Saturday, February 05, 2011
EKB Capsule News...Kentucky...2-6-'11
- Three lawyers accused of swindling their clients in a multimillion-dollar diet drug settlement have won their appeal. The Kentucky Court of Appeals on Friday reversed and vacated a $42 million judgment against Melbourne Mills Jr., William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham, sending it back to Boone County for further proceedings, possibly including a trial. The court ruled 3-0 that Senior Judge William Wehr improperly ruled without a trial that the lawyers breached their fiduciary duty to 431 clients, who were injured by the diet drug fen-phen. James Shuffett, who represents Melbourne Mills Jr., said he and Mills are pleased with the ruling. Mills was acquitted of criminal charges in the matter, but attorneys William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham Jr. were convicted on criminal fraud charges and sentenced to prison. Attorney Angela Ford now represents the clients. She could ask the Kentucky Supreme Court to hear the case.
- A former Lexington firefighter who admitted downloading child pornography at a fire station computer has been sentenced to eight years in prison. Prosecutors said 38-year-old Eric Bradley of Jessamine County was sentenced on child pornography charges Friday in U.S. District Court. Bradley admitted in December that he downloaded the material. Officials say Bradley received more than 7,000 images of child porn, some of children as young as 4.
- The bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Owensboro says the church is willing to look into sexual abuse accusations posted on the Internet by a man just before he fatally shot himself in a church parking lot. Owensboro police say 23-year-old David M. Jarboe was found lying in the grass at Blessed Mother Catholic Church around 7 a.m. CST Thursday. On Jarboe's Facebook page early Thursday, Jarboe had addressed three priests. He thanked one, forgave another and called the third "an evil man." Bishop William F. Medley says the references to possible sexual abuse would be pursued "if there is cause for concern."
- The Pike County Fiscal Court unanimously approved the Emergency Operations Plan/Emergency Support Functions Planning Guide for Pike County Emergency Management Office at its Jan. 14 meeting. The plan was developed by Pike County Emergency Management in conjunction with the Commonwealth of Kentucky Division of Emergency Management. “Our plan gets updated every year, but this plan is a total departure from the plans bwe have implemented in the past,” Doug Tackett, Emergency Services Coordinator said, “This plan has a lot of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) guidance involved, which is something the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management is making a common thing in counties’ plans around the state.”
- After testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee of the Kentucky General Assembly, U.S. Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers led hundreds of people from across Kentucky in a rally at the Capitol Rotunda in support of Senate Bill 45 and its companion, House Bill 281. The bills would require a prescription for pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient in methamphetamine. Shortly after Rogers’ testimony, members voted to pass Senate Bill 45 out of committee. More than 400 people from across the state rallied with Rogers in support of the bills aimed at stifling the state’s meth epidemic. The measure also has the endorsement of Senate President David Williams, House Speaker Greg Stumbo, Attorney General Jack Conway, the Kentucky Education Association, Kentucky Medical Association, Kentucky State Police, Kentucky Academy of Family Physicians, Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police, Kentucky Jailer’s Association, Appalachia HIDTA Drug Task Force and Operation UNITE.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 11:13 PM 
