Phone tax OK'd by board; SJC, appeals court could nix ruling.
Byline: John J. Monahan BOSTON - Cities and towns across the state could begin levying an estimated $78 million a year in property taxes on Verizon and other telecom companies for the value of telephone poles and wires previously considered exempt from local property taxes under a...

A Texas appeals court ruled recently that the state illegally seized hundreds of children from a polygamists' compound. A few days later, the state's Supreme Court upheld that ruling. As facts about the sect unfold, does it appear that taking the children was in the children's best interests?
The complexity of this case makes it difficult to determine what is in the best interests of the children. As of this writing, it is unclear where the children might end up. However, our job as clinicians who make decisions based on facts and evidence requires that we learn...

Appellate court overturns Pacifica developer's award of damages.
An award of $665,000 in damages and legal expenses to a developer in Pacifica has been thrown out by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The unanimous three-judge panel determined that a questionable condition of project approval that the city eventually repealed did not constitute a violation of...

CIC to keep record of pleas.
Byline: Abhinav Garg NEW DELHI: Chief information commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, while deciding an RTI plea filed by Shruti Singh Chauhan on transparency within the commission, decreed: "The registry of CIC will take immediate steps to computerize and maintain a record of appeals/complaints admitted, date of hearing of...

Ignoring the `plain text'.
Byline: The Register-Guard In Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland," the mercurial Queen of Hearts is fond of shrieking "Off with her head!" before learning whether the accused is guilty. "Sentence first - verdict afterwards," she declares. It's fitting that a federal appeals court last week...

Manjunath case: Hearing postponed.
LUCKNOW: A division bench of the High Court comprising Justice Abdul Mateen and Justice MK Mittal on Thursday postponed till March 12 the hearing of criminal appeals and reference for confirmation of death sentence awarded to Pawan Kumar Mittal alias Monu Mittal and lifer penalty imposed on other co-accused...

No more patent copycats: the effects of patent protection could usher in a new era in the development of insurance industry patents.
Summary * There's been an increase in the rate of patenting in all areas of the industry, including the property-casualty sector. * A 1998 federal appeals court decision opening the floodgates to patenting business methods is under review. * Two future scenarios of...

Americans United opposes amended Texas 'moment of silence' statute.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State joined the American Civil Liberties Union and its Texas affiliate last month in urging a federal appeals court to rule against a religiously motivated 2003 amendment to Texas' "moment-of-silence" statute. The amendment added "pray" to the statute's list of...

CA denies company's petition for refund of P269.3-M input tax.
Byline: Rey G. Panaligan The Court of Appeals (CA) has denied the petition of Fort Bonifacio Development Corp. (FBDC) for a refund of P269.3 million in transitional input tax for its purchase of several parcels of land from the government in 1995. In a decision...

CA denies company's claim for refund of overpaid income tax.
The Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed its 2007 decision that denied the claim of real estate developer Belle Corp. for a P106.4-million tax refund representing overpaid income tax for 1997. In a resolution written by Associate Justice Rosmari Carandang, the CA said that while Belle has...