National Roundup

Alabama
Aborted embryo suit rests on Alabama 'unborn rights' policy
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — In a case that spotlights Alabama's state policy recognizing "the rights of unborn children," a judge is deciding whether to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the father of an aborted embryo against the clinic where his ex-girlfriend obtained an abortion.

WHNT-TV reports Madison County District Judge Chris Comer heard arguments in Ryan Magers' lawsuit during a hearing Wednesday but did not rule.

Magers is serving as representative of the aborted embryo's estate in the lawsuit against the Alabama Women's Center in Huntsville. A probate judge earlier this year took the unusual step of opening an estate for the aborted embryo, known as "Baby Roe" in court filings, after Magers' attorney cited a newly approved Alabama constitutional amendment saying its state policy to recognize the "rights of unborn children."

A lawyer for the clinic told the judge Wednesday that there is no wrongful death because abortion is legal. The clinic has asked the judge to dismiss the case.

"The bottom line here is that this is a simple case. They have sued for the wrongful death of an embryo and at the time that that happened abortion was legal in Alabama and still is," said Sara Tucker, an attorney representing the clinic.

Magers and his then-girlfriend were both teenagers when she got pregnant in 2017. The suit says Magers pleaded with the young woman not to have an abortion but she did so anyway. The suit names the clinic where Magers contends his former girlfriend received an abortion-inducting medication when she was six weeks pregnant.

Magers' attorney, Brent Helms, said, "there's never been a case like this in the United States of America."

"For the first time in the history of America the aborted child has been able to move forward with this case," Helms said.

In court filings, Helm's cited the constitutional amendment that Alabama recognizes the rights of the "unborn" and the state's recent attempt to ban abortions.

Helms said, "the state of Alabama recognized that Baby Roe is a person."

Comer told the parties in court that regardless of what he decides he expects his decision will be appealed.

South Carolina
State Supreme Court abolishes common law marriage
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — After 20 years of trying and failing to abolish common law marriages in the Legislature, South Carolina's Supreme Court on Wednesday abolished the antiquated practice of allowing couples to claim they're married without a license if they live together long enough.

The ruling Wednesday doesn't affect any current common law marriages. But it does require a license for all future legal marriages.

The court used a Charleston County case in which a man and woman began living together in 1989. When they broke up around 2012, the man wanted a divorce and an equal split of their assets.

The justices unanimously ruled against him, noting that while some friends testified that the couple introduced themselves as husband and wife, others testified they didn't. There were also confusing signals from medical documents about whether they were married, although they never filed taxes jointly, according to court records.

The couple's friends didn't care about their marital status because the social stigma of living together without being married was gone, Justice Kaye Hearn wrote in the court's opinion. She said that left courts to determine the mindset of two people who may disagree about whether they were ever married.

"The solemn institution of marriage is thereby reduced to a guessing game with significant ramifications for the individuals involved, as well as any third party dealing with them," Hearn wrote.

The Supreme Court estimated that fewer than 10 states still recognize common law marriages.

The best way to maintain the institution of marriage is to require people to take an action to show they want to be wed: going to the courthouse and getting a license, the court ruled.

"Our quest to see inside the minds of litigants asserting different motivations and levels of knowledge at varying times must yield to the most reliable measurement of marital intent: a valid marriage certificate," Hearn wrote.

Bills to outlaw common law marriage have been introduced in the South Carolina Legislature in seven separate two-year sessions over the past 20 years , but failed to pass.

New York
Judge rejects racketeering claims against President Trump
NEW YORK (AP) — A judge has rejected claims that President Donald Trump and his three eldest children broke federal racketeering laws when people lost money in a marketing company Trump promoted, though she let state claims proceed.

Wednesday's ruling by U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield came after several individuals sued Trump, saying he falsely reassured them he had adequately researched the company, known as ACN.

Plaintiffs' attorney Roberta Kaplan cheered the survival of state claims of false advertising, deceptive trade practices and fraud.

Trump endorsed the company in speeches and on "The Celebrity Apprentice."

Schofield rejected racketeering claims on grounds the lawsuit in Manhattan federal court did not sufficiently explain how Trump could have caused losses to individuals.

The lawsuit claimed victims lost at least $500 while some lost thousands of dollars.

West Virginia
Court tosses lawsuit in 1968 mine explosion
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A federal appeals court has thrown out a lawsuit filed by the families of 78 men who were killed in a 1968 mine explosion in West Virginia.

The ruling Wednesday by the 4th U.S. Circuit Appeals affirms a 2017 ruling by a federal judge.

The men died after an explosion ripped through the Farmington No. 9 mine.

In a 2014 lawsuit, the families accused Consolidation Coal of fraudulently concealing key information that would have allowed them to file a wrongful-death lawsuit years earlier.

The 4th Circuit cited a West Virginia Supreme Court finding that the wrongful-death claim was barred by a two-year statute of limitations.

Attorney Timothy Bailey said the families are disappointed. He said "it's a sad day" for the families and for "truth and justice."