The US Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that an insurer cannot recover equitable relief under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) for settlement funds a participant has already spent. The court found that nontraceable assets are not recoverable under 502(a)(3). This decision overturned the order from the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit [...]
Christopher Brooks, an Alabama man scheduled for execution by lethal injection appealed to the US Supreme Court on Thursday for a stay of execution on the grounds that the sentencing procedure is unconstitutional. Brooks was sentenced to death for the burglary, rape and murder of a young woman. He argues that Alabama’s sentencing scheme is [...]
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced Thursday that he is creating the first high-level panel to address women’s economic empowerment initiatives. The panel’s goal is to create a plan of action for nations and private sector businesses to implement in order to improve women’s rights by achieving economic agency for women all over the globe in [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in Campbell-Ewald Company v. Gomez that an unaccepted settlement offer to a lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit does not end the legal challenge. The class action suit dealt with unsolicited text messages sent from the Campbell-Ewald Company that allegedly violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act . Lead [...]
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in two cases. In Nebraska v. Parker the court heard arguments onwhether the town of Pender, Nebraska, is outside Indian property and thus not subject to a tribal tax on liquor sales. The case involves the question of whether a 1882 Act of Congress that purchased land [...]
The US Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled in Kansas v. Carr that a jury in a death penalty case does not need to be advised that mitigating factors , which can lessen the severity of a criminal act, do not need to proven beyond a reasonable doubt like aggravating factors. The defendants argued that without [...]
Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) forces and Kurdish militias are committing mass destruction in northern Iraq that may amount to war crimes, Amnesty International (AI) said in a report Tuesday. AI claims that the KRG is leading an operation to burn, bomb and bulldoze homes in the Arab settled communities of Ninewa, Kirkuk and Diyala provinces, [...]
Settlement businesses contribute to Israel’s violations of Palestinian rights, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report Tuesday. The report stated that, “it is Human Rights Watch’s view that by virtue of doing business in or with settlements or settlement businesses, companies contribute to one or more of these violations of international humanitarian law and [...]
The US State Department released a statement Tuesday expressing concern over reports of “serious human rights violations and abuses” in Burundi. Allegations of mass graves, sexual violence by security forces, and enforced disappearances and torture are being reported by both the UN and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights . The State Department [...]
Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court ruled Wednesday that neither boys nor girls can legally marry under the age of 18, even in unregistered, customary or religious unions. Previously, the Marriage Act allowed girls to be married at the age of 18 and boys to be married at the age of 16 and did not address a minimum [...]
