Posts on ‘January 13th, 2009’

A New York matrimonial referee is weighing a gag order in the divorce case of a surgeon who wants his estranged wife to pay $1.5 million for the kidney he donated to her. The application by the wife’s lawyer seeks to prohibit “disparaging and denigrating” statements made by Richard Batista or his attorney regarding the case. Batista says he donated the kidney to his ailing wife in 2001, and that she had an affair afterwards. The wife denies having the affair.

The parents of two detainees who committed suicide while held at Guantanamo Bay have filed a wrongful death suit against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, as well as more than 100 military officers and personnel, alleging that Gitmo’s brutal conditions and torture led their sons to kill themselves. The suit asks for unspecified damages from its long list of defendants, who are being sued in their personal capacity rather than as government representatives.

The arrest of a controversial defense attorney has raised complicated questions about an advocate’s duty to refuse tainted fees. Federal agents appeared at Jamie Harmon’s office to tell her that she faced a grand jury indictment for money laundering, according to a second-year associate of Harmon’s who spoke to on her behalf. Harmon had no idea she was under investigation, Theodore Stalcup said. “It was a complete out-of-the-blue lightning bolt from above,” he said. “Not the best day.”

A New York surrogate court judge has approved a $91,000 payment to an estate executor, despite a provision in the decedent’s will prohibiting commissions to anyone. According to a co-trustee, Bruce L. Goldberg was a close friend of Steven Ostrer, and named him as executor of his $7.4 million estate to save his family money. However, after undertaking the estate duties, Ostrer realized it “was a ton of work” and asked if the family would agree to compensate him, the co-trustee said.

There was no clandestine surveillance, no hiding behind bushes or in a parked car. Daniel Portnoy says he walked up the driveway and knocked on the front door. The homeowner opened the door and chatted for a minute. Mission accomplished. Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. was officially served with a court summons in atheist Michael Newdow’s challenge of the words “so help me God” in the oath that President-elect Barack Obama will take next week.