- Turkey claims it should have sovereign immunity from legal proceedings
- Attack in May 2017 left nine protesters injured during Erdogan’s visit to Washington
LONDON: A US court has rejected a Turkish attempt to dismiss civil cases brought by protesters who were violently attacked in Washington by Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s security officers.
The incident took place in May 2017 during a visit to the US by the Turkish president. About a dozen bodyguards beat-up a group demonstrating outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence in Washington.
The attack, which was caught on video, left nine people injured and further strained US relations with Turkey.
While criminal charges against the security guards were dropped within a year, around the same time Turkey released a US pastor, the victims pressed ahead with a civil case.
On Thursday, a federal court denied Turkey’s request to have the two cases thrown out on the grounds that it should have sovereign immunity from legal proceedings.
In her 36-page opinion, US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said the protesters had not posed a threat and were merely gathered on a sidewalk outside the residence at Sheridan Circle when Erdogan’s security burst through a police line and attacked them.
. . .
Agnieszka Fryszman, another lawyer for the plaintiffs, said: “We look forward to proving our claims in court and to getting a just result for our clients who were attacked and badly injured while protesting against human rights abuses. I am glad the Court agreed that agents of a foreign country should not be able to claim immunity for their violent attack on free speech in the United States.”
The two cases will now move ahead to the next phase.
A federal court in Washington, D.C., denied a request Thursday by Turkey to dismiss a civil suit by protesters who are seeking damages after they were violently beaten while demonstrating against the visit of the Turkish president to the Capitol in 2017.
The court struck down Turkey’s argument that it is protected under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act in two separate cases filed on behalf of over a dozen plaintiffs, establishing a key marker to hold Ankara accountable in a U.S. court on civil charges.
The case stems from an incident in May 2017 that took place during a visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Washington, where a group of demonstrators, mostly ethnic minorities of Kurdish and Yazidi descent, were violently attacked by Turkish security officers outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence.
. . .
The ruling on Thursday evening was viewed as a major breakthrough for the plaintiffs to establish that the court has subject matter jurisdiction over their claims against Turkey and that the judge issued her ruling in direct response to Turkey’s motion to dismiss, without requiring oral arguments from the parties.
“We are pleased that the Court watched the hours of video tape we submitted showing the attack by Turkey’s security guards on peaceful protestors at Sheridan Circle,” said Agnieszka Fryszman, partner at Cohen Milstein and chairwoman of the firm’s Human Rights practice group, and lawyer for the plaintiffs.
“We look forward to proving our claims in Court and to getting a just result for our clients who were attacked and badly injured while protesting against human rights abuses. I am glad the Court agreed that agents of a foreign country should not be able to claim immunity for their violent attack on free speech in the United States.”
The DEQ required 25 utilities in the basin to test for “forever chemicals” at their sewer treatment plants for three months. One scientist called the results of those tests “incredibly high.”
A water sample taken in September from the Sanford sewage treatment plant that discharges into Deep River uncovered “staggering” concentrations of forever chemicals, newly released documents from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality reveal.
The sample contained perfluorooctanesulfonic acid — or PFOS — measuring 1,000 parts per trillion. That is more than 14 times greater than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s health advisory of 70 parts per trillion for drinking water.
The data coming out of Sanford is just one example of the high levels of potentially carcinogenic chemicals that a new monitoring program has detected in rivers and streams throughout the Cape Fear River basin, from Reidsville to Wilmington.
From July to September, the DEQ required 25 utilities in the basin to test for 19 or more different types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, collectively known as PFAS, at their wastewater treatment plants. The DEQ made the data public in mid-January.
Lawsuit Alleges Franklin-Based Company Misled Investors on United Relationship
A federal court has certified a securities class action against Tivity Health that accuses the Franklin-based company of misleading investors about UnitedHealthcare bringing its services in-house.
UnitedHealthcare has always been a significant client for Tivity, accounting for about 15 percent of its revenue. But in November 2017, the insurance giant announced the launch of its own fitness benefit program in 11 states. The move tanked Tivity shares more than 33 percent, undoing more than five months of gains.
Before the announcement, Tivity leadership had warned investors in SEC filings the significant risk the company poses from insurers taking their services in-house; however, never disclosed to investors knowledge that UHC had already entered the market.
According to the lawsuit, Tivity allegedly knew UHC was bringing services in-house in late 2016 but never indicated a wavering relationship or that the risks they were warning about were coming to fruition. Defendants say because of this misrepresentation, Tivity’s stock price was artificially inflated between March 6, 2017, and Nov. 6, 2017.
Plaintiffs lawyer Scott Summy, of Baron & Budd, said “forever chemicals,” discovered in the drinking water of several communities, “are probably the largest environmental hazard in the country right now.”
In southwestern Vermont, residents of the town of Bennington sued in 2016 after state officials determined that a local company, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., discharged the toxic chemical perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, through its smokestacks. Over decades, the chemicals seeped into the groundwater, contaminating the drinking water supply for more than 2,000 property owners.
Last month, in a key ruling, a federal judge refused to toss the claims on summary judgment, and set the case for a July 6 trial.
The case is one of several percolating through the courts involving so-called “forever chemicals,” which do not biodegrade in the ground or in the human body. Lawyers representing area residents began filing class actions about five years ago, but judges recently have issued rulings on dismissal and class certification. In the past year, attorneys general in several states, water utilities and individuals exposed to the chemical have brought additional lawsuits.
…
“We didn’t plead medical monitoring. We pled personal injury-type claims to proceed forward on the type of care needed: blood tests, and things of that sort,” said Ted Leopold, a partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll in Palm Beach, Florida. Whether the judge grants the new dismissal motion “is up in the air,” he said.
A Tennessee federal judge on Wednesday certified a class of about 331 institutions and investors that own Tivity Health stock in a suit accusing the fitness and wellness program provider of deceiving investors about United HealthCare Inc. creating a competing senior-focused fitness program.
U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. certified a class consisting of all those who purchased or acquired Tivity stock between March 6, 2017, and Nov. 6, 2017, and appointed lead plaintiff Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System as the class representative, according to Wednesday’s order.
The judge also appointed Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC as class counsel, the order states.
. . .
Steven J. Toll of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, an attorney for the investor class, told Law360 his clients were “very pleased” with the ruling.
“Judge Crenshaw’s opinion reflects a thorough analysis of the relevant standards, and in our view, properly rejected the many attacks by Tivity on the plaintiffs’ damage expert, Chad Coffman, and his event study showing market efficiency,” Toll said. “The judge also properly determined that Oklahoma Firefighters was an adequate and typical class representative. We look forward to continuing to litigate the case on behalf of the class.”
The plaintiffs are represented by J. Gerard Stranch IV of Branstetter Stranch & Jennings PLLC and Steven J. Toll, Daniel S. Sommers, Christina D. Saler, Alice Buttrick and Jessica (Ji Eun) Kim of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC.
A study released Wednesday by an environmental watchdog group found heightened levels of potentially toxic chemicals in tap water supplies serving dozens of major American cities.
The report, published by the Environmental Working Group, found that 20 cities and regions nationwide – including Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Miami and Louisville, Kentucky – contained PFAS levels of at least 10 parts per trillion. Forty-three areas, including New York City, Nashville, Las Vegas and Sacramento, had detectable PFAS at least 1 part per trillion.
Only one city, Meridian, Mississippi, which uses well water 700 feet below the surface, found no PFAS, while Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Seattle had levels lower than the 1 part per trillion limit advised by the EWG.
PFAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances also known as “forever chemicals,” have been linked to reproductive and developmental, liver and kidney, and immunological effects, as well as high cholesterol and obesity.
The complete article can be accessed here.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
The CFPB’s structure is constitutional and critical to ensuring that it can carry out its consumer protection mission free from undue political and industry influence.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC (Cohen Milstein) submitted an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court in the case of Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on behalf of their clients, community development financial institutions (CDFIs) Self-Help Credit Union, Hope Enterprise Corporation / Hope Credit Union (HOPE), Inclusiv, and the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB).
The credit unions, community development financial institutions (CDFIs), and two trade associations, are urging the Court to preserve the independent, single-director structure of the CFPB. “The CFPB’s independence allows smaller CDFIs and Community Development Unions to thrive by giving them a voice in a regulatory world that is otherwise dominated by bigger institutions,” said Geoff Graber of Cohen Milstein.
The CFPB, as established by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and the Consumer Financial Protection Act, is an independent agency led by a single Director who is appointed by the President for a term of five years and removable for cause.
“The tools of independence Congress used to protect the CFPB are not at all novel. And what is new about the CFPB’s design—its exercise of unfragmented jurisdiction and prioritization of the interests of consumers—reflects a policy correction to address the failures that led to the financial crisis [of 2007-2008],” wrote the amici in their brief. “The CFPB’s focus on consumers, consistent approach to consumer protection, and both its independence and public accountability, ensure the health of the marketplace of financial products and services. By creating a predictable and fair regulatory environment in which to do business, the CFPB also promotes the long-term health of responsible smaller financial institutions, like the Community Development Credit Union Amici.”
The case is attempting to undermine the independence of the nation’s consumer protection watchdog. Seila Law LLC, a debt collection law firm, is arguing to give the President influence and control over how the CFPB oversees the financial services industry. Seila’s lawsuit contends that the structure of the CFPB is unconstitutional because it only allows the President to remove the CFPB Director for-cause. Congress, however, established the independent CFPB to prevent the President from removing the CFPB Director for political reasons.
Ruling to undermine the CFPB’s independence by allowing a President to fire the CFPB Director at-will puts economically distressed communities, such as communities of color, the Deep South, and other areas historically hit hardest by predatory lending practices like payday lenders and unfair mortgage lending practices.
In September 2019, CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger announced that the CFPB would no longer defend the constitutionality of its Director’s for-cause removal provision. Together with the U.S. Department of Justice, Director Kraninger asked the Court to consider an appeal that would allow the president to remove the CFPB director at-will instead of for-cause.
The case will be heard before the Supreme Court in March. A decision on Seila Law LLC v. CFPB is expected this spring or early summer.
###
Press Contact: ricardo.quinto@responsiblelending.org
A copy of the release can be accessed here.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to take up a pair of cases arising from the 2014 Flint water crisis, allowing city residents to pursue a lawsuit against city and state officials over the water contamination.
The justices rejected two petitions filed by Flint regulators and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality that sought review of a ruling from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that allowed cases stemming from the water crisis to proceed.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp said on Tuesday it will recall 3.4 million vehicles worldwide because of an electronic defect that can result in air bags not deploying in crashes.
The recall, which includes 2.9 million U.S. vehicles, covers 2011-2019 Corolla, 2011-2013 Matrix, 2012-2018 Avalon and 2013-2018 Avalon Hybrid vehicles and is tied to a report of one fatal crash.
The vehicles may have an electronic control unit that does not have adequate protection against electrical noise that can occur in crashes, which could lead to incomplete or non-deployment of the air bags. It could also impede the operation of seat-belt pretensioners.