Public Justice

May 1, 2012 In Updates

Public Justice Challenges California Decision Immunizing Companies for Charging Sales Tax on Tax-Exempt Items

At Public Justice’s urging, the California Supreme Court has granted review of an appeals court ruling that the state Constitution bars consumers from suing companies for charging sales taxes on tax-exempt items.The plaintiffs in Loeffler v. Target allege that Target violated tax law when it…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

Hotels.com, Expedia Implement Settlement and Launch New Website Features to Assist Disabled Travelers

Hotels.com and Expedia, two of the world’s leading online travel companies, have launched new website features that will allow disabled travelers to search for and reserve hotel rooms that have accessible accommodations.A traveler who needs accommodations such as wheelchair-accessible pathways, a roll-in shower, Braille signage,…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

EPA Releases Proposal to Veto Permit for Huge Mountaintop Removal Mine

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released a detailed proposal to veto the permit for the mammoth Spruce Mine that Public Justice has been challenging for twelve years.Since 1998 Public Justice has been fighting to block the Spruce Mine in West Virginia, one of the…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

Arbitrators, Civil Rights Groups Tell U.S. Supreme Court: Don’t Erode Access to Courts

Even prominent arbitrators agree: Arbitrators shouldn’t decide whether the arbitration process itself is fair. Instead, they say, courts must step in to prevent abuses.That’s the upshot of a brief filed by 23 prominent professional arbitrators and arbitration scholars in Rent-A-Center v. Jackson. Public Justice and…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

U.S. Supreme Court Allows Immunity for Public Health Service Officials Involved in Detainee’s Medical Neglect and Death

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) officials are immune from suit for violating the Constitution and causing Francisco Castaneda’s death.Castaneda was the 35-year-old native of El Salvador whose penis was amputated after state and federal immigration officials in California repeatedly…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

Supreme Court Lets Companies Limit Court Scrutiny of Mandatory Arbitration

In a case that originated in Nevada, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that companies can force their employees and customers into mandatory arbitration using form agreements with a “delegation clause” that delegates decisions on the validity of the arbitration agreement itself to the arbitrator.Written by…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

Laredo, Tex., Attorney Named ‘Trial Lawyer of the Year’ at Public Justice Foundation Event

Ronald Rodriguez, the Laredo, Tex., attorney who took on one of the country’s largest private prison companies in the beating death of a man who was about to be released from a Texas prison has been named the 2010 Public Justice Trial Lawyer of the…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

Laredo, Tex., Attorney Named ‘Trial Lawyer of the Year’ at Public Justice Foundation Event

May 1, 2012 In Updates

Renowned Attorney from Washington State Honored as ‘Champion of Justice’

Paul L. Stritmatter, a Hoquiam, Wash., attorney known for taking on complex consumer cases, has received the Public Justice Foundation’s “Champion of Justice Award” for his leadership and record of accomplishments in public interest law.The Foundation honored Stritmatter in Vancouver, B.C., at its annual Gala…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

Public Justice Brief Fights Preemption Claim in Vehicle Crash Case Before Supreme Court

Fighting for access to justice, Public Justice has filed an amicus brief in Williamson v. Mazda Motor of America, Inc., a U.S. Supreme Court case involving federal preemption of claims that a minivan was defective because its aisle seat lacked a lap/shoulder harness.The United States…