s. The lawsuit accuses McCarrick of sexual battery against the man, who was in his late teens and early 20s when McCarrick was Bishop of the Diocese […]
Essay: New York defines illegal firearms use as a “public nuisance” in bid to pierce gun industry’s powerful liability shield
Law professor TIMOTHY D LYTTON, in an article first published on The Conversation, writes about why he thinks New York state’s decision to declare the use of illegal firearms a “public nuisance” is a “shot in the dark”…
In US state of Pennsylvania, slew of church abuse lawsuits hinges on state court decision
Harrisburg, PennsylvaniaAP Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic dioceses have been hit with about 150 lawsuits from people who say they were sexually abused as children by priests and hope a state court decision last year has shown a way around time limits for legal claims. Lawyers involved in the litigation say they were still getting notified about […]
More US churches sue to challenge COVID-19 restrictions
Updated: 2.30pm (AEST)AP Churches in California and Minnesota, backed by a conservative legal group, filed lawsuits this week against the governors of their states challenging restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus outbreak that they contend are violations of religious liberty. They’re the latest in a long series of legal challenges, many of them in California, […]