New Jersey Superior Court Judge Douglas H. Hurd Friday allowed a defamation claim against New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy to proceed. Former New Jersey Department of Health Assistant Commissioner Christopher Neuwirth filed the defamation complaint, accusing Governor Murphy of spreading a false story that he was terminated for performing outside consulting work without approval. Neuwirth alleges he was actually [...]
A Florida appeals court Wednesday held that the University of South Florida (USF) cannot invoke sovereign immunity to avoid a COVID-19 student fees lawsuit. USF appealed a trial court’s denial of “its motion to dismiss in which it asserted the defense of sovereign immunity.” USF argued in its appeal that sovereign immunity should apply, which [...]
The Supreme Court of Wisconsin Wednesday ruled that a Milwaukee-based coffee roster cannot file property insurance claims for COVID-19-related income losses. The case stemmed from a dispute between Colectivo Coffee Roasters and their property insurer, Society Insurance. Under the insurance policy, Society would pay for “direct physical loss of or damage” that occurs to Colectivo’s [...]
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Tuesday filed an appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit challenging a federal judge’s April order that overturned the federal public transportation mask mandate. The Centers for Disease and Control (CDC) implemented the federal mask mandate to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The federal mask [...]
The UK Government Friday released a policy paper explaining revisions to the Ministerial Code, a set of guidelines for the conduct of its ministers. The changes relax the consequences for minor violations of the code and expand the role of the independent advisor, an executive appointee responsible for advising the prime minister on code violations. [...]
The emergence of E-Commerce has made ground-breaking changes around the world. With the passage of time, individuals have the alternative of online platforms at their disposal for procuring myriad articles. A similar convenience is being experienced regarding medicines with the advent of E-Pharmacy. E-Pharmacies are virtual platforms that take an order of medicines over the [...]
The Kansas Board of Regents recently voted to endorse a policy making it easier to terminate tenured faculty members. Under existing policy, a Kansas state university first must recognize a “financial exigency.” If implemented, under the new policy a university could reduce tenured faculty positions without that declaration. This would make termination of a tenured [...]
With the continuing pandemic – and expiring housing and unemployment benefits across the country – millions of people may have their utilities cut off soon. Meanwhile, at least 13 states currently have expired moratoriums on water shut-offs. Many notable COVID-19 hotspot states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma) never implemented any moratorium on utility shut-offs. For those facing [...]
The U.S. Supreme Court last week issued its first ruling against coronavirus containment measures, invoking the First Amendment’s guarantee of free exercise of religion to enjoin an executive order by New York’s governor limiting attendance at religious services to 10 or 25 persons in areas classified as having a high risk for infections. The Court’s [...]
Nationwide protests in response to the brutal murder of George Floyd have put a spotlight on the profound injustices of the criminal legal system. Much of the criticism has rightly focused on the abuses in policing and incarceration. But along with abusive policing, another urgent threat that impoverished communities face under this system is the [...]
