Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Calif. tax lawyer convicted of taking client money

Federal prosecutors say a 73-year-old Northern California tax attorney has been convicted of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from clients for his own expenses including personal trainers and travel.
A U.S. attorney's statement says Stanford Law School graduate Orion Douglas Memmott of Willows was found guilty Wednesday of tax evasion and subscribing to a false tax document after a five-day bench trial in October.
The statement says Memmott took money from investors and law firm clients including one woman who was left destitute and homeless after he depleted her medical trust.
Prosecutors say Memmott concealed the embezzled money through nominee accounts and false statements to investors, clients, and the Internal Revenue Service.

Monday, July 29, 2013

Texas, Wyoming lose court challenge against EPA

A federal appeals court sided with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday in an ongoing dispute with Texas and Wyoming over reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia amounted to a defense of the federal Clean Air Act that has faced repeated challenges from Texas, which leads the nation in greenhouse gas emissions.

Federal environmental regulators have required states to include greenhouse gases when issuing pollution permits since 2011. The EPA took over Texas' permitting program when the state refused to comply, but Texas fought to retain control.

State environmental regulators in Texas called the decision disappointing. Bryan Shaw, chairman of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, criticized the EPA for imposing what he called restrictive timelines on states to meet new requirements.

"In light of all of this, it is remarkable that the D.C. Circuit has repeatedly found no harm to the states with respect to EPA's greenhouse gas rules," Shaw said.

The EPA released a statement saying the agency was pleased that the permitting structure was left in place.

Court says Disneyland can keep Segway ban

A California appeals court says Disneyland Resort can keep a ban on Segways at its parks.

The Orange County Register says the court ruled last week against a woman with muscular dystrophy who sued for discrimination four years ago because she couldn't use a Segway at Disneyland.

The 4th District Court of Appeal says Disney showed that the stand-up, two-wheeled scooter was unsafe to use inside the crowded Anaheim park.

Disney has since developed its own four-wheel standing scooter for use in the park.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

San Diego, California - Personal Injury Truck Accidents Attorney

With the gas prices rising and for health and fitness reasons, more individuals have looked into biking or walking to save money in their means of transportation. With the increased amount of cyclists and pedestrians, we also see an increased amount of bicycle and pedestrian accidents. Most bicyclist and pedestrian accidents involve distracted or reckless drivers. As drivers, we often don't go out of our way to look out for bicyclists or pedestrians unless we are at a big intersection. Therefore, most of the time the visibility of cyclists and pedestrians is limited and for that, accidents happen if drivers are not careful. An accident involving an automobile versus a bicyclist or pedestrian can turn out to be fatal. Due to the massive weight of a vehicle, and depending on speed, a pedestrian can suffer from permanent disfiguration from this type of an accident. This could leave you with a lifetime of hospital visits and medical bills to pay off. In the worst case scenario, death is the end result. If you find yourself in this situation, it is important to contact a San Diego Bicycle Accident Lawyer as soon as possible.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

IMF head Lagarde in court in fraud probe

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde is facing questions at a special Paris court Thursday over her role in the 400 million euro ($520 million) pay-off to a controversial businessman when she was France's finance minister.
The court hearing threatens to sully the reputations of both Lagarde and France. The payment was made to well-connected entrepreneur Bernard Tapie as part of a private arbitration process to settle a dispute with state-owned bank Credit Lyonnais over the botched sale of Adidas in the 1990s. It is seen by many in France as an example of the cozy relationship between big money and big power in France.
Lagarde has earned praise for her negotiating skills as managing director of the IMF through Europe's debt crisis and is seen as a trailblazer for women leaders. Her decision to let the Adidas dispute go to private arbitration rather than be settled in the courts has drawn criticism, and French lawmakers asked magistrates to investigate.
Lagarde, smiling at reporters, left her Paris apartment Thursday morning and appeared at a special court that handles cases involving government ministers. She has denied wrongdoing.
At the time of the payment, Tapie was close to then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who was Lagarde's boss. Critics have said the deal was too generous to Tapie at the expense of the French state, and that the case shouldn't have gone to a private arbitration authority because it involved a state-owned bank.

Monday, April 8, 2013

US appeals court grants Hobby Lobby full hearing

A federal appeals court has granted Hobby Lobby's request for the entire court to hear its challenge of a federal requirement that it provide insurance coverage for the morning-after pill and similar emergency contraceptives.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals announced its decision Friday. Appeals are usually decided by a three-judge panel, but a total of nine judges will hear the appeal from the Oklahoma City-based arts and crafts chain.
Hobby Lobby is challenging a requirement in the new federal health care law that says the company must provide and pay for emergency contraceptives. The company says the requirement violates the beliefs of its Christian owners.
The Denver-based court also said it would hear Hobby Lobby's appeal on an expedited basis, with oral arguments expected this spring.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

China Trademark & Patent Law Office - Trademark and Patent

The process of registering a trademark in China might be quite like what it is in your own country. To have a registered trademark, you should file the trademark with the Chinese government. When it has passed the examination and publication, it becomes a registered trademark protected by the China Trademark Law. But before applying the trademark, there is some knowledge on the trademark that you would like to know.

A patent is a right granted to the owner of an invention to prevent others from making, using, importing or selling the invention without his permission. A patentable invention can be a product or a process that gives a new technical solution to a problem. It can also be a new method of doing things, the composition of a new product, or a technical improvement on how certain objects work. Once it is granted, its term of a patent is 20 years from the Date of Filing, subject to the payment of annual renewal fees.

http://www.ctplo.com/patent.html