Court Roundup

 South Carolina

Strippers sue clubs over wages and overtime
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A group of strippers is suing several South Carolina nightclubs, saying they weren’t paid according to federal standards.
The lawsuit filed in federal court earlier this year accuses clubs in Columbia and Greenville of violating minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Club operators deny the allegations and say the dancers were independent contractors who were paid fairly. Last month, the operators filed a counterclaim seeking dance fees the strippers received, in addition to their regular wages.
The lawsuit was first reported by The State newspaper.
The case is similar to others filed around the country. In September, a federal judge in New York City ruled that exotic dancers at a club there are protected by labor laws and entitled to at least a minimum wage.
 
Pennsylvania
Township barred from blocking seismic testing
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A federal judge has barred a western Pennsylvania township from interfering with a Texas company using public roads to conduct seismic testing this month.
ION Geophysical Corp. of Houston sued Hempfield Township, about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh, saying it lacked authority to block the testing.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that U.S. District Judge Maurice Cohill on Thursday granted the company’s request for a preliminary injunction allowing it to conduct the tests until the lawsuit is resolved.
Cohill said blocking the tests would hurt the company and allowing them won’t hurt the township.
Doug Weimer, chairman of the township supervisors, said he is disappointed, and supervisors “will review the decision and decide what to do next.” He said the board was trying to protect property owners.
 
Mississippi
Lawyer files civil suit against MD in alleged murder 
GREENWOOD, Miss. (AP) — A judge wants to hold a trial in August on a Greenwood attorney’s civil lawsuit against a doctor involved in an alleged murder-for-hire plot.
Lee Abraham sued Dr. Ralph Arnold Smith Jr. in July of 2012. In the lawsuit, Abraham argued he has altered his daily routine and lost enjoyment of his normal life as a result of a plot to kill him.
Abraham is seeking unspecified damages.
The Greenwood Commonwealth reports Circuit Judge Breland Hilburn told parties this week he wants pretrial preparations in the lawsuit completed by August.
Smith is charged with two counts of conspiring to kill Abraham and one count of capital murder in the death of Keaira Byrd. Smith allegedly hired Byrd to carry out a hit on Abraham. Byrd was killed by authorities during the shootout. Authorities had been alerted by Abraham. Abraham was not hurt.
Smith, 72, is being held at the Mississippi State Hospital in Whitfield after having been declared mentally unfit to stand trial in December.
Smith countersued Abraham in August of 2012. Smith argued Abraham secretly schemed with others to cause him “severe mental and emotional distress.” The countersuit didn’t provide specific details about what Smith argues Abraham did.
Attorneys for both sides in the case said they’d reached an agreement to turn over documents — including banking and other financial records belonging to Smith — under the condition that the records would be kept sealed. They also said they’d agreed on a request for documents related to the criminal case from the district attorney’s office.
 
New York
State to appeal ruling against exec salary cap
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York officials say they will appeal a state judge’s ruling against the $199,000 salary cap intended for executives at the Health Department’s nonprofit contractors.
State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Feinman finds the department overstepped its authority and that the Legislature has rejected similar proposals.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo more than two years ago issued an executive order to limit administrative costs and executive pay at state-funded service providers, noting one chief executive was drawing a $2.2 million salary.
Melissa Grace, spokeswoman for the state Attorney General’s Office, says they believe the decision is wrong and intend to appeal.
The lawsuit was brought by the Agencies for Children’s Therapy Services, an association of 33 agencies in New York City and Long Island providing early intervention and special education services.
 
New Jersey
Judge: AG suit by councilman can proceed again
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A Superior Court judge is allowing a lawsuit by an Atlantic City councilman alleging malicious prosecution by the state Attorney General’s Office to move forward — again.
Marty Small was charged with — and acquitted of — election fraud twice in five years.
He’s suing the attorney general’s office, alleging the state knew it had no evidence against him but prosecuted him anyway because officials were angry about the first acquittal.
“As I’ve said since Day One, the facts are on our side,” Small said. “I look forward to getting in front of a jury.”
A judge rejected a similar motion by the state to dismiss the case in March 2013. In that motion, the Attorney General’s Office argued that the state and its officers are entitled to immunity for acts carried out in their  duties.
Small and five others were cleared in March 2011 of charges that they tampered with absentee ballots during the 2009 Democratic primary campaign for Atlantic City mayor, allegedly trying to steal the election by manipulating ballots designed for voters too sick to make it to the polls.
 
North Carolina
Judge sets trials for 2 in lawsuit against Cooper
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — With about two weeks to go before empaneling jurors, a judge ruled Thursday there would be two trials in a defamation lawsuit filed more than a decade ago against North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper by a former political rival.
Dan Boyce, who ran against Cooper in 2000, and father Gene will be the plaintiffs in the first trial, set to begin April 28 barring an out-of-court settlement, which appears unlikely. The Boyces, two former law partners and their now disbanded law firm sued Cooper, his campaign committee and others alleging they were libeled by a Cooper campaign TV commercial about a 1990s class-action tax case against the state. The lawsuit alleges the TV ad was untrue and Cooper’s camp knew it.
“That is the main purpose of this lawsuit — to clear publicly my name and that of my partners in the law firm,” Gene Boyce told Superior Court Judge Osmond Smith in a Durham County courtroom. Cooper’s attorneys have repeatedly said no libel occurred.
Smith also ruled that Dan and Gene Boyce were public figures. That means they must convince jurors at a higher standard — that Cooper acted with malice or reckless disregard, rather than just being negligent. The negligence standard is set for plaintiffs in the second trial, Philip and Laura Isley, who are private figures, Smith ruled. 
The case has been delayed by at least three trial court rulings and three appeals court decisions. Losses in court could affect Cooper, a Democrat now planning a bid for governor in 2016 to unseat Republican Pat McCrory. The case also could ultimately set case law on protections of political speech directed at a private company.

Massachusetts
Judge denies injunction in rail contract lawsuit
BOSTON (AP) — A judge has denied a request by the losing bidder of a contract to operate the state’s commuter rail system to block the MBTA from moving forward with a new company.
Superior Court Judge Mitchell Kaplan ruled Thursday that the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co. failed to establish a likelihood of success on its claim that the MBTA “acted illegally or arbitrarily or capriciously” when it awarded the $2.68 billion contract to Keolis Commuter Services.
Kaplan said an injunction could harm the public interest by disrupting ongoing efforts to transfer operations by July 1.
MBCR has operated the commuter rail service since 2003. It claimed T officials coached Keolis on how to win the contract, and questioned aspects of the bid.
MBRC said it’s “deeply disappointed” and is focused on the transition of commuter rail operations to Keolis.
 
New York
Ex-NHL players sue league in NY over concussions
NEW YORK (AP) — Nine former players have sued the NHL over concussions, saying the league subjects its players to “devastating and long-term” health consequences by failing to warn players of the risks and consequences of head trauma.
Among the players are former All-Star defenseman Brad Maxwell and Jack Carlson, whose brothers starred in the film “Slapshot.”
The lawsuit in Manhattan federal court was filed late Wednesday, several months after a similar lawsuit was filed by 10 former NHL players in Washington. Both lawsuits seek unspecified damages, along with a medical monitoring program to care for former and current NHL players.
 
Louisiana
Financial adviser seeks dismissal of council lawsuit
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — Shreveport’s embattled financial adviser is asking a Caddo Parish judge to dismiss with prejudice a city council lawsuit against him seeking the return of more than $53,000 in overbilled services.
The Times reports the matter has pitted the council against Mayor Cedric Glover, who firmly supports the work Calvin Grigsby did for the city. Glover also still insists Grigsby is the city’s financial adviser.
But the Council no longer recognizes Grigsby as a financial adviser handling the city’s bond sales. A new financial adviser has not been hired. Grigsby filed his response to the city’s lawsuit on March 25. He also emailed a copy to The Times. The lawsuit is before Judge Michael Pitman. An order requesting the council to appear in court to show why the case should not be dismissed also is attached to Grigsby’s response.
The council filed a lawsuit against Grigsby in February, believing he overbilled the city.